Same Lake, Different Boat has become a classic in disability ministry literature. It is one of the core textbooks in the disability ministry courses I teach at Moody Bible Institute. In this new edition, Hubach makes key distinctions between inclusion and belonging and brings fresh insights to the neurodiversity conversation. She clarifies her understanding of the functional and social aspects of disability and articulates a model of belonging in the church that is gospel-centered and leads to the flourishing of all people. This book will transform your church and equip you to welcome people with disabilities and their families into the life and mission of the church.
Imparting encouragement, the apostle Paul stated that ‘for now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face.’ Sometimes, through suffering and/or disability, God allows greater clarity to those struggling to see through that dark glass. In this wonderful book, God uses Stephanie Hubach’s journey—and even her tears—to provide a clearer view of his grace, mercy, and provision.
This is a beautiful book. I loved reading the first edition, and I believe the two new chapters are worth the price of the book. Stephanie Hubach’s cultural understanding, theological depth, and biblical insight are profound and unusual in reflection on issues of disability. She faces squarely the brokenness of the world and so is thoroughly realistic about the challenges of dealing with disability in one’s family, church, and circle of friends. Steph sees the pain and faces it with clear eyes and a passionate commitment to serve. “Fundamental is Steph’s recognition that all of us are marred reflections of God’s glory, so that there is no qualitative difference between me and any other person. At the same time, Steph always affirms the glory of the person with disabilities and their dignity as one made in God’s image, and therefore she insists that each person is given to bless others, to give as well as to receive. Her exposition of John 9 and the way Jesus related to the man born blind is masterful and wonderful. I am sure that every church needs to have this book so that people with any kind of disability are welcomed to serve and to be served. Thank you, Steph, for writing such a lovely and such a needed book.
Just like its author, this revised and updated edition of Same Lake, Different Boat is a gift to the church at large. Recognizing that understanding is necessary for compassion and presence is the prerequisite for meaningful response, Stephanie Hubach graciously opens up her own experience and, in so doing, equips us to come alongside others touched by disability. Readers familiar with the first edition will be gladdened by the minor revisions and especially by the inclusion of additional chapters. New readers will find the author to be equal parts gentle guide and firm advocate and her content to be simultaneously rooted in biblical wisdom and judiciously informed by her work in disability studies. While not the last book that any of us should read on this important topic, Same Lake, Different Boat is a great first book, and I am delighted to be able to recommend such a valuable yet accessible resource to all who desire the church to be a welcoming place for people with disabilities and their families.
This book is exceptional. It is required reading for my students. Chapter 1 presents a biblical view of disability and is worth the price of the entire book. But information alone is insufficient for transformation. Chapters 2 through 13 bring you into virtual relationship with one family impacted by disability to help the informational become transformational. The new chapters, 14 and 15, are treasure troves of contemporary reflections carrying deep biblical wisdom. I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who desires to think more biblically about disability, to relate more lovingly to individuals impacted by disability, or just to fuel their pursuit of God and his purposes for their lives more wholeheartedly.
Delightfully engaging. Personal and poignant. Same Lake, Different Boat is a must-read for anyone who wants to make the church as God has designed it to be . . . beautiful.
Stephanie Hubach has created a new gift for the Christian community as we think about forming and maintaining relationships with people of all abilities. This gift, the second edition of her book Same Lake, Different Boat, shines the light of biblical truth on many of the disability-related conversations and current words and trends to give us a well-articulated place where Christians can plant their feet. This book will be an excellent resource for study in Christian communities eager to be a living, breathing picture of 1 Corinthians 12.
As the father of a son on what is now known as the autism spectrum, I share the otherworldly experience of hearing ‘through a funnel in another place’ when my wife told me that our son failed every developmental test with flying colors. This book captures the pain of the experience, but it sets the experience in biblical realism and does so over against current cultural attitudes and ideologies. It lifts the eyes of both parent and child above the despair to see the true dignity of their personhood reflected in the image of God. It makes plain that people with disabilities have a place and purpose in an abnormal world rather than being victims and/or burdens in a normal world. They are like us but at a different place on the continuum of human life. “I particularly appreciate how the author engages the ideas of the disability industry that ultimately paint children and adults with special needs into the corner of victimhood or else give false hope that every child with disabilities can become the exceptional person (‘Rain Man’). She demonstrates their inherent dignity without pretending that the burden of disability isn’t there or can be erased. Finally, she treats justice issues comprehensively with compassion and truth without creating the unhelpful identity categories characteristic of postmodern analysis. This book is not only a gift to the church, it is also a gift to the world. Thank you, Steph!
Hubach has both lived and studied the experience of disability. The challenges she describes are real and hard. The successes are real and beautiful. Deep reflections on these experiences are informed by a vibrant understanding of the Bible. This book has become a classic for families and ministries. As a starting point, I would endeavor to put it into the hands of parents, family members, and pastors. As you understand what she shares, you understand a great deal about God’s plan for the church and people, particularly those affected by disability.
Believing and belonging—these two themes run rich throughout Stephanie Hubach’s compelling book. She reminds us of God’s clear call to become communities of belonging for individuals with disabilities and their families. And she equips us with the perspectives and practices needed to move in this direction.
In Same Lake, Different Boat, Stephanie Hubach integrates the most current concepts about neurodiversity with the timeless truth of Scripture in presenting God’s vision for doing life together. Stephanie Hubach does a masterful job of integrating the ‘how’ of disability ministry with the ‘why.’ She inspires fellow Christians to recognize and embrace the gifts Christ has given to persons with disabilities for the benefit of the church.
Whether you are someone who is navigating the challenges of dealing with disability in your own family or someone who can’t imagine—and perhaps doesn’t want to have to imagine—the difficulties faced by families touched by disability, this book is for you. Steph Hubach comes alongside readers, disarming us with personal stories that range from hilarious to heartbreaking, and then gently challenging us to live graciously and generously as members of a body that includes those with disabilities.
Same Lake, Different Boat is a disability ministry classic! My highlighters came out before I finished the introduction and were used heavily throughout the book. Stephanie Hubach tells her story, shares her unique and useful philosophy of ministry, skillfully exegetes Scripture passages related to disability, builds a bridge between church and disability cultures, and gives a plan for how to minister to and with the families with disabilities that you know. And she does so in a very relatable, readable style with plenty of humor. This book is for pastors, church leaders, disability advocates, students, people in the pew, and people with disabilities and their families.
The new chapters in Steph Hubach’s updated Same Lake, Different Boat are worth the price of the book. She combines a deep understanding of the world of disabilities and disability thinking with a rich biblical perspective that brings fresh insights to the church’s (and our) struggle to include people with disabilities. And the stories of her son Tim are always delightful.
As an adult living with autism who regularly advocates for others on the spectrum, I’m often asked about resources that will increase understanding about disability in general and help to promote disability ministry in particular. At the top of my recommended reading list is Same Lake, Different Boat. Stephanie Hubach has given us a work of inestimable value—one that contains a beautiful balance of theology and practice. This book is poignant in its description of how the fall has made disability a heart-wrenching reality in our world; powerful in the way it continually points us to Jesus; and practical in the nuts and bolts it provides to help God’s people to step into the stories of those enduring the unrelenting challenges of disability. Stephanie practices what she preaches, and as one who has experienced the authentic amalgamation of her words and works firsthand, I endorse this second edition with great enthusiasm. May it be used mightily to make us better instruments of Christ’s mercy.
This book encourages, inspires, and teaches us how to be so much more welcoming to all, especially those with disabilities. Stephanie’s humor, delightful storytelling, and theological insights combine to correct us and to strengthen us to action. She does not make light of the great challenges and pain for families caring for those with special needs but gives us a path to provide real help and hope. This update includes important discussion of popular disability advocacy culture and how we can respond with both affirmations of grace and firm biblical challenges, while caring for the very real pain and injustice in both the social and functional aspects of having a disability.
Whether you are someone navigating the challenges of dealing with disability in your own family or someone who can’t imagine—and perhaps doesn’t want to have to imagine—the difficulties faced by families touched by disability, this book is for you. Steph Hubach comes alongside readers, disarming us with personal stories that range from hilarious to heartbreaking, and then gently challenging us to live graciously and generously as members of a body that includes those with disabilities.
Steph Hubach is an exceptional Christian leader whose honest, wise, and hope-filled book has helped Christians worldwide enable people with disabilities find places to belong. Same Lake, Different Boat is a required text at Wheaton College and many other schools and churches committed to serving all God’s children. Now revised and expanded to address certain issues with greater biblical and practical depth, it remains the first resource I recommend to anyone who wishes to demonstrate the love of Christ in response to human disability.
Stephanie Hubach’s superb book tells us how to transform the church into a place of hospitality and welcome for children and adults with disabilities and their families. Her heartwarming stories about Timmy and her scholarly discussion of a biblical view of disability make this book both pleasurable and instructive.
while ostensibly issuing a call to come alongside individuals and families touched by disability, Stephanie has actually penned a call for the church to reform and to become an inclusive community for all people.
Masterfully and winsomely develops a scriptural framework to help God’s people think bbilically and live covenantally in all of life, including our response to disabilities.
Stephanie’s book is well rooted theologically and, to my delight, grows out of a well-formed biblical worldview.
while ostensibly issuing a call to come alongside individuals and families touched by disability, Stephanie has actually penned a call for the church to reform and to become an inclusive community for all people.
Joseph “Skip” and Barbara Ryan