volume 45 no. 3 fall 2014
TODAY’S
CHRISTIAN DOCTOR The Journal of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations
IN THIS ISSUE
Faith in Practice Learn how to address spiritual issues in your practice
Follow one doctor’s journey of transformation and discipleship
The erosion of tolerance for Christian ethics in today’s culture
THE MANY FACES OF CMDA PRACTICING PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS
INTERNATIONAL AND DOMESTIC MISSIONARIES
RETIRED PHYSICIANS AND DENTISTS
UNIFORMED SERVICES
STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS
PRACTICING ASSOCIATES
SPOUSES AND FRIENDS
LIFETIME MEMBERS
JOIN US Join the thousands of Christian healthcare professionals who seek to change the face of healthcare by changing hearts in healthcare
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The Unity of Faith and Practice
Tournier began to notice that people did not always project the same image to the world. They go to work and became “manager” or “engineer,” then go home and become “husband” and “father” (or “mother” and “wife”). He said that we spend most of our lives as an
Writing in 1954, Tournier noted, “But medicine itself has become frighteningly mechanized today. We will be able to heal others only if we cure ourselves of the feverish haste in which we live. Real personal contact with the patient requires calmness and time.”3 Then, in 1964 he wrote, “The modern man lives as if Christianity were a negligible hypothesis with no relation to the concrete realities of the world and society. And yet at the bottom of his heart this man remains impregnated with Christianity, so that he lives in a state of perpetual ambivalence with regard to it.”4 So our task, from the days of Jesus, the Great Physician, to the present, is to first be sure we are secure in our faith and relation to God. Tournier spent an hour each day just listening to what God would put in his mind and heart. We can then encounter the world as salt and light. (It is fitting that this theme from Matthew 5 happens to be on this year’s CMDA student t-shirt. Visit www.shopcmda. org to order your shirt today!)
Richard E. Johnson, MD
from the CMDA
The person who comes to mind exemplifying this unity of faith and practice is Dr. Paul Tournier, one of the founders of the International Christian Medical and Dental Association, an organization that is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. He writes, “Ought we not more often to point out to our patients that the health to which we are trying to restore them is only a means to an end, and that the highest good is fellowship with Jesus Christ?”2 For Tournier, “Medicine of the Person” is an approach to care that emphasizes the whole person—the biological, psychological, social and spiritual aspects of health problems. It refers to the unique creation that we are as humans; our desire for acceptance and finding meaning in life despite our sufferings. The heart of Tournier’s vision is that true healing comes about primarily through the relationship between the patient and the doctor, with the ultimate goal of spiritual wholeness.
actor in these roles, which he called the personage. But underneath all this is one person, created in the image of God, and only a step away from healing. There is always a tension in our life between the personage and the person. Is it not true that much of what we encounter in practice is due to stress, a stress between the person and personage? In your allotted 15-minute visit with your patient, you might ask how their job is going or ask about their love life. They respond by telling you how they are doing with that particular role (engineering or husband, for example), but you and the patient have not connected at the level of the person.
president
This issue of Today’s Christian Doctor looks at the integration of faith and the practice of healthcare. In Chapter 1 of Practice by the Book, the authors quote from Dr. Ernest Becker: “What worthwhile purpose can man hold onto if his life is limited to the scientific fact that death will take every dream he has and dissolve it into nothingness?” They then go on to say, “Christian doctors have a different understanding of time—life is everlasting; a different concept of reality—there is a spiritual world as well as a physical world; a different concept of value—to be with God is better than everything. Because of these understandings, Christian doctors have a different mission in life from those who do not know Christ.”1
Bibliography 1 R udd, G., & Weir, A. (2005). Practice By the Book: A Christian Doctor’s Guide to Living and Serving. Bristol, Tenn.: Christian Medical & Dental Associations. 2 Tournier, P. (1960). A Doctor’s Casebook in the Light of the Bible. New York: Harper. p. 241. 3 Ibid p. 124. 4 Tournier, P. (1964). The Whole Person in a Broken World (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. p. 16.
Are you looking for more daily encouragement to remain grounded in Scripture during your everyday life? Scan this tag with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/devotions to subscribe to CMDA’s Weekly Devotions. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 3
contents Today’s Christian Doctor
I VOLUME 45, NO.3 I Fall 2014
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations®— Changing Hearts in Healthcare . . . since 1931.
5 Transformations STORY 12 COVER Sharing Your Faith
through Grace Prescriptions
by Gene Rudd, MD
Introducing a new evangelism curriculum
unch with the Great 24 LPhysician by Shannon Gianotti
A call to love in healthcare
ransparent Ethics: Bearing 26 TFruit to Your Patients
by Eugene S. Patterson, PhD Embracing biblical ethics and values
he Practice of Medicine: 18 TMore he Erosion of Tolerance: than Science 30 TTaking a Stand for Christian by Laura Fleck, MD
How to address spiritual issues in practice
haring My Faith: 21 SFrom My Practice to the Mission Field
by Frank Imbarrato, MD A journey of transformation
Ethics
by John Patrick, MD
Examining the importance of the Christian narrative
34 Classifieds
and discipleship
REGIONAL MINISTRIES
Connecting you with other Christ-followers to help better motivate, equip, disciple and serve within your community
Scan this code with your mobile device to find more online classifieds.
Western Region Michael J. McLaughlin, MDiv P.O. Box 2169 Clackamas, OR 97015-2169 Office: 503-522-1950 west@cmda.org
Northeast Region Scott Boyles, MDiv Midwest Region P.O. Box 7500 Allan J. Harmer, ThM Bristol, TN 37621 9595 Whitley Dr. Suite 200 Office: 423-844-1092 Indianapolis, IN 46240-1308 scott.boyles@cmda.org Office: 317-556-9040 cmdamw@cmda.org Southern Region William D. Gunnels, MDiv 106 Fern Dr. Covington, LA 70433 Office: 985-502-7490 south@cmda.org
Interested in getting involved? Contact your regional director today!
TODAY’S CHRISTIAN DOCTOR®
EDITOR Mandi Mooney EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Gregg Albers, MD John Crouch, MD Autumn Dawn Galbreath, MD Curtis E. Harris, MD, JD Van Haywood, DMD Rebecca Klint-Townsend, MD Robert D. Orr, MD Debby Read, RN VP FOR COMMUNICATIONS Margie Shealy AD SALES Margie Shealy 423-844-1000 DESIGN Ahaa! Design + Production PRINTING Pulp CMDA is a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA). TODAY’S CHRISTIAN DOCTOR®, registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. ISSN 0009-546X, Fall 2014, Volume XLV, No. 3. Printed in the United States of America. Published four times each year by the Christian Medical & Dental Associations® at 2604 Highway 421, Bristol, TN 37620. Copyright© 2014, Christian Medical & Dental Associations®. All Rights Reserved. Distributed free to CMDA members. Non-doctors (US) are welcome to subscribe at a rate of $35 per year ($40 per year, international). Standard presort postage paid at Bristol, Tenn. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Christian Medical & Dental Associations, P.O. Box 7500, Bristol, TN 37621-7500. Undesignated Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture references marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture references marked (MSG) are taken from The Message. Copyright© 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group. Scripture references marked (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright© 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture references marked (NIV 2011) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture references marked (NKJV) are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright© 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Other versions are noted in the text. For membership information, contact the Christian Medical & Dental Associations at: P.O. Box 7500, Bristol, TN 37621-7500; Telephone: 423-844-1000, or toll-free, 888-230-2637; Fax: 423-844-1005; Email: memberservices@cmda.org; Website: http://www.joincmda.org. If you are interested in submitting articles to be considered for publication, visit www.cmda.org/publications for submission guidelines and details. Articles and letters published represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. Acceptance of paid advertising from any source does not necessarily imply the endorsement of a particular program, product or service by CMDA. Any technical information, advice or instruction provided in this publication is for the benefit of our readers, without any guarantee with respect to results they may experience with regard to the same. Implementation of the same is the decision of the reader and at his or her own risk. CMDA cannot be responsible for any untoward results experienced as a result of following or attempting to follow said information, advice or instruction.
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WIMD Annual Conference September 25-28, 2014 • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania In October 1994, the first Christian Women in Medicine and Dentistry National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Now, 20 years later, the group you know as Women in Medicine and Dentistry (WIMD) is returning to the same historic city to celebrate a Legacy of Liberty. Whether you have attended every conference since 1994 or if this will be your first, you are invited to join WIMD and enjoy this unique fellowship of a gathering of like-minded women, committed to Christ and to the professions of medicine and dentistry. As a female healthcare professional, do you deal with the stresses of work, family, church and other activities? Are you struggling to stay focused on God’s plan for your life in the midst of personal and family issues? Then this unique conference is just for you. The WIMD Annual Conference is designed to address the professional, emotional and spiritual needs of women physicians and dentists. It also provides continuing medical education on a variety of healthcare topics, with the goals of improving clinical knowledge and skills, in order to improve patient care outcomes. A wide range of sessions and workshops are offered so you can tailor your conference experience to fit your specific needs. Student scholarships are available for students wanting to attend. For more information and to register, visit www.cmda.org/wimd.
CMDA’s Electronic Resources Did you know that you can read Today’s Christian Doctor on your tablet? Have you listened to the latest edition of Christian Doctor’s Digest with Dr. David Stevens on your iPhone? As a benefit of your membership in CMDA, you receive both printed versions of both of these resources, as well as access to the electronic editions on CMDA’s website. If you would prefer to only receive the electronic version and stop receiving print copies of the journal and audio magazine, please contact memberservices@cmda.org to update your subscription preferences. Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/publications to update your electronic subscription preferences for CMDA publications.
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 5
transformations
Member Award In recognition of his dedication to compassionate patient care, CMDA Member Amit Pandya, MD, was honored with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award, presented with the American Academy of Dermatology. A dermatologist at University of Texas-Southwestern, Dr. Pandya received this recognition for his work with underserved patients in the Dallas area, where he created the dermatology program at the Agape Clinic, as well as on overseas service trips. He has also produced 14 patient-focused educational brochures in Spanish to bridge the knowledge gap with the large population of underserved Spanish-speaking patients in his area. In addition, he is a sought-after medical educator and mentor, receiving the Regent’s Outstanding Teacher Award, the highest honor given to graduate medical educators in the state. “I am honored and humbled to receive this award. As a recent member of the Volunteerism Committee, I am familiar with some of the other nominees who have inspired me with their humanistic qualities and who in my opinion are equally or more qualified to receive this award,” Dr. Pandya said. “I pray this award will encourage others to give compassionate care and help the underserved in our world.”
New Ethics Statements During the 2014 CMDA National Convention held in Green Lake, Wisconsin in April, three new ethics statements were approved by the Board of Directors and House of Representatives. All three statements were approved unanimously. The three new statements are: • Organ Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD) • Professionalism • Valid Consent in Shared Decision-Making To review these and other CMDA Ethics Statements, please visit www.cmda.org/ethics. In His Image encourages and provides great opportunities for international rotations during residency. I explored the option of long-term medical missions while spending a month overseas during my second year of residency at IHI. The faculty physicians and many of the program’s graduates have extensive experience in international medicine and were enthusiastic in helping to provide me with training and counsel for my future.
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After graduating from IHI, my family and I moved to Malawi, Africa. My husband teaches at a village school and I work at a hospital in the capital, treating patients and training Malawian family medicine residents.
6 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
We are so incredibly thankful for the guidance and experiences God gave us through IHI as we prepared for service in Malawi!
transformations
Supreme Court rules twice in favor of CMA briefs’ positions The U.S. Supreme Court twice in its past term upheld the positions of briefs filed by the Christian Medical Association (CMA). CMA filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a U.S. Supreme Court case examining free speech and assembly rights, McCullen v. Coakley. The brief, submitted for CMA by the Christian Legal Society, sought to counter a Massachusetts law that had attempted to ban peaceful pro-life speech on public sidewalks, by prohibiting many citizens from entering a public street or sidewalk within 35 feet of an abortion facility. The Court in June 2014 unanimously ruled that the law violated the First Amendment’s free speech guarantee. CMA CEO Dr. David Stevens noted, “The fact that the government was bent on not only banning peaceful speech and assembly, but also penalizing its citizens with fines and jail, demonstrates the type of coercion that can happen when governments decide to enforce their own ideology.” In a friend of the court brief in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood v. Burwell, CMA outlined the medical aspects underlying religious objections to the HHS Obamacare mandate on contraceptives and sterilization surgeries. The Court ruled 5-4 that the mandate violated
c Memoriam and Honorarium Gifts d Gifts received April through July 2014 John M. Long, MD in memory of Dr. Joyce Davis Pamela Blesch in memory of Carl Froderman Jan Wilkes in memory of Carl Froderman Kathy Austin in memory of Carl Froderman Robert & Melanie Sluder in honor of Dave Malcolm and Tank and Alicia Trivett Martha H. Killinger in memory of Jerry Galloway Martha H. Killinger in memory of Sylvia Holbert For more information about honorarium and memoriam gifts, please contact stewardship@cmda.org.
the religious freedom of family-owned businesses that had objected to the mandate on grounds of conscience. The businesses had faced over half a billion dollars in fines. Key points and principles outlined in the Court’s opinion included: • The Obama administration violated federal law—the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA)—by substantially burdening the free exercise of religion without taking the least restrictive means of accomplishing its purpose of distributing free contraceptives. The government easily could have assumed the cost of contraceptives to employees of objecting employers. • The job of the Court is not to assess the reasonableness of a religious objection, but simply to determine whether or not it is sincere. • The Obama administration’s position would allow forcing religious objectors to participate in any medical procedure allowed by law—including third-trimester abortions or assisted suicide. • The administration’s position reveals that it views religious freedom as less important than Congress considers it.
Shop to Support CMDA Do you shop online at Amazon.com? If so, you can support CMDA through your online purchases. AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support a charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price directly to CMDA. For every eligible AmazonSmile purchase, CMDA will receive .05 percent of the price. Eligible products are marked “Eligible for AmazonSmile donation” on their product detail pages. On your first visit to AmazonSmile, you will be prompted to select a charitable organization to receive donations before you begin shopping. To select CMDA, please search for “Christian Medical & Dental Society” in Bristol, Tennessee. From that point on, AmazonSmile will remember your selection, making it easy to continue to donate to CMDA for future purchases. And because you can use your existing Amazon.com account, your shopping cart, wish lists and other account settings will also stay the same. To learn more and get started shopping to support CMDA, visit smile.amazon.com. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 7
transformations
Steury Scholarship Winner Out of a group of more than 25 applicants, this year’s Steury Scholarship was awarded to Timothy and Stacey DeKoninck. Timothy graduated from Cedarville University in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in biology/pre-med, and he is a second year medical school student at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine in August 2014. Ashley has a master’s in education and is an elementary school teacher. Timothy and Stacey are also parents to a 15-month-old son, Seth. Timothy began a personal relationship with Christ as a young child while growing up in a family with parents who tried to model Christ. “Somewhere among the faithful Sunday school lessons, Vacation Bible School skits and Wednesday night youth activities I heard that only a relationship with Jesus and the receiving of His forgiveness would cover over my sin and allow me to spend eternity with Him,” he said. In high school, he pursued an interest in aviation with the dream of flying missionaries in and out of “the bush.” However, after his freshman year at Cedarville University, he was exposed to the medical community after his grandfather suffered a massive stroke. “[That] opened my eyes to the personal aspect of medicine and the potential to meet people in a place of need,” he said. While on a mission trip to Mexico with a camp ministry, Timothy met Stacey and they were married in 2007. After working a year in a hospital as a nurse technician, they traveled to China to begin serving as teachers at an international school. Timothy said, “I came to China thinking that
God could and would use my talents and skills, but what he really wanted was my obedience and willingness to be used by Him.” They remained in China for five years until the Lord opened an opportunity to attend medical school at Michigan State. Since returning to the U.S., Timothy and Stacey have become involved with their local CMDA chapter and are enjoying the fellowship of sharing with other believers in medical school. He is also enrolled in the Leadership in Medicine for the Underserved program which prepares its students to meet the needs of the medically underserved in the U.S. and abroad. They are excited to grow in this program as they learn how to serve those in need. The purpose of the “Dr. and Mrs. Ernest Steury Medical Scholarship Fund” is to assist with the tuition of medical students who are committed to a career in foreign or domestic missions. Applications are evaluated on the basis of academic record, spiritual maturity, cross-cultural experience, leadership ability, the student’s sense of call, references and extracurricular activities/talents. For more information, visit www.cmda. org/scholarships.
Leaders Wanted to Transform Doctors, to Transform the World House of Representatives Are you interested in serving CMDA as a volunteer leader in the House of Representatives? CMDA’s House of Representatives meets once a year to approve bylaw changes, receive reports and approve the ethical positions of the organization. During the year, they also serve as two-way channels of communication between CMDA and its members. There is one representative from each state and from many of our local ministries. For more information about the House of Representatives, visit www.cmda.org/hor. Board of Trustees New trustees to CMDA’s Board of Trustees are nominated by a joint committee of the House of Representatives and the Board of Trustees. They look at the service record of potential nominees to CMDA, their leadership capabilities, expertise and Christian testimony. The nominees are then approved by both the house and the board. Trustees may serve up to two consecutive four-year terms and pay all their own expenses. The board meets three times a year to set policies, approve the budget, oversee finances and provide supervision to the CEO. For more information about the Board of Trustees, visit www.cmda.org/trustees. 8 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
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Event Calendar For more information, visit www.cmda.org/meetings. Marriage Enrichment Weekend October 10-12, 2014 South Lake Tahoe, California www.cmda.org/marriage
Grace Prescriptions Live Seminar November 14-15, 2014 Portland, Oregon www.cmda.org/graceprescriptions
Marriage Enrichment Weekend October 17-19, 2014 Isle of Palms, South Carolina www.cmda.org/marriage
International CMDE Conference February 23 - March 5, 2015 Chiang Mai, Thailand www.cmda.org/meetings
CMDA Dawson Retreat October 29 – November 1, 2014 Lake Tahoe, California www.cmda.org/dawsonretreat
Orientation to Medical Missions March 19-22, 2015 Abingdon, Virginia www.cmda.org/orientation
2015 CMDA NATIONAL WINTER CONFERENCE February 8-15, 2015 A seven-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten
CRUISE WITH CMDA and join Dr. David Stevens and Dr. Gene Rudd aboard Royal Caribbean’s Freedom of the Seas for a seven-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise to the Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. Choose from two track options: “Thriving Amid the Troubled Waters of Healthcare” or a Marriage Enrichment Conference. Space is limited, register at www.cmda.org/cruise.
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 9
transformations
The CMDA Voice in Ministry “After recently finishing a study on developing a Christian worldview, I realized how much of an influence CMDA has been in my life. Not only have you helped me in recognizing truth, but also in teaching me how to apply those truths in the treatment of my patients.” --—A CMDA member from Washington “I am so comforted to know that as I progress through school, CMDA has a staff of people and wise members of the organization that are looking out for people in my precise position, providing so many resources that apply to me—even before I realize my need for them.” -—A CMDA dental student
Seen
& Heard the CMDA voice
“Literally one of my co-residents walked in to my office this morning and asked if I could pray with her. She is going through a really hard time and opened up completely. After an hour-long conversation with no patient interruptions (miracle), I explained that she needed Christ and to surrender her life. She said ‘I agree, but how?!’ Then we prayed, cried and it was amazing!!!! I can’t post it on Facebook since she’s on there and I know she still has to tell her family and some of her friends. But it is just testimony that God can use any of us at any time at any moment!!! I love that God has placed me in an environment where people can safely come to me and CMDA has taught me to be bold!” -—A CMDA resident member “This being our first full year of being as a CMDA ministry, I have been amazed at the greater focus and impact of our ministry. We started out with a prayerful vision and have sought to live out our mission to live the gospel by God’s grace among our classmates. A few classmates (three that I or another leader have specifically spoken to) have rededicated their lives to Christ after some prodigal months coming to medical school. This is a testament to God using our ministry to draw others closer to Himself.” -—A CMDA student leader
Website Directory Members
Resources
Automatic Dues – cmda.org/autodues Join CMDA – joincmda.org Membership Renewal – cmda.org/membershiprenewal
Chapel & Prayer Ministries – cmda.org/chapel CMDA Bookstore – shopcmda.org Continuing Education – cmda.org/ce Development and Stewardship – cmda.org/giving Ethics Hotline – cmda.org/hotline Conferences and Events – cmda.org/meetings Marriage Enrichment – cmda.org/marriage Medical Malpractice – cmda.org/mmm Placement Services – cmda.org/placement Publications – cmda.org/publications Scholarships – cmda.org/scholarships Speaker’s Bureau – cmda.org/speakers
Ministries Outreaches Campus & Community Ministries – cmda.org/ccm Dental Ministries – cmda.org/dentist Side By Side – cmda.org/sidebyside Singles Ministry – cmda.org/singles Specialty Sections – cmda.org/specialtysections Women in Medicine & Dentistry – cmda.org/wimd
Missions Center for Medical Missions – cmda.org/cmm Global Health Outreach – cmda.org/gho Global Health Relief – cmda.org/ghr Healthcare for the Poor – cmda.org/domestic Medical Education International – cmda.org/mei Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons – cmda.org/paacs Continuing Education for Missionaries – cmda.org/cmde 10 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
Issues American Academy of Medical Ethics – ethicalhealthcare.org Ethics Statements – cmda.org/ethics Freedom2Care – freedom2care.org Washington Office – cmda.org/washington
“I commend CMDA for the great step in launching this residency program. This program is well thought out to achieve the goal of raising servant leaders in dentistry to reach many through the caring ministry of their work. I would really like to partner in prayer and journey with you as you birth this vision and with God’s help bring it to fruition with your first group starting in June.” -—An African Dental Director discussing the new CMDA Dental Residency [+] program “CMDA is a lifeline for a group of believers in our school. We are friends, have Bible studies, study and all benefit from Christ’s fellowship because of CMDA. We have also served the class in different ways, hopefully revealing Christ’s love as we did this.” -—A CMDA student leader
Have you been
transformed? Are you
transforming others?
The CMDA Voice in Missions “It was exciting to see medicine draw people in and connect them with the local church. This was a great model of evangelism that allowed us to have a lasting impact after we left since the local pastors and pastoral students were present and active throughout the clinic.” -—A physical therapist on a GHO trip to Honduras “Mongolia…was an amazing experience. As a private practice endodontist in a small city in Ohio who loves the Lord, loves people and loves traveling and experiencing other cultures, this was everything I have been looking for… Meeting the national and international workers for breakfast was a highlight. It was encouraging to hear about the numerous ways that different people and organizations were working in the country for God’s sake in order to bring growth to His Kingdom there.” -—An endodontist on a MEI trip to Mongolia “Three agents from the Nigerian President’s Secret Service were assigned to escort our GHO team wherever we went, and even swept the airport before our arrival. Two of them were on hand to watch over us when we were presenting at the pastor’s conference. Afterwards they asked for copies of our notes and outlines of our sessions, and expressed how grateful they were for the training. It turns out they were solid believers and we became fast friends!” -—A GHO team leader on a trip to Nigeria “I arrived with a bag of medical equipment, including bag valve masks. The doctors were amazed. They stated that just three days prior to my arrival they had been discussing the need for bag valve masks—how did I know? I told them that I didn’t know, that when I purchased the equipment four months ago God knew that they had that need, and that it was God’s gracious intervention that led me to purchase and bring exactly what they needed. The ED director’s mouth literally hung open during that conversation.” -—A pediatric ER physician on a MEI trip to the Balkans “I just wanted to take a minute and let you know how much this Your Call issue meant to me. Every article contained a message I needed to hear. I thank God for these timely words, and I thank all of you for the wisdom and encouragement you share.” -—A career missionary serving in Guatemala
We want to hear from you Send your transformation story, letter or photos to communications@cmda.org or to P.O. Box 7500, Bristol, TN 37621. Please include an email address for us to contact you.
We want to hear your story It can be a simple comment about a CMDA ministry; it can be an account of your experiences on a missions trip; it can be a profile of a member who has had a huge impact upon you; it can be photos from a campus meeting; it can be statistics showing how your trip served the needy; it can truly be anything— we want to see how your work is making a difference.
We want to hear your ideas Do you have a great idea for Today’s Christian Doctor? Send your ideas to communications@cmda.org.
Transformations one story at a time
showcasing the impact of CMDA
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 11
Sharing Your Faith through
Grace Prescriptions by Gene Rudd, MD
Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www. cmda.org/graceprescriptions to learn more about Grace Prescriptions.
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“GraceRx was an awesome example of how to properly incorporate prayer into our day to day interactions with patients. The speakers were both well informed and presented the materials in a very meaningful format. The entire presentation was very interactive and thought provoking. The praise and worship was awesome, and I walked away feeling more equipped to carry out God’s mission. The videos were AWESOME!!!!” — Cathy Bowling, Site Manager CCHSA
“I wasn’t sure I wanted to give up a Friday night and Saturday to attend this conference, but I sure was glad that I did! It was
encouraging to see how many of my physician and allied health colleagues are seeking, like myself, to share their faith through their practice. I felt the curriculum was wonderful in that it provided very practical and specific ways to incorporate faith sharing in everyday practice. I was part of the six-week follow-up which I found helpful to keep me accountable to applying some of the principles we learned in the conference. The opportunity to network further with physicians outside of my specialty was helpful as well. I would highly recommend the Grace Rx conference to medical professionals at any level.” — Sharon Beall, MD, General Pediatrician and Hospice Medical Director
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Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 13
I
n his book What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Phillip Yancey tells a story from the life of C.S. Lewis. Lewis arrived late to a British conference on comparative religions. The scholars were debating what tenets were unique to the Christian faith—what doctrines separate our faith from other religions. They ruled out incarnation since some religions also claim a god came in human form. Resurrection? No, other faiths provide accounts of people returning from the grave. When Lewis entered the room, he asked what the lively debate was about. When the question of the uniqueness of our faith was posed to Lewis, he responded promptly, “Oh, that is easy. It’s grace.”1 While those of us who experience God’s grace know it is amazing, are we careful to share that blessing with others? I suspect we all have stories that make us cringe. I was in the airport of another country when a Christian mission team came to the same gate. They were zealots, but lacking in grace.
Their boisterous, attention-seeking behavior was a turnoff for all, including me as a fellow believer. When I struck up a conversation with the team leader, I suggested that an essential part of being a witness was to be winsome and tasty to those around us. In a loud voice, loud enough to hear across the terminal, he responded, “Yes, praise God, we’re sprinkling salt wherever we go.” Hardly! In my work at CMDA, I’ve received numerous calls from healthcare professionals who feel persecuted because of their Christian witness. Their employer, hospital committee or dean has reproached them for sharing their faith. While some are clear cases of persecution, sadly, most are the result of irresponsible, inconsiderate or insensitive behavior by the person providing a witness. I recall my own early years learning to be a witness to my patients. My motivation to witness followed a
Host a Local Grace Prescriptions Seminar In January, the CMDA local ministry group in Augusta, Georgia hosted its own local Grace Prescriptions seminar. More than 100 people joined together with Drs. Larimore and Peel to learn more about incorporating their faith into their practice. Are you interested in hosting a Grace Prescriptions seminar in your local area? Some of their plans, strategies and results are outlined below to offer guidance and informative advice for you to plan a similar event in your community. CMDA’s Meetings Department is also available to offer resources and materials. For more information about hosting a local seminar, please contact meetings@cmda.org. Planning Stages In the months prior to the seminar, the local ministry council, led by Augusta Area Director Andy Sanders, MD, outlined specific goals for hosting the conference, as well as deciding what was needed to actually achieve those goals. Their goals included: shaping and defining practices/careers for local healthcare professionals, renewing the passion and focus of our calling in healthcare, giving birth to office-based teams of ministry and creating a great kingdom harvest, in addition to other minor goals. They outlined a plan of action to include advertising through a variety of mediums, sponsorships, forming a prayer team, connecting with local churches and more. Advertising Strategies The most effective strategy for advertising this type of event is through personal invitations, so the council appointed a Core Team of five people who then brainstormed and came up with a list of various leaders in the local healthcare community. Out of these brainstorms came a list of 50 leaders at local hospitals, facilities and schools, as well as individuals seen as leaders within a wide variety 14 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
of specialties. These 50 leaders were divided up amongst the Core Team who then approached these leaders and personally asked them to share with and personally invite at least 10 of their colleagues. Each one was provided with a packet that included invitations to hand out, flyers about the conference, registration forms and more. These items were then shared with their colleagues as they cast the vision for using this curriculum to impact their colleagues and their patients. The Core Team also followed up with these leaders to encourage them to remind people about the seminar. They ran advertisements in a local Christian magazine, on a Christian radio station, on social media and with local churches, plus a host of other personal communication to help spread the word. In addition, CMDA’s headquarters assisted with developing promotional materials, sending out email invitations to members within the local area, organizing registration details and more. Participants were able to register through the CMDA website, mail, fax or email. After Action and Results One of the first things the council prepared for during the planning stages was an after action plan to help the participants grow after the seminar as they began using the curriculum and applying it to their own practices. During the seminar, attendees were asked to sign up for a follow-up group that met weekly for six weeks following the seminar. During these meetings, the group offered testimonies of what God was doing in their work, discussed the lesson for the week and provided accountability for their fellow group members. These weekly meetings were designed to help make sure that the pressures of normal life and healthcare practice did not keep participants from implementing the lessons they learned from Grace Prescriptions. Through discussion, devotion, prayer and accountability, group members worked together to encourage and challenge one another as they began taking new steps in their practices.
William C. Peel, ThM, both authors and popular speakers on topics of faith, health and the workplace. Included in their many publications are Saline Solution and Workplace Grace. Grace Prescriptions is scheduled for release as a DVD small-group curriculum beginning in the fall of 2014. It will also be offered in a weekend seminar format to live audiences. (See below for more information.) Eventually, others will be trained how to share the content.
dreadful pattern. It began with a growing guilt over my neglect and ended when I unloaded a whole truckload of “salt” on the next patient, whether they were ready or willing. Maybe you have done something similar. Or maybe you are at the other end of the spectrum: your witness of Christ is never apparent to anyone. There must be a better way—a way in which healthcare professionals can fulfill the expectations of Scripture that we be ambassadors for Christ, ambassadors who are neither too zealous or too quiet, but who are properly seasoned with salt (Colossians 4:6). That better way—God’s way—follows the way of grace. To teach this better way, Christian Medical & Dental Associations developed a curriculum entitled Grace Prescriptions. Grace Prescriptions teaches busy healthcare professionals how to effectively and ethically share their faith. The content was developed by Walt Larimore, MD, and Opportunities to learn Grace Prescriptions: • L ive Seminars with co-authors Walt Larimore, MD, and William C. Peel, ThM • S eptember 12-13, 2014 – Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois (Chicago area) •N ovember 14-15, 2014 – Cedar Mill Bible Church, Beaverton, Oregon (Portland area) •V ideo Curriculum: www.cmda.org/graceprescriptions
The content is divided in 14 modules, with each module following a similar pattern. At the beginning of each module, the audience is introduced to a case study that illustrates common dilemmas experienced in healthcare. Research and experience show that most of us feel woefully inadequate knowing how to deal with these situations. Our response is typically to ignore the opportunity rather than to prescribe grace. The curriculum helps you recognize these opportunities and respond. Then the last step in each module provides a personal exercise or small group discussion to reinforce what was learned. Surveys of Christian healthcare professionals reveal that their number one concern in being a witness is how to deal with the problem of time. How can they manage a busy schedule while stopping to witness? It is possible, and Grace Prescriptions will show you how. One key is learning that you are only one step in a process that God is orchestrating in the life of your patient. In most situations, our job is simply to help them take one step closer to knowledge of Christ, usually by softening the ground so seeds can be planted. The course will teach you how to recognize spiritual barriers and how to respond to them. And in those occasions when the time is right and the patient is willing, the course will give you competence in sharing your faith. Since scientific research has become the gospel of our culture, three modules review what the medical literature contains about faith and health, as well as the ethics of healthcare professionals addressing the spiritual concerns of our patients. You will discover overwhelming support for appropriate spiritual intervention. When done with respect, sensitivity and permission, patients are highly receptive and appreciative. Other modules also cite the literature as a basis Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 15
The Blessings of Grace Prescriptions by William Griffin, DDS Having attended the Grace Prescriptions seminar twice, along with its predecessor Saline Solution three times, it is with great enthusiasm that I recommend this program to every Christian healthcare professional. The benefits of this training extend in many directions—enhanced quality of patient care, improved patient satisfaction, increased job satisfaction and greater glory to the One we ultimately serve. Matthew 5:16 calls us to, “Let your light shine…in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (NASB). This verse represents a twofold calling for the healthcare professional: to treat patients with excellence, and to acknowledge the grace of God in the process. Both of these callings are directly linked to the call to faith. We give them our very best because they have been created in the image of God, who has given to us His very best in the form of His Son. While the calling to treat our patients with excellence is indeed a high and formidable challenge, the calling to point to the Lord in the process can be even more intimidating. Especially in our culture, in which that which we know by faith is considered by many to be “second-class truth,” our efforts to give God the glory may end up being awkward and far too infrequent. Grace Prescriptions co-authors Dr. Walt Larimore and Bill Peel do an excellent job of demonstrating the empirical evidence for making sure that the spiritual needs and desires of our patients are addressed. They share documented evidence for the improved results that patients experience when there is a spiritual support network to encourage and pray for them. A patient’s spiritual desires can be discovered through a few simple questions during the collection of the health history information, in a fully non-threatening manner, but in
for initiating and defending our actions. You will be taught how to take a spiritual history, raise faith flags, build a spiritual support network and much more. And importantly, you will gain the confidence that you can be an effective witness, and do so within the proper boundaries of healthcare. Grace, God’s unmerited favor, is a means by which God has made Himself know to us. His character, goodness and offer of salvation are revealed to us by grace. We are called to do likewise. We can and should be prescribers of grace. You can learn more through Grace Prescriptions. For more information, visit www.cmda.org/graceprescriptions. Bibliography Philip Yancey, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1997), 45. 1
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a way that may cause a patient to consider the importance of their faith in healthcare. This can encourage the Christian and open doors to future spiritual interaction with those who do not yet believe. The content of this seminar is most helpful in identifying the common ground between Christians and non-Christians, and then showing how this common ground can be used as a springboard to communicate the gospel. Everyone’s body fails them at times, everyone eventually seeks the assistance of a healthcare professional, and the physical maladies we all experience can be the impetus for us to consider our even greater need for spiritual healing. Our goal in this regard is not to “convert” patients; instead, it is to show them the love of Christ in word and deed, and to keep our eyes open widely to where God is at work. Of all the many benefits that this seminar offers, the most surprising one is the fact that it has increased my joy in practice. As I have become more comfortable referencing the spiritual realm in non-threatening ways with my patients, it also serves as a reminder to me—and my staff—that the Lord is involved in every detail of our lives. When I adjust a patient’s bite to make their jaw more comfortable, the relief comes from the Lord. When I remove a tooth and have the patient bite on some gauze, it is the Lord who stops the bleeding. We are indeed “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14, NIV 2011), and the more our eyes are open to this reality, the more we have to share with our patients. In summary, I encourage all those who want to help their patients both physically and spiritually—and this should be all of us—to experience the great blessings of this seminar. Attend because you want the best for your patients, but don’t be surprised if it also gives you greater satisfaction as your light begins to shine a bit more brightly.
About The Author GENE RUDD, MD, serves as Senior Vice President of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. Dr. Rudd is a specialist in obstetrics/ gynecology with experience in maternal-fetal medicine and rural healthcare. He has garnered several awards including the Gorgas Medal, presented by the U.S. government for the most significant achievement in preventive medicine. As a spokesman for Christian healthcare professionals in America, Dr. Rudd has received national media coverage, including interviews with the Washington Post and People Magazine. Dr. Rudd has also conducted international programs with World Medical Mission, where he established the Christian Medical Mission of Russia. He directed the rehabilitation of the Central Hospital in Kigali, Rwanda. Dr. Rudd has also served in Belarus, Bosnia, Kazakhstan and India. Dr. Rudd’s experiences provide rich illustrations for inspirational and educational presentations. He is co-author of Practice by the Book. He and his wife Gay have four children.
Designed for small group use
How often do you prescribe specific and appropriate doses of grace that may bring your patients a step closer to a right relationship with God? Many of us in healthcare struggle with guilt and inadequacy in this area. But there is hope. Grace Prescriptions is designed to teach you to share your faith with patients in ways that safeguard the important ethical principles of respect, sensitivity and permission. Originally taught in CMDA’s popular Saline Solution course, these concepts are proven to be effective as thousands of lives have been transformed. Grace Prescriptions builds on this legacy. Taught by co-authors Walt Larimore, MD, and William C. Peel, ThM, we encourage you to utilize this resource to learn how God can use you to dispense Grace Prescriptions.
CMDA Bookstore • www.shopcmda.org • 888-230-2637
$139.95 Package includes one instructor manual, one participant workbook and presentation DVDs
The
Practice of Medicine:
More than Science by Laura Fleck, MD
I
n the world of modern medicine, where new discoveries are almost commonplace, many aspects of “healing” remain a mystery. Despite our best efforts, patients suffer and die every day. Are we missing something? Increasing evidence supports the efficacy of spiritual disciplines in promoting health.1 Yet, few healthcare professionals attend to the spiritual needs of their patients in the clinical setting—limiting their effectiveness, at best, to assisting the body’s natural healing process.2 As Christian healthcare professionals, we know that God has identified Himself as Jehovah Rapha, the Lord thy physician, the Lord who heals (Exodus 15:26). The New Testament is filled with more accounts of Jesus healing people of physical afflictions than of forgiving their sins.3 In Matthew 12:15, we see Jesus in His role as healer: “…great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all” (NKJV). As the embodiment of God, Jesus was demonstrating God’s desire to heal man. In Hebrews 13:8, we are reminded, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (NIV 2011). The same sovereign healing hand is at work today throughout the world. Have you invited the Almighty to be part of your treatment team? If not, why?
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Truly, expanding clinical discussions to include spiritual and religious issues can make us uncomfortable. As healthcare professionals, we are not clergy and have no formal training in addressing God-focused topics. Those clinicians over the age of 50 were likely taught during medical school that spiritual issues were taboo: too private, too distracting and prone to create legal problems for the care provider. Those under the age of 50 were trained in a more liberating environment but were also taught to be tolerant of all beliefs, even those that oppose Christian beliefs. So, what do we do? Several years ago, I decided to address the question by going straight to my patients. I wanted to know how they felt about having their spiritual needs addressed in the clinical setting. After all, they were coming to me for healthcare. It seemed natural to clarify their expectations. So I surveyed 150 outpatients who suffered from low back pain, using a nine-question, close-ended survey. The survey addressed how patients perceived their pain experience. Was it a purely physical experience or were there spiritual aspects to their suffering? The survey also examined the appropriateness of having their care provider address spiritual issues, their level of comfort in discussing spiritual needs with their physician, the impact of prayer on healing and
the patients’ desire to have prayer made available to them in the clinical setting. I was somewhat surprised, but very pleased, with the study’s outcome. Despite the fact that the majority of patients perceived pain to be a purely physical experience (64.2 percent, p=0.0006), a statistically significant number of patients felt it was appropriate for their care provider to address how their pain was impacting them spiritually (64.8 percent, p=0.0004), felt comfortable discussing their spiritual needs with their physician (84.0 percent, p=<0.0001) and were interested in having spiritual resources made available to them as a treatment option (64.7 percent, p=0.0036). Prayer was viewed by patients as having a significant impact on their recovery (94.4 percent, p=<0.0001). While 91.8 percent (p<0.001) of patients prayed for their own recovery, 85.5 percent (p=<0.0001) asked others to pray for them and 72.3 percent (p=<0.0001) wanted their care provider to pray with them in the office setting. A statistically significant number of patients felt their healthcare professional should take spiritual issues into consideration (p=<0.0001): 28.6 percent felt their care provider should openly address physical needs but be sensitive to how they were impacted spiritually by their pain; 27.8 percent felt their provider should offer assistance with spiritual needs with their approval; and 25.6 percent felt their provider should openly address both physical and spiritual needs.
To this end, I have incorporated the following measures into my clinical practice and have found these actions helpful:
Research today supports the benefit of religious practices on health.4 According to Director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health Dr. Harold Koenig in a lecture he gave in 2010, religious involvement may help reduce stress and minimize depression, is associated with lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse, is related to better physical health and faster recovery, and predicts greater longevity and less functional disability. My survey suggests that a statistically significant number of patients feel our role as healthcare professionals should include attention to their spiritual needs. And, as part of the Great Commission found in Mark 16:1718, Jesus instructed us: “And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will…place their hands on sick people, and they will get well” (NIV 2011).
Prayer – I spend time in prayer every morning and for a few moments before entering the examination room of each patient. During this time, I ask God to provide me with the knowledge and skills to be His instrument of healing and the discernment to sense needs that may not be obvious. After praying, I can enter the examination room with the new confidence that comes from the promise found in John 14:13: “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (NASB). Furthermore, on the desk in my exam room, I have visibly placed prayer cards. These cards state my willingness to pray with patients during their exam or outside the context of their visit. With the patient’s approval, I record prayer needs in my prayer book and keep this with me for reference during my daily/weekly prayer during my devotions. I have to admit that there have been times when the prayer book was so full of new requests that I had to pray for the patients as a group rather than individually. What a privilege and joy it is to “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence” on behalf of my patients (Hebrews 4:16, NIV 2011).
So, research supports the benefit of religious practices, patients feel healthcare professionals should take spiritual issues into consideration as part of their care and God has ordained that, as believers, we have an obligation not only to spread the gospel but to heal the sick on His authority. What are we waiting for?
Lifestyle discussion – Rather than segregating the discussion of spiritual needs and religious practices during my history taking, I address these issues as part of the discussion of the patient’s lifestyle: nutrition, exercise, use of supplements, stress management, spiritual and religious beliefs and practices, etc. This Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 19
permanent structural damage to her spine. She had been told by numerous physicians that she had no treatment options and would never walk again. After several weeks of prayer, anointing with oil and layingon of hands, she not only walked, she danced for joy! What an incredible honor to have witnessed the truth outlined in Mark 9:23, “…Everything is possible for one who believes” (NIV 2011). Despite practicing medicine for almost 30 years, my enthusiasm for patient care continues to grow. In John 16:24, we are told, “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete” (NIV 2011). Amen.
allows me to address the subject in a non-threatening way. If I sense that a patient does not want to discuss spiritual needs, I respect their choice and move on.
Resources – I am slowly compiling resources for my patients to enhance their ability to support their body’s natural healing through healthy lifestyle changes, to better understand the influence that religious practices have on health and to access the promises God has made in His Word. I continue to study God’s Word to better understand the promises He makes to us regarding His role as the Great Physician (Psalm 103:3). Why not learn from the best? Encouragement – I encourage patients to commit to regular time with the Lord, in prayer and through Bible study. As we are told in Proverbs 4:20-22, “My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words…for they are life to them that find them and health to a man’s whole body” (NIV 1984). Further, I stress the importance of having a church family or body of believers to support them, to hold them accountable and to support biblical practices like anointing with oil and laying on of hands (James 5:14). Expect great things – I expect healing and miracles in my medical practice daily, and I see them. Though all miracles are memorable, I am still awestruck by the memory of a patient I treated several years ago who suffered cauda equina syndrome as a result of trauma. She had been confined to a wheelchair for nine years and her imaging studies showed 20 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
If you are reading this article, your heart and mind are likely open to new possibilities in your practice of healthcare. I challenge you to take the next step. Expand your practice to include more than science has to offer. Continue to search God’s Word for the truth about healing. As He promises in John 8:32, “…you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (NIV 2011). Bibliography 1 Koenig, Harold G., and Michael E. McCullough. Handbook of Religion and Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. 2 “Ethics in Medicine.” University of Washington School of Medicine Bioethical Topics for Health Care. Web. 3 June 2014. <http://depts. washington.edu/bioethx/>. 3 Bosworth, F. F.. Christ the Healer. Old Tappan, N.J.: F.H. Revell, 1973.spi 4 Koenig, Harold George. Spirituality in Patient Care: Why, How, When, and What. 2nd Edition ed. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2007.
About the Author
LAURA FLECK, MD, is a graduate of Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois and is board certified in neurology. Laura provides care for patients with spine-related pain through her practice, Foundation in Spine Health (FISH), in Asheville, North Carolina. A Spiritual Ambassador for Park Ridge Health, a member of the Duke Center for Spirituality and Health and a Hallelujah Acres Health Minister, Laura recently joined CMDA and is excited to share her Christian walk with fellow healthcare professionals.
Sharing My Faith From My Practice to the Mission Field
by Frank Imbarrato, MD
D
demonstrates His “perfect patience” in showing mercy to us who are outcast (1 Timothy 1:16). With broken humility and the chains of self-reliance torn away, our new lives as a family in Christ started to take shape.
This story is about my journey of learning to do just that—to follow Christ, to be transformed into a disciple, to reproduce and make disciples, to make Him my ultimate reason for living. It is a journey that takes me from my practice to my local community to the outer reaches of the world. It is a journey of tremendous blessing and grace. And it is a journey that continues to transform, refine and nurture me.
My practice in family medicine was busy and thriving. Even though it was early in my career, I was already overextended with family responsibilities, the delights and busyness of children and the demands of private practice, hospital care and nursing home responsibilities. It was evident that our family was my first and primary mission field as I had neglected my marriage and family during those early years. God began shaping our family into a Godly home as we started keeping our focus on Him, growing in the Word and being guided by His grace.
avid Platt recently wrote, “As we follow Christ, He transforms our minds, our desires, our wills, our relationships and our ultimate reason for living. Every disciple of Jesus exists to make disciples of Jesus, here and among every people group on the planet. There are no spectators. We are all born to reproduce.”
“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NASB). HUMBLE BEGINNINGS IN MY JERUSALEM My conversion to biblical evangelical Christianity occurred in 1994. My loving, faithful wife Karen had been brought to saving faith two years earlier, and through her faithful witness and the perfect patience of Christ, my sin, pride and arrogance were broken down. Christ
GOD’S STRENGTH AND BOLDNESS IN MY JUDEA As God’s grace became evident in my life and I sensed His call on my life, I heard about CMDA and became a member in 1996. Soon after, God launched my busy family practice office into His fruitful mission field as the result of a live conference of the Saline Solution with co-authors Walt Larimore, MD, and William C. Peel, ThM. My wife, Catholic office administrator and Jewish physician assistant joined me at this eventful seminar, none of us having a clue the impact it would have on our lives or our practice of healthcare. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 21
The lessons we learned through the principles and techniques outlined in the Saline Solution curriculum revolutionized the practice. Because we were now focused on the goal of being salt and light in our practice, we launched and implemented several changes in the office. We now make prayer—both amongst our staff and with our patients—an integral part of the daily care in our office. Even non-Christian staff members in the office embrace this atmosphere as they demonstrate a focus of love and compassion that is evident to our patients. It sets our office environment apart from others, a fact that is noticed by many. As a result of the work of the Spirit, I’ve seen many come to Christ, including my office manager and physician assistant. Our Christian witness has challenged countless others to consider their relationship with the Lord, leading many to make credible professions of faith over the years.
My first short-term medical missions trip with Global Health Outreach (GHO) to the remote mountain village of Uspantán, Guatemala was riveting in its impact on God’s call and direction in my life. As we were preparing to leave, I remember sobbing, not understanding how the least, the lost and the last would be cared for and sustained, even while I was trying to trust in God’s providence and sovereign hand upon them.
God has richly blessed the fruit of intentional and faithful witness of His gospel through ongoing transformations in the hearts of numerous patients, families and staff members. We praise God that we have been able to maintain our distinctiveness in an increasingly darkened world and that He has blessed the incarnational engagement of those who have maintained their witness to our needy patients and culture.
There is tremendous intimacy in relationships that develop when hearts and minds submit and serve together by stepping out of their comfort zones on the mission field. My children have had the privilege of serving; in fact, experiences on the mission field influenced my son Greg’s career decisions and he is now a third year resident in neurosurgery. The friends and fellowship experienced on the mission field are relationships built on the foundation of Christ and solidified through the power of the Holy Spirit. The common bond of servitude has allowed long-lasting, deep friendships that foster and encourage greater kingdom work for the King of Kings. God has used GHO and CMDA to raise up many of us to be used for His purposes in discipleship and service. Dear friendships and bonds of fellowship have taken many of us through doors that only God could have opened.
THE IMPACT OF WITNESS AND SERVICE TO THE OUTER REACHES Our call to make disciples moves far beyond the borders of our families, patients and colleagues. It extends to the outer reaches of the globe. And transformed hearts that have experienced the living God will radically be moved to greater things for the Lord. So the next step was God leading me to join a medical missions trip.
Dr. Frank Imbarrato (far right) with patients he served while on a mission trip to Macedonia. 22 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
Since that time, the strong pervasive influence of mission service has radically transformed the hearts of my family, my practice, our community and even our church. Evangelical healthcare mission service has impacted every sphere of my life. GHO and healthcare mission trips have allowed my family to serve together and have also launched a new vision for our local churches to be part of God’s work beyond the local and regional borders of our community.
When I was called to lead GHO teams in service, it opened up opportunities for greater outreach in our church community. Over the last several years, scores of people, especially youth, have been exposed to the wonders and miracles of mission service to the least, the lost and the last. The impact on individual hearts and even the mission/vision focus of the church has been transformed by stepping out in faith and boldness to serve destitute and poverty stricken areas for the cause of Christ. EXTENDED MISSION FIELD IMPACT IN OUR SAMARIA After years of serving on the international mission field, it becomes part of your DNA to be missional in all you do. The natural consequence of God changing minds and hearts, mostly mine, was to recognize the tremendous need for Christian healthcare influence in our local area of Hudson Valley, New York. Although there
testimonies of these broken women are only surpassed by the powerful work of the Holy Spirit healing them and regenerating them.
Dr. Frank Imbarrato enjoys spending time with the village children during a Global Health Outreach trip to Ethiopia.
are wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ including solid churches that are faithful to the gospel, there is an increasing darkness and a void of gospel awareness and outreach in this region. This is probably not unique to the Northeast, but it is very tangible in New York. We organized and formed CMDA-Hudson Valley, a local chapter of CMDA, praying the Lord would impact the extended local healthcare community through witness and discipleship for His greater purposes. There is a dryness in the oasis of complacency among the healthcare community where we live, but the handful of faithful, dedicated servants who labor in our local chapter are a wonderful example of perseverance and endurance in dry times. Some wonderful fruit has been born from the ministry, but our hearts burn to see greater involvement in the community of our healthcare professionals. One exciting ministry born from this local fellowship is Christ Health Care Ministry (CHCM, which is unrelated and independent of CMDA). CHCM is an initiative to provide free faith-based healthcare in our community to the impoverished, homeless, uninsured and undocumented immigrants. There are currently two sights in our area providing gospel-based free healthcare for the needy population. The fruit of that evangelistic outreach has been exciting as it has crossed over into other domains of the community. We have been able to work with, witness to and disciple students from a local college through the ministry. Additionally, I am blessed and privileged to serve as medical director for My Choice, a pregnancy resource center in our community that provides gospel-based outreach and support for abortion-minded and abortion-vulnerable women. They receive love and truth in the name of Jesus and are treated with His love and dignity whether they choose life or not. Finally, I am honored to volunteer in a long-term Christian residential recovery center for women who are being delivered from their addictions and prostitution. The powerful
TO GOD BE THE GLORY The transformed life of servitude and faith is a wonderful life dedicated to the Great Commission of Jesus to make disciples. As His disciples, He desires that we be faithfully present and obedient regardless of where He has us. To be faithfully present doesn’t mean to be comfortably present in obedience. We desire to live redemptive lives, ready to make disciples and to see Him receive all honor, praise and glory for who He is, and for His kingdom purposes of advancing the name and person of Jesus Christ and His gospel! Where are you on your journey? Perhaps you are just learning how to share your faith with your patients in the office or with your colleagues at the hospital. Maybe you are ready to “Go” as God has called you out on your first short-term missions trip. Possibly God is calling you to greater boldness and courage to impact your local community and church in servitude and discipleship. Wherever God has you on His path for your life, He asks that you follow Him, to be His surrendered disciple, to share the gospel, to advance His kingdom and to make disciples of all nations.
About The Author
FRANK IMBARRATO, MD, is a family physician who practices in the community setting of Orange County, New York. He has been in private practice since 1986, and he has been active in office, hospital and long-term care practice. Frank is president of the Hudson Valley CMDA chapter. He is also medical director of My Choice Pregnancy Resource Center as well as the Walter Hoving Home Recovery Center for Women. He volunteers for Christ Health Care Ministry, a free faith-based clinic serving the homeless, uninsured and undocumented. Dr. Imbarrato has also served on the mission field internationally since 1999, and he has a heart to see God’s kingdom advanced through missions and discipleship. Frank and his wife Karen live in Goshen, New York. They have one son, Gregory, and two daughters, Alicia and Maria. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 23
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glanced at the clock ticking on, and expecting my mentor to arrive any minute, I logged out of the EHR and closed my laptop. When I asked for an appointment with the Great Physician—offering to take Him out for lunch—I hardly expected His thoughtful response: lunch on Him, at my office. He would stop by Panera on His way.
Chicken Salad—my favorites! How did He know? Between bites, I asked questions about healthcare, people management and His view of medical ethics. He answered simply and brilliantly, bringing clarity to each situation. Finally, with only a few bites of my sandwich left, I gathered my courage, took a breath and dove in.
The moment His shadow hit my door, my drab office brightened. Jesus ignored my outstretched hand and welcomed me with a hug. His presence had a surprising effect on me. Looking at His forehead smoothed by peace, the worry lines on mine began to relax. As He leaned back in my tall leather chair with easy confidence, I felt the tension dissipate from between my shoulders. His eyes drew mine away from a million lesser tasks.
“Have I…” the right words dissolved in a wave of embarrassment. Did I really want to ask Him that? I preferred to keep that insecurity locked away from public view, but I needed to know. “Have I missed the boat?” I said, trying to give Him the gist of it without baring my soul. He waited.
Nestled inside the takeout box Jesus handed me, I found a Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich and Thai
Finally, I choked it out. “I don’t share the gospel very often with my patients.”
“Should I evangelize more?” He held my gaze in silence.
h c n u L n a i c i s y Great Ph with the
by Shannon Gianotti
24 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 14
There it lay between us, exposed. My great guilt. My plaguing worry. Having owned my insecurity, the words came avalanching out. “Sometimes I pray with them and sometimes I love them, but rarely do I tell them about you, let alone share the gospel with them.” I felt ashamed, but I forged on. “I want to point people toward you, but how do I do that as a healthcare professional? What do you expect of me? Have I got it all wrong?” Formulating the last question—the real question—the one underneath it all, I felt His gaze pulling my eyes toward Him. I took a breath and looked at Him. “Are you disappointed in me?” The Great Physician watched me for a long time without answering. I searched His eyes for condemnation. None. Disapproval. None. Disappointment. None. I only saw in Him what I sometimes feel in the exam room—compassion and concern. When He finally spoke, He said something like this: “A doctor needed to leave the office at 5 p.m. so she could watch her son’s soccer match, and she had three patients left to see. Walking into the first, she greeted a 40-year-old man. He hadn’t seen a doctor for years and wanted the rash on his arm to go away. When the doctor expressed concern for his high blood pressure—174/92—he said he felt fine. When she suggested cutting down his caffeine and rechecking his blood pressure in two weeks, he refused. She made the alternative suggestion of medication, but he only glared back. The doctor felt frustrated. The appointment was already running longer than scheduled, and trying to convince him of the risks of untreated hypertension would slow her down. He obviously didn’t want to hear it, either. So, to break the stalemate and do something, the doctor wrote a script for Benicar-HCT, handed it to the patient and left the room feeling that at least she had done her part. “Next, the doctor greeted an 82-year-old woman who looked as though someone has started folding up her bones in an attempt at origami, but stopped midprocess. Her vital signs showed a blood pressure of 190/106 and the patient complained of headaches. Seeing that the patient only took Bystolic, the doctor wrote for Benicar-HCT and advised her to come back next month. Both felt happy with the plan, neither of them realizing that the patient’s last labs showed stage III kidney failure. “Finally, the doctor examined a 75-year-old man. He wore his only pair of jeans, stained and smelly, and his stomach grumbled, long empty since a single piece of toast that morning. His fixed income made it impossi-
ble to keep up with his medical appointments, but the physician didn’t know that. She only knew that he had failed to return nine months ago as advised and had run out of his medications. The patient, too embarrassed to admit his poverty, insisted that he simply forgot to take his meds. Now rushing to leave for her son’s match, she failed to hunt for the truth. Assuming that the patient would want one pill instead of two, for his blood pressure of 188/96, the doctor sent in Benicar-HCT. The patient never filled the script due to the cost, and the physician never knew.” Jesus paused, looking at me. “Whose blood pressure did the doctor treat?” I thought for a moment, and then answered, “All of them and none of them, at the same time.” “In what ways?” He asked. “The doctor got the problem right—they needed their blood pressure lowered—but she didn’t take the time to find what obstacles prevented each patient from accepting her solution.” “The same is true of spiritual healing,” Jesus said. “The problem always needs addressing, but not everyone can digest the gospel all at once.” The Great Physician knew exactly what I needed to hear—not another rule or evangelism technique, but a call to love. Every patient sitting in my exam room is traveling a different road and unique obstacles litter their path to Jesus. Discovering those obstacles and offering the next step toward Jesus takes time, which, in the field of healthcare, is costly. But then, so is love.
About the Author
SHANNON GIANOTTI works as a family nurse practitioner in Lancaster, Texas, and studies part-time at Dallas Theological Seminary. On her 10th birthday, Shannon lost herself in the glossy pages of her favorite gift—an atlas of the human body. Her next treasure was a pink Bible. Those two books tell the story of her life. She now splits her schedule between listening to her patients’ heartbeats at work and examining her own at seminary. While both settings stretch her mind and grow her faith, discipleship is her passion. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 25
TRANSPARENT ETHICS B e a r i n g F r u i t t o Yo u r P a t i e n t s
by Eugene S. Patterson, PhD
“Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season…” (Psalm 1:1-3, NIV 2011).
I
was a young post-doctoral research fellow when I was first introduced to Dr. David Kraft. The occasion was a cardiac society dinner in Oklahoma City in 1983, and I took an immediate liking to the tall elderly gentlemen with an encyclopedia of humorous stories. One of the stories he told that evening described how he came to live and practice internal medicine and cardiology in Oklahoma City. In 1956, David left his long-time home and medical practice in New York City. Taking his wife and two young sons with him, he was traveling cross-country to Texas when their automobile broke down on Route 66 in Oklahoma City. Waiting for the car to be repaired and finding both an excellent Italian restaurant and, subsequently, an opportunity to practice medicine in Oklahoma City, he and his family settled there. I knew at the time the story was apocryphal and obviously contained a smattering of hyperbole, but it was only 27 years later and three years following his death that I learned the real story behind his arrival in Oklahoma City. David was raised in a home with parents having strong biblical ethics and morals. After attending Yeshiva
26 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
University and choosing not to pursue the vocation of rabbi, he attended and graduated from the Medical College of New York. The year was 1943 and he was drafted into the U.S. Army Medical Corps. David arrived in France very soon after D-Day, continuously serving with General George S. Patton’s Third Army and participating in the relief of the besieged 101st Airborne Division during the Battle of the Bulge. Serving in a frontline medical unit, he saw some of the worst forms of traumatic injury inflicted by man on his fellow man. Although he never talked about his experiences in the war even with his wife, he was greatly affected by the suffering he saw. During the last days of the conflict, subsequent to the liberation of Buchenwald by Patton’s Third Army, David participated in the medical care of the survivors of Hitler’s death camps. During the immediate time period following the end of World War II in Germany, David’s medical practice consisted of both Allied soldiers and German civilians.
To his surprise, after several months, his practice included a substantial number of pregnant German women. His innate curiosity drove him to ask several of his patients why they chose an American internist with no specialty training in obstetrics as opposed to available German physicians, many with specialty training in obstetrics. The answer was simple: he was Jewish and, unlike many German physicians who had practiced medicine under the National Socialist regime, the women knew he would neither condone nor participate in performing abortions. These German women were predominantly from the lower social classes in Germany and were well aware of the eugenics practiced under the previous National Socialist regime, whereby severe legal penalties were in place for abortions performed for Aryan women and abortion was a relatively common procedure reserved for “undesirable” peoples. On the surface, it seems somewhat ironic for German women in 1945-1946 to purposely choose a physician from a despised and persecuted religious group, selected specifically for the ethical principles valued by that group. To understand the power of a physician to influence a crucial medical or ethical decision for a patient, consider the following recent history of events:
Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www. cmda.org/ethics to learn more about ethics in healthcare.
• During the 1980s in the Netherlands, 61 percent of physician-directed euthanasia was administered without verification of a prior direct conversation with the patient receiving the lethal injection.1 • In July 1992, the Dutch Pediatric Association announced its formal guidelines for killing handicapped newborns. Dr. Zier Versluys, chairman of the Association’s Working Group on Neonatal Ethics, said that, “Both for the parents and the children, an early death is better than life.” Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 27
He also stated that euthanasia is an integral part of good medical practice regarding newborn babies. Attending doctors would judge if a baby’s “quality of life” is such that the baby should be killed outright.2 • In 2004, the Groningen Medical Center in the Netherlands announced that it euthanized four severely ill newborns, under guidelines known as “the Groningen Protocol” — a list of standards for performing and reporting euthanasia of newborns with serious, incurable deformities. Under the guidelines, two agreeing physicians may also kill newborn babies with the consent of parents in cases where the infants are severely disabled or unlikely to live long. The Dutch government submitted a letter to the European nation’s parliament outlining the proposed changes. Dutch Health Ministry spokeswoman Annette Dijkstra told the Associated Press that the changes don’t need approval from parliament and were set to take effect in mid-October 2004.3 • More than 90 percent of Down syndrome babies identified in utero by mandatory genetic testing in Great Britain are aborted.4 • “Post-birth abortion” (as opposed to the less delicate, but more accurate term “infanticide”) has been proposed in Australia for children born with significant medical problems.5 In each example given above, a physician is in a position to exert extraordinary influence over a patient’s life decisions, exerted either appropriately or inappropriately, overtly or covertly, with or without the informed consent of the patient. It is axiomatic that no patient seeks care from a healthcare professional who is lacking in either ethics or morals. Each patient desires an ethical healthcare professional acting in accordance with the patient’s best interest when the patient is unable to fully participate in decisions concerning their own healthcare. 28 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
I only learned the real story behind Dr. Kraft’s arrival in Oklahoma City a few months ago. At a holiday cocktail party in New York City in 1955, he excused himself early and left the party with his wife. A concerned demeanor suggested to his wife that he had been called to an emergency at the hospital. During the ride away from the party, she suggested that he not take her home first but drive straight to the hospital, and she would wait for him until the emergency was over. But in reality, there was no emergency at the hospital. Rather, he had just observed large sums of cash changing hands between other medical practitioners, payments received for referring patients to them for consultation. David’s biblical ethics could not allow him to accept, much less condone, the practice of fee-splitting. Driving in his car, with his wife and two young sons, and without a firm commitment of a job at the end of the journey, he arrived in Oklahoma City where he became the Chief of Internal Medicine at St. Anthony’s Hospital, a hospital run by the Franciscan Sisters of Mary. It was a position he ended up holding for more than 30 years. In addition, Dr. Kraft spent more than 50 years as a distinguished member of the volunteer teaching faculty at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and was the recipient of multiple clinical teaching awards. Dr. Kraft’s patients recognized his embracement of and adherence to biblical ethics. The values were integrated into his character and were thus apparent to his patients. Are your Christian values apparent to your patients? The following is the mission statement for an inner city medical mission in Denver, Colorado, hanging in the lobby and posted in the hallways, proclaiming its mission to all. “Inner City Health Center is a Christ-centered healthcare home for underserved individuals where consistent, high quality treatment is provided in an atmosphere of genuine respect. We express our love for Jesus Christ and our compassion for those in need through our deep concern for their physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being.” Is your professional mission as transparent? Perhaps you individually or collectively as a healthcare group need to post a mission statement describing your values, providing insight into your character and integrity and answering the following questions: 1. What are your deeply-held principles and moral values guide your practice of healthcare? 2. What value do you place on human life? Your deeply-held principles and values will provide an insight into how you will act under circumstances
that cannot be predicted or foreseen, and how will you act when no one is watching over you. Perhaps you should post a copy of the oath you took as a healthcare professional, or if more appropriate, an oath that governs your personal practice of healthcare. Other indicators of your values can be gleaned from the reading materials in the waiting room, the framed art on the walls and the actions and attitudes of your employees. As a Christian healthcare professional, do your patients see Christ in you? “By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit” (Matthew 7:16-18, NIV 2011). Bibliography
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1 Medical Decisions About the End of Life, I. Report of the Committee to Study the Medical Practice Concerning Euthanasia. II. The Study for the Committee on Medical Practice Concerning Euthanasia. The Hague, September 19, 1991, page 72. 2 Katzman A. “Dutch Debate Mercy Killing of Babies.” Contra Costa Times, July 30, 1992, page 3B. 3 Associated Press, September 29, 2005.
4 Mansfield C, Hopfer S, Marteau TM. “Termination rates after prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome, spina bifida, anencephaly, and Turner and Klinefelter syndromes: a systematic literature review”. Prenatal Diagnosis 19: 808–12, 1999. 5 Giubilini A, Minerva F. After-birth abortion: why should the baby live? J Med Ethics:10.1136, 2011.
About The Author
EUGENE PATTERSON, PHD, is a CMDA member who taught pharmacology and performed research in cardiac electrophysiology and pharmacology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and the Heart Rhythm Institute in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, before retiring in 2010. Recently, he came out of retirement to teach at the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Sitting on his desk is a framed mission statement for the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine, reminding him of his mission.
FLEXIBILITY WITH YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE: Learn more at tiu.edu/bioethics or call (800) 345-8337.
Live and work at home, while completing the program online (with just two trips to Deerfield for the annual CBHD summer conference/courses)
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Today’s Christian Doctor
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 29
Taking a Stand for Christian Ethics by John Patrick, MD
“ETHICS IS IS A A CONDITION CONDITION OF OF MAN.” MAN.” “ETHICS LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN —— LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN
Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/cdd to listen to an interview with Dr. John Patrick with more information about this topic.
30 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
uman societies need the general acceptance of the rule of law if they are to function, and that acceptance has to be deeply rooted if they are to flourish. The law easily defines what we will not tolerate. (With more difficulty, it can also define some more positive commitments.) When these intolerances become second nature, we forget their origins and simply obey them as though they were inborn. (The Bible teaches that some things are written on the heart, but it also teaches the importance of childhood education pre-eminently by telling the stories of God’s people which writes ideas of moral consequence onto a child’s heart, making some actions morally unthinkable.) The result of this sort of intolerance is paradoxically freedom.
H
An example will serve to make the point and also raise questions about how we are debasing our society by false choices. When I was a boy growing up in blue-collar, industrial Birmingham in the United Kingdom in the 1940s, there were no attacks upon women on those back streets. We were not taught that we should behave like that; it was a given. My mother was a popular speaker for women’s groups and often came home after dark; we had no car so she traveled by bus and then walked for 10 minutes through semi-darkened streets to get home. My father never thought about it because there was no risk. If anyone did threaten her, one scream would have produced a crowd of men and the offender would be lucky to escape intact. Boys learned to be men by watching their fathers who taught ethics without even knowing the word. It was simply our way of life. There was little or no divorce so dads were there to raise their children, especially their sons. Today we know by bitter experience how important fathers are because fatherlessness is a major factor in producing sons who are highly likely to become criminal.
“the West” possible. Michael Polanyi, who had to flee both Communists and Nazis, had reason to wax eloquent: In order that a society may be properly constituted there must be competent forces in existence to decide with ultimate power every controversial issue between two citizens. The adherents of a great tradition are largely unaware of their own premises, which lie deeply embedded in the unconscious foundations of Practice...if the citizens are dedicated to certain transcendent obligations and particularly to such general ideals as truth, justice, charity and these are embedded in the tradition of the community to which allegiance is maintained, a great many issues between citizens, and all to some extent can be left—and are necessarily left—for individual consciences to decide. The moment however a community ceases to be dedicated through its members to transcendent ideals, it can continue to exist undisrupted only by submission to a single centre of unlimited secular power.1 There is no doubt that our tradition has been suffering from erosion and reduction for some considerable time. (C.S. Lewis was aware of it even during World War II as The Abolition of Man demonstrates.) The fulfillment of Polanyi’s predictions are also apparent all around us as government intrudes further and further into what used to be private life. The Obama administration’s cavalier disrespect of the right of conscience is the most egregious example
The importance of a shared narrative transmitted within the family has a long history, from Deuteronomy to the comparatively recent past. The norm was to teach the historical narrative of the children of Israel generation by generation in all the settings of family life. The object was to inculcate a way of life, but the history was often forgotten with disastrous consequences. Currently we are ruled by an elite who take perverse pleasure in marginalizing the story that made
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 31
and an extremely serious one. Only a self-understanding, rather arrogantly calling itself progressive but in fact better described as ignorant, would wish to confine any expression of the Christian faith to the private sphere and close down any possibility of democratic dissent. This is foolish. There are multiple examples of this mindset. The misuse of science as scientism is one important example. One brief example must serve as an illustration: for most of the last 150 years, some scientists have been pushing the view that science is all we need and only policies based on scientific studies ought to be accepted. This is remarkably foolish. We cannot give a scientific account of our own consciousness, but we must presume the validity of our own sense perception to do science! Again Lewis expressed it succinctly: “If nothing can be assumed nothing can be proved.”2 Western science has been the beneficiary of a history made possible by the Christian church. It was growing and active for centuries before the so-called enlightenment happened (I prefer to call it an endarkenment). There is a very readable account in chapter two of Rodney Stark’s book For the Glory of God, and The Genesis of Science: How the Christian Middle Ages
launched the Scientific Revolution by James Hannam provides a wonderful account of some of the central actors. Attempts to explain the dominance of the Western world over the rest for the last 500 years have resulted in a considerable wealth of literature, but of particular interest is the recognition by some academic scholars of a secularist outlook that it really does look as though Judeo-Christian culture played a critical role. Names like Allan Bloom, Jürgen Habermas, Robert Fogel and Niall Ferguson come to mind. It looks as though you cannot have Adam Smith’s economics without Adam Smith’s ethics! Or as Habermas put it, “Anyone who does not acknowledge that our ideas of justice come from the Jews and our ideas of compassion come from the Christians is simply ignorant.”3 We lived for many centuries within a developing narrative, not of rights so much as of responsibility, which is rooted in the attempt to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling and to constantly develop a renewed mind. This, of course, does not apply to everyone in a personal way, but Christendom was real and while it endured facts and values were related. Only after the reductionism of the so-called “enlightenment” did things fall apart. As Lewis explained, the basic phenomenon is more often for first and second things to be wrongly ordered rather than downright wrong.4 The problem is very apparent in the teaching of ethics to healthcare students. Almost all of them are taught the Georgetown Mantra: autonomy, justice, beneficence and non-maleficence. No discussion of the interaction between these goods is usually undertaken, yet it makes all the difference in the world. Most students place autonomy first, but they don’t think about it. Autonomy without a framework is called anarchy and no one wants that. I would argue that the foundation is nonmaleficence because that can be legislated and from it the real goods of beneficence are easily deduced. The framework of God-given law is necessary for justice to be possible. Without the fear of God, judges are vulnerable to the illusion that they make the law rather than discover it within the framework of given law. Only with these things in place is real freedom possible. In all our mentoring activities, we must constantly reiterate that freedom for us is the ability to do what is right, what we know we ought to do, not the freedom to do what we wish. This freedom to do what we ought only comes about as we work out our own salvation by the daily development of habits of the heart—prayer, confession, repentance, worship, Bible reading and fellowship. Now with these things in place, we ought to be able to witness to what we know. We ought to be able to
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withstand the attempts of the liberal elite to intimidate us into silence by false accusations of intolerance or more insultingly of bigotry. Legitimate intolerance is essential to social functioning, so the response is; “Yes, I am intolerant. Now, can we discuss whether my intolerance is legitimate?” As to bigotry, we need to ask what definition they are using and suggest that it is the inability to see the other person’s point of view which usually makes the complainant the bigot. Again, the outcome must be free speech which closes down fools because their positions are indefensible. In his book Christian Ethics and Contemporary Moral Problems, Michael Banner shows us how to engage the modern world with explicitly Christian accounts of the sanctity of life, the family, sexuality and biotechnology. Our need is to learn to show that the Word of God, Jesus Christ, comes upon history, as it is humanly conceived, as an abrupt and unanticipated word utterly unavailable from philosophy, natural sciences and historical knowledge but whose impact is utterly undeniable in both individuals and cultures. David Hart expresses it inimitably thus:
languished all his life; and when he turned to the East to confess Christ, he was entrusting himself to the invincible hero who had plundered hell of its captives, overthrown death, subdued the powers of the air and been raised the Lord of history. Life, for the early church, was spiritual warfare, and no baptized Christian could doubt how great a transformation—of the self and the world—it was to consent to serve no other god than Him whom Christ revealed.5 It is to this great tradition that we must introduce our young and mentor them in it. The tea party movement recognizes that we have too much government but neglects to say that we had a better government when Americans adhered to ideas of right and wrong which came from “The Book” rather than from some half-baked political science class. When duty rather than entitlement formed us. (This, of course, is another article, but please read Roger Scruton’s The Good of Government if you are interested in more information.) Bibliography
“I am the Lord thy God,” says the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” For Israel, this was first and foremost a demand of fidelity, by which God bound His people to Himself, even if in later years it became also a proclamation to the nations. To Christians, however, the commandment came through—and so was indissolubly bound to—Christ. As such, it was not simply a prohibition of foreign cults, but a call to arms, an assault upon the antique order of the heavens, a declaration of war upon the gods. The entire world was to be evangelized and baptized, all idols torn down, all worship given over to the one God who, in these latter days, had sent His Son into the world for our salvation. It was a long and sometimes terrible conflict, occasionally exacting a fearful price in martyrs’ blood, but it was, by any just estimate, a victory: the temples of Zeus and Isis alike were finally deserted, both the paean and the dithyramb ceased to be sung, altars were bereft of their sacrifices, the sibyls fell silent and ultimately all the glory, nobility and cruelty of the ancient world lay supine at the feet of Christ the conqueror. Nor, for early Christians, was this mere metaphor. When a gentile convert stood in the baptistery on Easter’s eve and, before descending naked into the waters, turned to the West to renounce the devil and the devil’s ministers, he was rejecting, and in fact reviling, the gods in bondage to whom he had
1 Polanyi, Michael. Science, Faith and Society. University of Chicago Press, 1958. 2 Lewis, C.S. The Abolition of Man. Macmillan, 1947. 3 Habermas, Jürgen. Time of Transitions. Polity Press, 2006. 4 Lewis, C.S. God in the Dock. Eerdmans, 1972. 5 Hart, D.B. First Things, October 2003.
About The Author
JOHN PATRICK, MD, retired from the University of Ottawa in June 2002. He had been Associate Professor in Clinical Nutrition in the Department of Biochemistry and Pediatrics for 20 years. Dr. Patrick’s medical training occurred in London, England. He has done extensive research into the treatment of childhood nutritional deficiency and related diseases, holding appointments in Britain, the West Indies and Canada. He has worked in Central Africa assisting in the development of training programs that deal with childhood protein-energy malnutrition. He now lectures throughout the world working for CMDA and the Christian Medical and Dental Society in Canada. He speaks to Christian and secular groups and is able to communicate effectively on moral issues in medicine and culture, as well as the integration of faith and science. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 33
classifieds Miscellaneous Executive Director sought for the Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons. This growing ministry trains African doctors for leadership in surgery and the church in Africa. We seek a dynamic director who will provide overall spiritual and administrative leadership for strategic development and organization of the Academy. Requirements include an exemplary Christian witness, proven management, leadership and communication abilities, a vision for ministry and a calling of the Lord to serve as Executive Director, the ability to travel domestically and internationally. PAACS is a commission of CMDA. We are an equal opportunity employer with a commitment to enhancing diversity within the church. Please contact Dr. William Wood, Academic Dean & Chair of Search Committee, by email at wcwood1@gmail.com or by phone at 404-217-3669.
Dental Newport News, Virginia – Associateship position, with ownership potential, available in Christ-centered multi-doctor practice. Facility is well-equipped and practice offers a wide range of services, including CEREC restorations, sedation, implant placement and orthodontics. Our multi-doctor team gets along well and enjoys what we do. Senior doctor, a member of the CDA Dental Advisory Council, would like more time for CDA activities, mission trips and other ministries. We are an hour from the beach and two hours from the mountains. For more info, go to www.citycenterdentalcare. com. Address replies to William Griffin, DDS at dentalmissiontrips@gmail.org. Wanted! Part-time dentist for our busy family dental office in Dyer, Indiana, 30 minutes from downtown Chicago. Please send your résumé to dsdjb@comcast.net.
Medical
Family Medicine – Rural private family medicine clinic seeking BC/BE family medicine physician to replace retiring physician. Currently practice is three physicians. Outpatient clinic is located in Joseph, Oregon in the beautiful Northeast corner of Oregon. Full spectrum family medicine with OB preferred. Includes inpatient work at 25-bed critical access hospital and ER rotation call. Email drcaine@wmmedical.org or fax 541432-7170 with CV or questions. Family Practice – LifeCare Family Medicine is a busy, well-established family practice/OB in the
34 Today’s Christian Doctor Fall 14
heart of the Great Plains, Bellevue, Nebraska. Our mission is to give quality care to the whole family. Seeking a full-time family practice physician for OB and inpatient care. We are 100% physician owned, located in the Bellevue Medical Center hospital. If interested, email your resume to pam@lifecarefm.com or call 402779-7207. See our website at http://www.bellevuemed.com/lifecare_family_medicine.html. Neonatology – Medical director and core neonatologist positions available at hospitals in Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania, and soon in Florida also. Jerry Hric, MD, a CMDA member, founded Onsite Neonatal Partners, a private practice with 40 full-time and 30 part-time neonatologists, in 1996. Onsite is also recruiting a medical director and core neonatologists for the new $90 million Oasis Hospital in Al Ain, UAE (a Cure International Ministry). Oasis has 3,200 deliveries, 20 NICU beds and is positioned to grow! Requirements: American trained and boarded in neonatology. Competitive salary, benefits and housing. Please contact Kendall DuRant at kdurant@onsiteneonatal.com or 856782-2212 Ext. 199. Pain Clinician Wanted, Chicagoland, Private Practice – Join a 20-year-old internationallyknown pain clinic in the beautiful suburb of Oak Park, Illinois just outside of Chicago. The clinic specializes in regenerative injection therapy (Prolotherapy). The clinic has an international referral base and is looking for an innovative physician that desires long-term ownership of practice. Go to www.caringmedical.com for information. Send resumes to Rachel Vera at verar@caringmedical.com or call 708-393-8282. Orthopedic – We are an established practice with a high regard for family. Located in the heart of the Midwest with a low cost of living, wonderful family environment, local university, onsite surgery center and two hospitals. We are searching for general orthopedists as well as sub-specialties in hand and sports medicine. Please contact Kearney Orthopedic & Sports Medicine in Kearney, Nebraska. Administrator: Shane Melenbacker, 308-865-2512 or shane@kearneyortho.com. Pediatrician wanted – full/part-time position to join outpatient pediatric practice. No hospital call. Phone only. Salary commensurate with experience, employed position or possibility for partnership. Beautiful location in wine country near California Coast. Templeton offers great schools and small hometown feel. Interested persons call 805-434-3737 or email mary1@navemd.com. Pediatrician – The Children’s Clinic has been providing pediatric care to families in Anchorage for over 40 years. Our five-physician private practice is looking for the right person to join us as a full-time (4-5 days/week) pediatrician. Our physician owners value a collegial work environment, the longevity of our staff and a balanced lifestyle allowing adequate time with both patients and our families. A close working relationship with pediatric subspecialists at The Children’s Hospital of Providence (just
across the street from our office), use of pediatric hospitalists for inpatient admissions and an evening nurse triage line make our 1/6 night and weekend call very manageable. Our role in the hospital is almost exclusively limited to care of healthy newborns. Interested physicians should contact Daniel Tulip, MD by email at dtulip@tccpeds.com or call 907-562-2944. Psychiatrist – Park Ridge Health is pleased to announce an opening for a BC/BE psychiatrist to join our HOPE Behavioral Health team. Duties include providing compassionate care for inpatients on our medical-psychiatric, geropsychiatric and women’s units, and limited outpatient work. Park Ridge Health HOPE Services offers a full range of behavioral health services to assist adults with mental health challenges using a medical/holistic approach. Park Ridge Health Physician Enterprise has more than 140 employed physicians and providers in one of the most vibrant, growing networks in Western North Carolina. Park Ridge Health was named one of the 100 Great Places to Work in Healthcare in 2013 by Becker’s Hospital Review and Becker’s ASC Review, and among the 150 Great Places to Work in Healthcare in 2014 by Becker’s Healthcare. Park Ridge Health—along with 44 other hospitals in Adventist Health System—has also been named a Gallup Great Workplace every year since 2011, placing it among the bestperforming and most engaged workforces in the world. For inquiries, please contact Emily Ducat at 828-687-5668 or Emily.Ducat@ahss.org.
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Dermatology – An independent dermatology practice in Kearney, Nebraska seeking a full-time or part-time dermatologist. Great potential for a busy practice in a wonderful family-centered community. Mission is not only to provide excellent dermatologic care but also minister to patient’s spiritual needs. Currently one full-time dermatologist treating an average of 35 to 40 patients a day. Please contact Sharon Bond, MD at 308-440-3945 or sbbderm@charter.net or Lori Grubbs, office manager, at 308-865-2214.
To place a classified advertisement, contact communications@cmda.org.
CMDA PLACEMENT SERVICES
BRINGING TOGETHER HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS TO FURTHER GOD’S KINGDOM We exist to glorify God by placing healthcare professionals and assisting them in finding God’s will for their careers. Our goal is to place healthcare professionals in an environment that will encourage ministry and also be pleasing to God. We make connections across the U.S. for physicians, dentists, other providers and practices. We have an established network consisting of hundreds of opportunities in various specialties. You will benefit from our experience and guidance. Every placement carries its own set of challenges. We want to get to know you on a personal basis to help find the perfect fit for you and your practice. P.O. Box 7500 •Bristol, TN 37621 888-690-9054 www.cmda.org/placement placement@cmda.org
IT MAKES A BIG DIFFERENCE “It makes a big difference having a Christian organization searching for us. They understand and care about our needs and finding those with a shared mission and vision.” - Lydia Best, MD; Detroit, Michigan
AN ANSWER TO PRAYER “Placement Services helped me navigate a complicated process and advocated for me when I was too busy or naïve to do so by myself. I am excited to work at a clinic with providers who share my values.” - Marlana Li, MD
Change Your World AT
APRIL 30 - MAY 3, 2015 | RIDGECREST, NORTH CAROLINA WWW.CMDA.ORG/NATIONALCONVENTION | 888-230-2637 THE PREMIER convention for Christian healthcare professionals
FELLOWSHIP AND LEARN as you also renew and restore your faith
REGISTER TODAY early bird registration rates are now available