Question 7: What can I do to assure a parent of a special needs child that their child will be safe in our church's programs?

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An Interview with Barbara Newman

Labels are everywhere! We live in a world that labels everything from coffee cups and clothing to food ingredients and designer fashions. While labels are helpful for things, they can be incredibly damaging when they define people—their value, character, or significance. And we do this all the time without thinking. Change must begin to take place. So where do we begin? We begin by learning how to love without labels. Few people understand this better than Barbara Newman. For more than 30 years, Barbara has provided education, inspiration, and transformation for churches and families typically disregarded by society. This interview is a must-see.

We tend to place significant value on what one does, how one looks, where one lives, what one drives, or what one wears—all dependent on what we deem valuable. When it comes to those who are different—those labeled as diseased, deformed, disabled, depressed, poor, weak—their lives are most often disregarded. Candidly, such attitudes and actions are thoroughly divergent from Christ’s model and teaching. Tragically, the church is not exempt from attaching labels. I am convinced that if Christ and the disciples attended a church today, they would be looked down upon because of their appearance, what they did, where they lived, and what they said. Stop and think about it for a moment. Isaiah even said there was nothing externally impressive about Christ, but Christ came because He views all of us as priceless, unconditionally loved, so significant that He died for us.

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It is love, not labels that help us understand one another; love cultivates unity and connects us to a full community. Without love, we cannot experience all God has for us as a body of believers.

  • How are you leading as a pastor or church leader?
  • Would all people feel welcomed in your place of worship . . . are you brave enough to ask this question?
  • Perhaps you have been treated as “less than” or unwelcomed; so was Christ. And yet, He remained faithful to living and loving every person . . . all their “greens” and “pinks” as Barbara put it.
  • Maybe you are resentful, angry, or bitter because you have allowed an earthly label to define you rather than how Christ defines you. Isn’t it time to let that go and give life a chance?
  • What part of this interview was most difficult for you to hear and why?
  • What needs have yet to be met in your community, and are you willing to step out regardless of what others may think or say?
  • Begin today to be known as a person who loves others without regard to some label. What will it take for you to make that step?

Join the conversation on our blog at www.reframingministries.com.

Connect with Barbara Newman

Connect with Barbara on her Web site, www.clcnetwork.org, and find all the resources mentioned in the interview, the scholarship application, and a variety of resource materials. Barbara is a graduate of Calvin College with a B.A. in Education K–8 with teaching certification, Cognitive Impairment Endorsement. She holds an M.A. from Grand Valley State University in Early Childhood Education, Early Childhood Development Delay, with a concentrated study in the field of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Since 1985, Barbara has worked with the CLC Network (Christian Learning Center) equipping and consulting schools and churches across the nation. Barbara has received the Bethesda Lutheran Communities Christian Service Award (2012), the Barbara Lipinski Award of Merit (2007), Grand Rapids Press Great West Michigan Teacher (2006), and the National Council on the Handicapped National Leadership Award (1988). She is the author of 22 books and other resources and contributes regularly to articles, publications, and blogs.

Insight for Living Ministries Resources by Charles R. Swindoll