Lamar Hardwick's Blog, page 12

A Conversation About The Cost Of Special Needs Ministry — Key Ministry

Creating a church that is truly inclusive will come with a cost. Wanting a

return on investment is not inherently wrong, but when it comes to the fear

of being able to finance a special needs ministry, the most important thing

to focus on is where the repayment will come from.

— Read on www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2019/2/25/a-conversation-about-the-cost-of-special-needs-ministry

Our Churches Are Incomplete If People with Disabilities Don’t Have Opportunities to Serve — Key Ministry

Making the shift from doing ministry for persons with disabilities to doing

ministry with persons with disabilities can be done in three simple ways.

— Read on www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2018/7/12/our-churches-are-incomplete-if-people-with-disabilities-dont-have-opportunities-to-serve

Pastors: Here’s Three Reasons To Be Thankful For Your Special Needs Ministry Leaders — Key Ministry

Pastor and leaders: if you have a special needs ministry team please show

them the same love and appreciation that Paul shares with the church of

Thessalonica. It is their faithful work, loving deeds, and enduring hope

that is often the engine that secretly powers the mission and purpose of

Christ in your congregation.

— Read on www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2019/1/3/pastors-heres-three-reasons-to-be-thankful-for-your-special-needs-ministry-leaders

Wheat, Weeds, and Why God Won’t Heal Me.

Almost one year ago I received a DM from someone on twitter asking me if I had read a recently released article about a woman claiming to be responsible for healing a child from autism. Several minutes later I fielded several DM’s from a number of people in the autism community both adults and parents, that found the article and claims problematic.

What most people found problematic was the assertion that autism was analogous to demon possession and that it assumed that those with disabilities were incapable of belonging to God.

I agreed and when people looked to me as an autism advocate, pastor, and public theologian to respond I felt the need to provide a response.

I don’t often make public statements regarding a number of matters simply because I want to be thoughtful and informed when lending my voice to public matters.

After a few days of prayer, reflection, and dialogue with trusted scholars and pastors, I responded with an article of my own.

Although the article is nearly a year old, I have recently received feed back regarding my stance and/or position on the role of divine healing. I will acknowledge that the feedback was gracious and non-combative, yet it did challenge my theology in a way that misrepresented my thoughts and words.

To be clear, I believe that God is capable of anything that the Biblical text describes as an attribute of God. In my article I encouraged the readers to engage in the critical questions of God’s role in human suffering including super natural healing. Yet I am afraid that in our humanity we often cling tightly to ideas presented in the Biblical text that are not incorrect but are often times incomplete.

One of my favorite expressions of the Christian faith is found in the Westminster Shorter Catechism.

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

For me what that means is that any and all of God’s ability, including divine healing, serves only one purpose. The glorification of God. To the same end however if the chief purpose is for God to be the recipient of glory than God fully reserves the right and authority to use any vehicle necessary to achieve humanities chief end including the presence of disability.

Simply put, Jesus did not heal everyone therefore healing has to be evaluated as but only one tool that God uses to expose the world to his glory. A study of the ministry of Jesus will show that the majority of his miracles, particularly the healing of the disabled, occurred in the early stages of his ministry. Often times the primary goal was to establish a means for those persons to re-enter the community that had isolated them because of their disability.

The apostle Paul is one of the most well-known examples of God’s decision not to heal him of his “thorn” with the purpose of allowing Paul’s “weakness” to serve as the platform for God’s strength.

In the story of the four men who brought a lame man to Jesus, Jesus first response to the faith they placed in him was to offer the man entrance to the great community of faith through the forgiveness of his sins. It was only after those present questioned his authority to forgive sins did Jesus heal the man to “prove that he had the authority to forgive sins.”

What complicates our connection to the ministry of healing is our basic human assumptions about suffering, God’s role in suffering, and our rights as it pertains to suffering.

I believe that we have four basic assumptions that complicate our understanding of suffering.

1. Good people live and get good things.

2. Bad people live and get bad things.

3. Good and bad cannot co-exist.

4. If God exists and God is good then bad should not exist if God exists in us.

A few years ago the Barna Research group conducted a study. In it they asked a variety of people what one question they would ask God if they knew that God had to answer their question.

The top response, when categorized, was a question that related to the issue of human suffering. “Why is there pain and suffering in the world?”

Whether you are a follower of Christ or not, we all at some point have asked this question is some variation.

While I am not completely equating disabilities with suffering I am suggesting that the most human perspective of disability is one of a life of suffering either for the individual with a disability or the family or caregivers of those persons.

Dr. Peter John Kreft makes an insightful observation about our often limited perspective of suffering. He writes “..most objections to the existence of God from the problem of suffering come from the outside observers who are quite comfortable, whereas those who actually suffer are , as often as not, made into stronger believers by their suffering.”

Here’s a question that I have been forced to wrestle with over the last few years. “If my understanding of a person’s suffering, difference, or disability comes from the outside looking suggests limited understanding then how much more of my understanding of God’s view and role in human suffering is even more limited?

Jesus once told a story about God’s kingdom and God’s view of the unrelenting role of struggle and suffering in the life of his creation.

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God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. An enemy slips in at night and plants weeds. When the farmer’s employees discovered the weeds among the wheat they panicked and rushed to the farmer asking if they should tear the weeds up.

The response of the field owner suggests something about God’s view of the when and the why of fixing something that frustrates us. He tells them to allow the wheat and weeds to grow together because to uproot the weeds would damage the harvest. (Matthew 13:24-30)

Often times when I become frustrated with my sensory processing issues or when I silently envy my pastoral colleagues who are more social and more widely known because of their plethora of personal connections, I have to remind myself that much like the wheat and the weeds, my autism is a neurological issue that appears fine on the surface but beneath the surface is a tangled up system of roots that join together what makes me struggle and what makes me special.

Jesus says that in his wisdom the field owner (God) knew that the wheat had a harvest within it even with the weeds entangled at the roots far beneath the surface.

What I learned is that while God is capable of healing, my chief end is to glorify God and in my case and so many others God knows that healing me will only hurt the harvest he intends to get out of me.

Perhaps that’s why Paul shares his life with us when he says that God chose not to remove his thorn even after he prayed to be healed because God, whose view of human suffering is eternal, knows why he created us. To glorify him.

“Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,’ Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Jesus didn’t just come to bring healing to earth. He came to bring heaven to earth. Some may never be healed but they will always be his.

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I Am Strong: The Life and Journey of an Autistic Pastor by Dr. Lamar Hardwick: Available on Amazon.com

If you haven’t read my book you should. You won’t be disappointed!

If you have read it I would love for you to leave a review on Amazon. Reviews help give my book my exposure and in turn helps me to continue the work of helping churches become more inclusive of individuals and families in the disability community.

The more reviews I have the better!

I Am Strong: The Life and Journey of an Autistic Pastor [Dr. Lamar Hardwick] on Amazon.com. FREE shipping on qualifying offers. 1 IN 68 people have been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Instead of statistics

— Read on www.amazon.com/Am-Strong-Journey-Autistic-Pastor/dp/1632133342/ref=pd_sbs_14_1

Thank You New Community Church

“We always thank God for all of you and pray for you constantly.”

1 Thessalonians 1:2 NLT

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Happy New Year. I am praying for a blessed year for each of you. Let’s make 2019 an incredible year.

2019 will bring some major changes in my life and ministry. After eight plus years of serving at New Community Church in LaGrange I have answered God’s call to a new chapter of ministry.

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I love NCC. It is an incredible community of faith. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to serve as the pastor of this great church.

The book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time and season for everything. Ministry assignments are no different. My prayer has always been for God to place me where He can get the most out of me.

Eight years ago my family and I left the Atlanta area to answer that call.

I will never be able to say that I have served NCC perfectly. No pastor who is honest can ever claim to be the perfect leader. What I can say confidently is that I have served NCC faithfully. When you got me. You got everything that I had to offer.

One of the tasks of a pastor is to watch over the souls of those they pastor (Hebrews 13:17) To pastor is to carry the weight of this calling and all that it entails. It is a task that one must be certain they have been called to.

Eight years ago I was called to NCC. I have carried the weight of soul watching. Praying for and preaching to the people of our community. Serving on a stage and in the shadows. Doing my very best to allow God to have full reign over my life and my gifts.

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Pastoral transitions are never easy. Sadly in most cases the transition is the result of some tragic mistake or ministry mishap. My departure is not the result of any type of sin nor is it the result of my dissatisfaction with the church. In fact in the earliest stages of God’s instruction for me to end my season of ministry at NCC I found myself arguing with God. A lot.

If there’s is anything that I have learned over my nearly 18 years of ministry it is that we are free to disagree with God but we are never free to disobey God.

My submission to God’s call for my life doesn’t exempt me from the sadness of having to leave those who have become family to me and my family. Yet, I still find peace and comfort in knowing that God has a grand plan to continue the vision of his church. After all when Jesus declared he would build his church, he meant what he said.

That is why I am excited about the next season of life and ministry for NCC and for myself. Beginning January 20th I will assume the role of lead pastor of

Tri-Cities Church in East Point.

What I see at work is the expansion of God’s kingdom unfolding right before our eyes. The lessons and love that I have received from NCC will prove to be more than enough to share with my new church family.

To my New Community Church family. I love you more than words could ever express. As we approach my last Sunday as your pastor I want you to know that the celebration of our time together is much less about how I’ve served you and much more about how God used you to bring the very best out of me. For that I can never repay you.

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I love you because Jesus told me to. And I love you because you have loved me.

-Pastor L

Four Characteristics of Church Environments Ready to Welcome Special-Needs Families — Key Ministry

I have found that there are four characteristics of churches that already

have the type of environment that can over time serve as a foundation for

building a solid special-needs ministry for families who need their

support.

— Read on www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2018/8/9/characteristics-of-church-environments-ready-to-welcome-special-needs-families

Pastors, Here Are Three Ways to Preach Better Sermons About Disability — Key Ministry

Pastors, we have been tasked with telling the gospel story in ways that

paint a beautiful picture of God’s kingdom, a kingdom that includes the

disability community. Let’s preach messages that move our congregations to

become more inclusive.

— Read on www.keyministry.org/church4everychild/2018/12/6/pastors-here-are-three-ways-to-preach-better-sermons-about-disability

How Our “Thorns” Make Us Better

When I was younger, I dreamed of becoming many things. I can recall wanting to become everything from a professional athlete to a teacher or firefighter. The thing I most remember about my hopes and dreams as a child was not just what I wanted to become but who I wanted to become. I wanted to become an artist.

Becoming an artist is the dream of nearly every child. If you asked a room full of kindergarteners which of them believed that they could become a great artist many of them would believe that they already were great artists.

Children have such an enormous advantage when it comes to living lives full of faith, hope, love, and creativity. It’s almost as though the younger we are the more excited and hopeful we are about who we can become.

If you know my story, I wasn’t diagnosed with Asperger’s until I was 36 years old. As a child I struggled greatly with socialization, sensory processing, anxiety, and a host of other  challenges but until few years ago I had no idea that there was a reason for my struggles.

Those who noticed my challenges as a child weren’t always positive or affirming. In fact, there were many children and teachers who took my obvious struggles as a sign that my options of what I wanted to become would be very limited.

I am often asked if I believed having an autism diagnosis at an early age would have helped me. It’s hard to say. I’m sure some knowledge of where my challenges stemmed from would have been helpful. At the end of the day most people ask that question as a way of assessing whether I believed that being ignorant of my autism for decades has held me back in any way.

Perhaps early intervention would have played a role in setting me up for a different path but what I have determined to be true no matter what might have happened in the past is that even with all of the challenges I have had the one thing that autism has not stopped me from becoming is a better person.

One of my favorite passages in the Bible helped me to learn an incredible truth about my life, about disability, and about how to become the best version of me.

“So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.”

2 Corinthians 12:7 NLT

Paul is one of my biblical heroes. Until this time period of his life and ministry we really don’t know much about his personal life. And then Paul lets us in on a secret. He has a disability. While we don’t know for certain what his disability was, Paul makes mention that it is something that causes him physical discomfort and that it was a tremendous struggle that he describes as “torment.”

Whenever a disability is diagnosed or discovered our first and most natural response is to wonder and worry about all of the things that we will possibly never become. Sometimes staring into the face of life with a disability can cause us to lose our sense of faith, hope, love, and creativity.

Except Paul points to a startling revelation about faith and disability. While he doesn’t deny that he struggles greatly during seasons in his life he does openly express that the one thing that his disability cannot keep him from becoming is the best version of himself.

I won’t pretend to understand all that Paul had to endure and I won’t pretend to know what it feels like to be you or your loved one. What I am suggesting is that Paul seems to believe that his disability didn’t stop him from becoming the best version of himself, in fact he believed that it actually stopped him from becoming the worst version of himself.

“To keep me from becoming proud…”

Through his own personal torment comes a testimony of faith that teaches us all a great lesson. There is a reality that my struggle may influence many things but one thing my autism cannot make me become is the worst version of me.

With God there is no need for a 2nd edition of me. Autism won’t keep me from becoming a better husband or father or pastor. Autism and all the struggles that come with it may at times keep me from loud rooms and long meetings, but it won’t keep me from my best because I am exactly who I am supposed to be. I was born with all of the potential to become the most courageous and creative version of me that God always intended me.

“That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

You Need To Take A Seat

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Psalm 23:5 

I’m no stranger to exclusion.  I’ve lived the majority of my life either being excluded and more recently examining exclusive environments and advocating for those that are being excluded. Autism and disability rights and inclusion are my passion. The Christian church is my platform.

Most all of my thoughts, insights, and inspiration flow through those lenses. I love my faith. I love the church. I believe that the church was born for inclusion and with that task comes the responsibility of coming together at the table.

Psalm 23 has long been a source of comfort for our culture. Whether you are Christian or not you have  likely been exposed to one of King David’s most famous writings. We’re not exactly sure the context of the psalm but the influence of David’s short story about God as a shepherd is undeniable.

One of the most intriguing images  in this psalm is the image of a table, prepared with what we appears to be a sumptuous feast and is displayed in the presence of David’s enemies.

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Here’s what it gets tricky. The table is often an image used to communicate fellowship. It is the place where reconciliation and restoration is required. In the New Testament Jesus often uses the table of fellowship to reconcile religious and cultural indifference to outsiders, women, the disabled, the poor, and yes those whom were considered enemies.

When David transitions from the image of sheep in the psalm to the image of a table with empty seats it’s as though he is pointing to the need for a progression from the restlessness of worrying about my own daily needs to the responsibility of being conscious of the need to be an active participant in the ministry of reconciliation.

God is the host. God sets the table. God sends an invitation to the party of a life time, one staged with a feast for the ages and God, the good shepherd,  makes a choice not to invite our family or  friends, instead God invites us to enter into table fellowship with our foes.

After wandering the desert and being led into places of respite, after being given the honor and privilege to drink from the pool of peaceful streams and still waters, after having his very soul refreshed, God, David says, walks with him into a valley and asks him to have a seat at the table with someone who he doesn’t agree with.

Over my few years of autism and disability advocacy I have learned a valuable lesson. Inclusion of all kinds is not a priority in Christian communities because we have found our satisfaction in the safety of sameness.

The seats at our tables are reserved for people who are similar and while Jesus warns in the parable of the banquet about seating arrangements and guest lists, we still struggle to take our place at the valley table  because we are asked to sit with someone who is completely opposite from us.

I want to be clear here. This is not a post about autism or disability inclusion. It is about the current state of our faith, the church, and the power that politics has played in dividing us and how that is impacting our ability to be truly inclusive.

According to David, table fellowship with his opposite was the only place that he experienced an “overflowing cup” but our cups are not overflowing. Our cups are empty.  They are empty because we continue to overlook and over talk each other and our acceptance to God’s invitation to the table of reconciliation is long overdue.

We can’t continue to live this way. We can’t continue to do church this way. We can’t continue to damage our faith in this way. There are people who need to drink from our overflowing cups, there are people who need to experience our overflowing love for one another and instead of overflowing cups they find empty cups at empty tables with empty seats because we can’t find it within us to accept Gods invitation to a life of greater satisfaction and greater significance that can only be found at the table.

You see our greatest sin and greatest barrier to true inclusion can only be resolved at the table. It is our arrogance that drives us away from the table and away from each other. Our arrogance gives birth to ignorance of one another as fellow bearers of God’s image because our arrogance won’t allow us to share a table to listen, to learn, and to love those who are different from us.

If we don’t sit we won’t be satisfied and our faith will not be significant. Our churches will be as empty as our cups, our faith will continue to be shallow and we will never surface from the shadows of the valley of death.

We don’t have to be the same but we do have to be together.

If you want to be blessed don’t be stubborn, be seated. The table is set.

-Pastor L

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