Shannon Blosser

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What I Am Thankful For As a Pastor with Disabilities

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What I Am Thankful For As a Pastor with Disabilities

Ah, Thanksgiving. That festive time of year where we gather around the table with family, friends, or those who are like family to us to share in a feast of turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie and all the foods that can fit on one plate and then some. While Thanksgiving can be about the food and the endless hours of football on television, it also provides us an opportunity to give thanks to God for the blessings we have experienced in life.

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How the Church Struggles to Listen

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How the Church Struggles to Listen

“I shared my family’s hurt and pain of feeling excluded and unaccepted by the very church that I, as its pastor, am called to love and serve. I shared offensive words shared with me regarding my autistic son’s needs. I shared how these actions created a wall between our family and the church. We felt unwelcome.” Shannon Blosser shares about church hurt, and where the church can grow.

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Perseverance Needed in Disability Ministry

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Perseverance Needed in Disability Ministry

Shannon Blosser talks about New Years Resolutions and the challenges of starting up a Disability Ministry. Like many resolutions it can be hard to stick with it after the New Years glitter wears off, and Disability Ministry is not much different. Disability Ministry takes perseverance, and being willing to do things differently in order to have a more Christ-centered church.

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Reflections on Clark Griswold and The Perfect Christmas

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Reflections on Clark Griswold and The Perfect Christmas

How much stress do we put on ourselves to have our house perfectly decorated, so we can “enjoy it?” How much tension do we carry trying to navigate the family dinners and getting worried about our own “Cousin Eddie” showing up and making a scene? How often do we fill up our schedules with parties, events, and celebrations because we feel we have to do it? How often do we get to Christmas Day and have nothing left to give when it comes time to truly celebrate the incarnation of Christ and the Lord’s presence in our lives?

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Caring for Your Pastor's Mental Health

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Caring for Your Pastor's Mental Health

October is Pastor Appreciation Month. It is a time when many people will find a way to show their appreciation to their pastor. One of the most important things we can do to value and appreciate our pastors is to understand that many are hurting.

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What the Church Can Learn from the Disability Community

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What the Church Can Learn from the Disability Community

As a senior pastor, I often tell my congregation, the church is “the ongoing witness of Jesus Christ in a broken and hurting world.” When we think about the church and the disability community, we often think about what the disability community needs from the church. I wonder, though, what does the church need from the disability community?