Blindness has never stopped Tony Cothren from doing anything. He breezed through college, became the first blind graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and earned a law degree by age 35.
Still knowing that many other disabled people did not have the same opportunities made him want to find ways to help them have a better life.
Cothren got that chance when he was appointed by Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush to serve with the regulatory agency that wrote the guidelines for the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. This made America more accessible for the disabled. With that work completed, Cothren returned to his legal work and served nearly three years as a circuit judge in the Bessemer Cut-off, a subdivision of Jefferson County. All the while, his yearning to help people with disabilities remained, so he turned his attention to churches.
According to Cothren, nearly 1 million Alabamians have disabilities, and many of them feel hindered, overlooked and unwanted by churches, so they never attempt to go to church.
“Some disabled people have said, ‘Nobody cares if I become a Christian or not. Nobody cares if I come to church or not,’” said Cothren, a member of Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, in Birmingham Baptist Association. “We don’t need to see the sick and the disabled as the dregs of society. We, as the Church, ought to start seeing people with all kinds of issues as people that need to be ministered to just like we see the people in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the Far East. … Our missions field is right outside our door.”
He believes churches have missed the point. “We’re hung up on the beautiful ones — those with money, those with power, athletes, CEOs of corporations, those with great personalities who can go out there and look good as leaders of the church,” Cothren noted. “Disabled people are the undesirables. They are the not-so-pretty people, and it may be hard to reach out to a person with cerebral palsy (for instance). But Jesus said if you reach out to the least of these, you will be blessed.”
By founding John 9 Ministries, he is trying to change this perspective one church at a time.
“Utopia for me would be that every disabled person hears the gospel … from people in the local church … and [has] a chance to respond to the gospel in a positive way,” Cothren said. “My utopia is that I see churches so caring about the community around them that they reach out to every facet of that community including people with disabilities, and through reaching their community, they then reach the world for Christ.”
Cothren’s ministry teaches churches what disabilities are and how to minister to the disabled.
It’s something he’s done in his church.
“It’s not rocket science. It’s usually things you are able to do,” said Shades Mountain Baptist Pastor Danny Wood of making a church more welcoming to the disabled.
But it goes beyond just getting them into the church building for events or worship, Cothren pointed out. To help disabled people feel more closely linked with the congregation, he said church leaders can find volunteer positions they can handle.
Cothren believes including the disabled in church is mandatory and should be purposeful.
“We talk about the Great Commission,” he said. “I think those words — being the words of our Lord and Savior — ought to carry some weight. In Luke 14, Jesus said go out and get the crippled, the lame, the blind, and bring them into the banquet. Jesus said you will get your reward in heaven if you will minister to people with disabilities.”
Cothren gives presentations to help church leaders meet this need.
“It’s not that intimidating to bring people with disabilities into your church,” he said. “We could get churches that would get two people to learn sign language and could stand there and sign the sermon. It’s not that hard. You’ve just got to get churches concerned. They don’t seem to be concerned.”
Cothren added, “It’s the attitude of the church. It’s the culture of caring. … Whether your church is accessible to people with disabilities, there may be more you can do to make them feel welcome.”
For more information, visit www.john9.org or call 205-979-8818.
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