volume 46 no. 1 spring 2015
TODAY’S
CHRISTIAN DOCTOR The Journal of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations
IN THIS ISSUE
Bringing the Ministry of CMDA to Life An inside look at the history of CMDA from the memories of one of our oldest living members
Understanding the importance and value of spiritual assessments in healthcare
Examining Christ’s physical and spiritual suffering on the cross
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
ASK ABOUT OUR GIFT AND GROUP MEMBERSHIPS! P.O. Box 7500 • Bristol, TN 37621 • 888-230-2637 www.joincmda.org • memberservices@cmda.org
Real Transformation
Richard E. Johnson, MD
from the CMDA
There is also the reality that our attempts to transform the world may miss God’s plan if we ourselves are not being transformed. (I am sure you can think of a personal illustration, and if not, think of the Crusades). And then there is the reality that we are beneficiaries of a world being transformed by non-believers. Is all this confusing? It need not be, if we focus on letting God work in us. As Mark Galli wrote, “But it seems to me the greatest transformation is not necessarily in outward virtue, but in increasing levels of self-awareness—awareness of the depth of our sin—and consequently increasing repentance and humility. Not a humility that points to some virtue in our lives and says, ‘It wasn’t me, it was the Lord working through me,’ but the deeper humility that I can quickly see how something has been sees the desperately wicked heart and despertransformed, or should be transformed, or posately prays daily, ‘Lord, have mercy.’”1 sibly how it could be transformed. Indeed, as I encounter the world, be it the public square, Kyle Idleman observed that the process of my family, the church or my work environtransformation in one’s life begins with an ment, I can be quick to identify what needs awakening moment in our lives.2 We become to be transformed. The question is: Can I see those things in myself? Am I transformed? That aware of who we really are and the mixed is the heart of the matter; that is where it must motives operating in our psyche. We must all start. And as I look inward, I wonder how then honestly deal with them; call them what much transformation has really taken place. they are; name them. There is then the need 1 Peter 1:15 is underlined in my Bible, but is for action, be it repentance, behavior change holiness underlined (being worked out) in my or pursuing righteousness. This is not somelife? Do my outward behaviors belie a differ- thing you and I can do. It is something God ent inner reality? To illustrate: does my out- does within us, and the reality is we are not ward patience come from true patience or am going to be totally transformed in this life. I simply managing my impatience and frustra- That is something we have to look forward tion? I don’t know about you, but as I take an to. It is our hope, but because it is our future honest look at my inner self, I find a collage hope, we are to ask God for His work in our of mixed motives for my external behavior. I present life. want to be liked and accepted; I want to be “right.” I don’t want to stir up trouble; I want to be patient and kind. God wants me to be patient and kind; God will be displeased with Bibliography me if I am not patient and kind. The list goes 1 Galli, Mark, “Real Transformation Happens When?” Christianity Today, 29 May 2014. on for patience and any other virtue associ- 2 I dleman, Kyle, “Getting to Aha,” Leadership Journal, ated with holy (transformed) living. October 2014.
president
As I begin this letter, the last I will write as president, I want to thank all the CMDA staff and members who have made these last two years such a rich experience for me. And I thank my friends on the Board of Trustees, an amazingly talented and dedicated group of people who seek, on many fronts, what God wants for CMDA and how to best execute that mission. And that brings us to the cover story in this issue of Today’s Christian Doctor: “Transform.” I am reminded that CMDA’s vision statement is “Transformed Doctors, Transforming the World,” and you are also encouraged to become equipped to change your world at Transform: CMDA’s National Convention on April 30 - May 3, 2015 in Ridgecrest, North Carolina.
INTER ACTIVE Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/nationalconvention to register for TRANSFORM: CMDA’s National Convention. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 3
contents Today’s Christian Doctor
I VOLUME 46, NO. 1 I Spring 2015
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations ®— Changing Hearts in Healthcare . . . since 1931.
5 Transformations
piritual Assessment in 22 SClinical Care – Part 1: The
STORY 12 COVER TRANSFORM: Bringing
the Ministry of CMDA to Life
A collaborative article by CMDA members
Showcasing CMDA’s ministry through transformation
18
T hen & Now: Through the Eyes a Lifetime Member
An interview with Dr. John Elsen The experiences and memories of one of CMDA’s oldest members
Basics
by Walt Larimore, MD
A look at the basis of sharing your faith in your practice
aking It Personal: How 27 MShort-term Healthcare
Missions Changed My Life
by Andrew S. Lamb, MD, FACP Meeting the overwhelming needs of the world through missions
30 Christ Forsaken
by Darin K. Bowers, MD
Examining Christ’s physical and spiritual suffering on the cross
34 Classifieds
REGIONAL MINISTRIES
Connecting you with other Christ-followers to help better motivate, equip, disciple and serve within your community
INTER ACTIVE 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: 317-566-9040 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!
transformations
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, Spring 2015, Volume XLVI, No. 1. 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© 2015, 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.
Filling a Spiritual Void with Dental Ministries In October 2014, the inaugural CMDA Dawson Retreat was held at The Ritz-Carlton in Lake Tahoe, California. Throughout the four-day retreat, seven top-notch speakers shared their insights on subjects such as contentment, margin, success, leadership, overcoming obstacles, compassion and others. Here are just a few of the comments from this year’s attendees: “My imperfections are many. I am ready to give up control of my life to Him!” “This has been an awesome encouragement for me to spread the joy of the Lord to family and friends. I don’t feel able on my own, but I know God promises He is able and can use me. I only need to be willing. I pray for the sensitivity to see opportunities for me to show the joy of the Lord. God is the author of joy.” “I will take home with me the sense of urgency to live life for God and Jesus— now! I need to put Him #1 on my list, trust in Him with everything and live my life unencumbered! Praise Him!” “Moved to tears learning to accept God’s perfect, infinite love no matter what the circumstance, making a total commitment to HIM.”
“The encouragement and refreshing has been a God thing. I’ve read or heard it all (basic principles) before, but the reminder and fresh examples along with the genuineness of the speakers has helped renew my heart, mind and spirit. He is truly a good God—the only God—the God of joy and peace—I pray that as we return home we remain resolved to keep this renewed perspective and priorities. It has also been encouraging and a joy to meet and worship and celebrate with other believers in our field.”
Do you want to be encouraged and refreshed in your journey as a Christian in dentistry? Plans for a second CMDA Dawson Retreat are in the works for 2016, so visit www.cmda.org/dentist to stay informed.
Listen to Christian Doctor’s Digest Christian Doctor’s Digest is CMDA’s popular audio magazine for Christian healthcare professionals, featuring a wide variety of today’s latest healthcare topics including bioethics, healthcare missions, financial stewardship, marriage, family and much more. Released six times each year, CMDA members can choose to receive CDs of each issue or subscribe electronically and listen on their mobile devices. To update your subscription preferences, visit www. cmda.org/publications. Look for these upcoming topics in the April 2015 edition of Christian Doctor’s Digest: • Rev. Jim Cymbala talks about his book Storm, an inside look at the coming storm facing the church in today’s culture. • A discussion about how missionaries influenced societies throughout history. • Nabeel Qureshi, MD, a former Muslim, shares his personal testimony as well as the interface with God and science. INTER ACTIVE Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/cdd to listen to the latest editions of Christian Doctor’s Digest. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 5
transformations
In Memoriam Margaret Brand, MD, BS (British equivalent of MD), passed away on November 17, 2014 in Seattle, Washington. She and her surgeon husband, Dr. Paul Brand, dedicated their careers and their lives to people affected by leprosy. She was a pioneering leprosy expert and eye doctor, and together they dramatically impacted the care and treatment of leprosy patients. “In 1 Corinthians 11:1 Paul exhorts his readers to follow him as he follows Christ. In each generation God gives us men and women who so follow after Christ that we can pattern our lives on theirs. Drs. Margaret and Paul Brand are such saints of God. And though Margaret and Paul no longer walk among us, memory of the way they exampled Christ still inspires us to do likewise.” —CMDA Executive Vice President Gene Rudd, MD Prior to coming to the U.S. in 1966, the Brands served on the staff of the Christian Medical College and Hospital in
Proverbs 27:23
Time for a Financial Checkup?
Vellore, South India. A medical doctor with no formal training in eye diseases, Margaret became an ophthalmologist. She pioneered efforts to understand and repair leprosy-related eye damage and became one of the foremost authorities on ocular leprosy. Paul, the orthopedist, studied hands and feet while Margaret worked with eye problems. “My fellow-physician husband and I met Paul Brand when he gave a lecture at our medical school, but we hadn’t met Margaret until years later, when we visited the National Hansen’s Disease Center in Louisiana. Paul and Margaret were gracious hosts, showing us around and introducing us to many patients. At the time we knew few physician couples, so we were inspired to see them work together and share a common passion to provide quality healthcare for patients who had suffered so much, both physically and emotionally.” —Amy Givler, MD, Chair of the Women Physicians in Christ Commission Dr. Paul Brand passed away in 2003, and they are survived by their six children. Dr. Margaret Brand was the recipient of 2006 CMDA Missionary of the Year Award, and Dr. Paul Brand was the recipient of the 1982 CMDA Servant of Christ Award.
c Memoriam and Honorarium Gifts d Gifts received October through December 2014 Edith G. Vasu in memory of Dr. Leroy Strong Jennie Tolhurst in memory of Dr. Leroy Strong Elizabeth H. Henry-Unzens in memory of Dr. Leroy Strong Carolyn Parsons in honor of Kenneth C, Parsons, MD Debra Lester in honor of Jess C. Lester, MD
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6 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
Ellen B. Hendee in memory of Roy K. Hendee and in honor of Dr. Adedapo Odetoyinbo J. DuVal in memory of Dr. Martin Salia Matthew Montgomery in memory of Dr. Martin Salia For more information about honorarium and memoriam gifts, please contact stewardship@cmda.org.
MISSIONS
OUTREACHES
CMDA MINISTRIES LIST The core of CMDA’s ministry happens in local communities where healthcare professionals, residents and students live out the character of Christ. Our outreach ministries are dedicated to transforming the lives of healthcare professionals through evangelism and discipleship. www.cmda.org/ministry CAMPUS & COMMUNITY MINISTRIES
SIDE BY SIDE
A network of more than 120 local graduate ministries and 280 campus chapters providing opportunities for members to connect and live out the character of Christ in their practices, on campus and in their communities. cmda.org/ccm
A network of 50 local chapters to encourage, support and minister to women in healthcare marriages through fellowship, Bible study and prayer. Each local chapter meets the unique and individual needs of its community. cmda.org/sidebyside
DENTAL MINISTRIES
SPECIALTY SECTIONS
An outreach that encourages and supports dental professionals and students as they strive to integrate their Christian faith into all aspects of their lives, while providing opportunities for training and equipping. cmda.org/dentist
A wide variety of specialty sections formed to equip, network and provide a voice for CMDA members to their areas of specialty or service. Organized by CMDA members who wish to connect with their colleagues. These sections include: academic, academic
A major component of CMDA’s ministry efforts is missions, and we are dedicated to domestic and international healthcare missions. We provide numerous opportunities for healthcare professionals to use their God-given skills to meet the needs of others around the world and share the gospel with them. www.cmda.org/missions CENTER FOR MEDICAL MISSIONS A program designed to serve domestic and international healthcare missionaries in their work, as well as aid in the recruitment, training and retention of career healthcare missionaries. cmda.org/cmm
COMMISSION FOR ADVANCING MEDICAL MISSIONS A commission that is dedicated to recruiting, educating, equipping and networking future and present healthcare missionaries through mission events. cmda.org/camm
CONTINUING EDUCATION FOR MISSIONARIES An annual 10-day multiple track continuing education and spiritual renewal conference for healthcare missionaries currently serving in international mission outreaches. cmda.org/cmde
surgery, dermatology, emergency medicine, family medicine, physician assistants, pediatric, psychiatry and uniformed services. cmda.org/specialtysections
WOMEN PHYSICIANS IN CHRIST A ministry that encourages and supports Christian women physicians and dentists in the unique challenges women face. A key resource for women in integrating their personal, professional and spiritual lives. cmda.org/wpc
GLOBAL HEALTH RELIEF A short-term missions program that focuses on bringing health and hope to people affected by disasters around the world through medical, dental, spiritual and psychological care and support. cmda.org/ghr
MEDICAL EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL A short-term missions program that sends 30 teams to teach in academic or clinical settings to bring transformation by advancing medical, dental, bioethical and educational knowledge while sharing the gospel. cmda.org/mei
GLOBAL HEALTH OUTREACH
PAN-AFRICAN ACADEMY OF CHRISTIAN SURGEONS
A short-term missions program that sends 40 to 50 medical, dental and surgical teams around the world each year. GHO disciples participants, grows national churches, shares the gospel and provides care to the poor. cmda.org/gho
A program that trains and disciples African surgeons to glorify God and provide excellent, compassionate care to those most in need. Training is offered at 10 established evangelical mission hospitals in Africa. cmda.org/paacs
RESOURCES & SERVICES
CMDA’s wide variety of resources and services help us fulfill our mission to motivate, educate and equip Christian healthcare professionals and students. These resources and services give our members the knowledge and tools they need to effectively serve the Lord. www.cmda.org/resources CHAPEL & PRAYER MINISTRIES
LIFE & EXECUTIVE COACHING
A network of CMDA’s staff and members to pray for the ministry and our members. Also includes online recordings of bi-weekly chapel services held at CMDA’s headquarters. cmda.org/chapel
A personalized resource with certified coaches who assist healthcare professionals in finding balance in addressing both the professional and personal issues of everyday life. cmda.org/coaching
COMMISSION ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
LIFE & HEALTH RESOURCES
An effort to abolish human trafficking through policy initiatives, education, raising awareness and providing clinical services to victims. cmda.org/humantrafficking
CONTINUING EDUCATION We offer continuing medical and dental education courses as we are accredited by the ACCME to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ and an Academy of General Dentistry Approved PACE Provider. cmda.org/ce
ETHICS HOTLINE An on-call program to assist members facing difficult patient care decisions, provided by Christian physician ethicists who also formulate CMDA’s ethical position statements. Reach the hotline at 423-844-1000. cmda.org/hotline
EVENTS A variety of more than 40 topical, local, regional and national conferences each year for training and networking including TRANSFORM: The CMDA National Convention, the Global Missions Health Conference and more. cmda.org/events
A distribution service for CMDA-produced and recommended resources through the CMDA Bookstore, including Just Add Water, Grace Prescriptions, Prescribe-A-Resource and a variety of other valuable resources. shopcmda.org
MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT A ministry that provides four to six conferences per year that address the unique needs and stresses of healthcare marriages, offering couples the opportunity to nurture and grow in their marital relationships. cmda.org/marriage
MEDICAL MALPRACTICE MINISTRY A program assisting healthcare professionals facing malpractice lawsuits with prayer, educational resources and encouragement from a network of healthcare professionals who have faced malpractice suits themselves. cmda.org/mmm
MEMBER SERVICES A department that assists CMDA members with information regarding the resources and services available through CMDA, as well as membership
recruitment, renewals and retention. cmda.org/members
PLACEMENT SERVICES A recruiting service that brings together Christian healthcare professionals and practices throughout the U.S. to enhance their ministry and advance the kingdom of God. cmda.org/placement
PUBLICATIONS A wide variety of informational print and electronic resources published by CMDA to encourage, equip and motivate readers, including Christian Doctor’s Digest, Today’s Christian Doctor, Weekly Devotions and many others. cmda.org/publications
SPEAKER’S REFERRAL BUREAU An online self-referral speaker’s bureau of CMDA members who can be contacted for local, regional or national events. These recommended speakers are available for a variety of topics and issues. cmda.org/speakers
STEWARDSHIP & DEVELOPMENT An educational service that encourages CMDA members to be good stewards of the gifts given them by God, with resources to help protect their assets and provide for loved ones while building the kingdom. cmda.org/giving
VOICE
CMDA is dedicated to serving as a Christian voice, as well as offering valuable resources on today’s current healthcare topics to our members. Our voice outreaches speak for our members to the government, media, church and public on bioethical and public policy issues while also training Christians to be effective advocates themselves. VOICE OF CHRISTIAN DOCTOR’S MEDIA TRAINING An individualized training workshop for members to learn how to prepare for media interviews and give Christian perspectives on ethical questions and general health topics. cmda.org/mediatraining
PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS A library of public service announcements on ethical and healthcare topics available to radio stations. cmda.org/psa
NEWS RELEASES
WASHINGTON OFFICE
CMDA’s responses to breaking news on vital healthcare issues resulting in hundreds of media interviews each year. cmda.org/newsroom
A department of CMDA that serves as a liasion with Congress, the White House, federal agencies and non-governmental organizations in Washington, D.C. Also provides opportunities for federal employment, Congressional testimony and committee service. Includes the Freedom2Care coalition to advance conscience rights in healthcare and provide other legislative updates and tools. cmda.org/washington
STATE PUBLIC POLICY CAMPAIGNS Grassroots campaigns to promote lifehonoring legislation and referendums at the state level on physician-assisted suicide, embryonic stem cell research and other issues. cmda.org/publicpolicy
Christian Medical & Dental Associations • P.O. Box 7500 • Bristol, TN 37621 • www.cmda.org
transformations
Event Calendar
For more information, visit www.cmda.org/events. Voice of Christian Doctor’s Media Training June 1-2, 2015 Bristol, Tennessee www.cmda.org/events Emerging Leaders in Dentistry Symposium June 5-7, 2015 Bristol, Tennessee www.cmda.org/dentalsymposium Deer Valley Summer Conference June 20-27, 2015 Nathrop, Colorado www.cmda.org/deervalley
Marriage Enrichment Weekends June 26-28, 2015 – Williamsburg, Virginia July 17-19, 2015 – Seattle, Washington September 25-27, 2015 – Minneapolis, Minnesota October 30 – November 1, 2015 – San Antonio, Texas www.cmda.org/marriage Women Physicians in Christ Annual Conference September 17-20, 2015 Colorado Springs, Colorado www.cmda.org/wpc Global Missions Health Conference November 5-7, 2015 Louisville, Kentucky www.cmda.org/events
Greece Tour 2015: In the Footsteps of Paul October 4-12, 2015 www.cmda.org/greece Have you ever wished you could have been present during certain events described in Scripture? The experiences you will have on this trip will bring you close to fulfilling that wish.
After being filled with wonderful insights in the Word of God, we will spend the last four days and three nights cruising the Mediterranean Sea. The group is intentionally kept small, so sign up early. The fellowship with CMDA colleagues, biblical education and inspiration will have a lasting impression. For additional information about the trip or to register online, visit www.cmda.org/greece.
Called to medicine? Longing to engage your work as Christian vocation? Consider the new
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FELLOWSHIP IN
THEOLOGY, MEDICINE, AND CULTURE “...theological and spiritual formation for the Church’s healers” Learn more at divinity.duke.edu/TMC
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 9
transformations
SEEN & HEARD THE CMDA VOICE
The CMDA Voice in Ministry “I was burning out as a physician and contemplating ways to quit medicine. Coaching completely turned this around. I went from being certain that I was done with medicine to becoming excited again about the ministry that God called me to. I am truly amazed at how quickly this transformation occurred. With a few direct questions and active listening, my coach helped me to clarify my jumbled thoughts. She pushed me to dream and imagine what my practice could possibly look like. Things that I didn’t think would ever happen are now taking place after just a few weeks.” — Participant in CMDA’s Life & Executive Coaching program “I have personally been impacted by CMDA. It was my tie back to the Christian world. It was spiritually refreshing to come to CMDA meetings and take the time to talk about God openly and discuss the role of Christians within the medical field.” — A CMDA student leader “This meeting was an answer to my prayer, when asking God how to use my profession to spread His word. Well, I didn’t have enough tissues to keep up with how God was touching my heart. This was or is how my heart is learning this meeting: BE INTENTIONAL, do not be afraid, because He goes before me, after all He created the universe, heavens and earth and ME.” — An attendee at the CMDA Dawson Retreat “I thank God every week when CMA rolls around. It is perfectly placed in the middle of the week, which is about when I get the most stressed. I know it’s only two hours, but the two weeks I get to spend with my peers, worshiping God, is exactly what I need. I don’t know what I would do without CMA.” — A CMDA student member
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 Commission on Human Trafficking – cmda.org/humantrafficking Continuing Education – cmda.org/ce Ethics Hotline – cmda.org/hotline Events – cmda.org/events Life & Executive Coaching – cmda.org/coaching 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 Stewardship and Development – cmda.org/giving
Ministries Outreaches Campus & Community Ministries – cmda.org/ccm Dental Ministries – cmda.org/dentist Side By Side – cmda.org/sidebyside Specialty Sections – cmda.org/specialtysections Women Physicians in Christ – cmda.org/wpc
Missions Center for Medical Missions – cmda.org/cmm Commission for Advancing Medical Missions – cmda.org/camm Continuing Education for Missionaries – cmda.org/cmde 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 10 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
Issues American Academy of Medical Ethics – ethicalhealthcare.org Ethics Statements – cmda.org/ethics Freedom2Care – freedom2care.org Washington Office – cmda.org/washington
The CMDA Voice in Missions “I feel as if my medical education has been missing a critical piece, and this training has done a great job to help me connect my faith in Christ to the practice of medicine.” — Attendee at Center for Medical Missions’ Orientation to Medical Missions “My greatest blessing was being involved in God’s obvious plan and movement for the Muslim world. Being able to pray with, share Christ with and see the fruit of everyone’s labor simply can’t be put into words. My pastor likes to say, ‘Some things cannot be explained, only experienced.’ Pretty well sums it up for me.” — A dentist on a GHO trip to Lebanon “I found my conversations with the orthopedic resident who was assigned as my driver each day most memorable. While he seemingly ignored my daily ‘faith flags’ during our drive each morning and afternoon, we had an excellent and honest conversation about things of God during our last day. While he did not ‘become a Christian,’ it was wonderful to see that he was indeed thinking of the things of the God of the Bible for possibly the first time. MEI is an excellent ministry that is doing great work in Mongolia and other countries around the world.” — An orthopedic surgeon on a MEI trip to Mongolia “We hadn’t attended any formal ‘training’ sessions before this, so what the speakers had to say, and the material that was covered, played that much more of an important role in our lives. We loved hearing from each person, and even from the group, about normal issues, obstacles and fears that need to be tackled, and how to tackle them without losing sight of God’s promises and purposes for our lives. We left this training with so many ideas that we want to implement once we get to Guatemala, and so many things that we can begin implementing now. The manner in which the conference was setup allowed us to absorb so much information, while still having time to build up relationships with the other missionaries, who are at the same point in their walks as we are. It was amazing to sit and talk with all of them, and to hear how God is working everywhere, through so many people. We know we’ll be keeping in touch with so many of them. This conference gave us even more of an excitement to get into the field, and to see God work through us.” — Attendee at Center for Medical Missions’ Orientation to Medical Missions “It was a week of pure joy. I have never been happier or more in awe of the spirit of the people surrounding me, both from the area and those with whom I served. Really, I don’t have the words. Never have I felt such love and acceptance and belonging from everyone involved. I went to help in healing and instead I was healed a 100 times more!” — A participant on a GHO trip to Guatemala “I learned how to fulfill the Great Commission by sharing one-onone with individuals the salvation message that Christ’s death on the cross provides. I became more willing to share the Word.” — A physician on a GHO trip to Kenya
??? HAVE YOU BEEN
TRANSFORMED? ARE YOU
TRANSFORMING OTHERS?
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 SHOWCASING THE IMPACT OF CMDA ONE STORY AT A TIME
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 11
cover story
Bringing the Ministry of CMDA to Life [ A collaborative article by CMDA members ]
INTER ACTIVE Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/nationalconvention to register for TRANSFORM: CMDA’s National Convention.
12 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
Transformation. Transforming. Transformed. Transform. It’s a word we use frequently at Christian Medical & Dental Associations. Chances are you’ve seen it countless times throughout our website, our emails, our letters and more. We talk about transformation when we send members on a mission trip to Nicaragua. Healthcare students share about it when we host a Bible study on a local medical school campus. It’s even in our vision statement…twice. “Transformed Doctors, Transforming the World.” So why is transformation so important? Simply put, because transformation is the reason we do what we do. It’s why you support CMDA through your membership. It’s why our 40+ ministries and outreaches train, equip, support and encourage you through a variety of avenues. It’s why hundreds of volunteers around the world serve sacrificially to support our ministry. But most importantly, it’s how YOU make a difference in your practice, on your campus, in your community and in our world. Through God’s grace, together we are inspiring transformation around the world, far more than any one of us could do alone. We can easily provide you with a list of facts and figures showing how much of an impact CMDA is having worldwide. For example, there are now 280 CMDA campus chapters, our short-term mission teams treated more than 63,000 patients last year and our public policy commentaries were distributed to more than 4.7 million readers worldwide. But a list of numbers doesn’t even begin to cover the impact and the breadth of CMDA’s ministry. It doesn’t tell you about the discouraged missionary whose passion for healthcare missions was restored at a Continuing Medical and Dental Education conference. Or about the resident who led one of her fellow residents to Christ. Or about the hospital administrator in a closed country who came to Christ through one of our mission teams and is now boldly sharing Christ in his hospital. Or about the physician who prayed with a patient for the very first time, altering the way she now practices healthcare on a daily basis. These are the stories that display just how vital the ministry of CMDA is in our culture today. And we hear stories like this each and every day from our members around the world. We want to share these stories with you, so the following testimonies are from members just like you who are embracing the vision of CMDA and actively working to show God’s love and compassion to the world.
Fully Equipped to Serve, Fully Dependent on Christ BY ANDY KOON, MD
T
he first seven years of my clinical practice as an attending physician was with the Veterans’ Administration health system, serving America’s heroes and training the students and residents. I was constantly struggling to balance work duties and home life. In 2008, I determined that it was time to make a change in my career path. In the process of doing this, I discovered that I wanted to be in a practice environment that was conducive to life balance in my field of hospital medicine and would also be supportive of my spiritual life. After we relocated to Indiana in 2009, Jenny quickly found a supportive network of friends through the Side By Side ministry of CMDA, as I continued to look for opportunities to integrate my faith into clinical practice and mentor others. I began seeking out others in the community who were engaged in ministry with CMDA, and I was part of establishing our local Central Indiana chapter.
“Every person we saw in the clinic heard the gospel before we ministered to them physically. 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.” —A PHYSICAL THERAPIST ON A GHO TRIP TO HONDURAS
Jenny and I had become involved with healthcare missions while we were dating, and we had a passion to pursue this type of ministry when we were first married, but work and family responsibilities quickly consumed our time and resources. After we moved to Indiana, we decided to make a fresh start and give a short-term healthcare missions trip a try. Our first trip was to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, where we witnessed how healthcare can be a powerful bridge to sharing the gospel message. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 13
that this was the next step I needed to take in my walk with the Lord.
“I was becoming comfortable in my walk with Christ. When that happens, we have a tendency to not grow, and can actually become dead in our Christian faith. The trip challenged me to get uncomfortable and start being obedient to the Holy Spirit.” —A PHYSICIAN ON A GHO TRIP TO NIGERIA
Our local council found that there was significant interest from Indiana University students to go on a faith-based short-term healthcare missions trip during their Spring Break. I wasn’t quite ready to be a team leader, so Global Health Outreach paired me with a mentor, Bob Coulter, who led our team to the Dominican Republic. Bob demonstrated the Christlike qualities I wanted to have as a team leader. He emphasized the importance of team unity and helped our team focus on the God sightings we experienced during our days in the clinic. Our desire to see souls won to Christ only increased with each trip we took. We saw the Lord at work in the lives of those we served and realized that we were also being changed. Despite a busy schedule, I was able to attend a GHO Team Leaders Conference held in Bristol, Tennessee. This was providential as Dr. Michael Farmer, a radiation oncologist from Memphis, Tennessee, gave a presentation on disciple-making and reaching the nations with the gospel. He emphasized the need to model and practice sharing our faith in our daily routines, as well as striving to pass this training on to others. He offered to mentor me in how to best implement a discipling ministry as part of our focus in Indianapolis. I was thrilled and sensed 14 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
Having a GHO trip scheduled for March 2014 occurred at just the right time. I had now developed the skill set needed to lead the team and was spiritually equipped as well. Our team’s motto for the trip was, “Just share the gospel.” Each of us was to practice giving our testimony with the gospel to our roommates and during the clinics with patients. By the end of the week, we had all learned to do this with confidence and even encouraged some of our translators to do this as well. In addition to providing excellent healthcare to more than 1,000 patients, our team was able to celebrate 98 new professions of faith and 15 lives rededicated to Christ! As I reflected on the trip, a new vision emerged. What if we were more intentional about sharing the gospel as part of a lifestyle of evangelism? What if our local CMDA chapter multiplied disciples and served as a resource for medical outreach to the churches in each of the four quadrants of our city? Although this seems impossible to me, I know the Lord is still in the business of moving mountains and am excited to see what comes next.
About The Author ANDY KOON, MD, practices as a hospitalist at St. Vincent Carmel Hospital in Carmel, Indiana. Andy went on his first short-term mission trip three years ago to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He credits a mentor from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, where he trained in internal medicine, for encouraging his involvement with missions and CMDA’s ministry. On the mission field, he has seen a growing desire among medical students and residents to provide medical care to the underserved internationally. Trips that occur during the months of Spring Break provide an opportunity for students and residents to get involved with missions and have become the highlight of his year. Andy and his wife Jenny live in Carmel, Indiana and have two young children, Anna and Nathan. They enjoy being involved in local CMDA ministry and hope to encourage the development of the next generation of healthcare professionals in missions work.
Not for the Sun, But for the Light
BY JULIE GREENWALT, MD
I began muttering under my breath, “God, why am I here? I have boards to study for, a sweet husband back home and a research paper due in two weeks. I have cancer patients to take care of on Monday and I cannot afford to get sick.” I went to sleep that night covered in about five blankets. I was not happy to say the least. It was not my proudest moment.
“I was able to speak boldly about Jesus and proclaim what I believe. I have NEVER been able to do this in a work setting—so praise God!” —CMDA RESIDENT
I
t was a sunny, beautiful day in Florida, almost 80 degrees. I was on my way to the airport and wondering what the weather was going to be like when I arrived in Wisconsin. Being the Florida girl I am, I knew even 60 degrees was freezing. I stepped off the plane to find the temperature at 38 degrees in April. “Unbelievable,” I thought. I quickly threw on all the layers I had in my suitcase, as my ride prepared to take to me to the conference center where I was staying.
“The most memorable encounter from a spiritual standpoint was the meeting with the hospital residents the last day. This gave the team an opportunity to share how our faith affected our care of patients and to hear how working in a Christian hospital allowed the residents to help the spiritual concerns of their patients.” —A PHYSICIAN ON A MEI TRIP TO ECUADOR
I was on my way to the 2014 CMDA National Convention where I was hoping to meet up with physicians who shared my common passion in global health. I arrived at the conference center around midnight due to a delayed flight. Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, my driver dropped me off in a house in the woods. It was now pouring and I was pretty sure snowflakes were going to be next. I carried my luggage up the stairs to find the quiet little room where I’d be staying. The windows were open and the rain was pouring in. Now it was a wet cold room and I was alone and afraid.
The next morning, I traveled down to the conference center with my five layers of clothing and my heavy jacket. My attitude needed a change, but my quiet time had not provided it. “I do ministry well in Florida,” I thought to myself. “Why do I need to be in Wisconsin? I just got back from a mission trip in Nicaragua, I don’t need to be here. Why can’t I do ministry back at home?” With God’s sense of humor, my day unfolded. During my very first session of the conference I met a woman physician who just happened to be sitting next to me. “Where are you from?” I asked her. She replied, “Sierra Leone.” She could tell I was confused as to why she had come from so far. She then explained how she and her husband spend six months of the year as voluntary missionaries in Sierra Leone. They work the other six months of the year as part-time healthcare professionals in the U.S. to pay for their work. I listened to her adventures as goose bumps ran down my arms. She had traveled halfway across the world to be here. She was here for encouragement and yet she was here for me. My afternoon was filled with getting to meet healthcare professionals who are missionaries in remote places in the world, all from different specialties and all with different gifts. These people were all so kind and humble. I felt overwhelmed. It wasn’t long
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rologist who travels around the world using his specialty training to meet physicians in other countries. This was his platform to build relationships and share the gospel in places where the Bible is not even allowed. I met a neonatologist who practices in a hospital where women routinely choose to have abortions. This doctor actively saves babies by encouraging women to keep the God-given life and child inside of them.
before the Wilkerson’s, some of my personal mentors, arrived and challenged me to get involved. They introduced me to every single physician and dentist they knew. They begged people to share their experiences and encourage me. I was starting to forget about the cold drizzle surrounding the conference center outside.
“We experienced repeated opportunities to have conversations about our faith and biblical truths; opportunities to share our testimonies of coming to faith in Christ; opportunities to bring the Good News to three Muslim villages; and many other opportunities to stand out with the light and salt of the gospel.” — A TEAM LEADER ON A MEI TRIP TO MACEDONIA
The next day I was inspired by a physician who is dean of a major medical school and now an active member of CMDA, using his esteemed position to reach people for Christ. I had lunch with a sweet Bible teacher who has written more than 10 books. I explained how I felt the Lord calling me to write, especially as I journey through life as an oncologist. She was kind, compassionate, encouraging and inspirational. She had only known me for five minutes and yet she believed in me. That evening, I heard from a neph16 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
I found myself unable to sleep that night because my heart was so full. These CMDA members are living out the call I feel on my life: to use healthcare to further the kingdom of Christ. And before I knew it, I didn’t want to leave. On the plane on my way home, I began to realize why I was so sad to be leaving rainy Wisconsin. It wasn’t the sunshine that brought me there, it was the light. What I found when I arrived was the light of Christ. It was the smiles on the faces of people who have Jesus flowing out of their hearts and their lives. I thought I was alone in a cold, dark house. In reality, I had found the sunniest of all places. I had never felt the love of Christ from so many people in one solitary place. It was light that I came for and light that I left with. It was Jesus.
About The Author
JULIE GREENWALT, MD, serves
as the current resident representative to CMDA's House of Representatives. She joined CMDA at the University of Florida as a first year medical student and has been involved in their chapter for many years. She helps organize the UF CMDA chapter as they attend the annual Nicaragua GHO mission trip. She went to UF for medical school and then matched into UF’s Radiation Oncology Program for residency. She loves oncology patients and walking with them through their journey. She is currently a PGY-4 resident and is married to Brandon, a dentist. She loves CMDA and could not imagine life in residency without such a wonderful organization. Her vision is to see more residents get involved in CMDA to help equip more physicians to share their faith.
These stories and testimonies are only a small sampling of the transformation taking place around the world, but they show just how vital and imperative the ministry of CMDA is in our culture and our profession today. And only in eternity do we have hope of fully understanding the influence CMDA has on lives. The question becomes, what are you transforming? Are you making a difference in the lives of your patients? Are you sharing the gospel with your colleagues? Are you serving the lost, the last and the least? If you aren’t, now is the time. Join us April 30 – May 3, 2015 in Ridgecrest, North Carolina at TRANSFORM: CMDA’s National Convention. This convention is the perfect opportunity for you to get involved in the transforming ministry of CMDA as you fellowship with other Christian healthcare professionals, learn about current health and social issues, network with exhibiting organizations and renew your faith. To register and learn more, visit www.cmda.org/nationalconvention. Transformation starts with you. And it starts now. Are you ready?
“Ten years ago there were about 10 Christians among students and doctors. Now they estimate that there are close to 100!” —REPORT FROM CLOSED COUNTRY WHERE CMDA TEAMS HAVE BEEN SERVING “A few classmates 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.” —CMDA STUDENT LEADER “We are praying that this coming year might present more opportunities for Christian students to grow, and for unbelievers to hear about Jesus.” —CMDA STUDENT LEADER “One of our third year medical students accepted Christ on last year’s missions trip, and is a positive influence for Christ in her class. She said that CMDA has had the single biggest impact on her med school journey!” — CMDA STUDENT LEADER
CMDA’S NATIONAL CONVENTION
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APRIL 30 - MAY 3, 2015 LIFEWAY RIDGECREST CONFERENCE CENTER RIDGECREST, NORTH CAROLINA
This convention provides great opportunities for you to “Change Your World” as you fellowship with Christian healthcare professionals, learn about current health and social issues, renew your faith through worship and network with exhibiting organizations. You don’t want to miss this event! Register today at www.cmda.org/nationalconvention.
PLENARY SPEAKERS BISHOP CLAUDE ALEXANDER, JR. He is the Senior Pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. A leader among both Christian and civic leaders, Bishop Alexander has worked with government and community officials to address the community’s most critical issues.
HONORABLE KAY COLE JAMES James is the founder and President of the Gloucester Institute, a non-profit organization which trains and nurtures African American leaders. Throughout her extensive career, James has worked in government, business, academia and non-profit organizations.
REVEREND STAN KEY Having served for 10 years as a missionary in France and 18 years as senior pastor of Loudonville Community Church in Albany, New York, Stan now serves the broader church through preaching, teaching and writing. He often travels both in the U.S. and abroad speaking in churches, retreats, conferences and camps.
DAVID STEVENS, MD, MA (ETHICS) Dr. Stevens serves as CEO for CMDA. He previously served as a missionary doctor in Kenya helping to transform Tenwek Hospital into a premier mission healthcare facility. As a leading spokesman for Christian healthcare professionals in America, he has conducted hundreds of television, radio and print media interviews.
AL WEIR, III, MD Dr. Weir is board certified in internal medicine, with certifications in hematology and oncology. He currently practices in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to his specialties, Dr. Weir’s major area of interest is the practical aspect of living out the Christian life as a healthcare professional.
WORSHIP LEADER BRIAN ARNER Brian has emerged as one of the finest voices in inspirational Christian music. Since beginning his full-time ministry 22 years ago, Brian has completed seven solo recordings which have been played across the country on numerous radio stations.
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 17
THEN
& NOW
Through the Eyes a Lifetime Member An interview with Dr. John Elsen At 93 years old, Dr. John Elsen from Three Lakes, Wisconsin is one of CMDA’s oldest living members. In a series of interviews, Dr. Elsen recently shared some of his experiences and memories from when he first joined CMDA while he was in medical school. This is a compilation of those interviews. To hear Dr. Elsen’s full interview with Dr. David Stevens, please visit www.cmda.org/cdd. CMDA: Tell us about your first days in medical school. Dr. John Elsen: I first received the Lord as my savior when I was a junior in college at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. This was just before World War II, and when that broke, that changed the attitude of everyone in the school. Everybody got more serious about life and what they were going to do. When I graduated in chemistry, I already decided I ought to go to medical school since my father was a physician. And that would be a better way to serve my country. So in 1942, I applied and was accepted at Northwestern University and graduated from college on a Monday and the next Wednesday I was in medical school.
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CMDA: So World War II had started by then. Dr. Elsen: Yes. At that time, if you were in medical school, you could join the Army Student Training Program, and they would pay all your expenses—tuition, board, room, everything—and then when you graduated you were taken in as a first lieutenant in the medical core. But my parents didn’t want me to join that program. They wanted me to stay out of the army as long as I could. So I went to medical school without joining the army, and that was really the first experience that guided everything in my life from that point on. And the reason was that I was not in the service, while all the rest of my classmates with one or two exceptions were in the military. I was free to do other things, which I did. CMDA: From there, how or when did you get involved with CMDA? (At the time, CMDA was the Christian Medical Society.) Dr. Elsen: Two men who were working for their PhDs in physical biological chemistry at Northwest-
CMDA: From there, tell us about how God led you in a different direction than you expected. Dr. Elsen: The fact that I was not in the military, I was able to get additional work at the university as a student teacher in the laboratories. It was a great advantage to me, and I picked up a master’s degree in the process. I was also six months behind the rest of my class because of working in the laboratories at the medical school. And that was a critical time because when I finished my hospital internship, I was asked by the chief medical officer of the hospital to take the residency in ENT. I had no idea of doing that because I expected to be drafted into the army as a second lieutenant who was just waiting for orders. Well, the orders never came and they sent me a letter three months into my residency saying that they didn’t need me. Mrs. Virginia Elsen (left) with CMS Executive Secretary Ray Knighton, Jr. at the 1952 National Convention in Chicago, Illinois.
ern—their names were Jonathan Cilley and Joseph Boutwell—introduced me to the organization. They and their wives were involved with the Christian Medical Society which at that time was run out of the lab in the medical school. It consisted of a file drawer with correspondence from various doctors and medical schools and a mimeograph machine. They put out a CMS newsletter every couple of months on the mimeograph machine. CMDA: So what was going on when you got involved? Dr. Elsen: It was a student organization and we had two or three physicians who were missionaries and had returned to the states. One of them was Dr. Ken Geiser, who was one of the founders, along with a few others whom we knew were Christians. And this was our faith journey through medical school. CMDA: You had some great examples and great mentors in those men. What were those initial meetings like that you used to have way back then? Dr. Elsen: There were a number of doctors there we knew were Christian doctors. It was really like a breakfast with one of the doctors. And occasionally we’d have an evening meeting, but it was the local fellowship. We also had three or four students in school who also were Christians. And this was the real basis and fellowship that we had. We had Bible studies fairly regularly among the students, and particularly the doctors.
Dr. Elsen graduated from medical school in December 1946 and joined an ENT residency at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, Illinois in January 1947. CMDA: Did you stay in involved with your local CMS chapter while you were in residency? Dr. Elsen: Oh yes. Whatever times they had meetings, if I was able to come, I would. Otherwise, I’d be on duty, of course, and couldn’t leave the hospital. CMDA: Why was it so important that you kept in touch with your local CMS group and still met for meetings even though you had lots of other responsibilities on your plate? Dr. Elsen: It was a big part of our Christian experience. I remember driving to the first convention which was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1951, I think. With a couple of other people, we drove all night long to get to the first CMS convention. CMDA: Now what was that like at the first convention? Dr. Elsen: It gave us more of a view of the whole program because there were quite a number of Christian doctors and students in the five medical schools in Philadelphia. So that gave us a much larger view. CMDA: There is a picture of you in the very first issue of the Christian Medical Society Journal, now known as Today’s Christian Doctor. And you served as president of the organization in 1948. What was it like working behind the scenes to help the organization?
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 19
Dr. Elsen: One of the things I realized during my residency was that somewhere along the way CMS was going to have to grow out of the laboratory, so to speak. Grow beyond the mimeograph machine and the file drawer. We started looking around in the loop and we found an old building on West Madison St. The rent was $45 a month, and we thought it would be $22.50 each and we could squeeze it out of our budgets, if worse came to worse. So we signed the lease. We collected old office furniture; I don’t think we spent more than $100 or more for a big desk, chair, typewriter and all the rest. And then we were in business. CMDA: Did you know that there was such great interest in CMS from other schools across the country? How did it start to grow? Dr. John Elsen and his wife Virginia at the 2014 CMDA National
Convention. Dr. Elsen: I don’t remember when Ray Knighton came on as Executive Secretary. But when he came on, he really put some life into the society. After completing his residency, Dr. Elsen started pracHe was go-getter, promoter, so to speak, and he realticing in Evanston, Illinois, on January 1, 1950, and he ized that we needed to have more space and more remained in practice there until he retired in July 1991. organization. They moved from the loop in Chicago out to Oak Park. CMDA: After you went into practice, how did you live out your faith in your practice? CMDA: So did you stay connected with the local chapter in Chicago even after the organization moved Dr. Elsen: One of the students in Chicago wanted to out to Oak Park? start a clinic after the pattern of the “John 5:24 Mission” in Philadelphia. So Dr. E.J. Cummins and I went along Dr. Elsen: Oh yes, we remained members but not with him and we started a clinic at the Pacific Garden taking an active part. I was just a young doctor at that Mission in Chicago. The students did practical medical time, and the older men were more mature and more involved in the business-end of things. work, not prescribing necessarily, but medical care for
Dr. John Elsen (right) stands with Dr. Gene Rudd at the 2014 CMDA National Convention as he’s recognized as being the oldest member in attendance.
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Outgoing CMDA President Dr. John Elsen (left) greets incoming President Dr. Richard Scheel in this photo published in the very first edition of the Christian Medical Society Journal.
common illnesses as a referral base and sending them to other hospitals in the community if they needed it. That clinic is still going, and I think they can bed 350 people at night in their building. CMDA: How does it feel to know that you had such a hand in starting a ministry that has grown and impacts so many people every day? Dr. Elsen: It wasn’t really me, it was the Lord. I didn’t set out to do these things, but it was something that needed to be done. And I could do it. There were a lot of things I couldn’t do. I’m not a writer. I’m not a public speaker or anything like that. CMDA: Were you involved in overseas missions? Dr. Elsen: We went to Honduras, I think, about seven times with members of the family. My kids would come along and they loved to speak and learn Spanish. I’d take a different child—we had nine children by birth and two by choice—and so we took some of them along on these trips and it was a real experience for them. It sure had a real effect on their lives. Dr. Elsen and his wife Virginia were married in September 1944, and they recently celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. After he retired in 1991, they spent some time living in Florida before settling in Wisconsin, where they still live today. The 2014 CMDA National Convention was held in Wisconsin, and they were able to attend the convention, more than 60 years after attending one of the first conventions in 1951.
Dr. John and Virginia Elsen attend one of the plenary sessions at the 2014 CMDA National Convention.
CMDA: Now that you’ve been involved for more than 70 years, why has the organization stayed so important to you? Dr. Elsen: One of the things Dr. Gus Hemwall encouraged me was to do short-term missions. And at Moody Church, we were always a mission-oriented church. So there was nothing unusual about that for me. I think that’s one of the great thing CMDA has done now is doing their mission work and connecting with mission doctors, mission hospitals, national doctors in various countries. That’s a very important thing for the organization. CMDA: What’s your fondest moment from your experiences with CMDA? Dr. Elsen: I think the fondest memories are when we first began. We had meetings over at the “Y” in Chicago when I was a student. Meeting there with Dr. Adolph and Dr. Hemwall, and various other men in the community, were the real things that kept us going. They were there and we knew we could go call on them if we needed to. They mentored a lot of other men. CMS at that time was more or less a fellowship organization encouraging and giving us a common bond of friendship and fellowship which was really important. We want to thank Dr. Elsen for sharing his story with us and giving us an inside look at the history of CMDA back in the early days when it was a few faithful who birthed this organization that’s now grown to more than 15,000 members across the country. What an account of God’s faithfulness in Dr. Elsen’s life as he has served Him faithfully for all these years.
Dr. John Elsen (far left) poses with other members of the newly formed CMDA Board of Directors in 1950.
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INTER ACTIVE Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/graceprescriptions to learn more about learning how to share your faith in your practice.
Spiritual Assessment
in Clinical Care PART 1 THE BASICS
by Walt Larimore, MD 22 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
A
bout 25 years ago, while sharing an early morning cup of coffee with my dear friend and practice partner, family physician John Hartman, MD, he asked, “Walt, how come we don’t bring our faith to work with us more often?” It was a question the Lord used to convict me of the fact that although my personal relationship with God was the primary and most important relationship in my life, more often than not I tended to leave Him at the door when entering the hospital or medical office. Over several years, John and I prayed about and explored ways in which we might incorporate a number of spiritual interventions into our practice. The fruit we experienced eventually led to my working with William C. Peel, ThM, and CMDA to develop the Saline Solution in the mid-1990s and, more recently, Grace Prescriptions. Feedback from tens of thousands of attendees from these conferences and small group curricula from around the world indicate that these interventions have revolutionized their witness for Christ and their satisfaction with practice. In the first part of this two-part article, we’re going to explore the basics of spiritual assessment in clinical care. Are spiritual assessments important? The value of religiousness and/or spirituality (R/S) to patients and health professionals is underscored by lay polls, medical research, undergraduate curricula, recommendations of professional organizations, government regulations and clinical practice guidelines. The most recent data from Gallup indicate 86 percent of adults in the United States believe in God and 78 percent consider religion either very important (56 percent) or important (22 percent).1 An informal survey of physicians revealed that 99 percent believe religious beliefs can heal and 75 percent believe others’ prayers can promote healing.2 Studies demonstrate that up to 94 percent of hospitalized patients believe spiritual health is as important as physical health,3 40 percent of patients use faith to cope with illness4 and 25 percent of patients use prayer for healing each year.5 According to Duke University psychiatrist Harold Koenig, MD, “Nearly 90% of medical schools (and many nursing schools) in the U.S. include something about R/S in their curricula and this is also true to a lesser extent in the UK and Brazil. Thus, spirituality and health is increasingly being addressed in medical and nursing training programs as part of quality patient care.”6
Numerous health professional organizations call for greater sensitivity and training concerning the management of religious and spiritual issues in the assessment and treatment of patients.7 For example, the Joint Commission, whose certification is a requirement for organizations receiving government payment (i.e., Medicare and Medicaid), now requires a spiritual assessment for patients cared for in hospitals or nursing homes or by a home health agency.8,9 Health professionals who don’t take a spiritual history are often surprised to learn how frequently spirituality affects their patient encounters and how open their patients are to their inquiry. For example, one recent review found that “studies have shown that (up to) 90% of patients (depending on the setting) want physicians to address their spiritual needs” and emphasizes that “the ability to identify and address patient spiritual needs has become an important clinical competency.”10 Another review concluded, “The majority of patients would not be offended by gentle, open inquiry about their spiritual beliefs by physicians. Many patients want their spiritual needs addressed by their physician directly or by referral to a pastoral professional.”11 Why aren’t more health professionals doing spiritual assessments? Nevertheless, most ambulatory and hospitalized patients report that no health professional has ever discussed spiritual or religious beliefs with them,12,13 even though 85 to 90 percent of physicians felt they should be aware of patient spiritual orientation.14,15 In fact, our most recent national data (now about 10 years old) reveals that only 9 percent of patients have ever had a health professional inquire about their R/S beliefs.16 So why do health professionals ignore this “important clinical competency” of quality patient care? When asked to identify barriers to the spiritual assessment, family physicians in Missouri pointed to a lack of time (71 percent), lack of experience taking spiritual histories (59 percent) and difficulty identifying patients who wanted to discuss spiritual issues (56 percent).17 I have seen the same concerns expressed time and time again. In fact, Saline Solution and Grace Prescriptions were designed specifically to address these apprehensions. Yet, one review on spiritual assessment concluded: Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 23
• T he role that religious or spiritual beliefs or practices play in coping with illness (or causing distress), • Beliefs that may influence or conflict with decisions about medical care, • The patient’s level of participation in a spiritual community and whether the community is supportive, and • Any spiritual needs that might be present.21 Several fairly-easy-to-use mnemonics have been designed to help health professionals, such as the “GOD” spiritual assessment I developed for CMDA’s Saline Solution:
Assessing and integrating patient spirituality into the health care encounter can build trust and rapport, broadening the physician-patient relationship and increasing its effectiveness. Practical outcomes may include improved adherence to physician-recommended lifestyle changes or compliance with therapeutic recommendations. Additionally, the assessment may help patients recognize spiritual or emotional challenges that are affecting their physical and mental health. Addressing spiritual issues may let them tap into an effective source of healing or coping.18 From the perspective of the health professional, a spiritual assessment, included routinely in the patient’s social history, provides “yet another way to understand and support patients in their experience of health and illness.”19 How do I do a spiritual assessment? Before you get started, I must share this caution from Stephen Post, PhD: “Professional problems can occur when well-meaning healthcare professionals ‘faith-push’ a patient opposed to discussing religion.” However, on the other side of the coin, “rather than ignoring faith completely with all patients, most of whom want to discuss it, we can explore which of our patients are interested and who are not.”20 Simply put, a spiritual assessment can help us do this with each patient we see. We can potentially gain the following from a spiritual assessment: • The patient’s religious background, 24 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
• G = God: −− May I ask your faith background? Do you have a spiritual or faith preference? Is God, spirituality, religion or spiritual faith important to you now, or has it been in the past? • O = Others: −− Do you now meet with others in religious or spiritual community, or have you in the past? If so, how often? How do you integrate with your faith community? • D = Do: −− What can I do to assist you in incorporating your spiritual or religious faith into your medical care? Or, is there anything I can do to encourage your faith? May I pray with or for you? However, this and other spiritual assessment tools fail to inquire about a critical item involving spiritual health: any religious struggles the patient may be having. A robust literature shows religious struggles can predict mortality, as there is an inverse association between faith and morbidity and mortality of various types.22 In Part 2 of this article, I’ll review that literature with you and show you a new tool I’m using in my practice to address this factor. Conclusion Sir William Osler, one of the founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital and frequently described as the “Father of Modern Medicine,” 23 wrote, “Nothing in life is more wonderful than faith…the one great moving force which we can neither weigh in the balance nor test in the crucible—mysterious, indefinable, known only by its effects, faith pours out an unfailing stream of energy while abating neither jot nor tittle of its potence.”24 You can experience that driving force of faith when you apply these principles of spiritual assessment in your practice of healthcare, thereby allowing you to minister
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
to your patients in ways you never imagined possible, while also increasing personal and professional satisfaction. One doctor recently shared with me, “Ministering in my practice has allowed God to bear fruit in and through me in new and wonderful ways. I can’t wait to see what He’s going to do in and through me each day. My practice and I have been transformed.” Are you ready to be transformed? Visit www.cmda. org/graceprescriptions to start learning how to share your faith in your practice. For an expanded version of this article and a complete list of citations, please visit www.cmda. org/spiritualassessment. Look for Part 2 of Dr. Larimore’s article in the fall 2015 edition of Today’s Christian Doctor. Upcoming Seminars September 25-26, 2015 in Los Angeles, California October 23-24, 2015 in Raleigh/Durham/Chapel Hill, North Carolina November 13-14, 2015 in Indianapolis, Indiana
8 K oenig, HG. Spirituality in Patient Care. Why, How, When, and What. 2nd Ed. Templeton Press. West Conshohocken, PA. 2007:188–227. 9 A dvancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals. The Joint Commission. Oakbrook Terrace, IL. 2010. (This document mentions spirituality throughout, but see especially pp. 15, 21-22, 27, and 85. See: http://bit.ly/1vx3NXA and http://bit.ly/1r668Cj. Accessed November 21, 2014). 10 Katz PS. Patients and prayer amid medical practice. ACP Internist. 2012(Oct). 11 McLean, CD, Susi, B, Phifer, N, et al. Patient Preference for Physician Discussion and Practice of Spirituality. Results From a Multicenter Patient Survey. J Gen Int Med. 2003(Jan);18(1):38–43. 12 King DE, Bushwick B. Beliefs and attitudes of hospital inpatients about faith healing and prayer. J Fam Pract. 1994;39(4):349–352. 13 Maugans TA, Wadland WC. Religion and family medicine: a survey of physicians and patients. J Fam Pract. 1991;32(2):210–213. 14 Monroe MH, Bynum D, Susi B, et al. Primary care physician preferences regarding spiritual behavior in medical practice. Arch Intern Med. 2003;163(22):2751–2756. 15 Luckhaupt SE, Yi MS, Mueller CV, et al. Beliefs of primary care residents regarding spirituality and religion in clinical encounters with patients: a study at a midwestern U.S. teaching institution. Acad Med. 2005;80(6):560–570. 16 McCord G, Gilchrist VJ, Grossman SD, et al. Discussing spirituality with patients: a rational and ethical approach. Ann Fam Med. 2004(Jul/ Aug);2(4):356-361. 17 Ellis MR, Vinson DC, Ewigman B. Addressing spiritual concerns of patients: family physicians’ attitudes and practices. J Fam Pract. 1999;48(2):105–109. 18 Saguil, A, Phelps, K. The Spiritual Assessment. Am Fam Phys. 2012(Sep 15);86(6):546-550. 19 Saguil. Ibid. 20 Post SG. Ethical Aspects of Religion in Healthcare. Mind/Body Medicine: J Clin Behav Med. 1996;2(1):44-48.
Bibliography 1 Gallup, Inc. Religion. http://www.gallup.com/poll/1690/Religion. aspx?version=print. Accessed November 21, 2014.
2 Larimore WL. Providing Basic Spiritual Care for Patients: Should It Be the Exclusive Domain of Pastoral Professionals? Am Fam Physician. 2001(Jan 1);63(1):36-41. 3 King DE, Bushwick B. Beliefs and attitudes of hospital inpatients about faith healing and prayer. J Fam Pract. 1994;39(4):349–352. 4 Koenig HG. Religious attitudes and practices of hospitalized medically ill older adults. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 1998;13(4):213–224. 5 Eisenberg DM, Kessler RC, Foster C, et al. Unconventional medicine in the United States. Prevalence, costs, and patterns of use. N Engl J Med. 1993;328(4):246–252. 6 Koenig, HG. Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications. ISRN Psychiatry. 2012;Article ID 278730. 7 Puchalski, CM. Taking a Spiritual History: FICA. Spirituality and Medicine Connection. 1999:3:1.
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21 Koenig, HG. Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications. ISRN Psychiatry. 2012. http://bit.ly/1wnA4iP. Accessed December 13, 2014. 22 Pargament, K, Koenig, HG, Tarakeshwar, N, et al. Religious struggle as a predictor of mortality among medically ill elderly patients: a two-year longitudinal study. Arch Int Med. 2001(Aug);161(15):1881-1885. 23 William Osler. Wikipedia. 2014. http://bit.ly/1wsfixo. Accessed December 13, 2014. 24 Osler W. The faith that heals. BMJ. 1910;2:1470–1472.
About The Author WALT LARIMORE, MD, is a lifetime member of CMDA. He has been named in Guide to America’s Top Family Doctors, The Best Doctors in America, Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare and Who’s Who in America. He and his wife of 40 years, Barb, reside in Colorado, have been named Educators of the Year by CMDA and are the parents of two adult children, the doting grandparents of two beautiful granddaughters and the adopted parents of Jack the Cat. Walt serves on the adjunct faculty of the In His Image Family Medicine Residency in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is the best-selling author of more than 30 books, 700 articles and 25 medical textbook chapters. You can find Walt’s daily health blog and daily devotions at www.DrWalt.com.
“The only end to pain is the graveyard.”
I
will never forget those words spoken by a 90-yearold Moldovan woman, crippled by arthritis, living in a hovel for a home with no running water, electricity or family to care for her. We sat outside the door to her dark, dank, cold one-room, windowless home, and she was staring in the distance at a cemetery when she said these words—words that are forever etched in my mind. Words that have helped me understand better how much the world needs Christ and the hope that can only come from Him. She lived a life without hope of anything ever getting better. All she knew was hardship, pain and suffering. To live without hope is not to live but to exist, to exist day by day. ******************************** This one encounter from years ago made the needs of the world personal and real to me for the first time. To become personal is to come face-to-face with something. To become personal is to not only see it and hear it, but to literally smell, taste and touch it— to truly experience it. When this happens, lives are changed and hearts are changed, both in the giver and the receiver. And a changed heart is a heart God can use in a powerful way!
MAKING
it
As a team leader for Global Health Outreach, a short-term missions arm of Christian Medical & Dental Associations, I have led more than 30 mission trips around the world. In addition to making the needs of the world personal to me, these trips have taught me that the needs of the world are truly overwhelming. Because they are overwhelming, two questions come to mind: how and why? How can we meet such overwhelming needs? Why should we even try? Let me share what I’ve learned through my work in short-term missions to answer these two questions.
How can we meet such overwhelming needs?
This question can be looked at differently depending on the lens used by the observer. The “how” can be tangible actions, the “nuts and bolts” so to speak, such as: being willing to serve those in need for free or at a nominal charge in your healthcare practice; volunteering your time and energy to local activities reaching out to the underserved; and venturing outside your comfort zone to serve in areas unfamiliar, uncomfortable or even dangerous, whether locally, nationally or internationally, such as serving on a short-term healthcare mission trip, working in a missionary hospital or others. But it doesn’t stop there, as there are intangible things as well in answer to the “how” question. When the
PERSONAL
How Short-term Healthcare Missions Changed My Life by Andrew S. Lamb, MD, FACP
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 27
needs of the world become personal to you, you start to see beyond just yourself. You learn to have love, compassion and care for everyone. You learn through the unexpected “warmth of love” given through a caring touch, a hug and heartfelt tears shared together when all else fails and nothing else can be done. And you learn about the importance of hope, most of all hope! All people need hope to live. To live without hope of anything ever getting better, or that anyone even cares, is to live a life where, “The only end to pain is the graveyard,” as that Moldovan woman said. So we must be “hope-givers” just as Christ is our Hope-giver! We should never underestimate the power of these intangibles and the hope they can bring to others. Too often, you will be the only person to have done so to the abused child, battered wife, grieving mother, orphaned child, young girl sold into human trafficking, the elderly woman without anyone and those whose lives have been shattered by war and genocide.
Why should we even try? When faced with overwhelming need, it is easy to say, “Why even bother trying? I can’t make a difference.” But we should try, and we must try. We should try because we can make a difference one life at a time.
We can make a difference by seeing that one person sitting in front of you as the most important person to you at that moment. Seeing them as a person of value— that makes a difference! Meeting their healthcare needs as best you can—that makes a difference! Loving them, holding them, giving them that unexpected warmth of love, being the tears of Jesus to them just as Jesus is the tears of God for us when all else fails—that makes a difference! Giving them hope even when all hope seems lost—that makes a difference! Some would say that making a difference one person at a time still won’t be enough to make an impact on the world. So why bother? But that’s not true. When you make a difference to that one person sitting in front of you, you will never know the impact you have on that person. That person can subsequently impact many others for Christ and the ripple effect starts. In his book The Forgotten Ways: Reactivating the Missional Church, Alan Hirsch wrote: “If we’re going to impact our world in the name of Jesus, it will be because people like you and me took action in the power of the Spirit. Ever since the mission and ministry of Jesus, God has never stopped calling for a movement of ‘Little Jesuses’ to follow him into the world and unleash the remarkable redemptive genius that lies in the very message we carry.” Even when faced with the overwhelming needs of the world, we can’t forget what Jesus said in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” (NIV 2011). We have a responsibility as Christians. We have a responsibility to see the need around us and go to that need, and not be blinded by the busyness of work or the pursuit of success. We have a responsibility to reach out, serve and care for those in need. We are to provide care for the whole person— physically, emotionally and spiritually. But clinical skills and competency alone are not sufficient to providing good healthcare. We must also have compassion, empathy and even love for those in need. For me, I want my heart to be broken by the things that break God’s heart; to be willing to hold, comfort and even cry with my patients in their times of greatest need. We have a responsibility to those coming behind us to mentor, teach, encourage and support them. It’s not a choice; it’s an obligation, a requirement
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to disciple, encourage and mentor me. I can better see now what God’s heart looks like, because I have seen what breaks His heart. That is the heart I desire, the heart of Christ, a servant’s heart. A heart that is humble, loving and obedient. A heart wide open and ready to be used by God for His Kingdom work, His honor and His glory. And God even used that Moldovan woman who was lost without the hope of Christ to open my eyes and change my heart. “The only end to pain is the graveyard,” she said on that day so long ago. She was wrong. The only end to pain is the gospel. Are you ready to make it personal and start following God’s call to share the gospel with the world? Visit www.cmda.org/gho to learn more about short-term mission trip opportunities with Global Health Outreach. INTER ACTIVE of our profession. Those coming behind us in healthcare are our future and they need and desire someone to invest in them, to be their Paul and to be their Barnabas. And finally, we have a responsibility to be “Third Path Christians,” as my dear brother in Christ and mentor Dr. Andy Sanders taught me on my very first mission trip! Are you a Christian who is walking the comfortable Christian life but continues to stay on the path of life of your choosing? There is nothing wrong with this life, but this is not the life to which God is calling us. This is not a life fully sold-out to God. He wants us to take that “third path,” the path that suddenly veers off from the comfortable and safe one we have been walking. This is a path that is unknown, the path God desires for us, a path that is totally dependent on God, a path that only He knows where it leads. It’s a scary, uncertain path on which we give to God a blank piece of paper and say to God, “This blank page is my life, I give it all to you. You fill it out, God, and I will do whatever you call me to do!” This is living the radical life of Jesus! I believe God expects nothing less of me, of us, as healthcare professionals and Christ followers. We are to live a life that counts for God and for others.
******************************** Participating in healthcare missions has changed my life by transforming my heart and mind. God changed my heart as He has worked in and through me on each and every mission trip. He also used godly men and women on these mission trips
Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/missions to get involved with CMDA’s mission outreaches.
About The Author
ANDREW S. LAMB, MD, FACP, spent the first 37 years of his life in or around the U.S. Army, growing up as an army “brat” and moving nearly every year. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1977 and married his wife Cathy two weeks after graduation. They served in Germany for three years before he decided on a medical career. He graduated from the University of Alabama School of Medicine in 1984. While serving at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, he deployed to Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm as Chief of Medicine for the 86th Evacuation Hospital. In 1992, he entered private practice at Kernodle Clinic in Burlington, North Carolina, where he practiced for 22 years. In August 2014, he assumed the position of Vice President of Medical Affairs for Cone Health-Alamance Regional Medical Center. He serves as a GHO team leader to Moldova, El Salvador and Nepal. Dr. Lamb and his wife have three sons and reside in North Carolina. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 29
Christ Forsaken
By Darin K. Bowers, MD
I
t was 1986 and I was a third-year medical student in the grind of learning my profession. In developing the habit of reviewing medical journals, one article entitled “On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ” in the Journal of the American Medical Association caught my attention.1 I was pleased to see recognition given, albeit from a medical perspective, about such a significant event that centered on arguably the most controversial figure in human history. Now, nearly 30 years later, my perspective of Christ’s experience has deepened considerably from what I understood then as a young believer. It took me years to realize, what I now consider to be, one of the most important truths we can so easily overlook. Certainly, it is a truth that deserves so much more emphasis than has been given as it is at the heart of our belief.
Do we truly comprehend the magnitude of what Christ experienced or are we somewhat distracted by the physical torment He endured? We’ve heard the story about the physical suffering Christ encountered. We cringed at the bloody scenes graphically depicted in The Passion of the Christ.2 But I’m afraid the emphasis on His physical torment has overshadowed the critical aspect of His spiritual torment. We risk falling short in understanding the entirety of the cost paid by reducing the crucifixion to something our minds can more easily grasp. By hearing, reading or seeing the details of the suffering played out in grizzly detail, we end up settling for a debt paid through torment to the extent laid upon Him by human hands alone. This is unfortunate, since the most terrible affliction He endured was not the physical abuse by which man alone could administer
INTER ACTIVE Scan this code with your mobile device or visit www.cmda.org/easter for more resources to share with your church, friends or colleagues about Christ’s suffering on the cross.
30 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
but rather the complete, though temporary, withdrawal of God’s very presence.
The Question Remains
Some debate exists as to whether Christ was literally abandoned by the Father or simply felt abandoned. One could argue that there could never be complete separation as they are one. Yet our understanding in the fullness of the Trinity has always perplexed mankind. Additionally, verses like Hebrews 13:5 are cited to demonstrate God’s promise to never forsake us. Although I believe Scripture to be true regarding God’s faithfulness to mankind, we should be careful in placing man’s position with God equal to God’s position with the Son. It is clear in 2 Thessalonians 1:9 that separation from God occurs to the person who rejects Christ and dies. Knowing Jesus died while burdened with all of sin ever known, then judged by a righteous God and declared guilty on our behalf, it makes sense that Christ truly transcended a literal hell at that very moment. Believing Christ “felt” abandoned only minimizes what He went through on our behalf. For that reason I believe the literal words Christ spoke, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).3 In any case, Christ experienced something horrendous that no one else could have as He faced a righteous God while bearing all of humanity’s sin. During His ministry, Jesus always referenced God as “Father,” illustrating the intimate fellowship He treasured. John 17 is particularly good in illustrating this “oneness” Christ shared with the Father. Yet, something happened on the cross to change all this, as Christ could no longer see Him as “Father” but only as “My God.” It was this moment, I believe, the Son experienced total abandonment by the Father. Understanding this one point, as difficult as it is to comprehend, is essential in bringing the Easter story the reverence it deserves.
Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 31
Beyond The Physical Suffering
Let me first acknowledge that the physical torment alone of what Christ went through was truly horrific, while the shedding of blood was also necessary in our justification as Romans 5:9 reminds us. His suffering also remains significant as He willingly presented Himself for the worst of what man could inflict. Mark 15:44 suggests that Pilate himself marveled how Christ died so quickly as crucifixion was typically a deliberate and slow form of torture, sometimes lasting days. Isaiah 52:14 foretold this in saying He was “disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.” At the same time, history records that Christ was not the only one to share in such brutality. The Romans were experts in administering punishment on vast numbers over centuries. One only needs to read the accounts of the worst sufferings of the disciplined American slave or the afflictions upon Jews during the Nazi conquest to realize how misery of this magnitude has always been an unfortunate aspect of humanity. History documents cases of human suffering even exceeding what physical torment and suffering our Savior endured. But when you consider the fullness of what He faced on that terrible cross beyond just the physical, we can say with certainty that no human has ever endured anything equal to it. The Father’s abandonment of the Son is unimaginable, disturbing and yet so magnificent that we struggle to comprehend it.
Understanding this event has challenged believers throughout history, even those closest to Jesus. It certainly confused His own disciples as He warned them about what was to take place. We know how Peter reacted to the news Jesus shared of His impending death as recorded in Matthew 16:21-23. In verse 22, Peter declared, “This shall never happen to you!” Yet Peter, and we can assume the others, never really got it. Jesus told Peter in verse 23, “…you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” Although we have the perspective of hindsight through God’s Word, perhaps we too limit our understanding of this event from “mere human concerns” which can preoccupy us. Only after witnessing the physical suffering of Christ and the resurrection did the disci32 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
ples begin to understand the fullness of His sacrifice. It changed them radically to where most of them died as cruel a death as the Savior they followed. Yet it’s not the disciples’ suffering we emphasize in their contribution to the church, nor should Christ’s physical torment alone serve as the basis of His sacrifice. Jesus was really the only one who understood what He was about to face as He prayed in the garden. While some of His disciples struggled to stay awake, Christ was literally sweating blood (Luke 22:44). The phenomenon, known as hematidrosis, rarely occurs under severe emotional stress. Was it the physical torment He was about to face that led to this state? Perhaps partly, but I believe that was the least of His concern. He tells His disciples in Matthew 26:38-39, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death…My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” These statements illustrate Christ’s humanness in experiencing the same emotions any of us would in that situation. What human would not long for some way out? Christ knew it was God’s will to continue even though His grief extended beyond the physical pain He knew was coming. Interestingly, Jesus never commented on the pain the
guards inflicted. Never once was it recorded that He begged for them to show mercy. He was looking beyond the physical suffering to the worst yet to come. In the midst of suffering, Jesus’ mind was on those carrying out the punishment! Luke 23:34a records Jesus saying, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Jesus knew His executioners were focused on the physical because that was all they could do. Yet Jesus intervened on their behalf, making the case for their ignorance in knowing their actions extended beyond the suffering they inflicted. His compassion even extended to the guilty one hanging on the cross nearby as He promised him paradise. If the welfare of others preoccupied Christ’s mind over His physical suffering, what was it He dreaded so much it caused Him to sweat blood? I believe it was an approaching moment of time that literally consumed Him to the deepest level…to the very soul. The moment Jesus cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” as recorded in Matthew 27:46 (KJV), He experienced the one thing that had been on His mind from the earliest days of His ministry—His separation from the Father. Taking all of humanity’s sin upon Himself condemned our Savior to experience this separation from the Father, something He knew was required in “paying the cost.”
How Can It Be?
To illustrate the fullness of what Christ experienced, consider the following: • Imagine knowing you were born to die. All of us are, even though we don’t live like it. Christ literally did, as He knew His purpose was to die for mankind. Acts 2:23 declares, “This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.” John 19:30 announced the end of this plan when Christ proclaimed “It is finished!” • Imagine knowing your fate in dying a brutal death yet possessing the power to stop it. He had full authority to stop it but willingly surrendered Himself to it. John 10:17-18 states, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again....” • Imagine choosing to die to demonstrate your love of others, including your enemies, and doing it for all individuals past, present and future. Most people you have never met, and you would die knowing that many would still reject you despite this act. • Imagine your mind preoccupied, not by the current physical suffering, but by concerns for those
around you. Your mind continually rests on those who love or hate you, with equal concern for both. • Imagine dying for no wrong you have committed. You were guiltless! Yet you voluntarily die for wrongs done by every human. • Imagine knowing that you would assume so much sin that God would withdraw His very presence from you. You would transcend a literal hell, separated from the one who has always sustained you. Of course, it’s difficult to imagine ourselves in this situation as it is so incomprehensible. Thankfully we have a Christ who willingly sacrificed Himself in our place. Christ willingly received our guilt, endured physical punishment and spiritual separation from the Father as judgment for our sin, and He rose victoriously to ascribe righteousness to those who believe! This Easter, in light of the celebrated resurrection, give thanks for a loving Savior who willingly withstood both physical and spiritual agony in providing us a way for salvation. Bibliography 1 Edwards, W.D., Gabel, W.J. & Hosmer, M.S. (1986). On the physical death of Jesus Christ. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 255 (11): 1455-63. 2 Gibson, Mel (Producer/Director). (2004). The Passion of the Christ [Motion Picture]. Beverly Hills, California: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. 3 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture translations 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.
About The Author
DARIN K. BOWERS, MD, received his medical degree from Marshall University and went on to complete full residencies and dual-board certification in both internal medicine and ophthalmology. He practices in Lynchburg, Virginia, specializing in cataract and refractive surgery. As co-founder of Health In Sight Ministry, he and his wife Pam (a registered nurse) help to provide general medical and specialized eye care to indigent residents of Roatan, Honduras. In addition to mission outreach, Dr. Bowers enjoys teaching in his local church and serves as an adjunct assistant professor for ophthalmology at Liberty University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Bowers can be reached at bowersmd@piedmonteye.com. Christian Medical & Dental Associations www.cmda.org 33
classifieds Miscellaneous Tropical Medicine Course – 20th Anniversary Clinical Tropical Medicine & Traveler’s Health course ASTMH accredited. June 9, 2015 – March 1, 2016. Sponsored by the West Virginia University Global Health Program and the School of Medicine Office of Continuing Education. For more information, please contact Nancy Sanders nsanders@hsc.wvu.edu or Mrs. Jacque Visyak jvisyak@hsc.wvu.edu or by phone 304-293-5916 or visit our website at www.hsc.wvu.edu/som/tropmed. Ministry Opportunity – Dallas, Texas. Wycliffe’s clinic is looking for Texas licensed doctors, dentists and dental hygienists as part-time volunteers. Possibly a clinic administrator. Contact the clinic at 972-708-7408 or clinic_dallas@sil.org.
International Family Physicians – Charitable, outpatientonly family practice teaching clinic and residency program (part of In His Image International http://www.inhisimage.org/international.php#/,http://www.lightshenyang.org) located in Shenyang, China seeking shortand long-term family physicians for voluntary non-paid positions starting 2015. Mission is to 1) provide excellent patient care, 2) train Chinese doctors in family medicine, 3) let light shine before men. Clinical settings include international clinic, charitable clinics for orphans, foster children, migrant workers, HIV patients, poor countryside and nursing homes. Currently staffed by Western physicians, two resident graduates and four residents in training. Chinese proficiency not required. Please email Dr. Carlton Baer for more information at cpb1963@gmail.com.
Dental
Medical Family Medicine – Out patient traditional practice setting. Excellent practice opportunity for a full-time BC/BE family medi34 Today’s Christian Doctor Spring 15
cine physician, no OB in Salem, Oregon. Recognized Patient Centered Primary Care Home Tier 3 status with Meaningful Use achievement. Current practice size is three physicians and one physician assistant. Join a group of providers that enjoy the same activities that you enjoy, such as hiking, fishing, photography, church activities, gardening, kayaking and quilting. This is a very well established practice that has been a part of our communities for over 50 years. Full-time, employed position. NextGen EPM and EMR. Monday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. Call is shared with other family medicine offices. Call is one day a week, once every three weeks. Weekend call is 1:12. Use hospitalist system. Cannot support visas. Very competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package. Recruitment incentives available including relocation assistance, signing bonus and student loan forgiveness/repayment. For further information, please send CV to jobs@mvipa.org. Family Practice – Come join a collegial group of family physicians providing full spectrum care to an underserved area of Northern New Mexico! The opportunity includes providing prenatal care and low risk deliveries. Call is 1:4 for OB and peds only (there is a hospitalist for adults). Great OB back up for consults or sections. About 20 deliveries a year. Clinic schedules are flexible to allow for balance of work and family. Espanola is a community of 10,000 and is 30 minutes to Santa Fe. Contact Lucille.montoya@ecfh.org or call 505-470-5841. Medical Supervisor – Wheaton College is seeking a medical supervisor to serve in Student Health Services to provide patient care and manage the clinical staff of a busy, walk-in clinic on a college campus. Qualified candidates will be licensed and board certified in a specialty and have 10 years of patient care experience. Student Health Services (SHS) provides holistic care in wellness promotion, preventive medicine and acute and chronic medical services to many Wheaton College students. Health and wellness services are provided to enable students to maximize their educational experience, as well as to minimize their illness, injury and emotional distress so that they may accomplish their academic goals. Wellness promotion and education assists students in the pursuit of their lifelong health goals. To review a job description and apply, visit www.wheaton.edu/hr. Questions? Email HR@wheaton.edu or call 630-752-5060. Orthopedics – 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, on-site surgery center and two hospitals. We are searching for general ortho-
pedists 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. Pediatrics – Northwest Pediatric Center, located in beautiful Western Washington, is seeking a full-time board certified/board eligible pediatrician for a growing pediatric practice. Currently Northwest Pediatric Center consists of four offices, nine pediatricians, one psychiatrist, five ARNPs and one dietitian. All the facilities are rural health clinics. Main location is Centralia, Washington, which is situated halfway between Seattle and Portland along the I-5 corridor. For more information, please contact Lisa McKay. Phone: 360-736-6778, Fax: 360736-6552, Email: lmckay@nwpeds.com. Visit our website at www.nwpeds.com. Primary Care – Traditional or outpatient primary position located in Central Alabama, beautiful small community. Physician will have tremendous impact on community. 40 minutes from metro area, less than two hours to Gulf Coast. Please respond to medplankab@aol.com.
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Newport News, Virginia – Associateship position, with ownership potential, available in Christ-centered multi-doctor practice. Applicants must have either two years of practice experience or else a GPR. 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.
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
In His Image provided me with excellent medical training and also showed me how to use medicine as a ministry and see each patient as Christ does. Through the Spiritual Curriculum, Counseling Track, mentorship of exemplary faculty physicians and fellowship with like-minded residents, my heart continued to grow for those in need around me. My husband and I were encouraged and challenged to grow as a couple through weekly Bible Studies, conferences and retreats sponsored by IHI. We believe that IHI helped equip and spur us on toward a calling God placed on our hearts serving the underserved! I am currently working at a rural federally qualified health center in a diverse community, serving for God’s glory.
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