My Body Is Not a Prayer Request
Disability Justice in the Church
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4.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
"With humorous prose and wry wit, Kenny makes a convincing case for all Christians to do more to meet access needs and embrace disabilities as part of God's kingdom. . . . Inclusivity-minded Christians will cheer the lessons laid out here."--Publishers Weekly
Much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection, says Amy Kenny. It is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their embodied experiences.
Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability. Kenny reflects on her experiences inside the church to expose unintentional ableism and cast a new vision for Christian communities to engage disability justice. She shows that until we cultivate church spaces where people with disabilities can fully belong, flourish, and lead, we are not valuing the diverse members of the body of Christ.
Offering a unique blend of personal storytelling, fresh and compelling writing, biblical exegesis, and practical application, this book invites readers to participate in disability justice and create a more inclusive community in church and parachurch spaces. Engaging content such as reflection questions and top-ten lists are included.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Mixing memoir with social critique, Kenny draws on her experiences as a Christian disabled person to examine ableism in the church in her enlightening debut. The author, who uses a wheelchair, contends that disability is not something to pity or look away from, but something to accept and celebrate. She highlights the prominence of disability in the Bible, including Isaac's blindness and Timothy's "frequent ailments," to suggest that her body, like theirs, "is a temple for the Holy Spirit." Kenny criticizes the concept of curing disability, writing that she considers her disability an intrinsic part of her identity and finds it offensive when people remark that "there are no wheelchairs in heaven." She details the "mosquito bites" she gets from microaggressions, including when people use such slurs as lame or tell her, "You're such an inspiration." Pointing out that texting was first developed for Deaf people, Kenny suggests that prioritizing the disabled community benefits everyone. With humorous prose and wry wit, Kenny makes a convincing case for all Christians to do more to meet access needs and embrace disabilities as part of God's kingdom, rather than treat them as "glitches." Inclusivity-minded Christians will cheer the lessons laid out here.
