Reviewed by: Connor Salter, a Professional Writing student at Taylor University, Upland, IN.

Introduction

Title: Disabling Mission, Enabling Witness: Exploring Missiology Through the Lens of Disability Studies

Author: Benjamin T. Conner

Publisher: IVP Academic (InterVarsity Press)

Publication Date: 2018

Format: Paperback

Length: 176 pages

OVERVIEW

People who have disabilities are one of the largest groups that American churches neglect. Using his experience working with various people who have disabilities and his academic research into disability studies, Benjamin T. Conner unpacks the theological ideas that fuel this neglect. Along the way, he suggests how missiology (the study of missions work) provides tools for changing this situation and the benefits Christian academics (and more generally churches) will find when they readily accept people with disabilities.

Like all books published under the IVP Academic imprint, this book is a scholarly work. As such, readers who don’t have experience reading academic texts will have a hard time appreciating its ideas. For scholarly minded readers, though, the book presents plenty of worthwhile ideas. Conner draws on insights from various sources, from Deaf Culture to Eastern Orthodox iconography, to present a compelling case that people with disabilities have much more to offer the church than most Christians realize.

ASSESSMENT

Rating (1 to 5 stars)

5 stars

Suggested Audience

Christian scholars hoping to learn more about disability studies and its connections to ministry or theology.

Christian Impact

This book will give readers a new perspective on people with disabilities and encourage them to seek new kinds of healthy engagement with them.

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