Introduction
The correlation between people who have been diagnosed with a disability and the amount of training a clergy person receives in navigating topics of disability is an indictment against the church as to how seriously it takes those with disabilities into consideration when educating its clergy. “According to the national census, more that 56 million US Americans and 4 million Canadians-almost one in five North American citizens-identify as having a disability.”(Annandale, Naomi H and Carter, Erik W 2014) That means roughly 1 in 5 people in North America will be associated with a disability in some way, yet according to a study conducted in 2014 of institutions that are a part of The Association of Theological Schools, only 25.9% of the 118 schools who participated in the study felt that their students were more than “only a little” prepared “to respond to spiritual and theological questions resulting from disability-related human experiences.”(Annandale, Naomi H and Carter, Erik W 2014, 10)
Part of the difficulty in addressing education and training for clergy in the area of disability is that the manifestation of a disability can be medically, lawfully, and socially defined.
- Medically: The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) defines a disability as “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).”(CDC 2024)
- Lawfully: The American Disability Act defines disability as “as a person who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity. This includes people who have a record of such an impairment, even if they do not currently have a disability. It also includes individuals who do not have a disability but are regarded as having a disability.”(“What Is the Definition of Disability under the ADA? | ADA National Network” n.d.)
- Socially: In his book Vulnerable Communion, Tim Reynolds writes that “a person who uses a wheelchair becomes disabled when there access barriers (i.e., when there is no ramp to enter a building or an elevator to travel to the fourth floor). Thus it is that, as a loss of bodily function, impairment is socially transformed into a disability, a restriction of activity that excludes social participation.”(Reynolds 2008, 26)
As disability theology is a vast and varied subject, knowing how and what to teach can be a challenge to those institutions that wish to incorporate disability theology into it’s curriculum. Annandale and Carter “identified several potential challenges associated with addressing disability in foe theological curriculum. Limited time, faculty expertise, and available resources were all cited by school leaders as being among the most prominent barriers.”(Annandale, Naomi H and Carter, Erik W 2014, 11) If there is a desire to implement disability theology into the curriculum, then there must be an appropriate course to provide students.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) the most prevalent diagnosed mental disorder. In the United States alone, approximately 8.8 million adults@scheinEconomicBurdenAttentiondeficit2022, 4 and 6 million children @cdcDataStatisticsADHD2022 have been diagnosed with ADHD. By developing a higher level course that uses ADHD as a case study, it is hopeful that there will be a relatively low barrier of entry into the field of disability theology, which a much needed area of education amongst clergy, both present and future.
Research Problem and Research Questions
Problem
The church is called to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples of all people and baptize them in the name God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.1 There are times however, when the very communities that a church reside in will overlook and neglect those with identify as neurodivergent, have mental impairments and/or disabilities. While it may not be intentional, there is a need for pastors to have a Cultural IQ when it comes to those in the neurodivergent community, especially those who suffer from the effects of ADHD.
Questions
Main Question Using the framework of cultural intelligence, how can clergy on the North/East Texas District of the Church of the Nazarene become more welcoming to people who identify as neurodiverse? RQ1: What is neurodiversity?
- Who is defined as being neurodiverse?
- What are the struggles people with neurodiversity face in a local congregation?
- Pushback against the term neurodiverse
- Medical vs social model
RQ2: What is cultural intelligence? - What is the goal of cultural intelligence?
- How does a pastor and/or their church assess their congregation’s capacity to be welcoming to cultures different than their own?
- How is cultural intelligence used in organizations.
RQ3 Why is it important for a church to be welcoming to neurodiversity? - Disability theology tie in
- Wesleyan theology
- Hospitality
RQ4:What changes can a church make to be more welcoming to those with neurodiversity? - How have other organizations made space for neurodiverse (i.e. Walmart Quiet Hours)
- Free options
- Cost options
- Struggles in implementing
RQ5: What is the current knowledge and attitude towards neurodiversity on the North/East Texas District of the Church of the Nazarene?
- Do the clergy have neurodiverse people in their congregations?
- Have they received formal training in neurodiversity or topics surrounding the subject?
Study Limitations
This study will focus on clergy members who are a part of the North/East Texas District of the Church of the Nazarene. Because of the many many different diagnosis that fall under the umbrella term of neurodiversity, this study will primarily focus on ADHD.
Contextual Description
The North/East Texas District of the Church of the Nazarene consists of 64 local churches. Eighteen of those church average over 100 people in a weekly gathering service.(North/East Texas Disttrict Church of the Nazarene 2024) According the CDC, in 2019, 8.8% of Texas’ population reported that they or their kid(s) have been told that they have ADHD by healthcare provider.(CDC 2024b) That would mean that on average, any church on the North/East Texas District that included 13 or more attendees would encounter someone with ADHD. That includes 59 of the 63 church on the district.(North/East Texas Disttrict Church of the Nazarene 2024) The largest church on the district has an average worship attendance of 600 people(North/East Texas Disttrict Church of the Nazarene 2024, 73), which means on average, they interacting with 48 people who have been told they have ADHD by a healthcare provider.
There are various categories in which the churches on the district are divided. According to the “Find a Church” feature on the district website, out of the 64 churches, five are listed as a Cowboy Church, eight are Hispanic/Spanish Language Churches, two are Multi-Ethnic, and 48 are traditional churches. The North/East Texas District also includes the city of Dallas, which is the 9th largest city in the United States, and when including the entire metro area, it becomes the 4th largest city in the United States.
The population size and speciality churches are significant in that there is not a completely homogenous culture to the churches on the district. This will present challenges in conveying information, both in language and local cultural contexts to each church.
The size of the district will also be a factor when determining how to present and survey the churches. The adoption of technology amongst the churches on the district is relatively high, with most church staffs able to navigate modern meeting tools such as Zoom as well as accessing information on the internet.
Significance of Research
Definition of Terms
American with Disabilities Act: “The American Disability Act (ADA) protects people with disabilities from discrimination. Disability rights are civil rights. From voting to parking, the ADA is a law that protects people with disabilities in many areas of public life.” (“The Americans with Disabilities Act” n.d.) Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The primary identifier of ADHD according to the DSM-V “is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that interferes with functioning or development.”@americanpsychiatricassociationDiagnosticStatisticalManual2022,70 CDC: Centers for Disease Prevention and Control Cultural IQ: “Cultural Intelligence, or CQ, measures your capability to relate and work effectively in culturally diverse situations.”(“Cultural Competency & Cultural Intelligence Training” 2018) Disability: The Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines a disability as “any condition of the body or mind (impairment) that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities (activity limitation) and interact with the world around them (participation restrictions).”(CDC 2024a) Disability Theology: A field of theological study in which people with disabilities and their experiences are studied and understood. “Theologies of disability – and we emphasise the plural – are quite varied, even if they unanimously postulate that disability is an integral part of what it means to be human, that it is part of ‘normality’.”(Cooreman-Guittin and Van Ommen 2022, 1) Impairment: Any ailment, disease, sickness, or physical feature that prevents a person from interacting in the world in which it was designed for a majority of the population. Neurodiversity:“Neurodiversity describes the idea that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways; there is no one ‘right’ way of thinking, learning, and behaving, and differences are not viewed as deficits.”@fruehWhatNeurodiversity2021 Neurdivergent: The term applied to the people with neurodiversity Neurotypical: The term used for people who do not identify or display characteristics of someone who is neurodivergent.
Precedent Literature
This study will rely on the works of authors and theologians such as Karl Rahner, Karl Barth, Emmanuel Mounier, Stanley Hauerwas, Jurgen Moltmann, Amos Yong, Thomas Reynolds, Lamar Hardwick, Jenara Nerenberg, Kathleen Nadeau, Russell Barkley, Richard Saul, Henri Nouwen, Nancy Eiesland, and others from various journals and articles. The authors are experts in disability theology, disability, and/or ADHD.
Research Methodology
Etic
- Data about ADHD rates in the North/East Texas District area
- Website reviews of churches that agree to participate to see if they offer any mention of disability services
- Church visits to survey the services offered and the experience of an outsider/someone with ADHD
- Interviews with pastors and their experiences with ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence
- Survey of the classes offered at the institutions studied at by the clergy on the district
- Survey of the ongoing professional development offered by the district, specifically regarding neurodiversity and ADHD
- Survey of services offered in the cities and counties of the participating churches
Emic
- Published studies of churches who offer disability services as a part of their ministry
- Any studies of churches who incorporate those with disabilities regularly into their church gatherings
- Any studies of pastors who identify as neurodivergent
- Policy proposals and laws in the area of North/East Texas District to determine the general attitude and posture towards those with ADHD
- Published studies of how to best incorporate those with ADHD into a large gathering environment
Possibilities for Interviews
- Jeff Parson - Lead Pastor for Lone Star Cowboy Church of Collin County, the largest church on the North/East Texas district and his experience approach to ADHD
- Chris Galloway - Lead Pastor for Richardson Church of the Nazarene, the second largest church on the North/East Texas district with a vibrant children’s ministry.
- Lamar Hardwick - The Autism pastor and his approach to leading with Autism and inviting leaders at his church into disability theology
- Keven Wentworth - District Superintendent of the North/East Texas District and how he understand neurodiversity and any leadership he might give towards the district
- Jesse Briles - One of the founding members of the Neurodivergent Clergy group and how he has been working to educate the members of his district in West Virginia
Ethics of Research Protocol
Any permissions needed for ethics of research protocol will be followed. See Appendix A and Appendix B.
Delimitations
The focus of this study will be on the North/East Texas District of the Nazarene and the clergy members who serve on churches or in ministry contexts within the oversight of the district. While neurodiversity will be necessary to teach for the background framework of disability theology, the focus will be primarily on ADHD.
Footnotes
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Matthew 28:16-20 ↩