Blair Drewell

@bmdintx

Trying each day to be soft, moldable clay in the hands of God the potter. And in lighter moments cheer on some sports and universities.

Texas, USA

Joined September 2015

1.2K Following

269 Followers

5.6K Posts

bmdintx retweeted

Phil Vischer @philvischer

about 2 years ago

A sneak peek at something Phil and Mike have been working on... secretly... in an undisclosed location... https://t.co/LFNIzNcjQt via @YouTube

481

55K

bmdintx retweeted

Jay Myers

@JayElleMyers

about 1 month ago

One Sunday morning, I was sitting on my couch watching LakePointe’s service online when Pastor Josh Howerton began telling a story about his grandfather. As he talked, he explained that his grandfather had a limb difference similar to the one I was born with. Then, in front of thousands of people, he physically mocked the way his grandfather walked and compared him to “Frankenstein.” The moment he said it, my stomach dropped. I remember sitting there frozen, staring at the screen, feeling a wave of humiliation wash over me. My first thought was not theological. It was painfully personal. “My friends are watching this right now, and they are picturing me.” They were picturing the limp I have always been most insecure about. They were picturing the way I walk. They were picturing the body I spent years trying to accept. I was born with a rare condition called fibular hemimelia, which means I was born missing my fibula bone. It caused severe deformities in my leg, hips, and knees. By the time I was 21, I made the difficult decision to amputate my leg in order to improve my quality of life. I now wear a prosthetic leg and still walk with a limp. For most of my life, I have worked hard to believe that my body is not something to be ashamed of. And in a matter of seconds, from the pulpit of my own church, that insecurity was turned into a joke. What makes this even more frustrating is that when Josh Howerton says something that begins receiving significant negative feedback, it often seems to disappear from the internet. The sermon containing the “Frankenstein” comment was later re-uploaded with that portion removed. If you try to go back and find exactly what was said, in many cases you can’t - because the most controversial moments are frequently edited out or scrubbed once people begin speaking up. Those of us who were there, we know what we heard, but the evidence is often gone by the time others go looking for it. What makes this even more significant is that I am not someone who is easily offended. I joke about my disability all the time. I have a thick skin and a dark sense of humor. I know how to laugh at myself. But there is a profound difference between a disabled person joking about her own life and a pastor standing on stage using disabled bodies as comedic material. Months later, during the fallout from Josh Howerton’s infamous wedding-night joke about women, he gave what appeared to be an apology. I hoped that perhaps the controversy would lead to greater sensitivity. Instead, a mere ten minutes after apologizing, he launched into another defense of his humor. While referencing Jesus’ words, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off,” he acted out someone with one hand typing an angry email and used a mocking voice. Once again, disability was the punchline. Once again, thousands laughed. Once again, I sat there stunned. By that point, I knew I could not keep quiet. I met with church leadership and tried to explain what this felt like from the perspective of someone who actually lives with a disability. I told them that disabled people already spend our lives being stared at in grocery stores, whispered about in public, and treated as if we are strange, broken, or less than. I told them that church should be the safest place in the world for us. It should be the one place where our bodies are not mocked for laughs. I expected someone to look me in the eyes and say, “Jay, what happened to you was wrong, and I am so sorry.” Instead, I was told it was a “gray area.” I was told how wonderful Josh is. I was told how humble he is. I was told that if he were in the room, he would sit there and tell me he was “so, so sorry.” But no one simply acknowledged the obvious: a pastor had publicly mocked a physical disability twice, and a disabled member of his church was deeply hurt by it. Then I was asked to email Josh directly, but even that came with instructions. I was told to start by complimenting him. I was told to mention a sermon I appreciated. I was told to keep my concerns short. I was told not to make it too emotional. In other words, I was taught how to package my pain so it would be easier for a powerful man to receive. So I did exactly what I was told. I wrote Josh a gracious and respectful email. I explained my condition. I explained my amputation. I explained how deeply insecure I had been about my limp and how painful it was to hear it mocked from the stage. I explained that disabled people want to feel welcomed, seen, and safe in church. His response was brief. “Thank you for your encouraging, kind, and respectful email. I will of course receive this and take it into prayerful consideration for the future. Love you! Josh.” I wanted to believe that meant he understood. I wanted to believe that maybe my vulnerability had mattered. I wanted to believe that perhaps the next disabled child watching from home would be spared from feeling what I felt. Then a video was brought to my attention of Josh speaking from the stage several months later. He said: “A lot of times what happens is people, especially the internet mafia, they’ll take one statement from a sermon and apply it to some insane fringe edge case and say, ‘I can’t believe you said that. Can you imagine how that would make that person feel?’ They’ll say, ‘My cousin’s sister’s brother’s uncle’s wife has this rare genetic disorder that affects one out of every three billion people... can you imagine how that would make her feel?’” (This part has also been scrubbed from their social media as of today, but was originally at around the 3 minute mark of the “The Power of a Godly Woman” sermon and I, thankfully, do have the clip of this.) I have a rare genetic disorder. I had already told him that. I had already explained how his words affected me. I had already entrusted him with one of the most vulnerable parts of my story. And now I was sitting there listening to him mock the very idea that someone with a rare genetic disorder might be hurt by what he says. I cannot prove he was referring to me specifically, but I can tell you exactly how it felt. It felt like I had exposed one of my deepest wounds, and instead of tending to it, my pastor laughed at it from the stage. I have been breaking under the weight of my experience at LakePointe for several years, but I have remained quiet because I have seen what happens when people speak out. Normally, I am not shy about using my voice to stand up for what I believe. But when you are vulnerable about something this deeply personal, it is hard to watch the flood of comments: “I love my church.” “Pastor Josh is amazing.” “You’re way off base.” “You just don’t know how to take a joke.” It is hard to see people accused of “dividing the church” when many of us tried very hard to address these issues privately because we wanted unity, healing, and accountability. We are speaking now because private conversations did not bring meaningful change, and we do not want others to be hurt the way we were. I have realized that the issue was never just a few poorly chosen words. The issue was the pattern. The issue was the defensiveness. The issue was the inability to sit with someone’s pain without minimizing it. The issue was a church culture that seemed more concerned with protecting a pastor’s reputation than with listening to the people he had wounded. And the thing is, it should be okay to acknowledge that he is HUMAN and that he makes mistakes, because humans do. But LakePointe cannot seem to do that. They defend him, make excuses for him, and attack you if you even suggest he may have crossed a line. I want to be very clear: I do not hate everyone at LakePointe. I am not cutting off friends who still attend that I adore with my whole heart. There are even members of the staff that I adore that genuinely love Jesus and think they are doing the right thing. I have empathy for them, and I believe God convicts each person in His timing, not mine. But the truth is the truth. Josh Howerton mocked disabled people from the pulpit. I respectfully confronted him. Church leadership minimized my concerns. I left feeling unheard and dismissed. A PASTOR should not mock disabled people. A PASTOR should not compare people with limb differences to Frankenstein. A PASTOR should not imitate the way disabled people walk, talk, or move for laughs. A PASTOR should not respond to sincere pain with a generic reply and a backhanded “love you”. A PASTOR should not brag about driving away members. A PASTOR should not tell people that it’s okay if they leave because, “we need your parking spot.” A PASTOR should care about the feelings of his members. Yes, pastors MUST speak truth even when it hurts, but JOKES are not TRUTH, and they are not necessary. A PASTOR should be humble enough to admit when he has caused harm. A PASTOR should protect the vulnerable. A PASTOR should not need to rely on people defending him and his staff scrubbing any evidence of his hurtful words from the internet. A PASTOR should make every image-bearer of God feel safe in the house of God. And A PASTOR should never make someone feel like the body God gave them is a punchline. Shepherds are entrusted to care for vulnerable people, not to turn their pain into entertainment. This is my story, but I am one of many.

JayElleMyers's tweet photo. One Sunday morning, I was sitting on my couch watching LakePointe’s service online when Pastor Josh Howerton began telling a story about his grandfather.

As he talked, he explained that his grandfather had a limb difference similar to the one I was born with. Then, in front of thousands of people, he physically mocked the way his grandfather walked and compared him to “Frankenstein.”

The moment he said it, my stomach dropped.

I remember sitting there frozen, staring at the screen, feeling a wave of humiliation wash over me. My first thought was not theological. It was painfully personal.

“My friends are watching this right now, and they are picturing me.”

They were picturing the limp I have always been most insecure about. They were picturing the way I walk. They were picturing the body I spent years trying to accept.

I was born with a rare condition called fibular hemimelia, which means I was born missing my fibula bone. It caused severe deformities in my leg, hips, and knees. By the time I was 21, I made the difficult decision to amputate my leg in order to improve my quality of life. I now wear a prosthetic leg and still walk with a limp.

For most of my life, I have worked hard to believe that my body is not something to be ashamed of. And in a matter of seconds, from the pulpit of my own church, that insecurity was turned into a joke.

What makes this even more frustrating is that when Josh Howerton says something that begins receiving significant negative feedback, it often seems to disappear from the internet. The sermon containing the “Frankenstein” comment was later re-uploaded with that portion removed. If you try to go back and find exactly what was said, in many cases you can’t - because the most controversial moments are frequently edited out or scrubbed once people begin speaking up. Those of us who were there, we know what we heard, but the evidence is often gone by the time others go looking for it.

What makes this even more significant is that I am not someone who is easily offended. I joke about my disability all the time. I have a thick skin and a dark sense of humor. I know how to laugh at myself. But there is a profound difference between a disabled person joking about her own life and a pastor standing on stage using disabled bodies as comedic material.

Months later, during the fallout from Josh Howerton’s infamous wedding-night joke about women, he gave what appeared to be an apology. I hoped that perhaps the controversy would lead to greater sensitivity.

Instead, a mere ten minutes after apologizing, he launched into another defense of his humor. While referencing Jesus’ words, “If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off,” he acted out someone with one hand typing an angry email and used a mocking voice.

Once again, disability was the punchline.

Once again, thousands laughed.

Once again, I sat there stunned.

By that point, I knew I could not keep quiet.

I met with church leadership and tried to explain what this felt like from the perspective of someone who actually lives with a disability. I told them that disabled people already spend our lives being stared at in grocery stores, whispered about in public, and treated as if we are strange, broken, or less than. I told them that church should be the safest place in the world for us. It should be the one place where our bodies are not mocked for laughs.

I expected someone to look me in the eyes and say, “Jay, what happened to you was wrong, and I am so sorry.”

Instead, I was told it was a “gray area.”

I was told how wonderful Josh is.

I was told how humble he is.

I was told that if he were in the room, he would sit there and tell me he was “so, so sorry.”

But no one simply acknowledged the obvious: a pastor had publicly mocked a physical disability twice, and a disabled member of his church was deeply hurt by it.

Then I was asked to email Josh directly, but even that came with instructions.

I was told to start by complimenting him. I was told to mention a sermon I appreciated. I was told to keep my concerns short. I was told not to make it too emotional.

In other words, I was taught how to package my pain so it would be easier for a powerful man to receive.

So I did exactly what I was told.

I wrote Josh a gracious and respectful email. I explained my condition. I explained my amputation. I explained how deeply insecure I had been about my limp and how painful it was to hear it mocked from the stage. I explained that disabled people want to feel welcomed, seen, and safe in church.

His response was brief.

“Thank you for your encouraging, kind, and respectful email. I will of course receive this and take it into prayerful consideration for the future. Love you! Josh.”

I wanted to believe that meant he understood.

I wanted to believe that maybe my vulnerability had mattered.

I wanted to believe that perhaps the next disabled child watching from home would be spared from feeling what I felt.

Then a video was brought to my attention of Josh speaking from the stage several months later. He said:

“A lot of times what happens is people, especially the internet mafia, they’ll take one statement from a sermon and apply it to some insane fringe edge case and say, ‘I can’t believe you said that. Can you imagine how that would make that person feel?’ They’ll say, ‘My cousin’s sister’s brother’s uncle’s wife has this rare genetic disorder that affects one out of every three billion people... can you imagine how that would make her feel?’” (This part has also been scrubbed from their social media as of today, but was originally at around the 3 minute mark of the “The Power of a Godly Woman” sermon and I, thankfully, do have the clip of this.)

I have a rare genetic disorder.

I had already told him that.

I had already explained how his words affected me.

I had already entrusted him with one of the most vulnerable parts of my story.

And now I was sitting there listening to him mock the very idea that someone with a rare genetic disorder might be hurt by what he says.

I cannot prove he was referring to me specifically, but I can tell you exactly how it felt.

It felt like I had exposed one of my deepest wounds, and instead of tending to it, my pastor laughed at it from the stage.

I have been breaking under the weight of my experience at LakePointe for several years, but I have remained quiet because I have seen what happens when people speak out.

Normally, I am not shy about using my voice to stand up for what I believe.

But when you are vulnerable about something this deeply personal, it is hard to watch the flood of comments:

“I love my church.”
“Pastor Josh is amazing.”
“You’re way off base.”
“You just don’t know how to take a joke.”

It is hard to see people accused of “dividing the church” when many of us tried very hard to address these issues privately because we wanted unity, healing, and accountability. We are speaking now because private conversations did not bring meaningful change, and we do not want others to be hurt the way we were.

I have realized that the issue was never just a few poorly chosen words.

The issue was the pattern.

The issue was the defensiveness.

The issue was the inability to sit with someone’s pain without minimizing it.

The issue was a church culture that seemed more concerned with protecting a pastor’s reputation than with listening to the people he had wounded.

And the thing is, it should be okay to acknowledge that he is HUMAN and that he makes mistakes, because humans do. But LakePointe cannot seem to do that. They defend him, make excuses for him, and attack you if you even suggest he may have crossed a line.

I want to be very clear: I do not hate everyone at LakePointe. I am not cutting off friends who still attend that I adore with my whole heart. There are even members of the staff that I adore that genuinely love Jesus and think they are doing the right thing. I have empathy for them, and I believe God convicts each person in His timing, not mine.

But the truth is the truth.

Josh Howerton mocked disabled people from the pulpit.

I respectfully confronted him.

Church leadership minimized my concerns.

I left feeling unheard and dismissed.

A PASTOR should not mock disabled people.

A PASTOR should not compare people with limb differences to Frankenstein.

A PASTOR should not imitate the way disabled people walk, talk, or move for laughs.

A PASTOR should not respond to sincere pain with a generic reply and a backhanded “love you”.

A PASTOR should not brag about driving away members.

A PASTOR should not tell people that it’s okay if they leave because, “we need your parking spot.”

A PASTOR should care about the feelings of his members. Yes, pastors MUST speak truth even when it hurts, but JOKES are not TRUTH, and they are not necessary.

A PASTOR should be humble enough to admit when he has caused harm.

A PASTOR should protect the vulnerable.

A PASTOR should not need to rely on people defending him and his staff scrubbing any evidence of his hurtful words from the internet.

A PASTOR should make every image-bearer of God feel safe in the house of God.

And A PASTOR should never make someone feel like the body God gave them is a punchline.

Shepherds are entrusted to care for vulnerable people, not to turn their pain into entertainment.

This is my story, but I am one of many.

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Blair Drewell @bmdintx

about 1 month ago

@Rainmaker1973 What about people with allergies? Family members are the reason I can't have a cat...

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bmdintx retweeted

Wade Mullen

@wademullen

about 2 months ago

One of the most painful experiences of speaking truth to abusive power is watching the discussion slowly shift away from the harm itself and toward your motives, tone, credibility, and loyalty. Eventually, the landscape is turned upside down and the truth-teller becomes the problem. My latest article: https://t.co/lxRMgbf9Ue

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Who to follow

Bonnie Gortler

@Optiongirl

Coach, consultant, author, trader, blogger, and sports lover. Discover more about growing your wealth using charting analysis Learn more here https://t.co/haz4ZHsVa7

Lucy M. Gnazzo

@GnazzoPromotion

Shine a light on fabulous people & stories! Former Strategist for Governors/FLs #LiveWithPurpose #PR Pro #BusinessLeader @Penn_State Alum #Inspire #MakeItCount

Brad Hambrick

@BradHambrick

Husband, Father of 2 Boys, Pastor of Counseling @SummitRDU, Council Member @biblicalcc, Assistant Professor of Biblical Counseling at SEBTS

bmdintx retweeted

Christa Brown @ChristaBrown777

2 months ago

May the world forever remember that, for the sake of power, white evangelicals sold out every shred of moral credibility.

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11K

bmdintx retweeted

Russell Moore

@drmoore

3 months ago

That one can excuse or ignore this while claiming to be “pro-life” is a sign of a seared conscience. God have mercy on us all.

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bmdintx retweeted

Travis Akers 🇺🇸

@travisakers

3 months ago

Franklin Graham said Donald Trump is the greatest Christian president he’s ever known. Even after Trump’s Easter Sunday profanity-laced, unhinged post and today’s threat to “kill an entire civilization,” Graham still stands by the disgraced president. It’s time for churches to examine their partnerships with organizations led by Graham, including Samaritan’s Purse, an organization I myself have volunteered with in the past. At this time, an association with Franklin Graham is more of a detriment to growing the kingdom of God than the benefit of partnering with his organizations for missions work. There are many other Christian-based NPOs that churches can partner with to share the love of Christ and to serve others through global and local missions. I can say with high confidence and Biblical authority that Jesus would not be aligned with Donald Trump. He loves him and died for him, but He certainly would not approve of his actions, and the fact that Franklin Graham believes otherwise leads me to question Graham’s own understanding of the Gospel.

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bmdintx retweeted

Lauren @LABC222

3 months ago

I have five children, 15 and up. and not one of them has asked me what I was like in the 90s. 🤷‍♀️

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Rifle @RacersRifle

4 months ago

Get to know your 2026 NCAA Championships competitors! #GoRacers🏇

326

bmdintx retweeted

Phil Vischer @philvischer

4 months ago

"You don't like the Trump admin's treatment of immigrants. That means you're a Democrat who loves abortion and gender-reassignment surgery for kids." Um... no. No it doesn't. It means I don't like the Trump admin's treatment of immigrants.

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Racers Athletics @MSURacers

4 months ago

🏇 𝗥𝗨𝗡 with us. 📈 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 with us. Murray State Athletics announces its 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 $100 million campaign to further position itself for the future! 🔗: https://t.co/Ejb6jE07cx #GoRacers🏇

MSURacers's tweet photo. 🏇 𝗥𝗨𝗡 with us.
📈 𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗘 with us.

Murray State Athletics announces its 𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗣𝗔𝗖𝗞 $100 million campaign to further position itself for the future!

🔗: https://t.co/Ejb6jE07cx

#GoRacers🏇 https://t.co/ZKRsDSnSfY

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Rifle @RacersRifle

4 months ago

Championships bound 🏆 #GoRacers🏇

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Rifle @RacersRifle

4 months ago

Our time🔒 📍Murray, Kentucky 🏟️ Pat Spurgin Rifle Range ⏰ 9:00 a.m. CT 📊 https://t.co/YcYxnREmJt #GoRacers🏇

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Rifle @RacersRifle

5 months ago

Heating up🔥 Racers post the second highest aggregate in program history at 4737. #GoRacers🏇

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bmdintx retweeted

Holy Post Media

@HolyPost_Media

5 months ago

Withdrawing your support of the Trump administration doesn’t mean you’re suddenly a Democrat or a progressive. It doesn’t mean you’re unchristian or a heretic. It simply means you’re someone who is willing to stand up for the rule of law and human dignity. There is freedom in being loyal only to Jesus, not any political leader. There is freedom in standing up for the things Jesus values, even if they don’t fit neatly within one political party. @skyejethani 🎙️Holy Post 705

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bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Racers Athletics @MSURacers

5 months ago

𝗠𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗮𝗺𝗲 ⭐️ An Olympian and an all-time great for @RacersRifle, Ivan Roe! #GoRacers🏇

bmdintx retweeted

Lauren @LABC222

6 months ago

One by one they are all exposed. “Christian” “leaders” are the worst. #birdsofafeather

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bmdintx retweeted

Christa Brown @ChristaBrown777

6 months ago

Data shows “70% of female domestic violence victims going first to their pastors for help and only 10% of them saying they would ever do so again given how unhelpful and even harmful their pastor’s responses were.”

bmdintx retweeted

Murray State Rifle @RacersRifle

6 months ago

Big one at home to get back going 🔥 #GoRacers🏇

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Blair Drewell @bmdintx

6 months ago

@LABC222 People like the beaver nuggets… variety of flavors. Roasted nuts (fresh) are my fave.,, almonds

Blair Drewell

@bmdintx

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