In today’s episode, we journey “The Road Less Traveled”—the winding, complicated, grace-filled journey of disability, belonging, and the church. Drawing from my recent Learning Lunch presentation at First Alliance Church, we explore what it means to seek belonging in a world that often wasn’t built with disabled bodies and souls in mind. Through story, theology, models of disability, and the haunting beauty of a song called The Road Less Traveled, we’ll reflect on the questions that have shaped so many of us: Who am I? Where do I fit? And where do we find dignity, hope, and God’s presence along the way?
Together, we’ll look at the invisible worlds beneath the surface of our communities, the statistics that challenge us, and the spaces of belonging we all move through—intimate, personal, social, and public. We’ll consider how learning zones, discipleship, and communal responsibility reshape the ways churches welcome, empower, and stand with disabled people. And through the stories of Scripture—from the man born blind to the feeding of the 5,000—we’ll see how Jesus leads us toward a more relational, imaginative, and inclusive way forward.
This is an invitation to slow down, to listen deeply, and to imagine the church not as a place that merely accommodates disability, but as a community transformed by the perspectives, gifts, and wisdom of disabled people. Let’s begin.
Chapters
00:00 Beginning
01:03 Framing Our Conversation
06:53 Where Do I Fit In
13:30 Questions That Shape the Disabled Life
27:15 The Unseen World of Disability
33:30 Circles of Belonging
47:10 Where To From Here
54:39 Deeper Communion National Conference
57:40 Closing
Resources:
First Alliance Church — https://www.faccalgary.com/
The Edge House Church Network — https://theedgehc.com/
Models of Disability — https://www.disabled-world.com/definitions/disability-models.php#:~:text=The%20Models%20of%20Disability,Sick%20Role
Calgary Quality of Life Report — https://publications.calgaryfoundation.org/quality-of-life-report-2025/18/
New Leaf Network’s Neighbour Up Series — https://www.newleafnetwork.ca/events/neighbourup
‘The Healing Homiletic’ By Kathy Black — https://www.amazon.ca/Healing-Homiletic-Kathy-Black/dp/0687002915
‘God Loves the Autistic Mind’ By Father Matthew Schneider — https://www.amazon.ca/God-Loves-Autistic-Mind-Spectrum/dp/081983162X
‘The Search To Belonging’ By Joseph Myers — https://josephrmyers.com/the-search-to-belong
Deeper Communion — https://adeepercommunion.org/
Paul’s Letter to the Disabled of Today —
The Words Of Paul
In this deeply reflective episode of The Well Dwellers Podcast, Erik Freiburger revisits an early piece of writing from his undergraduate days—The Words of Paul—a meditation on how the Apostle Paul’s letters might speak to people living with disabilities in our time today. Through this re-reading, Erik explores how faith, perseverance, and communal belo…
