Voices: Allowed ain’t able, or able ain’t allowed

While the Texas Senate is thinking about who is allowed to use which bathroom, you should give some thought to who is able to use your bathroom.

Eric Black

Some time ago, I polled my Facebook friends using a highly scientific process. I posted a question asking why they go or do not go to church. So many responses came in, I needed a whole three minutes to read them.

One response has stuck with me, because it came from my best friend.

My best friend is married with one surviving son. Their firstborn died a few years ago at age 17 after a lifelong battle with a rare seizure disorder that confined him to a specially designed chair. Their second son also has a seizure disorder and has a specially designed chair.

Need vs. facilities

My best friend told me there are times they are unable to attend church because their son needs particular care that morning. He also said there are places they simply cannot go because they need a bathroom where they can care for their son, and the vast majority of bathrooms do not accommodate their needs.

How many families with special needs are not involved in your church’s ministry because your physical space will not accommodate them? Are you even aware there are families who long for such a place?

My best friend also pointed out the difficulty senior adults sometimes have finding bathrooms where the spouse of the opposite sex can accompany the other. I immediately remembered a couple in our church. He needs assistance in the bathroom, but because our bathrooms are marked gender specific, his wife was not comfortable entering to give him the help she knew he needed.

How many senior adults no longer participate in your ministry because you do not have a bathroom their spouse can comfortably enter with them? Are you even aware this is a live concern?

Eyes opened

I was aware but was not concerned until my best friend opened my eyes.

Our church facility is less than 4 years old. Despite its recent construction, we did not include a family bathroom in the design. Space limitations, cost and lack of foresight explain why. We knew the cost of a bathroom, but we didn’t think about the cost of not having a bathroom.

A few weeks ago, I told some of our leaders about what I learned from my best friend, and we decided to designate two of our bathrooms as family bathrooms. We want to embody Christ by serving people well, and once we had a clear view of something practical to accomplish our goal, our decision was simple.

A hole for imagination

A group of friends once took one of their own, who couldn’t take himself, to a neighbor’s house to see Jesus. The place was packed, and they couldn’t get in, but they were determined. They climbed up on the roof, cut a hole in it and lowered their friend to the floor in front of Jesus.

I really wanted to see Jesus, and I needed my best friend to cut a hole in my imagination so I could.

When people want to see Jesus, do they have to cut a hole in our roof, or are we determined enough to make the door wider?

Eric Black is pastor of First Baptist Church in Covington, Texas, and a member of the Baptist Standard Publishing board of directors.