Beyond Limits: Life and Faith of a Quadriplegic Pastor

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What in your life feels impossible? 

Joel and his family know what it feels like to face “impossible” circumstances. Because a catastrophic spinal cord injury left Joel paralyzed at age three, he cannot even breathe unassisted.  

But over decades of living with quadriplegia, Joel has not only learned to thrive, but he has also become a source of encouragement and inspiration for others.

Like Joni Eareckson Tada, Joel has invited the Holy Spirit to use his struggles and story as a means to bless others with disability, pointing them to Jesus through mentorship. As Joel says: 

“I would hear about someone whose child was injured and got a spinal cord injury. And I would maybe try to help them through Facebook, or my family would through phone calls….  

One common thing that I get asked about is my breathing method. My injury level is C2 to C3, which means I’m unable to breathe on my own. But instead of a regular ventilator, I now use something called a diaphragm pacemaker. That’s kind of an implant that gives my diaphragm an electrical stimulation every few seconds. And that is what tells me to breathe. So, I get people asking about that, and what it takes to switch from the regular ventilator to this system… But then also just general help.” 

How can you personally grow more sensitive to the needs of others?  

Beyond the physical difficulties that come with quadriplegia—physical pain, breathing difficulties, pressure sores, and more—Joel knows that care receivers often run the risk of feeling like a burden to their caregivers. He can also relate to the depression and loneliness that can come with living in a care facility. Understanding these feelings, Joel provides this powerful encouragement: 

“I have definitely felt that same feeling at times as well, especially after college. I did not find work, so I had to move. I had lived basically on my own for about three years in my own apartment and that kind of thing. And I had to move back home with my parents, and so they took over a lot more of my cares again. And I definitely had feelings of being more of a burden again.  

For those in that situation, I say to look to Scripture—God provides people that we need. He knows what we need before we even ask it. And be it through professional nurses or through a family, these people are demonstrating the love of God…  

And yes, it will take time to get used to that… to say, ‘Yes, this is a different thing that God has given me. We live in a fallen world that includes things like disabilities and this is the situation that God has given me for now, that I may serve him.’” 

What can your church and community do to better welcome people living with disabilities?  

While communities and churches frequently rally around families in crisis, Joel reflects that initial shows of support often fall short of meeting deep, ongoing needs.  

“Often when someone receives a diagnosis or injury, there’s a lot of support for the person or family right away as far as, say, visits or food deliveries or fundraisers. However, in the case of a spinal cord injury, remember that just because you have the injury initially, things don’t go away… they keep going, for months and years and sometimes decades.” 

Joel urges communities to focus on long-term support to families living with disability in addition to decreasing barriers to access. Ramps, elevators, and shortened pews, for example, so a person in a wheelchair can come into worship and be seated without sticking out in an aisle. 

“Those are just things that make it more welcoming. And I’ve heard some people say, ‘Well, we don’t have anyone with a wheelchair that comes to us. So why would we need to do all this?’ And I say, ‘Because you don’t have all that, you can’t get anyone with a wheelchair.’ So it’s a catch-22 as well.” – Joel  

How can God use you to encourage others with the comfort you have received in your own struggles?  

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” 

2 Corinthians 1:3–5

Through his difficulties, Joel has leaned into the Lord, digging into his Word and sharing the Gospel with others as a part-time preacher.

As God’s grace carries Joel through, providing for his needs and bringing him comfort, he delights in comforting others, pointing them to the present and eternal hope available through faith in Christ.  

Joel often reminds himself, and encourages others, that no matter the circumstances we face in life, we are always called to be a witness to others. As Joel says: 

“So even if we end up in a place like a nursing home, if that is the only place we can get care, and it is very easy to get depressed, wondering, ‘Why does God still have me here?’ Even then, you can be a witness to the caregivers around you. And if at all possible, get set up with a computer so that you can write or help others. It may take some adaption and you will need to be assertive. But it’s still possible to serve God wherever you are.”