Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion

IVP Readers' Choice Award

Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. While this revelation helped him understand and process his own experience, it also prompteda difficult re-evaluation of who he was as a person. And as a pastor, it started him on a new path of considering the way disabled people are treated in the church.

Disability and the Church is a practical and theological reconsideration of the church's responsibilities to the disabled community. Too often disabled persons are pushed away from the church or made to feel unwelcome in any number of ways. As Hardwick writes, "This should not be." He insists that the good news of Jesus affirms God's image in all people, and he offers practical steps and strategies to build stronger, truly inclusive communities of faith.

Lamar Hardwick (DMin, Liberty University), also known as "the autism pastor," is the lead pastor at Tri-Cities Church in East Point, Georgia. He writes and speaks frequently on the topic of disability, especially autism, and he is also the authorof the best-selling I Am Strong: The Life and Journey of an Autistic Pastor.