MXp

From MMN: - See foot note - we have received this Report below with Greetings from Chacko Thomas. The Report is about the 650 million disableds in the world. Read, reflect and proact in your fellowship...

Mission Xp
Dag Selander
editor 

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THE WORLD'S MOST UNREACHED PEOPLE
- About the 650 million disabled people -
by Chacko Thomas

I have just participated in a challenging conference about disabled people and their families, hosted by George Verwer in London.

Guest speaker Paul Dicken of "Through the Roof" ministry explained that their organisation's name came from the story in Mark 2:1-12. You will remember how four men got their paralytic friend to Jesus by lowering him down through the roof - a beautiful story of partnership.

Mr. Dicken quoted the World Health Organisation statement that there are 650 million disabled people in the world – about 11% of the world’s population. If these people all came together and formed one nation, he said, it would be the third largest one on earth, after China and India.

Because of the way the disabled people are perceived and treated, the residents of this “nation” would also be the least educated, with the highest unemployment rate and the least access to transportation. This disabled nation would also have the most broken marriages, with either their partner leaving or their parents breaking up because of them. Most profoundly, this would be the least evangelised nation on earth, with few having any involvement in churches.

Followers of many religions regard people with disabilities as cursed or suffering for their sins, the sins of a past life or even the sins of their parents (Asian religions). As a result, parents and relatives are embarrassed to have them around. Disabled individuals suffer a huge amount of rejection in our societies. Their own self-respect is often seriously eroded. Note that the Biblical character Mephibosheth, though born into Saul's royal family, called himself "a dead dog" (See John 9:1-5, 2. Samuel 9:8).

Unfortunately the situation in our churches is not much more positive. Some believers are actually guilty, after praying for a disabled person, of accusing them of lack of faith when they are not healed.  Quadriplegic Joni Erickson Tada has had people tell her there must be sin in her life because she hasn't recovered. Praise God that though disabled she is a gifted Christian celebrity, effectively bringing dignity to others like herself.

One of the best-known stories in the Bible is that of the great banquet, found in Luke 14. Here we read about the master, who ordered the servant, "Go out quickly into the streets and the alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame so that my house may be full" (Luke 14:16-23).  God's house will not be complete without people with disabilities. True Christianity tells these men and women that God loves them, and reaches out to restore their sense of worth.

Debbie Meroff, who writes for OM international communications, shared briefly about a recent visit to Tajikistan and Afghanistan. She reported that there are many disabled people in the Middle East and Central Asia, including Afghanistan.  One woman she met had 10 children from the age of 2 to 22.  She had married her cousin at the age of 14. Six of her children were either deaf, deaf mute, or hearing impaired as a result of intermarriage within the immediate family - an all-too-common practice.
What really moved me was to hear of an Englishman, a Cambridge graduate, born with no legs and only one arm, cheerfully serving in Tajikistan as an English teacher. John had refused to allow his severe disabilities to become an excuse for not serving God on the front lines. And the Tajik people loved him for it.

Paul Dicken made it powerfully clear that the greatest need was not so much to add expensive ramps or lifts to our buildings, but to change the attitudes of both churchgoers and all of society. He encouraged us to ask ourselves some hard questions.  What is God's heart for the world of disability? What is the Biblical view of disability? What simple things can we do improve their quality of life?  What can we do to bring a message of hope to disabled people and their families? How can we demonstrate that God loves them, the whole person, both practically and spiritually? In what ways can we promote disability awareness in the church and the world? It could revolutionise our churches if we read the Bible through once just to find out what it says about disability.  Our churches need to become disability friendly.

How can we ensure that mentally and physically disabled individuals are comfortable in our churches, enjoying equal rights with other attenders?  "I want a church that will allow me to be a person with a disability," one person told Paul Dicken.  

One person raised the question of healing. "The choice of when that person looks to God for healing is theirs," Paul stated firmly. He shared about a church in Northern Ireland that is a tremendous example of what can be done. In response to a challenge when Joni Erickson Tada visited them, the congregation now includes about a hundred people worshipping God from their wheelchairs as well as dozens with other disabilities.

George Verwer concluded the luncheon conference with a characteristic challenge. "God has convicted me for not being proactive enough about disabled ministries," he confessed.  He urged his audience to pray and take the initiative in reaching out to the disabled.  He exhorted us to research and become grace-awakened towards those who are slow to catch the vision.  His final encouragement was to persevere in the face of all obstacles, for this is an issue none of us can afford to ignore.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Through the Roof, PO BOX 353, Epsom, Surrey KT18, 5WS, UK
email: Through The Roof. website: Welcome to TTR

Chacko Thomas, Operation Mobilisation, Co-ordinator,
Missions Mobilisation Network, PO Box 660, Forest Hill,
London SE23 3ST, United Kingdom - Email:   MMN - Website: MMN