Meet Joni and Friends’ newest president! Hear President Shawn Thornton share his heart in this in-depth interview with Joni.
Check out this book by Joni and Friends' newest president Shawn Thornton called All But Normal.
JONI: Hi, I’m Joni and I’m introducing to you today somebody pretty special. It’s our new president of Joni and Friends Shawn Thornton! Welcome, Shawn!
SHAWN: Thank you, Joni so much.
JONI: Absolutely. It’s good to have you here. And Shawn as you know, ours is a ministry to the world’s disabled and it means a great deal that you’ve got a personal knowledge of that, right?
SHAWN: Yeah, yeah, I do. I was born into a home where my mom had a traumatic brain injury years before and she brought a lot of the pain and the disability that came with that severe injury. It affected her emotionally, mentally, physically and all of that came into our home. The accident that she was in that caused that traumatic brain injury was in 1962 and at the time they didn’t have a lot of good physical therapy. We’ve got a lot more resources now for someone who has that kind of injury – didn’t even identify it as a traumatic brain injury at the time. And so, she just really struggled, and she brought that into our home, so I was raised with a mom who couldn’t always get out of bed, she could never drive, could never take on a job; needed a lot of help with some basic things around the house physically. And so, I grew up in that setting and yet my mom deeply loved Jesus. She knew Jesus before the accident; she walked with Jesus after the accident. And even in her brokenness and pain and some of the struggles she had – I could see Jesus in her as she pursued knowing, loving, and serving him.
JONI: Well, you’ve told me something that I want you to share with our listeners about how the Joni book touched her.
SHAWN: Oh, yeah, my age about the time the book came out was like 13 or 14.
JONI: 1976.
SHAWN: Yeah, ok so I was ten. But I think the book came first, then the movie, right?
JONI: Right.
SHAWN: And my mom got a hold of the book probably right about that time – ’76, ’77. And she read it. And then she got some of the cards you had made early probably, now in the early 80s?
JONI: Yup, artwork.
SHAWN: Yeah, artwork with some notecards that she got. When she read that book, with her own struggles of disability – cognitively, physically, all the way around, she would have sometimes a breakdown emotionally, just kind of collapse physically into a chair and just be at kind of the end of herself. And she would begin to cry a bit and then she’d look up and she’d say, “You know, if Joni Eareckson can do this, I can do this.” And sometimes what had taken place; the 15 to 20 minutes prior to that statement was pretty stressful.
JONI: Yup.
SHAWN: It was a hard environment to grow up in. But at the same time, it was a wonderful environment to grow up in because God used it to grow a pastor’s heart in his sovereignty, in that suffering she was going through, that touched our lives too. In his sovereignty he was preparing my heart; not only to be a pastor, but to be engaged in disability ministry.
JONI: Well, let’s talk about that pastor part of your life because you’ve pastored Calvary Community church for 17 years; just two exits down the freeway from Joni and Friends. Well knowing you have a pastor’s heart, tell me what you’re most looking forward to here at the ministry.
SHAWN: I think being able to walk alongside you and sense your heart and your passion for disability ministry. And then to be able to help the global church in the United States and all around the world improve and grow in their ability to minister to individuals affected by disability and their families.
JONI: Look what your mother started.
SHAWN: Yes.
JONI: Wow! Well, friends listening, May is Mental Health Awareness Month and one way to increase your awareness is with Shawn Thornton’s book called “All but Normal.” And thank you for giving me the chance to write the foreword. Shawn, when I read it, I was so moved by your mother, her disability, her trauma in your household, the chaos at times, the pain. I look at you now and I can’t believe you’re normal coming through that. So, friend if you know someone who’s really struggling with mental disorder in their home then you need to get this book called “All but Normal.” If you want more info, just go to joniradio.org. Friends listening, please write Shawn Thornton a note of welcome, would you? And let him know that you are going to be praying for him as we enter a busy season of outreach here at Joni and Friends.
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