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    Shout for Joy!
    Shout for Joy!
    Shout for Joy!
    Ebook57 pages41 minutes

    Shout for Joy!

    By Karen Roberts

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Do you long to be part of a church community where people of all abilities gather to worship, a church where the sounds of worship include a wheelchair rolling down the aisle, the tap of a cane, and the sound of people with differing intellectual disabilities lifting their voices together in praise and prayer? If so, we pray that Shout for Joy! will help your church have a heart for worship that is accessible to all and give you some practical “how-to” ideas as well. God is at work in his church as more and more churches are becoming irresistible—authentic communities built on the hope of Christ where people affected by disability are compelled to fully belong and encounter God as the community gathers in worship.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherJoni and Friends
    Release dateJan 18, 2017
    ISBN9781946237071
    Shout for Joy!

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      Book preview

      Shout for Joy! - Karen Roberts

      Worship: A Conversation Initiated by God

      What an amazing thought that God, the Creator of the universe, invites each one of us to enter his presence through worship. Worship can be described as a conversation between the Good Shepherd and his people, the sheep of his pasture. We respond to his invitation with shouts of joy and glad hearts because we are invited into relationship with our Creator and with our fellow sheep. Sometimes worship is a very personal conversation between God and an individual; at other times worship is a conversation that takes place between God and a community gathered in worship.

      Fellow Sheep

      Six years ago, I met a young man named Paul at a Joni and Friends Family Retreat. Paul was born with physical limitations that made it difficult for him to breathe, and he spent much of his time in a wheelchair. Paul loved to worship the Lord and lead others in worship. While Paul was unable to physically stand in worship, his mind and spirit rose as he lifted his voice to sing his favorite hymns and songs of praise.

      During a time of worship Paul asked his buddy if she would be willing to kneel before the Lord on his behalf because he was unable to get out of his wheelchair to do so. What a powerful request! I learned a lot about worship from this young man. I am physically able to kneel before the Lord whenever I want, and yet I often do not.

      Unfortunately, it is not hard for me to imagine a scenario in which that request never met my ears or strengthened my heart. There are many Pauls in the body of Christ, and yet many of them are unseen, unnoticed, or unwelcomed by the church. Few churches are equipped and prepared to welcome families affected by disability and accommodate their needs, even for an hour on Sunday. Few people feel prepared to walk together with them in a communal journey of faith and worship. And yet, despite the challenges associated with disability, my own faith story and that of our local Joni and Friends office would have a gaping hole and would feel incomplete without Paul and those like him. To not know Paul would mean missing part of our story, part of the body of Christ, part of the kingdom of God here on Earth.

      Do you long to be part of a church community that welcomes people like Paul? Do you long to be part of a church community where people of all abilities enter his presence, uniting their voices and hearts in praise and thanksgiving? A church community where the sounds of worship include a wheelchair rolling down the aisle, the tap of a cane, and the sound of people with differing intellectual disabilities lifting their voices in praise and prayer?¹ If so, we pray this book will help you and your whole church engage in worship that is accessible and welcoming to all of God’s children.

      If you are a pastor, a worship leader, a musician, a parent of a child with special needs, a person with a disability: be encouraged. God is at work in his Church. More and more churches are becoming Irresistible: authentic communities built on the hope of Christ that compel people affected by disability to fully belong. To fully belong includes entering God’s presence as the community gathers in worship.

      A Journey of Attitudes

      Dan Vander Plaats, Director of Advancement of Elim

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