Disability Theology

The books in this list cover various aspects of disability theology, from pioneering voices to current scholarship. While this not by any means an exhaustive list, the ones included here focus on how disability theology can help congregations live into belonging for all people.

cover of the disabled God with an abstract painting depicting bodies moving

Nancy Eiesland, The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability (Abingdon Press, 1994)

This is a pioneer work in the field of disability theology. Eiesland draws on themes of the disability-rights movement to identify people with disabilities as members of a socially disadvantaged minority group rather than as individuals who need to adjust. She also offers a theology of the Eucharist as a place of encounter with Jesus, the disabled God.

Amos Yong, The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God (Eerdmans, 2011)

A theologian whose life experience includes growing up alongside a brother with Down syndrome, Amos Yong rereads and reinterprets biblical texts about human disability, arguing that the way we read biblical texts, not the Bible itself, is what causes us to marginalize persons with disabilities.

book cover of the bible, disability and the church with an abstract image of someone pushing someone else in a wheelchair

cover of the bible and disability with a colorful abstract image of a bearded man with hands raised and other people around him

Sarah J. Melcher, Mikeal C. Parsons, and Amos Yong, eds., The Bible and Disability: A Commentary (Baylor University Press, 2017)

This book is the first comprehensive commentary on the Bible from the perspective of disability. It examines how the Bible constructs or reflects human wholeness, impairment, and disability in all their expressions.

John Swinton, Becoming Friends of Time: Disability, Timefullness, and Gentle Discipleship (Baylor University Press, 2018)

This book explores a theology of time as both a gift and a calling rather than a commodity. Time is a gift of God to humans, but is also a gift given back to God by humans. Swinton wrestles with critical questions that emerge from theological reflection on time and disability.

book cover of becoming friends of time with a large tree sketched in black and white with a blue background

cover of disability, faith and the church with a photo of a set of large church doors, one of which has a metal ramp leading up to it

Courtney Wilder, Disability, Faith, and the Church: Inclusion and Accommodation in Contemporary Congregations (Praeger, 2016)

This book draws from a range of Christian theologians, denominational statements, writings of people with disabilities, and experiences of successful ministries for people with disabilities to answer the deep need of many Christian communities: to live out their calling by welcoming all people.

Andrew Thomas Draper, Jody Michele Courtney and Andrea Mae, Disabling Leadership: A Practical Theology for the Broken Body of Christ (IVP Academic, 2023)

This book presents a practical theology of disability for church leaders and congregants and encompasses cutting-edge theological ethics as well as stories of how such commitments are embodied in a real church community.

book cover of disabling leadership with an abstract image of multiple shapes and colors

Amy E. Jacober, Redefining Perfect: The Interplay between Theology and Disability (Cascade Books, 2017)

The focus of the book is to move the church beyond welcome to inclusion–where those with disabilities move from a guest of the community to equal and valued member of the community.

Brian Brock, Wondrously Wounded: Theology, Disability and the Body of Christ (Baylor University Press, 2020)

Brock reclaims the church’s historic theology of disability and extends it to demonstrate that people with disabilities, like all created in God’s image, are servants of God’s redemptive work.

book cover of wondrously wounded with abstract water color in the background in shades of green and blue

book cover of disability: living into the diversity of christ's body with purple and gray blocks and a small abstract black and white tree at the top of the page

Brian Brock, Disability: Living into the Diversity of Christ’s Body (Baker Academic, 2021)

Brock, the father of a child with special needs, weaves together theological commentary with narrative reflection, offering rich theological wisdom for shepherding people with disabilities. He shows pastors and ministers-in-training that thinking more closely and theologically about disability is a doorway into a more vibrant and welcoming church life for all Christians.

Thomas Reynolds, Vulnerable Communion: A Theology of Disability and Hospitality (Brazos Press, 2008)

The author draws upon 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.