2019 IVP Readers' Choice Award What does healing mean for people with disabilities? The Gospels are filled with accounts of Jesus offering physical healing. But even as churches today seek to follow the way of Jesus, people with disabilities all too often experience the very opposite of healing and life-giving community: exclusion, judgment, barriers. Misinterpretation and misapplication of biblical healing narratives can do great damage, yet those who take the Bible seriously mustn't avoid these passages either.Bethany McKinney Fox believes that Christian communities are better off when people with disabilities are an integral part of our common life. In Disability and the Way of Jesus , she considers how the stories of Jesus' healings can guide us toward mutual thriving.How did Jesus' original audience understand his works of healing, and how should we relate to these texts today? After examining the healing narratives in their biblical and cultural contexts, Fox considers perspectives from medical doctors, disability scholars, and pastors to more fully understand what Jesus does as he heals and how he points the way for relationships with people with disabilities. Personal reflections from Christians with disabilities are featured throughout the book, which concludes with suggestions for concrete practices adaptable to a variety of church settings.Bridging biblical studies, ethics, and disability studies with the work of practitioners, Fox provides a unique resource that is both theologically grounded and winsomely practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus provides new lenses on holistic healing for scholars, laypeople, and ministry leaders who care about welcoming all people as Jesus would. "Disability comes not in one but many forms, so it should not be surprising that the message of Jesus as healer is good news to people with disabilities in more ways than just that they might be cured (what temporarily able-bodied people, those not disabled, usually presume). Disability and the Way of Jesus shows how different first century and contemporary readings of the Gospels envision holistic healing and empowers the church to live more fully into such good news so it can be amore welcoming space for all people." Amos Yong, professor of theology and mission, Fuller Theological Seminary "With a working knowledge of multiple disciplines, including biblical criticism, pastoral care, philosophy of medicine, disability studies, and the history of the Christian tradition, Dr. Bethany Fox has managed to create a work that is both erudite and deeply practical. Disability and the Way of Jesus is relevant and incisive, drawing the biblical narrative into conversation with voices of persons today who have encountered the church as unhealing. Sensitive to multiple perspectives, yet critical of the status quo, this book challenges readers to consider how we can better understand healing as it relates to persons with disabilities. Eloquent yet simply written, this book is essential reading for pastors, teachers, and anyonewishing to create more inclusive and welcoming churches." Devan Stahl, assistant professor of clinical ethics, Michigan State University "Bethany McKinney Fox's book is a joy to read. She uses research, exegesis, multidisciplinary perspectives, and her own experience of living with and listening to people with disabilities to produce a book that honestly and boldly looks straight at the healing stories of Jesus in the Gospels. This is a book for any pastor or lay group, not just those committed to inclusive ministries. Her writing is both clear and engaging while creatively stretching our vision, disrupting some of our assumptions, and deepening our understanding of healing. I cannot imagine preaching or writing about these healing stories without pulling this back off my shelf and reminding myself of what Dr. Fox has to say." Bill Gaventa, director, Summer Institute on Theology and Disability "I believe this book will make a difference." From the foreword by John Swinton "Bethany McKinney Fox has provided the contemporary church with an indispensable guide for extending Jesus' holistic healing ministry for people with disabilities in analogically faithful and appropriate ways. Disability and the Way of Jesus will give many of us new lenses and free our imaginations from cultural impairments that all too often exclude those with disabilities from experiencing Jesus' multidimensional, miraculous power in our midst. All of us who take to heart, head, and hands the Gospel accounts of Jesus' healing ministry that this volume so ably conveys for the present time, will gain new access to Jesus' transformative touch." Paul Louis Metzger, professor of theology and culture, Multnomah University and Seminary, author of Consuming Jesus "Reading Bethany McKinney Fox's work is like taking a long, transformative walk, a walk that anyone committed to practicing the gospel will want to take with he