Gracism

This, I think, is the final installment of the lessons from Disney World.  I have stolen the title from a book I read recently by a pastor named David Anderson.  Disney World, as I have told in the previous two columns (“Disabled at Disney” and “Forgetting Fair”), reaches out to and extends special favor to people with disabilities.  They do so because of the disability.  In his book, Pastor Anderson defines gracism as extending special favor because of someone’s race or ethnicity.  Racism is, of course, the withholding of favor (discriminating) based on race or ethnicity.  Gracism is the exact opposite.  After visiting Disney World, I have seen what gracism looks and feels like in the “real world.”  Many noble, well-meaning people have asked, “How can we treat everyone the same?”  This is especially true in the church.  How can we be equally welcoming to everyone without embarrassing anyone and without pushing anyone away?  It is my observation that treating everyone the same usually comes down to doing the things I like for everyone.  Isn’t this right, you may ask; do unto others as you would have done unto you, right?  The only problem is that not everybody likes the same things I do.  The truth is, the way I want to be treated is for someone to find out what I like and do that.  Herein is the answer to being gracists.  We, especially those of us in the Body of Christ, need to go about finding out what people who are different than us like and deciding to do that even if we don’t like it all that much.  Disney World personnel seem to have asked, “How can we make a visit to Disney World especially magical for people with disabilities?”  While, I don’t know how long it took them to find the answer, I can tell you they have it right!  After being there, I wonder why we as the church are not asking a similar question.  How can we make a visit to meet with this branch of the Body of Christ the most inviting, attractive experience possible?  Then ask it for all kinds of people; those with disabilities, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asian-Americans, low-income, middle-income, high-income, . . . .  The list seems never-ending but the thing is to start with folks we know should be reached and could be reached by us.  The folks who attend my church right now might not really like all the things we would need to do to reach the groups God has placed in our mission field.  Are we willing to get over our own priorities to make people our priority?  We will have to rise above questions of fairness and equality and ask more questions about how we can elevate someone else’s needs and wants above our own.  I can tell you, as a recipient of this treatment, it is like nothing else.  It also makes me want to go back!  I think it might have the same effect on people who walk in our church.