Accessibility
While standing on the rooftop of an orphanage in Haiti, a group of my fellow seminary students were tasked with leading Worship. Many of the precious children were not only orphaned, but were facing physical and/or mental limitations. The majority of them were in wheelchairs and some of them were unable to speak. Also, Wings of Hope is an orphanage in the poorest country in the Western hemisphere. When Jesus talks about “the least of these” it doesn’t get more unfortunate than this group of kiddos. Of course, you wouldn’t know that talking to them. All the children wear smiles and they would tell you that every day is a gift. Suffering is about perspective and it’s important to remember that there’s always someone who’s got it worse.
When asked to lead Worship, I immediately recognized how different Worship would need to be. Planning Worship posed a challenge and certainly forced me out of my comfort zone. There would be no bulletins, no shaking hands, no standing, and definitely no intellectually complex sermons. I begin to quickly realize how many barriers we create that prevent people from experiencing God in Worship. Able-ism in the Church is so very real. If we have no physical or mental obstacles to overcome, then it’s easy to take for granted how privileged we are.
The question remained, how were my peers and I going to create a barrier-free Worship that is accessible to all abilities? The apostle Paul knew the importance of truly meeting people where they were. He mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:4–5 that there are “different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit,” and “different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” It was a central part of Paul’s evangelistic strategy that “for the weak he became weak” (9:22). This is the Paul-like kind of thinking that wins hearts and allows the Gospel to flourish. In order to accomplish our goal of creating a meaningful experience with God. Within the Church, we must resist the impulse to judge those outside the Church and begin thinking about effective ways to make the Gospel more accessible.
Ultimately, it was music that united us and brought God into Worship on that rooftop in Haiti. As the sun was setting, I can still hear the voices of the children bellowing the tune out of pitch and without diction. It sounded horrible, but that wasn’t the point. Every kid was giving it their all, singing at the top of their lungs. God was overwhelmingly present as we sang. What I felt that night, I wanted every Christian to experience. I was the polar opposite from those children in nearly every aspect of life, yet it is the where I felt God present the most. To be honest, I’ve been chasing the feeling of that night ever since.
The missional question for the Church is simple, “who are we called to serve and how do we best serve them?” Before we can share the story of Jesus with everyone, we must first bulldoze the hurdles that we put-up. Our hurdles keep people from experiencing God. I promise, God will show up, whether the Church is involved or not. The question is how does the Church facilitate, and give recognition to, the God-encounters that we experience in the world. As we live-out our faith with other people also longing to have a relationship with God, it is my prayer that God may lead us to introduce them to Jesus in new and fresh ways. In ways that speak to them. In ways that are in-tune with their needs and abilities. God shows up when nothing stands between us.
I’ll meet you on that rooftop,
Pastor Lucas
