Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality

by Thomas E. Reynolds

As parents of a son with disabilities, Thomas E. Reynolds and his wife know what it's like to be misunderstood by a church community. In Vulnerable Communion, Reynolds draws upon that personal experience and a diverse body of literature to empower churches and individuals to foster deeper hospitality toward persons with disabilities. Reynolds argues that the Christian story is one of strength coming from weakness, of wholeness emerging from brokenness, and of power in vulnerability. He offers valuable biblical, theological, and pastoral tools to understand and welcome those with disabilities. Vulnerable Communion will be a useful resource for any student, theologian, church leader, or lay person seeking to discover the power of God revealed through weakness.

Genres: Theology, Disability, Nonfiction, Faith, Religion, Christianity, Social Justice

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2008

Reviews

[Eric Targe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps one of the best books available for beginning to develop a theology of disability. Reynolds exposes the common but often faulty framework used by the church and society broadly for how we value one another calling it “body capitol”, this form of social capitalism has hindered the church in valuing members of all abilities in the way Christ sets forth in Luke 14. While this book is exposing it is likewise constructive and revealing of a biblical framework in how we might renew our minds so that we might welcome all who Christ commanded to sit at our King’s table. I highly recommend this deep and profound book.

[Chloe Keene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a flagship work on disability and Christianity, and as such, it is dense. It's an academic work, but it's so worth the read. It digs down deep into some of the problematic ways we view and engage with disability in the Church, and it really challenged me. I'd recommend it for sure.

[Cow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful reframing of disability and hospitality, and what it means to be a community and in communion with each other. I started to summarize the argument, and realized it would take pages, and that isn't really what a review is. So I will instead say that this deeply challenged both my idea of community and of love, and added a new dimension to what I think of love as. In my write-up for friends, I brought in both a Star Trek metaphor and an MMO allegory in order to best explain those ideas. This book will reshape the way you think of these things and hopefully challenge you to better.

My reading of this book started when a member of our community stood up and challenged us all. 20% of the populace is disabled, she said, and of course some disabilities are invisible, but even taking for that... do you look around our community and see anywhere near 20%? If not, it is our community that is broken. The 'all are welcome' on the door clearly has asterisks if a fifth of the population doesn't feel welcome enough to enter the door. As someone struggling with invisible disabilities and often finding myself unwelcome, I cheered this on. I asked her where we should go from here; she is a student of the author of this book, and recommended it to me.

She was right.

Chapters 1-4 look at disability, community, and rejecting the 'cult of normalcy'. Chapter 5 is a deep dive into theology that, given I am not a Ph.D. or D.Div. student, kinda glazed over. Chapter 6 is where he ties these together into a new understanding of love -- both the human and the divine -- and Chapter 7 is where he argues for a new understanding of living in community that truly includes everyone.

[Joe Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The father of a teenage son with special needs, Reynolds "seeks to reflect theologically on how Christians might think differently about disability and act differently toward people with disabilities" (10). He believes the key is a Christlike spirit of hospitality, and he seeks to describe what true hospitality is, especially with respect to disabled people.

Most of the book is a wide-ranging philosophical treatise on personhood and community, which does lay a helpful foundation for Reynolds' discussion of hospitality in the final chapter. However, being the stepfather of a special-needs son myself (ironically, bearing the same name as Reynolds' son), I hoped to see more direct application of these philosophical concepts to the practical question of how a congregation can best welcome a disabled person into its daily life.

[Jenny-Flore Boston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reynolds is philosophical and thorough in his writing, covering a large range of topics regarding disability and what it means to have a vulnerable God. This philosophical bent however leads to some unclarity regarding some of his arguments to the point where it seems like he contradicts himself. Nevertheless, it is a thought provoking book and there are many topics I will think of in the future regarding ministry to people with disabilities.

[Matthew Loftus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longer than it needed to be, with many digressions into theology that didn't seem to bear much relevance to the topic at hand. Bends over backwards to problematize excessively and make disability "not a deficit" in any conceivable way, which leads to more questions than answers. Still a helpful introduction to important topics with regard to theology and disability.

[anna faith adair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the most comprehensive thought I have seen to disabled people living and interacting in the Christian world. This book matters. Would have loved to hear Chris's voice, but made my disabled self feel very seen.

[Stephen Bedard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must-read for anyone interested in disability theology. Not only is it deeply theological, it is also very engaging, as the author brings in his own life experience into it