I think there is a need for the evangelical church to redefine what evidence of faith is. I am not familiar enough with the rites of more liturgical communities but, among main stream evangelicals, I have observed the most common check point for an individual's spiritual journey to be the "sinner's prayer". One version is as follows:
Dear Lord Jesus,
I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that You died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as Lord and Savior.In Jesus' name. Amen.
In many groups, repeating this prayer, combined with an alter call and the date of the event written in the back of one's Bible, is the fundamental requirement for salvation. I have seen this prayer be the first step to a changed life. On the other hand, I have seen "the prayer" prayed in large groups with more importance placed on a preacher's need to feel effective than sensitivity given to impact on each individual. Because of this myriad of individual situations, I am nearly convinced the invitation to this life altering decision should only be done one on one, relationally.
The tailoring necessary when presenting Christ's message is never more evident than when sharing it with an individual with disabilities. Presenting the message and attaching meaning to a person's response requires an intimate knowledge of the individual. This week I stood by the bedside of a dying family member, her ability to communicate cut off by a stroke. Major issues of unforgiveness stared us in the face. By her own admission before the stroke, the gospel had been both shared and lived out before her. She had made a few inquiries but her curiosity had led to no decision regarding her own spiritual state. Now she had no voice, no control, not power to effect even the most rudimentary of communication. When a prayer was voiced in her presence crying out for her to release her bitterness and accept what Christ had done for her, her first attempt at movement in days was made - a jerky attempt to grab my hand. Professional clergy do not know my relative like I do. That hand jerk would have been overlooked. I knew it for what it was, a positive, receptive response.
When there are barriers to communicating due to a disability, the sinners prayer is often impractical. This strips from a well trained evangelical a rite he considers to be cornerstone for beginning a new life spiritually. Without the sinners prayer as a starting point, it is easy to adopt the unspoken default position that God somehow grandfathers individuals with disabilities into the kingdom. Instead of wrestling through the the theology of such an assumption, many just turn and continue to focus on those they feel can be impacted and in turn make an impact - i.e. those who can repeat the sinners prayer and get others to repeat it. We need to seriously wrestle with what it means to present the gospel to the disabled, especially for those who face great barriers to communication. We need to give just as much thought to what it means for them to respond. No doubt it will challenge us to ponder our own response as well.
Arlyn Kantz
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