My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church

Written by Amy Kenny

Narrated by Nan McNamara

Much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection, says Amy Kenny. It is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their embodied experiences.

Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability. Kenny reflects on her experiences inside the church to expose unintentional ableism and cast a new vision for Christian communities to engage disability justice. She shows that until we cultivate church spaces where people with disabilities can fully belong, flourish, and lead, we are not valuing the diverse members of the body of Christ.

Offering a unique blend of personal storytelling, fresh and compelling writing, biblical exegesis, and practical application, this book invites listeners to participate in disability justice and create a more inclusive community in church and parachurch spaces. Engaging content such as reflection questions and top-ten lists are included.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: May 17, 2022
• ISBN: 9781545921180

Reviews for My Body Is Not a Prayer Request

[Alexis Houston · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, it was very sad. You can hear the pain and hurt in her voice… my heart hurts for her deeply for her. Suffering can make the heart hard when we don’t look to Jesus. I swapped to reading In The Hands of a Fiercely Tender God by Colleen Chao and it encouraged my heart after reading this. This book is extremely negative & not helpful for someone navigating grief & disability.

[wchagen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

When I first saw this book available for review, I was enthusiastic—I am both a person of faith and, as a ‘functional quad’ with limited usage of all four limbs, overtly disabled. I felt especially qualified to either rebut or laud the book as I found appropriate. I found enough to do both. The book is written in a lively style with puns and quips and with a plethora of references suggesting a total immersion in life, very refreshing. But the style is ‘academic chic’, more likely to be more appreciated by those favoring brei than those favoring Velveeta or Long Horn. There is little to distinguish one chapter from another. There is a smattering of biblical references throughout but the focus on church and concepts such as ‘disability theology’ come late. Finishing the book was a chore but the more powerful last few chapters made it worthwhile The language projected is positive but the message is negative. Most of the book—up to the last few chapters—can best be described as unfocused with much repetition of experiences of discrimination, either deliberate or negligently, against person with disabilities. Not being certain about the targeted readers, I assumed that the author was venting her frustrations and hoping for mutual commiseration with fellow sufferers. The problem was that I could not relate with her experiences and, for that reason, completely missed the point that I was a part of the targeted readership. Only when I finished the book did I come to that realization. It was made clear that Kenny’s objective is to sensitize non-disabled persons with the obstacles confronted by persons with disabilities and to prod those of us with disabilities to take an active part in that endeavor. The problem is that disability is too broad and persons with disabilities are so diverse that some—like me—have trouble being lumped in with an unrecognizable group. It is understandable that doctors would be less receptive to including a thirteen-year-old girl, as in the author’s case, than a mature male, as in my case, in the discussion of a complex diagnosis. The same can be said for fellow parishioners and casual contacts. I shared few of the author’s experiences. The book is not an easy read and its message may not resonate with many but I would feel remiss if my review dissuaded any one from not attempting.

[krasiviye1slova · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A simultaneously challenging and accessible book.Kenny effectively weaves together her personal narrative with an introduction to the model of disability as a social construct, contrasting that to the medical model often employed by churches. Rather than a deficit in need of curing, disability reveals God and the divine to the community. The disabled person must be recognized - as they are - as a full bearer of the Divine image. Kenny challenges the church to restructure itself into a space where the disabled are full participants and not afterthoughts.Her personal stories and exegesis explore but the physical aspects of accessibility within the church and facets of common Christian practice that exclude, casting the disabled as the object of healing prayers or charity, and interpretative practices that alienate such as focusing exegesis of Christ's miracles on the physical act of healing a single individual, versus the reparative actions of relationship within the community that follow.Kenny's book is perfect for church reading groups or education classes. She has integrated reflection questions, and the majority of her source citations are easily available to the lay person. While sometimes challenging to read, it is clear, as Kenny described her mission, that her critique is based in the belief that the church can become more just and inclusion, if it is willing to listen to it's disabled members and recognize their prophetic voice.

[akblanchard_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In My Body is Not a Prayer Request, author Amy Kenny introduces the disability justice movement in terms evangelical Christians can understand and perhaps even embrace. She explicates Scripture, quotes experts, and shares her personal experiences with an undisclosed mobility disorder. Life is hard for people with disabilities, Kenny writes. Well-meaning people, especially those inside the church, are constantly saying the wrong things to her, or offering her amateur medical advice. Even the the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which is supposed to level the playing field and ensure accessibility in the public square, is "not all it's cracked up to be". Perhaps worst of all, she underwent years of "torture" at the hands of physicians who tried to "cure" her, rather than encourage her to accept herself as she is.While her frequent pop-culture references seem forced, Kenny does have valid points to make. Many of these echo queer theory and anti-racist thought. Unfortunately, since she advocates for changes that are unlikely to be popular with her intended audience (for example, she writes that churches should pay reparations to disabled congregants, because having a disability is expensive), her book may not achieve the impact she seeks.

[nadinec.keels · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What an amazing step along this social journey I've been on. If I wrote down every point I wanted to highlight from this book along with my related reflections, my review would be longer than the book itself.With a mix of (snarky!) humor and grace, the author lays out so much for a critical perspective shift. For instance, when I see her use "disable" as a verb at times, it becomes clearer: inaccessible spaces disable people who have different bodies, whereas accessible spaces ensure that everyone is able to be included. And to hopefully move beyond inclusion to belonging.The book addresses practical issues concerning disabled people's civil rights—some issues I knew about and some I didn't. And how the author gradually explains the prophetic witness of disability, demystifying the truth of disabled people as God's image-bearers, is nothing short of beautiful.Plus, the book includes plenty of actionable steps for readers/the church (meaning, people in the church) to take.One significant step for me as an author: watching how I use disability language in my writing. Granted, in recent years (and especially as my stories' ranges of characters grow in diversity), I've started to feel weird about seeing words like "lame" commonly used as jokes and negative metaphors. Now I have a much clearer picture of why I've felt weird—and I can work on my language choices to write in ways that engage, rather than harm, a diversity of readers.A diversity of invaluable image-bearers.I highly recommend this book on disability justice in the church._________I received an advance reading copy of this book from the publisher for an honest review.