But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot...
I have been away from the writing team for a while; allow me to reintroduce myself… HI! My name is Joanna, and I am autistic. This fact should have been obvious to me long ago, but it wasn’t. I can still picture myself, standing on tiptoe to peer into the mirror as a...
“I am disabled. For years that was so hard to admit. I couldn’t mention out loud my neurodivergence. I whispered about my post-traumatic stress disorder, insisting ‘I’m better now.’ I was a champion for the disabled who didn’t want to talk about her own disabilities. It was disingenuous, but I didn’t know how to come to terms with the fact that I was disabled. I was still scared that admitting my disability publicly would convince people I was not able to do anything.” Joanna French writes on her experience with disability.
“Different, not harder.” That was the powerful takeaway from a dear friend who has spoken with Joanna about special needs ministry for years. This leads her to the question: are we fighting for pity or equality?
What if true equality starts with finding common ground?
As members of the disability community or the parents/caregivers who love them, we know the Church is not overtly welcoming. The right body of believers is out there, but they may not know it…yet. They may not even be able to understand…yet. But they will be willing to learn. Consider this your formal invitation to be sure of what you cannot see.
Joanna French shares what God has shown her in the midst of her chronic pain.
After a recent conversation, Joanna French had the realization that she rarely masks her neurodivergence in her church. She shares her hope that everyone finds a community where their difference will be celebrated instead of admonished.
Somewhere along my walk of faith, God opened my eyes to the wealth of substance my faith was missing by not studying the roots of our faith as Christians, which lay in Judaism. The season of Hanukkah is coming to a close, but it holds a unique hope for us.
Right now, so many churches are seeking a few, permitting some, but not unabashedly speaking and sharing the gospel, ensuring its access to everyone. Is your church committing the sin of partiality?
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” –1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always? Pray continually? Give thanks in all circumstances? It’s not as easy as the scripture makes it sound, is it?
Over the last two years, I have been on a journey to understand my mental health. I wanted to know why my brain works as it does so I could grow. What I’ve found is that I can trust God to show up in my lowest of lows and highest of highs. He is present even in the in-between.
Life is a juggling act, and sometimes I have too many balls in the air. Sometimes, no matter how hard I try, one or more of the balls drop. By identifying which balls you can let fall, you can prioritize the breakable ones, like relationships with your spouse and kids, growing your faith, and even your mental health.
A profound affirmation from a friend revealed to Joanna French that all members of the body of Christ need each other—and yes, that includes people with disabilities and mental illness.
A few weeks ago, my son was watching Encanto. Suddenly, as Luisa sings, “I move churches,” he looked up to me and said, “Mommy, you’re a real life Luisa.”
I have spent my entire life as a servant. My entire life I’ve been a caregiver. But in recent years, with moment after moment of near mental breakdown, I’ve realized something: I have grown tired because I have spent my entire life running from just ‘being still.’
I serve as a special needs pastor at a small church in Kansas. I have had a mentally trying time for the last three months. It was on a particularly-defeated Sunday morning that I received the single greatest gift I’ve received all year.
I hurt all the time. I have an autoimmune condition that causes elevated levels of pain, fatigue, and brain fog. Recently, as I climbed the stage to preach, I knew I didn’t have the physical strength to do it. But there is something really cool about having chronic pain—and I am different than who I was before chronic pain. Here’s what God has done for me.
I have PTSD from a very traumatic childhood. I have a testimony that shocks people. But we have all experienced traumas. We must stop using other people’s trauma to define ourselves. Here’s why.
I am in a significantly depressed season. Maybe you’re like me. You can give at work, but you cannot give at home. Here are my favorite—and most effective—depression hacks, and I sincerely hope they help you.
My children have autism. The children at our church are great with our kids: patient, kind, accepting and open to them. I am thankful, but—that is not enough. I want them to have authentic, organic friendships with people their own age. Here are four questions to help churches be places where the neurotypical and neurodivergent can grow together.
Today was a bad pain day. I never cry from pain. Never, except for today. I have seen God heal people with prayer. God. Is. A. Healer. That’s a part of who He is. But in the midst of my pain, today I saw a flaw in my church, a church that has worked so hard on disability inclusion, and it hit me where it hurts, literally.
So, you don’t know me, but I’m a pastor. God called me to ministry about five years ago. Like most of us, I never would’ve seen it coming. There are a dozen reasons why nobody would want to use me and those are all the reasons why God chose me.
The Sunday following my son’s autism diagnosis, we ventured out to church. I could never have predicted the way that attempt would go up in flames. What we experienced was not biblical, and all these years later, I’m now a disability inclusion pastor. What if, as we strive to make churches inclusive for people living with disabilities, that the greatest change from inclusion efforts is that the church finally develops revolutionary love?
I was scrolling through my social media when an image popped up that said, “Calling me mama bear is a sweet way to describe the fact that I’d tear you open if you hurt my child.” I giggled in agreement, but later pondered the question, “What does Christ-like advocacy look like for my child?” Here are seven ways I found to advocate that represent Christ well.
You, much like Esther, were born in this century, in this world, for such a time as this. Your location is not happenstance. It is no coincidence you have the passion and the heart you do. Here are four steps to following God’s leading as you step into disability inclusion ministry.
I have the most amazing baby sister. She is goofy, loud, opinionated, and hard-headed. She makes me laugh and she drives me completely insane. My sister has a traumatic brain injury (TBI). She needs accommodations to be successful, especially in the church. These accommodations can help almost anyone with a TBI.
Joanna French writes an open letter to her youngest child, whose love language is very different than hers, and also causes her emotional distress.
In today’s post, Joanna French shares the heart of special needs ministry: a poem and prayer for the body of Christ to be complete.
Last year was overwhelming, jolting, stressful, wonderful, beautiful, and blessed. So many crazy amazing lessons were to be found in 2020. This year, I have some specific resolutions I know I need to keep for my health. I hope you will commit to one or more of these with me.
Recently, Joanna French and her family were quarantined after their children were exposed to COVID-19. Here’s an honest look at how quarantine impacted her mental health.
As people, we gravitate toward the comfortable, the safe, the easy, and the peaceful. I get it. No, I really, really do. Because of this, I absolutely understand why it is scary to welcome people with disabilities into your church. That is why today I will tell you why you should encourage us to attend your church, but you should also be thankful we are part of your church.
When did Christians reach the point that we don’t oppose a person’s stance on the issues, but we oppose the person? When we did we decide that the value of a person is in whether or not they agree with us? A challenge to the Church to be the Church in the aftermath of this week’s elections.
We have all had that little voice of doubt in our heads. This voice is strategically placed there by Satan to try to steal my joy. Today, I want to share some of the lies the enemy has told me about my children and how I use God’s Word to contradict those lies, so that you can do it, too.
The special needs ministry at our church has been operating for four years. Each of the fantastic friends in this ministry have given me, and our church family, precious gifts. Here are some insights and beauty from three of my fantastic friends that have changed me at a fundamental level.
The world is becoming a whole lot smaller for all of us amid social distancing. If you are a social butterfly like I am, this has already been hard, and it’s not even been a week. So how can we beat the blues? Here are a few suggestions.