(RNS) — The Rev. Lamar Hardwick, a disability activist, author and preacher known as “The Autism Pastor,” died on May 22. He was 47 years old.
“With heavy hearts, we want to share that Lamar has transitioned after his journey with colon cancer,” Hardwick’s wife, Isabella Hardwick, said in a recent post on Facebook. “He was surrounded by love, peace, and family, and we are grateful for every precious moment we shared with him.”
Friends and colleagues have described Hardwick as “brilliant” and “surprisingly funny” and said he was known for his dynamic preaching style. He is survived by his wife and three sons.
Born June 5, 1978, in Killeen, Texas, Hardwick was influenced in his youth by his father’s dual career in the U.S. Army and as a Missionary Baptist Church pastor. Frequent moves created instability in Hardwick’s childhood, but he found comfort in the predictable rhythms of church. As an adult, he discerned a call to ministry and earned a Master of Divinity from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology.
Hardwick later completed a doctorate of ministry from Liberty University School of Divinity and the Clergy Scholar Program at Yale Divinity School. He served several churches as pastor, most recently at Tri-Cities Church in East Point, Georgia.
In 2014, Hardwick, then age 36, was diagnosed with autism. His writing on the topic earned him the moniker “The Autism Pastor.”
“When I was diagnosed, it was like for the first time I understood I was human,” he told RNS in 2024.
Pastor Lamar Hardwick and his family. (Photo by Tonesha Smith Photography)
His diagnosis led Hardwick to consider how churches could better welcome people on the spectrum — by providing sensory bags with fidget devices and noise canceling headphones, by not pushing nonconsensual touch and by posting clear signage for those who struggle with executive functions, for example — and how churches could better prioritize people with disabilities, in general.
In 2021, Hardwick’s ideas culminated in the book “Disability and the Church: A Vision for Diversity and Inclusion,” published at InterVarsity Press. Three years later, he published “How Ableism Fuels Racism” through Brazos Press; the book argues that ableism and racism create a hierarchy of bodies that normalizes the suffering of Black and disabled people.
Hardwick’s success as an author came amid health challenges too. In 2020 he was diagnosed with Stage 3 cancer. Even after it progressed to Stage 4, he continued to speak and write about faith and disability. His funeral will take place on June 13 at Turner Chapel Cathedral AME Church in Marietta, Georgia.
In 2024, after his Stage 4 diagnosis, he told RNS he adopted a hope-filled mantra from the Psalms: “I will not be shaken.”
“It doesn’t mean things are not shaking. Lots of things are shaking and moving and rocking and being flipped over all around me,” he said. “But as far as my soul, I feel very solid.”
