David C. Deuel and Nathan G John (Eds.), Disability in Mission: The Church’s Hidden Treasure

Abstract

Evangelical, western-based mission agencies typically discourage people with disabilities from serving in global missions. They say the Kingdom of God is rapidly advancing, so there is no time to slow down or care for missionaries who cannot keep up. Disability in Mission counters this common disposition by arguing that the Missio Dei operates by different values that elevate people with disabilities as leaders on the mission field: God values interdependence, not self-sufficiency; faith, not ingenuity; weakness, not strength; faithfulness, not effectiveness. God works most powerfully through human weakness, and who embodies human weakness quite like people with disabilities? The contributors to this edited volume argue that disability is not a distraction from mission, but a powerful means for God to transform missionaries, mission agencies, and the communities they serve. Disability is an invitation to surrender the false idol of the self-sufficient missionary. “Mission,” as one contributor writes, “is a life laid down” (p. 53). The contributors come from different countries, minister in different cultures, and have different relationships to disability. Some contributors have disabilities, some have children with disabilities, and others simply sense God’s call to live and minister with people with disabilities. What binds the contributors together is the common experience of God’s power in disability and the call to mission work on their own lives. Their shared experience forms their biblical and theological reflections, allowing the volume to have a unified voice and message. This unity in message from various contributors is one of the volume’s core strengths. One of the chapters that best captures this message is Dave Deuel’s narration of Paul Kasonga’s life and ministry (pp. 73-81). Kasonga was from the Lambas people in current day Zambia. After his conversion as a teenager, he contracted leprosy which resulted in many disabilities that remained until his death in 1954. Nevertheless, Kasonga was a prolific writer, Bible translator, and minister who served others in to all people regardless of abilities. For lay Christians, this book would ground their perspectives biblically concerning why people with disabilities need to be included in the Church. I would have preferred more practical handles for how lay people might partner with fellow brothers and sisters with disabilities to feel welcomed and stay rooted in their local church community. Other than that, I warmly recommend this book as a compelling introduction and guide to anyone on the journey of inclusion of people with disabilities within a church community.