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Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church
What does healing mean for people with disabilities?
The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus offering physical healing. But even as churches today seek to follow the way of Jesus, people with disabilities all too often experience the very opposite of healing and life-giving community: exclusion, judgment, barriers. Misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical healing narratives can do great damage, yet those who take the Bible as authoritative mustn't avoid these passages either.
Bethany McKinney Fox believes that Christian communities are better off when people with disabilities are an integral part of our common life. In Disability and the Way of Jesus, she considers how the stories of Jesus' healings can guide us toward mutual thriving.
How did Jesus' original audience understand his works of healing, and how should we relate to these texts today? After examining the healing narratives in their biblical and cultural contexts, Fox considers perspectives from medical doctors, disability scholars, and pastors to more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities. Personal reflections from Christians with disabilities are featured throughout the book, which concludes with suggestions for concrete practices adaptable to a variety of church settings.
Bridging biblical studies, ethics, and disability studies with the work of practitioners, Fox provides a unique resource that is both theologically grounded and winsomely practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus provides new lenses on holistic healing for scholars, laypeople, and church and parachurch leaders who care about welcoming all people as Jesus would.
The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus offering physical healing. But even as churches today seek to follow the way of Jesus, people with disabilities all too often experience the very opposite of healing and life-giving community: exclusion, judgment, barriers. Misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical healing narratives can do great damage, yet those who take the Bible as authoritative mustn't avoid these passages either.
Bethany McKinney Fox believes that Christian communities are better off when people with disabilities are an integral part of our common life. In Disability and the Way of Jesus, she considers how the stories of Jesus' healings can guide us toward mutual thriving.
How did Jesus' original audience understand his works of healing, and how should we relate to these texts today? After examining the healing narratives in their biblical and cultural contexts, Fox considers perspectives from medical doctors, disability scholars, and pastors to more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities. Personal reflections from Christians with disabilities are featured throughout the book, which concludes with suggestions for concrete practices adaptable to a variety of church settings.
Bridging biblical studies, ethics, and disability studies with the work of practitioners, Fox provides a unique resource that is both theologically grounded and winsomely practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus provides new lenses on holistic healing for scholars, laypeople, and church and parachurch leaders who care about welcoming all people as Jesus would.
224 pages, Paperback
Published May 28, 2019
28 people are currently reading
373 people want to read
About the author
Bethany McKinney Fox
1 book15 followersBethany McKinney Fox (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the founding leader of Beloved Everybody, an ability-inclusive community in Los Angeles. She has worked previously at Fuller Theological Seminary, San Francisco Theological Seminary, First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, and L'Arche Wavecrest.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 17, 2022
Bethany McKinney Fox's book is such a gift to the church. The opening chapter was worth the price of the book! It shifted the way I think about disability. Each chapter addressed Jesus' healing ministry from a different angle -- first century context, medical perspective, disabled persons' perspective, and pastors' perspective -- followed by chapters on the seven marks of healing in the way of Jesus and seven ways this can be lived out in the church. Although the first six chapters focus primarily on physical disabilities, the final chapter offers many ideas for including people with intellectual disabilities in the church. One of Fox's big ideas is that inclusion of people with disabilities is not simply an act of compassion modeled after Jesus, but that people with disabilities have so much to offer the church. She advocates for full inclusion of people with disabilities in the decision-making and ministries of the church and challenges us to re-think our services so that they are less reliant on verbal proclamation and more holistic and multi-sensory. I'm grateful for her careful thinking and clear vision. It's usefulness goes being the church -- this book has given me much to think about with regard to college classroom instruction and campus life. It was well worth the read!
May 20, 2022
I loved this book as it scratched both the itches of disability theology and biblical studies. The stories of Jesus healing people with disabilities in the Gospels can be problematic for some people with disabilities today. But Christians who take the Bible seriously can't ignore them. This book is a thoughtful look at these passages and how we can understand them without demeaning those with disabilities.
March 7, 2025
I don’t have words to describe how much I loved this book. It was the perfect level of academic for me, and I LOVE how clearly she structured and outlined it. She said exactly what she was going to talk about and why, and then did it. It was organized so clearly and I actually love how much it made me think of writing my own dissertation (I don’t actually know if this was her dissertation, but it felt like it could have been.) So five stars for structure and organization, and a million stars for content. I wish I could soak in and live out every word on these pages. This book made me love Jesus and all of his people more deeply and more faithfully. This book inspires me that with humble listening and a faithful posture of seeking to learn and understand, with our holy imaginations our churches can be better.
June 16, 2019
I picked it up because it is addressing an important subject: how we should look at healing; better ways to approach people who have disabilities or disease; and what wholeness really means. Bethany McKinney Fox, director of student success and adjunct professor of Christian ethics at Fuller Theological Seminary, has compiled an interesting approach to the subject in her new paperback, "Disability and the Way of Jesus: Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church". This intriguing volume is readable, moves fairly quickly through its material, and helpfully addresses "a framework for Christian communities to be places of healing in the way of Jesus, with particular attention to members with disabilities," which the author believes is found in our Lord's own life and ministry (4).
Fox begins with a chapter that examines models that have been, and are being, employed in understanding disease and disability. She gives readers a better sense of what was going on in the first century, and what is happening in the twenty-first. In the next chapter the author then moves deeper into what our Lord was up to in his context when he healed. She observes that based on Jesus' words and ways, then "in our contemporary practices of healing, we need to pay attention to the symbolic world we inhabit and work within it to show how the kingdom of God is transforming what we think of as normal too" (46).
The meat and potatoes of "Disability and the Way of Jesus" comes in the middle three chapters. Fox takes on a highly stimulating approach to the subject. She examines the works of several Christian physicians pulling out the ways they interpret Jesus' healings in the gospel accounts. Then she surveys some writers who are engaged in disability studies, disability rights, and/or are disabled themselves, and how they read the stories of healing in the gospels. Finally, the author probes seven pastors from various traditions, interviewing each to see the way they handle those healing passages in Jesus' life. These three chapters truly were the main course, and the author productively achieves her desired end of "exploring the interpretations of Gospel healing narratives from medical doctors, people with disabilities, pastors, and others connected to the disability community...not to find the one right hermeneutic and toss out all the others. Rather...to notice how each perspective brought to light certain aspects of the text in a valuable way" (135). The final two chapters are where Fox gives her "Seven Marks of Healing in Action," and leaves the reader pondering possibilities and plans.
"Disability and the Way of Jesus" is a good place to begin scrutinizing how we and our churches can truly be part of the "healing way of Jesus". There were spots that disappointed me. Such as Fox's idea that we need to completely revamp or adapt our ways of worship to welcome a broader variety of worshipers, and specifically those with disability, and to not do so is idolatry (190). I understand the sentiment, but find the assertion and accusation too much in line with pragmatism and utilitarianism. Overall, if the reader will allow Fox to stretch them and their perception, they will find this much-needed work worthwhile. Even with my one criticism, I highly recommend the book.
Thanks to IVP Academic. At my request they sent a copy of the book used for this review, and asked nothing more from me than an honest review. My assessments are freely made and freely given.
Fox begins with a chapter that examines models that have been, and are being, employed in understanding disease and disability. She gives readers a better sense of what was going on in the first century, and what is happening in the twenty-first. In the next chapter the author then moves deeper into what our Lord was up to in his context when he healed. She observes that based on Jesus' words and ways, then "in our contemporary practices of healing, we need to pay attention to the symbolic world we inhabit and work within it to show how the kingdom of God is transforming what we think of as normal too" (46).
The meat and potatoes of "Disability and the Way of Jesus" comes in the middle three chapters. Fox takes on a highly stimulating approach to the subject. She examines the works of several Christian physicians pulling out the ways they interpret Jesus' healings in the gospel accounts. Then she surveys some writers who are engaged in disability studies, disability rights, and/or are disabled themselves, and how they read the stories of healing in the gospels. Finally, the author probes seven pastors from various traditions, interviewing each to see the way they handle those healing passages in Jesus' life. These three chapters truly were the main course, and the author productively achieves her desired end of "exploring the interpretations of Gospel healing narratives from medical doctors, people with disabilities, pastors, and others connected to the disability community...not to find the one right hermeneutic and toss out all the others. Rather...to notice how each perspective brought to light certain aspects of the text in a valuable way" (135). The final two chapters are where Fox gives her "Seven Marks of Healing in Action," and leaves the reader pondering possibilities and plans.
"Disability and the Way of Jesus" is a good place to begin scrutinizing how we and our churches can truly be part of the "healing way of Jesus". There were spots that disappointed me. Such as Fox's idea that we need to completely revamp or adapt our ways of worship to welcome a broader variety of worshipers, and specifically those with disability, and to not do so is idolatry (190). I understand the sentiment, but find the assertion and accusation too much in line with pragmatism and utilitarianism. Overall, if the reader will allow Fox to stretch them and their perception, they will find this much-needed work worthwhile. Even with my one criticism, I highly recommend the book.
Thanks to IVP Academic. At my request they sent a copy of the book used for this review, and asked nothing more from me than an honest review. My assessments are freely made and freely given.
December 31, 2019
As both a disabled Christian and a leader in a ministry, I am so grateful to have read this book. It’s filled with so many notes and highlights, I’ll have to re-read again just to process all the fantastic content.
April 26, 2025
I began reading Bethany McKinney Fox's book in the middle of my father's hospice journey. I finished the book only two day after his death.
It's not so much that "Disability and the Way of Jesus" served as a companion to that death. Instead, it helped me understand much of my own relationship with ministry, faith, and disability theology at a time when I was leaning heavily into it. I'm a paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida. I'm also a seminary graduate, former pastor and now ordained deacon in the Presbyterian (PC-USA) Church. Fox beautifully weaves a tapestry of perspectives into "Disability and the Way of Jesus" including those of clergy, physicians, people with disabilities. She incorporates scriptural perspectives throughout. Fox distinguishes between "curing" and "healing," an approach that helps discern where so many churches create an unhealing environment for people with disabilities and a place that is not safe for those of us with disabilities to come as we are.
As a longtime minister/pastor who intentionally and vulnerably leans into my disability, I appreciate Fox's identifying that far too many churches speak of disability in a way that implies recipient more than participant in spiritual life. She writes "Several churches talked about having children with intellectual or developmental disabilities in their congregations now or in the past, but they could not think of any adults with these disabilities in their communities at present… The stories pastors told about people with disabilities were almost entirely about them needing help or accommodation… These narratives reinforce the mistaken idea that people with disabilities in the community are mere recipients, creating burdens and practical tasks for the church’s leadership that benefit only the people with disabilities themselves.”
I appreciate that "Disability and the Way of Jesus" isn't sugar-coated, even for those of us with disabilities. It's not prescriptive nor is it necessarily filled with a greeting card approach toward inclusion. Fox notes that one way to create a healthier community, though certainly not simple, is to work toward how people with disabilities may be more deeply included in and connected the Body of Christ. This requires deep work on how we perceive those with a variety of abilities and disabilities and how this becomes part of our communal wholeness. Fox ends the book well, "The Seven Marks of Healing” creating a practical roadmap building on strengths and identifying those areas needing addressing.
It's not so much that "Disability and the Way of Jesus" served as a companion to that death. Instead, it helped me understand much of my own relationship with ministry, faith, and disability theology at a time when I was leaning heavily into it. I'm a paraplegic/double amputee with spina bifida. I'm also a seminary graduate, former pastor and now ordained deacon in the Presbyterian (PC-USA) Church. Fox beautifully weaves a tapestry of perspectives into "Disability and the Way of Jesus" including those of clergy, physicians, people with disabilities. She incorporates scriptural perspectives throughout. Fox distinguishes between "curing" and "healing," an approach that helps discern where so many churches create an unhealing environment for people with disabilities and a place that is not safe for those of us with disabilities to come as we are.
As a longtime minister/pastor who intentionally and vulnerably leans into my disability, I appreciate Fox's identifying that far too many churches speak of disability in a way that implies recipient more than participant in spiritual life. She writes "Several churches talked about having children with intellectual or developmental disabilities in their congregations now or in the past, but they could not think of any adults with these disabilities in their communities at present… The stories pastors told about people with disabilities were almost entirely about them needing help or accommodation… These narratives reinforce the mistaken idea that people with disabilities in the community are mere recipients, creating burdens and practical tasks for the church’s leadership that benefit only the people with disabilities themselves.”
I appreciate that "Disability and the Way of Jesus" isn't sugar-coated, even for those of us with disabilities. It's not prescriptive nor is it necessarily filled with a greeting card approach toward inclusion. Fox notes that one way to create a healthier community, though certainly not simple, is to work toward how people with disabilities may be more deeply included in and connected the Body of Christ. This requires deep work on how we perceive those with a variety of abilities and disabilities and how this becomes part of our communal wholeness. Fox ends the book well, "The Seven Marks of Healing” creating a practical roadmap building on strengths and identifying those areas needing addressing.
February 13, 2020
'For people with intellectual and developmental disabilities who also often experience rejection, isolation, stigma, and all kinds of negative repercussions that have nothing to do with their disabilities in themselves, churches can offer healing on many different levels, just as Jesus did. In his healing activity, Jesus transforms the whole person: body, emotions, social relationships, and spiritual life, and his followers are called to do the same.'
'Our medicalized culture ... does not get to dictate what healing is for followers of Jesus. We understand healing from the full picture of what happens when Jesus heals and need this biblical grounding. Jesus demonstrates what healing really means. Deep engagement with these texts is not optional for Christians who are called to create communities of healing in our day; in other words, it is not optional for any Christian.'
Bethany McKinney Fox, 'Disability and the Way of Jesus': Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church'
This book was like a beautiful roundtable discussion between the Gospel accounts of Jesus' healing, the biomedical lense, disability advocates and people with disabilities, and practioners of holistic healing.
I think a lot about what healing looks like in a mental health context of long histories of trauma, of disability, of repeat/long term admissions and talk of SMART goals/'recovery'. This book was the perfect combination of multifaceted critical reflection and practice, and I think will be vital in the shaping my own practice.
'Our medicalized culture ... does not get to dictate what healing is for followers of Jesus. We understand healing from the full picture of what happens when Jesus heals and need this biblical grounding. Jesus demonstrates what healing really means. Deep engagement with these texts is not optional for Christians who are called to create communities of healing in our day; in other words, it is not optional for any Christian.'
Bethany McKinney Fox, 'Disability and the Way of Jesus': Holistic Healing in the Gospels and the Church'
This book was like a beautiful roundtable discussion between the Gospel accounts of Jesus' healing, the biomedical lense, disability advocates and people with disabilities, and practioners of holistic healing.
I think a lot about what healing looks like in a mental health context of long histories of trauma, of disability, of repeat/long term admissions and talk of SMART goals/'recovery'. This book was the perfect combination of multifaceted critical reflection and practice, and I think will be vital in the shaping my own practice.
June 4, 2019
This book is a must-read for people of faith who are engaged in ministries among disabled persons already, who want to be more engaged and aren’t sure how to do so, and for those who may not know what holistic ministry among persons of all abilities even looks like.
From the introduction through all seven chapters, Bethany McKinney Fox’s book held my attention, helping me envision more fully what “healing in the way of Jesus” entails. I appreciate the thoughtful grounding in Scripture and context, and the active engagement of various communities (physicians, communities of the disabled, pastors and congregations) as Fox explores her vision. Along the way she provides helpful “working definitions” of the terms practices and analogical imagination upon which much of her work is based.
The last two chapters really bring Fox’s work home, as she describes “The Seven Marks of Healing in the Way of Jesus” and “the Seven Marks of Healing in Action.” The use of the number seven – in the marks of healing and in the number of chapters – prompted me to imagine the wholly and holistic completion of all Creation that “healing in the way of Jesus” will ultimately bring. We don’t have to wait – with Fox’s book as a resource, we can do our part to encourage a more faithful approach to that “healing in the way of Jesus” now.
From the introduction through all seven chapters, Bethany McKinney Fox’s book held my attention, helping me envision more fully what “healing in the way of Jesus” entails. I appreciate the thoughtful grounding in Scripture and context, and the active engagement of various communities (physicians, communities of the disabled, pastors and congregations) as Fox explores her vision. Along the way she provides helpful “working definitions” of the terms practices and analogical imagination upon which much of her work is based.
The last two chapters really bring Fox’s work home, as she describes “The Seven Marks of Healing in the Way of Jesus” and “the Seven Marks of Healing in Action.” The use of the number seven – in the marks of healing and in the number of chapters – prompted me to imagine the wholly and holistic completion of all Creation that “healing in the way of Jesus” will ultimately bring. We don’t have to wait – with Fox’s book as a resource, we can do our part to encourage a more faithful approach to that “healing in the way of Jesus” now.
January 3, 2020
When we think about the ministry of healing what comes to mind? How might we understand the healing work of Jesus and our own ministries? Building bridges between then and now can be difficult, for there are cultural elements involved. Then there is the question of whether by healing we mean curing. These are some of the questions addressed in this very helpful book on holistic healing by Bethany McKinney Fox.
She covers a gamut of issues, with a focus on on welcoming and including within the life of the church those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She also addresses the ways in which we might engage persons with disabilities. Prayers for healing might be welcomed, but not always. The suggestion is that when it comes to healing prayer, let the person ask!
Over all, this is a book for the church to take heed of.
She covers a gamut of issues, with a focus on on welcoming and including within the life of the church those with developmental and intellectual disabilities. She also addresses the ways in which we might engage persons with disabilities. Prayers for healing might be welcomed, but not always. The suggestion is that when it comes to healing prayer, let the person ask!
Over all, this is a book for the church to take heed of.
May 28, 2019
Bethany McKinney Fox explores the healing texts of the Bible in light of people living with disability today. She engages in sound theology as she explores how these texts have been used positively and negatively toward those with disabilities. Sharing personal accounts of people living with disabilities, Fox demonstrates the importance of churches engaging in sound theology in the way they welcome those with disabilities. Approachable and theologically sound, this book offers an important perspective in an often overlooked area of theology. Excellent work!
July 4, 2022
Phenomenal survey of the miraculous healing accounts of Jesus and how they are interpreted through the medical, social, and ancient near eastern models of understanding disability. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to dig deeper into a theological understanding of healing. Fox’s exhortation to “rhyme with Jesus” in our healing practices is incredibly helpful. While all will not agree with exactly how to rhyme, this is the best survey of various approaches I have seen.
November 1, 2023
Very thoughtful read. How can we actually minister to people with special needs: emotional, physical, relational and learning? While there are no set answers, the author does point out that often we miss the mark by trying to make others fit the mold
March 21, 2024
i think what will stick with me most going forward is the theological principle that utilitarianism and practicality can never take precedence over inclusivity in the body of Christ. structurally, socially, and spiritually.
June 5, 2025
This was great, but much more academic than I really anticipated. I skimmed a few chapters in the middle and zeroed in on the anecdotes and the more practical applications. Nonetheless it was super interesting and a topic that I don't think gets enough attention so I'm thrilled it was written!
June 4, 2019
Amazing! It’s thoughtfully encouraging and dynamic! You’ll want to get out your highlighter and pen.
December 6, 2019
Essential for anyone in Christian ministry, whether as a layperson or clergy. Frankly, I wish all Christians would read this.
July 2, 2020
Excellent theology of disability!
July 18, 2020
One benefit of this book is that it provides a variety of ways in which people involved in disability ministry look at Scripture, Jesus, the Church, and people with disabilities.
March 21, 2024
3.5-thought provoking with some interesting and at times questionable theological takes.
July 21, 2024
I was pretty hesitant about this, but found it much better than I anticipated. Very thought-provoking and well-thought-out.
dnf
December 30, 2024Interesting just too hard for me. Not an easy read for those of us with less theology experience
January 17, 2021
God so good Corking
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews