Disability and the Way of Jesus - by Bethany McKinney Fox (Paperback)

About the Book

What does healing mean for people with disabilities? Bridging biblical studies, ethics, and disability studies with the work of practitioners, Bethany McKinney Fox examines healing narratives in their biblical and cultural contexts. This theologically grounded and winsomely practical resource helps us more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities.

Book Synopsis

• 2019 IVP Readers' Choice Award

What does healing mean for people with disabilities?The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus offering physical healing. But even as churches today seek to follow the way of Jesus, people with disabilities all too often experience the very opposite of healing and life-giving community: exclusion, judgment, barriers. Misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical healing narratives can do great damage, yet those who take the Bible seriously mustn't avoid these passages either.Bethany McKinney Fox believes that Christian communities are better off when people with disabilities are an integral part of our common life. In Disability and the Way of Jesus, she considers how the stories of Jesus' healings can guide us toward mutual thriving.How did Jesus' original audience understand his works of healing, and how should we relate to these texts today? After examining the healing narratives in their biblical and cultural contexts, Fox considers perspectives from medical doctors, disability scholars, and pastors to more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities. Personal reflections from Christians with disabilities are featured throughout the book, which concludes with suggestions for concrete practices adaptable to a variety of church settings.Bridging biblical studies, ethics, and disability studies with the work of practitioners, Fox provides a unique resource that is both theologically grounded and winsomely practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus provides new lenses on holistic healing for scholars, laypeople, and ministry leaders who care about welcoming all people as Jesus would.

Review Quotes

"Bethany McKinney Fox has provided the contemporary church with an indispensable guide for extending Jesus' holistic healing ministry for people with disabilities in analogically faithful and appropriate ways. Disability and the Way of Jesus will give many of us new lenses and free our imaginations from cultural impairments that all too often exclude those with disabilities from experiencing Jesus' multidimensional, miraculous power in our midst. All of us who take to heart, head, and hands the Gospel accounts of Jesus' healing ministry that this volume so ably conveys for the present time, will gain new access to Jesus' transformative touch."

--Paul Louis Metzger, professor of theology and culture, Multnomah University and Seminary, author of Consuming Jesus

"Disability comes not in one but many forms, so it should not be surprising that the message of Jesus as healer is good news to people with disabilities in more ways than just that they might be cured (what temporarily able-bodied people, those not disabled, usually presume). Disability and the Way of Jesus shows how different first century and contemporary readings of the Gospels envision holistic healing and empowers the church to live more fully into such good news so it can be a more welcoming space for all people."

--Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Theological Seminary

"With a working knowledge of multiple disciplines, including biblical criticism, pastoral care, philosophy of medicine, disability studies, and the history of the Christian tradition, Dr. Bethany Fox has managed to create a work that is both erudite and deeply practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus is relevant and incisive, drawing the biblical narrative into conversation with voices of persons today who have encountered the church as unhealing. Sensitive to multiple perspectives, yet critical of the status quo, this book challenges readers to consider how we can better understand healing as it relates to persons with disabilities. Eloquent yet simply written, this book is essential reading for pastors, teachers, and anyone wishing to create more inclusive and welcoming churches."

--Devan Stahl, assistant professor of clinical ethics, Michigan State University

About the Author

Bethany McKinney Fox (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the director of student success and adjunct professor of Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary. She has worked previously at San Francisco Theological Seminary, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and L'Arche Wavecrest. Fox lives in Los Angeles, where she is a founding pastor at Beloved Everybody Church.