060: Disabled Psalms: Processing Honestly with God with Christopher Stewart (Summit Sessions)

This conversation is from our 2024 Annual Summit.

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In his Summit session, Christopher Stewart shares his profound journey of faith and life after disability, exploring themes of grief, healing, and the sacredness of the disabled experience. He reads his original psalms, reflecting on his struggles and insights learned from wrestling with God, and emphasizes the importance of processing emotions honestly before God. Christopher also highlights the societal perceptions of disability and the beautiful vocation that can arise from living with a disability.

You will hear Christopher’s story of a sudden and unexpected brain stem injury, and the many implications that have come from this life-changing event. He unpacks what he means by his disability being a vocation, becoming “the least of these” in society, how the disabled can represent Christ in relationships, and invites disabled brothers and sisters—all of us—to explore this idea. Additionally, they discuss dignity and bodily autonomy for the disabled and bring light to the common harm of unwanted prayer or blaming disability on sin.

Takeaways

• Christopher's psalm reflects a deep dialogue with suffering.
• Disability can be seen as a sacred journey.
• Faith can coexist with doubt and struggle.
• The disabled community often faces societal neglect.
• Honesty in prayer is crucial for healing.
• Disability can serve as a vocation and calling.
• Caregivers play a vital role and deserve recognition.
• The church must be more inclusive of disabled individuals.
• Processing grief can take many forms, including art.
• Disability is not a sin issue, but part of the human experience.

download Episode Transcript 📄

Guest Spotlight ✨

Christopher was an able-bodied, recently ordained, visual artist and seminary student with a seemingly clear path before him. In July 2022, he survived a life-altering brain injury, which left him with multiple disabilities. In the time since then, through much prayer and processing, he has begun to see his disability as vocation.

One of the ways he has been inspired to process his loss and disability is to borrow from the structure and language of the Psalms by composing a series of prayer poems called “Disabled Psalms.” Through his writing, online ministry, and live recitation engagements, he hopes to raise awareness of the disabled experience and to give others in the disabled and able-bodied communities a way to process their own experiences through the intimate language of prayer.

Links & Resources 🔗

Website | Instagram | YouTube | Patreon

Books:

• My Bright Abyss by Christian Wiman
• My Body Is Not a Prayer Request: Disability Justice in the Church by Amy Kenny
• The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu
• Disability and the Gospel: How God Uses Our Brokenness to Display His Grace by Michael S. Beates
• Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century edited by Alice Wong