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5HFRPPHQG ZLWK &RQÀ GHQFH Participate in our Sample Program. We provide Cosamin® ASU samples along with a $5.00 coupon for your patient’s first purchase. We also have a dedicated website to re-order samples anytime for your office. Go to CosaminSamples.com. Display the Start Cosamin Program in your office or exam room. Your patients receive a free 60 count bottle of Cosamin ASU (does not include shipping) and a $10.00 coupon to use on their first purchase. Visit our dedicated website at DrStartCosamin.com. Use the Cosamin Recommendation Pad for a quick and convenient way to recommend Cosamin. To ensure your patients start on the best product available, there is a $5 coupon on every page. Not all joint health supplements have the research support and quality of Cosamin—Recommend with Confidence.
For more information visit Cosamin.com or call 1-877-COSAMIN. Tested and Certified by NSF.
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Sample m P r o g ra Start in Cosam m P r o g ra dation n e m m Reco ad P These statements have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
editorial by David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics), CEO
Worms! Worms! Worms! I have taken out boluses of round worms by the basin full from patients with bowel obstructions. Worms were so prevalent that we treated every patient who came into the hospital for them without taking the time to do a stool for O & P. It was obvious we were not only chasing our own tails but also the tails of millions of parasites in the community. When we sent patients home, they used the bushes around the hut as their bathroom and just got re-infested with tape worms, hook worms, pinworms, ascaris and worms I hadn’t even heard of until I arrived in Africa. I hated worms. The last thing I wanted to do was eat spaghetti for supper! It was obvious that we needed to get people to build pit latrines to bury once and for all those wigglers and their eggs in deep holes. That was one of my top priorities when I started our community health program. We taught people about the importance of latrines with stories, humorous dramas, pictures and lectures. We built “demonstration” latrines in the community, taught our health workers how to make concrete slabs to cover pits and lauded the people when they made an effort to help a neighbor build their privy. I knew that “what gets measured gets done,” so every report asked the health workers how many pit latrines were built in their service area that month. Sure enough, our efforts paid off. The number of latrines in the community began to skyrocket! Unfortunately, the number of worm cases didn't change that much. What was going on? After visiting some nationals’ homes and asking lots of questions, we finally figured it out. Through our efforts, people confirmed they had not only heard our lessons but could repeat much of it back to us. Our “touch” had been heard. They had “participated” by digging a pit, making a slab and putting up their outhouse building. We could see it standing pristinely behind their hut. They even proudly gave us a tour and welcomed us to use it! Pristinely? Wait a minute! The latrine looked like a demo house in a new subdivision that no one had ever lived in! Closer questioning finally revealed they were still using the bushes and saving the outhouse like fine china for guest use only! Real transformation had not taken place. So we started to measure our results differently. The new question in the monthly report became, “Is there a worn path between the family’s hut and the latrine?” As CMDA measures its success, it is easy to count our number of ministry “touches”— magazines we publish, newsletters we send, campuses we visit, editorials that are published and a host of other efforts—but has real change taken place? We can look at “participation” as a higher level of impact by collecting data on how many people attend conferences, go on GHO or MEI trips or use one of our many services. But that doesn’t get to the critical question. Has your life been transformed and, because of that change, are you transforming others? Are traveling on a new path in your relationship with the Lord and your service to others? Yes, it is much harder to identify and measure those kinds of results, but that is our mission and that is our vision. So in this edition of Today’s Christian Doctor, let’s take a look at the results we are looking for—lives transformed. Maybe, just maybe, God will use what you read to transform you! ✝
Wormy Transformation
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contents
Look for this symbol
Today’s Christian Doctor I V OLUM E 42 , N O. 4 I Winter 2011
to find stories by authors who are transforming their worlds and making a difference.
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations® Changing Hearts in Healthcare – since 1931.
13 How Do You Spell Relief?
by David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics) Introducing CMDA’s newest ministry
16 The Ripple Effect
by Linsey Ann Hocker, PharmD and Ryan Love Making a difference in your faith, your life and your workplace
25 Has God Indeed Said . . . ?
A Biblical Perspective on Sexuality, Part 2
by André Van Mol, MD Examining aspects of sexuality through biblical study
30 A Biblical Foundation for Medicine
Part 2: Medicine Grounded in the Character of God by John Dunlop, MD, MA (Bioethics) The second installment in a three-part series
20 The Streets of Memphis
by John David Williamson, MD and Jon Hall, DDS Serving at home through domestic missions
23
Rest for Your Soul by Emily Dalton, MD One doctor finds peace on the mission field
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Progress Notes Advertising Section
cover
ABOUT THE
The cover art for this quarter’s issue of Today’s Christian Doctor was drawn by Dr. Kuhn Hong. It is a watercolor depicting a team of doctors working and teaching the residents in the endoscopy suite at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya, as they put in a stent on a patient with an inoperable obstructing esophageal carcinoma. Dr. Hong’s passion for painting and sketching began when he was growing up in economically depressed South Korea after the Korean War. With no formal training, he has continued to culti-
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vate his hobby throughout his life. Kenya Dr. Hong has been practicing radiology at Little Company of Mary Hospital in a suburb near Chicago since completing his medical training. A lifetime member of CMDA, he is involved in the campus ministry efforts in the Chicago area and has traveled to more than 20 countries on short-term medical mission trips. This painting was completed during Dr. Hong’s recent visit to Tenwek Hospital in April 2011. “CMDA is proud and happy to have such a talented and generous artist among us,” said Dr. David Stevens as he expressed his heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Hong for donating the artwork to Today’s Christian Doctor.
TODAY’S CHRISTIAN DOCTOR® EDITOR Mandi Mooney EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Gregg Albers, MD John Crouch, MD William C. Forbes, DDS 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 Judy Johnson 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, Winter 2011 Volume XLII, No. 4. 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 © 2011, 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, 1-888-230-2637; Fax: 423-844-1005; E-mail: memberservices@cmda.org; Website: http://www.joincmda.org. If you are interested in submitting articles to be considered for publication, visit www.cmda.org/publications for submission guidelines and details. Articles and letters published represent the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. Acceptance of paid advertising from any source does not necessarily imply the endorsement of a particular program, product, or service by CMDA. Any technical information, advice or instruction provided in this publication is for the benefit of our readers, without any guarantee with respect to results they may experience with regard to the same. Implementation of the same is the decision of the reader and at his or her own risk. CMDA cannot be responsible for any untoward results experienced as a result of following or attempting to follow said information, advice, or instruction.
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Tribute to Marjorie Gieser Marjorie Ruth Gieser, 73, went home to be with the Lord on Friday, August 12, 2011, after suffering from a malignant brain tumor. An accomplished artist and sculptor, she created the banner that currently hangs in the lobby of CMDA’s national headquarters, as well as a bust of CMDA’s founder Dr. P. Kenneth Gieser, her father-in-law. The daughter of medical missionaries stationed in Ethiopia, Marjorie was born in Egypt. Her family moved to El Paso, Texas, after her parents were expelled from Ethiopia during World War II. She received a master of fine arts degree from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1976. She taught survey classes and metal welding at Wheaton College between 1976 and 1979. Marjorie was a well-known resident of Wheaton, Illinois, for 45 years. Her large and colorful banners and artwork can be seen in churches and other prominent areas of worship throughout the Chicago area and around the world. Her husband Richard (Dick) is a lifetime member of CMDA and is a frequent participant in MEI trips. Marjorie often accompanied him during his travels, and she brought her artistry with her. “CMDA was at the center of her heart since we were in med school,” said Dick. On their trips with MEI, “she did art work while I taught local ophthalmologists. Her murals are in India, Mongolia, Bolivia and the Sudan.” She is survived by her husband, children and grandchildren. CMDA’s Gene Rudd, MD, commented, “Marge exuded creativity and grace—attributes that manifested the love of God within her. In addition to our fond memories, her visual legacy will remain through her paintings, sculptures, banners and photography.”
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Focus on Features — Weekly Devotionals CMDA’s Weekly Devotionals are targeted specifically for healthcare professionals and the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. Written by Al Weir, MD, former Vice President of CMDA’s Campus and Community Ministries, each week’s devotional uses true stories to speak to physicians, dentists and students. The stories are culled from personal experiences and Scripture passages, as well as first-hand reports from patients, doctors and students. “I was most struck by the need for doctors and students to work out their day with the Lord, to look at their real life situations and hold them up through a biblical lens,” said Dr. Weir. “The doctors and students I meet so often have experienced God’s truth in ways that informed me and changed my understanding of God’s work in my life.” The main goal of the devotions is to awaken doctors to the presence of God in their daily circumstances and to allow them to see God at work in each experience so they might take those areas of their lives to the Lord and let Him change the way they live. Readers are encouraged to share their own experiences and provide any feedback that would be helpful in directing the focus of
the devotionals. We hope you are encouraged and inspired by the devotionals, and that you gain insight and wisdom from others who have gone through the same challenges that you face in healthcare today. A lifetime member of CMDA, Dr. Weir lives with his wife Rebecca in Memphis, Tennessee. He serves as a Clinical Professor of Hematology and Oncology based primarily at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In addition to writing the devotionals, he also directs CMDA’s Completing Your Call and is deeply involved in educational missions with Albanian Health Fund and MEI. “When I verbalize the integration of God’s Word with personal experiences, it awakens me to truth that I might never have seen if I had just passed through it,” said Dr. Weir. “Anytime I see Christ intersect with people in their real lives, I learn more about the Christ I love and thus love Him more.” To subscribe to the devotions or to read past editions, visit www.cmda.org/devotions. You can also view them at www.cmdadevotional.blogspot.com.
egional Ministries Northeast Region Scott Boyles, MDiv P.O. Box 7500 Bristol, TN 37621 Office: 423-844-1092 scott.boyles@cmda.org
Connecting you with other Christ-followers to help better motivate, equip, disciple and serve within your community Midwest Region Allan J. Harmer, ThM 9595 Whitley Dr. Suite 200 Indianapolis, IN 46240-1308 Office: 317-556-9040 cmdamw@cmda.org
Western Region Michael J. McLaughlin, MDiv P.O. Box 2169 Clackamas, OR 97015-2169 Office: 503-552-1950 west@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!
U PCOMING C ONFERENCES
CMDA Winter Conference February 10-12, 2012 Bristol, Tennessee For more information: melinda.mitchell@cmda.org
CMDA National Convention April 26-29, 2012 Ridgecrest, North Carolina For more information: www.cmda.org/nationalconvention Orientation for Medical Missions July 20-22, 2012 Bristol, Tennessee For more information: susan.carter@cmda.org
➺ S AV E T H E D AT E S
➺
Discover the Joy Conference January 21, 2012 Johnson City, Tennessee For more information: www.cmda.org/discoverthejoy
Free Loan Program for Campus Chapters CMDA’s Campus Ministries provides a variety of resources for students to help guide them during their journey, encourage them as they develop as a doctor and equip them for the healthcare profession. In partnership with the Chuck Colson Center, we are excited to offer a new ethical resource for campus chapters, Doing the Right Thing. A six-session DVD based series, Doing the Right Thing explores the ethical and moral breakdown that is hitting culture from all sides. Through panel discussions, interviews and live student questions, it raises ethical issues in a non-condemning but challenging way while stimulating thought, discussion and action. Filmed before a live student audience at Princeton University, Doing the Right Thing features panel discussions and interviews with some of our nation’s foremost
ministry, business and academic leaders. This videobased curriculum is presented in six 30minute sessions, with an accompanying leader’s guide to help educate and equip students to do what is right, even in the face of powerful temptations and incentives to do what is wrong. Through a new loan program, we are pleased to offer this cutting-edge and groundbreaking series to your campus chapter AT NO COST for up to 12 weeks. To enroll in the loan program, visit www.cmda.org/rightthing to request your copy today. Contact Campus Ministries at ccm@cmda.org with any questions about the loan program.
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From the Reading Room Led by Love: Giving Your Child a Godly Character by Robert G. Collins, MD
If we are to transform the world, what better place can we start than in our own homes with our own children or grandchildren? Dr. Collins, a retired pediatrician, does an excellent job of focusing on molding character rather than demanding rote behavior. Consider this excerpt from a discussion on obedience. “If a child immediately and completely picks up his toys, but grumbles under his breath and slams things into their places, then he is doing as he was told, but not with an obedient spirit. This is compliance, but it is not obedience. His grumbling shows that he lacks the acknowledgment of and submission to his parent’s authority. One of my favorite verses is Philippians 2:14-15: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe . . . . I love the reward of not complaining and arguing: shining like a star! After introducing this verse to children, we can encourage them with, ‘Shine like a star today!’ which sounds SO much better than telling them, ‘Don’t complain or argue today.’” A gentle spirit that turns the reader to Scripture is evident in every page of this helpful book. It will benefit the new and experienced parent alike. There is an appendix of memory verses and each chapter ends with a short, bulleted summary, both for review and for quick reference. 182 pages. Paperback. BK6481 – $15.00. Also available: The Danger of Raising Nice Kids – BK6274 – $15.00 and Raising Unselfish Children in a Self-Absorbed World – BK6374 – $14.99. Available from CMDA Life & Health Resources at 888-230-2637 or www.shopcmda.org
CMDA and CCHF: A Growing Partnership by Steve Noblett – Executive Director, Christian Community Health Fellowship Christian healthcare professionals are in a unique position to help the church reconnect with our mandate to care for people’s bodies and souls. Studies show that people want us to address spiritual health as part of their overall well-being. Those who are most receptive are those who are most in need: poor people with chronic health issues. You don’t have to go to Haiti to find them. Our communities are full of people in need. There is a growing movement of Christian health professionals who are choosing to live sacrificially and use their skills to serve the poor. They see their medical careers as missional callings to serve Christ. They are influencing positive changes. They are deciding to live among the poor just as missionaries have done for generations in foreign settings. The purpose of Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) is to educate, equip and encourage Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor throughout the U.S. Connecting with students is vital to this effort and our relationship with CMDA has become a true partnership in the cause. We partner with CMDA to provide speakers to student groups throughout the nation. Our speakers help the students think in terms of missional worldview and the work needed here in the U.S. If a student is interested in learning more, we work with 8
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them to arrange a preceptorship position in our family of clinics. A recent example of our cooperation with CMDA is the health clinic being birthed out of the CMDA chapter in Hudson Valley. CCHF played the role of coach as CMDA doctors and others moved through the initial process. We then helped forge a connection with other groups around the country that have guided the planning. As a result, a group of CMDA doctors and others are very close to establishing a clinic in Orange County, New York. We are grateful to CMDA for its work in the U.S. and around the world. Further pathways for doctors to serve the poor will be developed as our partnership grows. Both organizations will have a more effective ministry now that our efforts are joined. Christian clinics in poor and rural communities need help. They need specialists who will take referrals for patients without insurance. They need physicians and dentists to work in severely underserved communities. Students and residents need mentors who will help equip the next generation to step up to this opportunity. So how will you respond to God’s call to help the poor? Editor’s Note: See page 20 for more information on CCHF and domestic missions.
Paid Advertisement
president from the CMDA
John R. Crouch, Jr., MD
“Transformed Doctors, Transforming the World.” It’s a phrase that will probably be repeated many times in this edition of the magazine. It’s a challenge for me every time I read it or say it. Am I truly, right now at this minute, a transformed doctor? My current personal Bible study is in Matthew, particularly the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). What a powerful description of the transformed life! What an incredibly high standard! It includes so many profound principles of the truly transformed life: the Beatitudes, leading an exemplary life to become the light of the world, not giving to be seen, praying secretly with honest and plain words, forgiving, consciously laying aside anxiousness because we know our Father as provider and protector and so many others. They all convince me that I have not arrived. And the capstone of the sermon seems to be, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). My first response is to say, “I give up. I cannot do this.” And that is exactly where I need to be. I’ll never reach perfection. I can only accept His grace, moment by moment, to lead a transformed life. Romans 12:1-2 guides me as I strive to not be conformed to this world (a constant struggle against materialism for me and mine), but to be transformed by the renewing of my mind by studying the Sermon on the Mount, worshipping with others and spending time with the Father. Through His grace, I’m becoming a more transformed doctor each day—as an evangelist or an exhorter to my patients, as a shepherd and mentor for our resident physicians in our training program, and as a loving husband, father and grandfather. It’s not a perfect transformation, but that’s where His grace comes in to help. What about “Transforming the World?” I thank God that we are in a great profession that allows us to do what Jesus did—heal, teach and proclaim the great news of the gospel. I believe in carrying out those goals in an ethical way with my patients—asking permission before gently and prayerfully raising faith flags, counseling them to try and reach a breakthrough in their problems, praying for their healing and for their salvation, etc. At the same time, I keep in mind the idea of transformation by loving each with agape love and desiring that they would be transformed and healed by His grace—whether they live across the street or around the world. I thank God that CMDA is an organization that seeks to equip and provide us with so many venues for service—GHO, MEI, domestic missions in association with Christian Community Health Fellowship, getting involved in student chapters, fighting against human trafficking, speaking out with a Christian voice in our professions and now disaster relief, just to name a few. Let me suggest a prayer that we tend to avoid unless we really mean it: “Lord, break my heart for the people and the needs that break your heart!” I sincerely prayed that prayer 30 years ago, and now I am called the “weeping prophet” by our young doctors. What prevents some of us (myself included) from getting involved in this transformation process? Busyness certainly factors into it, but also sometimes a lack of inventory plays a part as well. Have I asked myself, as God asked Moses at the burning bush, “What is that in your hand?” (Exodus 4:2). What gifts, talents, abilities and resources do I have that can become a part of the deliverance of nations when I fully surrender to Him? Won’t you join me in being more intentional about being a transformed doctor who is actively seeking to transform the world? ✝
Becoming a Transformed Doctor
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Global Health Outreach (GHO) For InFormatIon about GHo opportunItIes, VIsIt
www . cmda . orG /GHo
Transforming to Transform by Don Thompson, MD, MPH&TM Director, Global Health Outreach
Romans 12:1-3 exhorts us to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, so we may better discern God’s will. We are to do this by sacrificially presenting our bodies—not our old fleshly bodies, but our new living bodies—in worship to Him, based on His mercies. This renewal is continuous, and is in contrast to that which surrounds us in the world. Part of being transformed is looking at our world in a different light—through His eyes, showing His love and meeting needs in the context of bringing glory to Him. How do we need to be transformed? What can we do today and this week to be transformed? Fortunately, Paul answers this in the next few verses of Romans 12. Humility, thinking with sober judgment, stewarding those measures of faith—those skills, gifts and abilities—which God has assigned to us. We are
to work together harmoniously as the body of Christ, supporting, serving and complementing the gifts and functions of each other. This is very important working across cultures, since many parts of the body of Christ—the church—exist in cultural settings very different from our own. To effectively work, minister and transform in these cultural settings, we must learn to look through the eyes of those whom we serve and with whom we work. To that end, I’d like to share two excellent books I just recently read that deal with effectively partnering, ministering and serving across cultures. I highly recommend them to anyone involved in short-term or long-term cross-cultural ministry here in the U.S. or abroad. Both books are now available in CMDA’s bookstore at www.shopcmda.org. They may even help you communicate better with your kids!
Leading Acro ss Cultures by James Plue ddemann
Cross-Cultura l Partn by Mary Lede erships rleitner
Medical Education International (MEI) For InFormatIon about meI opportunItIes, VIsIt
www . cmda . orG / meI
Free Training for Cross-Cultural Missions from the Director, Medical Education International
Have you gone on a missions trip and wished you knew more about the culture before you left? Or do you wish you had taken the time to learn even a few words of the local language? Free cross-cultural training is available to us nearly everywhere now. The U.S. has always been a melting pot, but now more than ever, God is sending the nations to us! He sends refugees and immigrants to benefit from the blessings God has given us and to become U.S. citizens. He sends international exchange students who need American host homes. International students at universities long for American friends and to be in an American home. Nevertheless, statistics report that more than 70 percent of those students will never visit an American home while they are in the U.S. God sends 12
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international scholars to our medical and dental schools and hospitals to advance their skills. Above all, God brings these internationals to live in places and situations which will cause them to seek God and where we may reach them for Christ (Acts 17:26-27)! What better preparation could God have provided us for overseas missions service? And what a responsibility we have to reach out to and love them into the kingdom through the power of the Spirit. Who do you see at work or in your neighborhood who is from another culture? Will you love and minister to them as you learn about their ways and culture? May God use you to extend His kingdom wherever you are—at home or on the mission field!
How Do You Spell RELIEF? by David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics)
Transforming the lives of disaster victims through relief work
B
ack in the 1970s when school children were asked, “How do you spell relief?” they responded “R-O-LA-I-D-S,” demonstrating just how effective Johnson & Johnson’s advertisement campaign with that slogan had been. Unfortunately, relief is a much more desperate issue than acid indigestion. I know. I’ve been there. The first day I led my healthcare team into war-torn Mogadishu to help deal with insurmountable medical needs is still vivid in my mind. There had been no effective medical system for years in chaos-plagued Somalia. There wasn’t an open hospital or pharmacy in the entire city. The electrical system wasn’t working. People were drinking filthy water. Children hadn’t received immunizations in more than a decade. Famine had compounded health problems exponentially. If that wasn’t enough, you couldn’t go anywhere without armed guards. Gunfire and explosions were a constant background noise as firefights broke out throughout the city.
chairs and rope barriers to keep peoGlobal ple in line. We pre-packaged “unit dose” medicines that used symbols of the sun throughout the day to tell our patients how to take them. And we prayed—continuously. More than 1,000 people waited for us when we arrived with only three diagnosticians. We set up quickly in the already hot early morning sun. In the high humidity, it seemed that the only function of our sweat was to hydrate the myriad of flies that swarmed us. As we dived into our work, it felt like we had plunged into a dustbowl as the crowd stirred up the inch thick dust on the ground. We worked hard and fast, taking only five minutes at lunch to drink a soda and wolf down a peanut butter sandwich. Then back to more and more patients. Malnutrition, pneumonia, measles, untreated gunshot, worm infestation, malaria, severe unexplained anemia, whooping cough, infected wound—it was an endless index of diseases from a pathology book.
Photos courtesy of Samaritan’s Pu rse
I had carefully chosen our first service site as a refugee camp that had a fence, armed guards and a staff that could help with crowd control. I briefed the team extensively, urging them to see each patient quickly for their most acute issue. Each diagnosis needed to be made with only a brief history and physical as we had no lab or x-ray. “Remember, common things are common,” I said, “but uncommon diseases are common here.” Then I taught them about those uncommon diseases. We discussed how we were going to use tables, folding
The sun grew low on the horizon and we were exhausted. I had seen almost 200 patients and we were well over the 400 mark as a group, but more people waited to be seen and they were growing restless. A mother pressed through the crowd, begging me to see her coughing child. A man elbowed his way forward and pleaded for someone to take care of his emaciated wife. Two young men shoved people out of the way to bring a
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How Do You Spell Relief
stretcher forward. Then order evaporated and chaos reigned as the crowd surged through the barriers and threatened to mob us. Fearful for our safety, the camp leaders waded in and began beating the desperate people back with long rattan canes. It wasn’t the picture you wanted to put in a financial appeal letter! I grabbed my translator and we climbed up on my exam table. I had an armed guard shoot his AK-47 into the air to freeze the melee and then told everyone that we would be back the next day to see all those that we hadn’t seen. The ruckus calmed down and people slowly began to disperse. That night as I lay in my bed, I realized I had glimpsed what it must be like for Jesus. Can you imagine the demand for your attention if the sick could simply touch you and be healed? I doubt the disciples were experts in crowd control! Yet Jesus showed profound compassion in the midst of chaos, ministered to the person in front of Him and then took the time to introduce that person to His Father. Providing medical relief is challenging and stressful. You work beyond your expertise, available equipment and comfort zone in dire conditions serving desperate people. In the midst of chaos, you have to not only survive but help others survive as well. Yet it is one of the best opportunities to demonstrate Christ as you do what He did. How do you spell relief? As a CMDA member, you can now begin spelling it G-H-R–— the acronym for Global Health Relief— CMDA’s newest ministry. I considered starting this arm of our ministry soon after I joined CMDA. Gene Rudd and I were both familiar with this type of work. We had previously started medical relief work for Samaritan’s Purse, leading teams into wars, famines and natural disasters in Bosnia, Somalia, Sudan and Rwanda. Gene was the first doctor to reach into Kigali and he opened the city’s main hospital even while the genocide was still occurring in the country. But we didn’t start doing relief work at CMDA at that time because I knew how relief work can consume an organization. You have to be able to turn your staff around on a dime to respond to a crisis; in doing so, CMDA could easily neglect its primary mission. As
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challenging as it can be to provide crisis healthcare, I knew that wasn’t the hardest part. Instead, the biggest problem was logistics. How do you transport, house, feed, water and equip your team while keeping them safe all at the same time? How do you communicate in your service area and back to your home base? Those things are not only difficult in a disaster, they are expensive. You need a core team that is on the ground on a long-term basis to develop relationships with the United Nations and other relief groups. Your most experienced leaders have to understand the local culture, politics, security issues and real healthcare needs. To that core group, you add a constant stream of short-term professional volunteers to help you for a week or two at a time. So I said to myself, “Not now.” I still thought it might happen one day because CMDA has such a rich reservoir of doctors as well as great relationships with nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists and other Christian professional organizations. We have a huge missionary cadre with many leaders who have a broad experience in short and long-term missions. What if we could solve the logistical issues? And then God said, “Now!” It happened in the shower. I don’t know where you think the best, but for me, it’s in the steamy atmosphere of a shower with water hitting my head! The thought came, “What if we didn’t have to do all the logistics? What if we could partner with another group?” As I pondered, it hit me. What group is at every relief situation and shares our Christian convictions? What group is an expert in logistics? Of course! It is the Salvation Army, an organization with corps in 150 different countries. I happen to personally know the former U.S. commander Commissioner Israel Gaither (who will be speaking at our national convention this year). So God began to work through emails, personal visits and prayer. The two organizations are now ready to work alongside each other. CMDA can provide the medical teams needed to meet urgent needs, while the Salvation Army can help with the logistical support we desire. Together, we can be much more than the sum of the parts, and that is how the best partnerships work.
If you would like to learn more or be contacted as relief situations arise that need your expertise, go to www.cmda.org/ghr to register to be on our “on call”
list. Knowing of your interest will allow us to inform you quickly.
David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics), serves as the Chief Executive Officer for the Christian Medical & Dental Associations. From 1981 to 1991, Dr. Stevens served as a missionary doctor in Kenya helping to transform Tenwek Hospital into one of the premier mission healthcare facilities in the world. Subsequently, he served as the Director of World Medical Mission, the medical arm of Samaritan’s Purse, assisting mission hospitals and leading medical relief teams into war and disaster zones. As a leading spokesman for Christian doctors in America, Dr. Stevens has conducted hundreds of television, radio and print media interviews. Dr. Stevens holds degrees from Asbury University, is an AOA graduate University of Louisville School of Medicine and is board certified in family practice. He earned a master’s degree in bioethics from Trinity International University in 2002.
How Do You Spell Relief
So the next time you hear about an international relief crisis, pray and ask if God wants you to be involved on a short-term basis. If so, give us a call. Be assured you will be working with seasoned leadership with a wealth of experience from around the world. Know that your efforts will make a difference not only medically but in bringing the gospel into difficult to access areas. Realize that you will have the opportunity to be Christ to desperate people in a difficult situation, and that God will give you more through the experience than you will give to others. Will it be challenging? Yes! Will it be lifesaving? Of course! Will it stretch you professionally and spiritually? Absolutely! God teaches us our greatest lessons when we are exercising our faith the hardest. And pray for this effort. Pray for safety, wisdom and effective ministry, not only medically but more importantly spiritually. We want to build God’s kingdom as we meet people at their greatest point of need. How do you spell relief? G-H-R—Global Health Relief! ✝
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by Linsey Ann Hocker, PharmD
I
t amazes me how many times I can read the same set of passages over and over without being affected. And then it clicks—like an “ah-ha” moment courtesy of the Holy Spirit—and human wisdom turns to spiritual insight. Well, that is exactly what occurred on this day. The date was May 2, 2010, and it was a warm Sunday afternoon on my porch in East Tennessee. I had just finished eating lunch and was reflecting on a chapter from John Piper’s book Future Grace in my journal when it hit me: I had been putting God in a box. In the months preceding this day, my focus had been slowly shifting from God to myself and now I realized it. So I cried out to the Lord to restore my heavenly perspective. I ended my journal entry for the day by thanking the Lord for this revelation, totally surrendering my ways and petitioning Him to “guide me in your way and make it clear what you want me to pursue.” I didn’t have to wait long for His response. But before I share the Lord’s answer, allow me to provide a little background. At the time of this journal entry, I had been on faculty at East Tennessee State University’s Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy as an Assistant Professor for almost a year. During my interview for the position, I shared my
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dream of participating in from international mission work Zambia . . . although I had yet to travel in this capacity. I always had the desire to serve, but the timing never worked out until my focus shifted back toward God. The date was May 4, 2010, a mere two days after that “ah-ha” moment on my front porch. I arrived at my office, turned on my computer and began checking my email. To my excitement, I had a forwarded email from Dr. Bill Bridgforth announcing that he was in desperate need of any pharmacy help for the upcoming GHO trip to Zambia. My excitement rapidly dissipated when I realized the departure date of the trip was June 16, 2010, only a few weeks away. There was no way I could clear my schedule that quickly to go to Africa for two and a half weeks. I had university and hospital commitments, as well as two new pharmacy students starting on rotation. I quickly replied to the email expressing my disappointment, but told him to keep me in mind for future trips. I sent off a few more emails and headed over to the hospital for normal morning rounds. Nothing could have prepared me for what awaited when I returned to my office.
By the end of the day, my schedule was cleared, my commitments were released and my partner had graciously picked up my students. What I thought couldn’t be accomplished in a matter of weeks was organized in a mere four hours. As I reflect on this day’s events, I am thankful we serve a God who fulfills His promises not based on our actions, but rather on His character. Jesus tells us in Matthew 17:20, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” I’ve learned from this passage and my experiences that it isn’t the size of my faith that matters; rather it is the object of my faith that holds the importance. When God is the object of my faith and I am sincerely and totally surrendered to Him, then He is willing and able to move. To use the words of my dear friend and mentor Grace Hamrick, that Sunday afternoon revelation turned my response into “Lord I can’t, but you can.” I believe this is what He desires to hear from His children. When He hears those words, get ready because the impossible becomes the possible! I hadn’t thought it was possible, but I was officially a pharmacist on the GHO team within a few days. The realm of the impossible was pushed even further away as I was able to simultaneously retain my faculty appointment to evaluate this opportunity as a potential international experience for pharmacy students in their fourth year of training. As I boarded the plane a few weeks later in Washington, D.C., I breathed a sigh of relief to have finally made it and then gratitude poured from my heart. The Lord orchestrated an incredible series of events to show the depth of His love and grace through the eagerness and willingness of the faculty and staff at the college to make this trip a reality. I was truly blessed to have been an eyewitness to nothing short of a miracle! As for the trip, the experience was amazing to put it mildly. However, I must echo a word of caution from my good friend Ron Brown about going on a GHO trip, “it will ruin your life, but for the better.” Upon my return to the U.S., the Lord brought to my mind the verse from Luke 12:48b, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” From then on, I knew the Lord had allowed me to go on the trip and experience the developing world so that I could help teach the next generation of pharmacy students to do the same. It is my heart’s desire that all of the pharmacy students have an opportunity to travel with GHO. I believe it will radically change their lives for the glory and honor of our Lord if they are willing.
Dr. Hocker visits with the local patients outside the GHO clinic in Zambia.
As life returned to normal back in East Tennessee, I fought to remain in a surrendered position before the Lord. As a result, a colleague and I developed an international rotation for fourth-year pharmacy students at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy, and I had the utmost privilege of returning to Zambia along with five pharmacy students in June 2011. It was a success, as you will read from the words of one of my students who caught the vision as it’s written in Psalms, “One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). That moment on my front porch altered my faith, my life and my workplace. And it continues to alter the lives of my students. I pray that your eyes will open to see your own “ah-ha” moment, so the Lord can do the same in your faith, your life and your workplace. ✝
Linsey Ann Hocker, PharmD, is a registered pharmacist who completed a two-year pharmacy residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center specializing in infectious diseases with an emphasis on HIV/AIDS. She recently stepped down as an Assistant Professor at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy in order to pursue her dreams of full-time medical mission work and discipleship. She has served on several short-term medical mission trips with Global Health Outreach and continues to be an advocate for pharmacy student participation in such endeavors.
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by Ryan Love
I
t had never really occurred to me before that you could spread the Word and still practice your chosen profession. I assumed that it had to be one or the other, and certainly not both. But then, when I was a teenager, a married couple from my church gave up their careers as a dentist and a registered nurse in the United States to answer God’s call to be full-time medical missionaries. And my viewpoint changed. When Dr. Hocker informed us that she would be taking students on her next trip to Zambia during a presentation on her experiences at an Academy of Student Pharmacists meeting last fall, I knew I wanted to get involved. So I joined the trip. As we prepared for our trip, Dr. Hocker constantly told us to be prepared to have our world shaken. I don’t think I fully appreciated these statements until after we returned to the U.S. I have always been thankful for my situation in life, but I never realized how fortunate I really am. To illustrate this point, I would like to share three situations I experienced in Zambia and their effect on me and my viewpoint. On one of the first days in the clinic, I was counseling an older lady on taking an anti-inflammatory drug. As usual, I told her to take it with food to avoid an upset stomach. The lady politely smiled and shook her head while the young boy with her snickered. All of a sudden, it hit me. This lady might not eat today. I take it for granted that we can have a snack whenever we need to take medications. I had always thanked God for the food before me when I ate, but this patient helped to give these prayers an even deeper meaning. The second example also happened during those first few days of clinic. A mother brought in her three-weekold newborn with a cleft palette. The child was not able to suckle and was wasting away to nothing. She brought her infant daughter to our clinic in the hope that we could do something to help. Unfortunately, this was beyond the scope of care in our clinic, and all we could do was offer prayer for her and her child. This visibly shook everyone in the pharmacy. Our team leader Dr. Bill Bridgforth
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stepped up next to me and inquired how many people I had in my pharmacy class. When I responded that we had 78, he looked at me and said, “You know, if everyone in your class gave up Starbucks for one day, we could fix this child.” Talk about having your toes stepped on! This point was emphasized even more to me a few . . . to weeks later while I was on East Tennessee clinical rotation at our local hospital. I had forgotten my cup of coffee as I left my house, so I thought I would just go to the café in the hospital and grab a cup. As I stood in line, I looked at the prices and the image of that poor mother and child flashed in my head. It brought me to tears, and I walked away without coffee. Dr. Bill also played a role in my final story. As we were packing up the clinic one day, one of the providers came to the pharmacy and asked if we had a spare pair of shoes in the pharmacy. She had a young man whose feet were in horrible condition and had no shoes to wear. Without hesitation, Dr. Bill slipped his shoes off and handed them to her. To me, that was one of the most selfless acts I had ever seen, and that image still sticks with me today.
Ryan Love works in the GHO clinic in Zambia as part of an international rotation for ETSU’s pharmacy students.
I do not want to give the impression that this trip was a “downer” or completely depressing. In fact, it was quite the opposite of that. I have always considered myself a compassionate person, but this trip made me even more so. God working through the people of Zambia helped me a hundred times more than I was ever able to help them. This trip also was a humbling experience for me as I learned to rely on God; alone, I am not able to do what is needed. The people of Zambia are beautiful and joyous, even though they have little to nothing from the viewpoint of the world. They are alive in our Lord and trust in Him fully to provide for them. That has deeply convicted me. When I get frustrated during clinicals or mad because my WiFi isn’t working, I stop and think about the joy my brothers and sisters have in Zambia.
a full-time missionary, this trip made me realize that I can participate in short-term trips. The Lord has entrusted me with much, and he expects much in return. What better way to show his awesome love than to care for those who have the least access to it. ✝
Ryan Love is currently a fourth-
Ryan poses with new friends in Zambia.
As we were leaving the clinic towards the end of our time in Zambia, one of our translators said to me, “Mwila shimya mulilo.” Roughly translated, it means, “Do not let the fire die.” That is something I strive for and pray about daily. At the same time that those three situations were working to transform my viewpoint, the Lord was also lighting a fire in me. That fire has made me more mindful of everything I do. Although I don’t think that I’m meant to be
year PharmD candidate at the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy at ETSU. He was blessed to be part of “Team Zambia” with Dr. Hocker and four of his fellow pharmacy students. This was his first experience with short-term medical missions and he looks forward to making it a continued part of his life. He did his undergraduate course work at the University of Tennessee and is an avid Volunteer fan. His current areas of interest are progressing the pharmacy profession by being a front line healthcare team member giving immunizations, conducting medication therapy management sessions and finding cost effective medications for patients. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys live music and Tennessee Volunteer football.
Re-imagining Medical Missions Today: The PRISM Survey (Patterns and Responses in Intercultural Service in Medicine) In conjunction with the Center for Medical Missions, Mark Strand, PhD, recently completed a global survey of nearly 400 medical missionaries around the world (the PRISM Survey). The purpose of the survey is to assist in setting a sustainable medical missions strategy and also help medical professionals prepare for a career in missionary service. The survey results serve as a snapshot of the experiences of these missionaries along with their perceptions of the opportunities and challenges they face. This information can then inform missions’ strategy and missionary training. The results of the survey were shared at the recent Medical Missions Summit in Atlanta, Georgia. A total of 393 cross-cultural medical workers serving in 68 countries completed the survey. Of the respondents, 67.7 percent are physicians, 17 percent are nurses and 15.3 percent serve in other health-related areas. The workers surveyed are committed to long-term service and bring
a unique set of skills to the cause. The biggest perceived challenge in cross-cultural medical work was reported to be not enough qualified workers, while the biggest opportunity was considered to be mentoring national like-minded medical workers or training nationals. The results showed that medical missionaries are largely satisfied with their roles and are willing to work in less than ideal situations, but that role clarity is essential and needs to be given more thought. The purpose of medical missions needs to be re-imagined and clarified, as medical missionaries are increasingly called on to add unique value, engage in more training of national coworkers, and model ingenious and evidence-based strategies of care, not just for individuals but for whole populations and healthcare delivery systems. For more information about the survey and its results, visit www.cmda.org/cmm.
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THE STREETS OF MEMPHIS Our Home, Our Calling, Our Mission Field
A side-by-side look at the reasons why a physician and a dentist serve in the domestic mission field by John David Williamson, MD
D
anny’s* quite an imposing figure when you meet him. He’s 6 feet 4 inches tall, weighs about 230 pounds and has teardrops tattooed on his face as part of a gang recognition symbol. But today, those teardrops are real as he tells me how fearful he is that he’s going to die from HIV. He’s looked for hope in so many places throughout his life—gangs, sex, the gay community, even the church he grew up in as a child. Yet, he’s still searching for it. Danny wasn’t born into the same easy life as me. Sure, he made some bad decisions that have led to some incurable consequences—but I’ve made plenty of dumb mistakes myself. In fact, mistakes are something we actually have in common, but our lives look very different today primarily because of the two different cultures we were born into. The tables could have just as easily been turned. I believe that with great power comes great responsibility. Like many of you, and with little of my own effort, I’ve become one of the most powerful people in the world—a middle to upper class American physician. I
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Memphis
by Jon Hall, DDS
I
n 2002, I did a foolish thing. I was a freshman in college and like many underclassmen, I was still trying to figure out what I was supposed to do with my life. I remember having a “conversation” with God, telling Him that I’d commit to doing anything He wanted with my future and I’d make sure I followed through if He’d just show me the plan. I also specifically remember throwing in the caveat that my “anything” didn’t include any type of career in the healthcare field. But I was up for anything else. I always had an interest in overseas missions and was trying to find a non-medical path to working overseas. All in all, I thought it was a pretty spiritually legitimate plan. Over the next couple of years, my world got rocked as God started showing me that He had no interest in my plans and commitments; instead, He is all about my complete submission. “Commitment” seems to be a buzz word for my generation. In churches, I hear the word all the time—pastors urging their congregations to be more committed, speakers and missionaries urging a bolder commitment through short and long-term service overseas, small
Hall continued
have opportunity, knowledge, security, money and power that most people in the world will never experience. And that is a great burden for me, a burden to use those things for the glory of God. This exciting burden to glorify God is why my wife Jessica and I live in the inner city Memphis neighborhood where we also work. We want to invest our lives in places Jesus would, not in security or comfort or entertainment, but in people. Our patients are not just our clients; they are our neighbors and friends. Jessica is a Family Nurse Practitioner who lived here for four years as a single woman before we got married. She has developed deep relationships with women in our neighborhood who would otherwise view her as an outsider and not likely open up to her. Like Danny, many of them are looking for hope. In Matthew, Jesus talks about our investments when He says the kingdom of heaven “will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them” (Matthew 25:14). Most of us recognize the parable of the talents, a story about how God has “entrusted His property” to us. For Jessica and me, this parable is one of the greatest motivating stories of our lives. God has given each of us abilities, money, time, education, power and other gifts that He expects us to put into good use for His kingdom. We want to invest those gifts in such a way that when He returns, we will hear that reply, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:24). Jesus has given us all we have, so He deserves all we are. Medicine is one of the great gifts the King has given us. The fall of man in Genesis 3 brought about pain and suffering; in His sovereign mercy and grace, God often reverses that curse in people’s lives through medicine. One of my most influential mentors has called patient encounters “divine appointments,” and I agree with him. In medicine, people tell us things they’ve never shared with anyone else and allow us into places in their lives no one else has ever seen. We have a great
group members pushing each other to commit deeper to seeking God, etc. It’s all good stuff, except when it’s not. For many of us, the concept of commitment is the perfect way to serve God while still holding onto control. That’s what I did. I maintained control of my plans while intermittently “committing” to mission trips, Bible studies or whatever I felt would appease God for that time in my life. It seemed spiritually legitimate at the time, but was ultimately a control issue for me. The word commitment had replaced the word submission in my life. It was a poor exchange since commitment gave me the ability to barter with God and submission meant surrendering everything I had to trade. Fortunately for me, God is all about changing the reasons for why we do what we do. In 2008, I opened my front door early one morning to find a bounty hunter with a gun waiting for me. It was analogous to the kind of shock I was experiencing in all aspects of my life at the time. My wife and I had moved into a pretty rough inner city neighborhood in Memphis, Tennessee, and the previous tenant at our house was a wanted man. We were in Memphis because, despite my plans, God had made it clear that I was to go to dental school and the only school in the state was in Memphis. We were living in one of the more dangerous areas of a city known for violent crime because God had again opened doors I had tried to close, and He clearly said to submit. God seemed to be in the process of breaking my pride and taking me beyond my comfort zone in order to force me to surrender areas of my life I’d refused to yield. Reading missionary biographies can be a very dangerous thing for your life. One of my favorite writers and a radical disciple of Christ was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. In The Cost of Discipleship, he summarizes Luke 14 by saying, “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.” When I first read those words, they reverberated with me because they called for a surrender and an abandon I’d never considered. I began to
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The Streets of Memphis
Williamson continued
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Williamson continued
Hall continued
opportunity to minister to people during these divine appointments in ways no one else can. Doctors love to talk about statistics like prevalence, efficacy and morbidity, and we strive to improve those statistics through our work. However, the reality is that the overall mortality rate in medicine is 100 percent. Alleviating pain and suffering and curing disease are excellent goals that God has set forth for us. But only the gospel can heal the soul and change that mortality rate. The last time I saw Danny, we ended our meeting with a long conversation about this healing of his soul. I told him that his HIV was under great control and will not likely be the death of him. But one day, something will be. We talked about how God wants him now, just as he is, though he has been told by his church that he must “clean up” his lifestyle before he can come to God. As he left, he gave me a big bear hug and, although he hasn’t quite found it yet, Danny is coming close to embracing that great hope he’s been searching for his whole life. That’s why we do what we do. ✝
read verses like Luke 14:33 where Jesus says, “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple,” and I started to think He might mean exactly what He says. God revealing His plans to us can be a scary thing because it requires practical applications of hard truth in our lives or else the hardening of our hearts to that same truth. I’m now a practicing dentist working for a Christian health clinic located in the same neighborhood I’ve lived in for the last four years in Memphis. It’s a clinic focused on providing care for the underserved, the poor and the marginalized. My wife runs a guest house for students who do rotations at the clinic. We had both planned on working overseas by now and we’d definitely never planned on working in the healthcare field or in inner city Memphis. The ironic thing is that we love where we are and what God’s allowing us to be a part of so much more than we ever thought possible. I think that’s what God has been teaching me. That He demands utter submission when we want to offer commitment. That God uses us despite our intentions. That His plan is absolutely counter to the medical mindset we’ve been taught to accept, where people who want to understand and control every step of the plan are brought to their knees. That His way is infinitely better when we simply surrender our plans and accept that being a disciple will mean giving up things we want to hold onto. That He wants to be the unqualified “why” in what we do. ✝
*Name changed
John David Williamson, MD, lives and works in inner city Memphis, Tennessee, with his wife and newborn son. After finishing Family Medicine residency in Charleston, South Carolina, he moved to Memphis to join Christ Community Health Services, an organization committed to providing excellent healthcare in the name of Jesus to the most underserved and marginalized populations of Memphis as well as the unreached world. John David is the lead physician at the Orange Mound Health Center which is among the six health centers, three dental clinics and two pharmacies operated by CCHS. He has also been appointed the director of the newly formed Christ Community Underserved and International Medicine track within the University of Tennessee Family Medicine Residency program which matched its first four residents this year.
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Jon Hall, DDS, and his wife Stacy live in the inner city neighborhood of Binghamton in Memphis, Tennessee. Jon graduated from the University of Tennessee College of Dentistry in 2010, and works as a dentist with Christ Community Health Services in the neighborhood where he has lived for the past four years. Stacy manages a guest house where medical students live while doing rotations with CCHS in Memphis. Their first child was born in October.
Rest
by Emily Dalton, MD
for your
Soul Transforming your soul as you help others
I
t was a heavy burden to bear and my soul was weary. I was accused of malpractice in the death of a three-year-old child I had cared for in the emergency room of our local rural hospital. Although I felt confident I had handled the patient as well as anyone could have, I had not communicated very well with the family. The parents spoke little English and I had no time to explain what even I did not understand as we performed invasive tests which culminated in a code and resuscitation. I arranged a life flight to the referral center and the family rushed off into the night on a six-hour drive to the tertiary care center. Tragically and unexpectedly, the toddler deteriorated and died from a rare disease. The subpoena arrived months later, and the process of preparing for the lawsuit was painstakingly slow. My attorney and I met often to plan a defense strategy, review the expert’s analysis and pore over the records while I agonized over the tragic chain of events. The plaintiff’s lawyers were making horrible accusations against me, and their expert, a local physician I was acquainted with, said terrible things about me and the care I provided. The trial was only a month away and I was dreading the days in court. In light of these events, it was a relief to go on my first medical missions trip and leave it all behind. Medical missions work had always tugged at my heart, but the timing had not been right until now. My kids were grown up and my husband encouraged me, so I signed up for a GHO trip to Honduras. Initially, I considered volunteering on a secular humanitarian trip, but I did not think I could work well in an environment that did not include strong spiritual support. During the time before I left, I felt uncharacteristically tranquil. I have a great deal of practice getting worked up
and anxious over little things, so I Honduras was surprised at the equanimity with which I handled the travel preparations. Puzzled by my lack of anxiety, I turned to Scripture. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). What is this thing, “rest for your soul?” Mission trips and other Christian work can be physically fatiguing and emotionally draining. How can this be called rest? The question was puzzling, but I seemed to be living the answer. I was experiencing a sense of tranquility and rest, sleeping well and not worrying, so the meaning of these verses was clear to me. Resisting God’s call creates a mental strain; when we accept His will, it relaxes our minds. He is in charge—not us—and that brings peace. Honduras is a beautiful country. As we disembarked from the plane, the warm, humid breeze was a welcome change from the stale plane air. The Honduran people are friendly and down to earth. As I’m only 5 feet 2 inches tall, it’s the only place I’ve ever been where I felt tall. Cows rule the roads, and even the main thoroughfares can be dirt or gravel. Although malaria is endemic, I did not see a single mosquito the whole time. (That could have had something to do with the large amounts of insect repellent that I repeatedly applied.) People in Honduras are poor: the gross national income per capita is $1,820, compared to $45,640 in the U.S. Wages are low, and little industry exists to provide employment. Drugs and crime are rampant, and the social infrastructure to counter that influence is sorely
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lacking. Due to military rule, corruption, a huge wealth gap, crime and natural resources, Honduras is described as one of the least developed and least secure countries in Central America. Vaccines and some preventative medicine are provided by governmental health workers, but many of our patients had never seen a doctor or had only had emergency care for dire illnesses. Most could not even afford acetaminophen or ibuprofen for aches and pains. One woman showed up with an acute abdomen and $40 to her name. We found her a ride to the nearest hospital and effectively doubled her net worth by giving her $50 to pay medical bills. The trip was a whirlwind of prayer time, travel, medical work and communal meals. Each day we rode on a rickety school bus to a remote village where we would set up clinics on the dirt floor of the local church. Most places had no electricity, so we worked by daylight or flashlight, and the dentists brought a generator to do extractions and other basic dental work. Long lines of people formed to see a doctor or dentist, and we spent many lengthy days seeing patients, trying to communicate across the linguistic and cultural barriers, praying with people and doing our best to act under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While not blessed with the gift of tongues, I am fortunate to be blessed with the gift of languages and I was able to speak enough Spanish to communicate directly with the patients. In some villages, I still needed an interpreter—but not one who spoke English—just someone who could translate the local dialect into standard Spanish! During a check up with a 15-year-old boy, I asked him how his mood was, and he said “sad.” He pointed to a black ribbon he had pinned to his sleeve and told me that two of his friends had recently been murdered. The aftermath of violence spares neither young nor old. We prayed for him, his friends and their families. Another young woman asked if I could help her get pregnant. She explained that her friends all had children, the years were passing and she wanted a baby. I asked her how old she was, and she replied “17.” Although I viewed her as a child, she clearly did not. I tried to be sensitive to her perception and, while the scope of what we could offer was limited, I gave her prenatal vitamins and we prayed together. A 23-year-old woman came in for a consultation. She was only about 3.5 feet tall and had coarse features, but
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clearly did not have achondroplasia. I quickly ran my mind over the differential diagnosis of short stature, and tried to recall the associated medical complications. She sat down and I asked what was wrong. She replied that she had frequent headaches and back pain and would like something to relieve them. After addressing this, I asked if she knew why she was so short. She seemed surprised by the question and made it clear that her height had never really troubled her. Over and over, I found that my preconceptions got in the way of understanding the concerns of my patients. I had to reel back some of my worldviews and try to find how I could be most helpful for each individual. Often prayer and emotional support were more helpful than any medical treatment or advice I could give. It was great to be able to see patients with no insurance companies to bill, no malpractice to worry about and no restrictions imposed by health plans or government rules. I got back in touch with what made me go into medicine in the first place: helping people. The experience was rejuvenating, and the gratitude and appreciation from my patients left me feeling as though I received more than I gave. Working from a pure motivation with no strings attached made me realize how jaded I had become, and how freeing it was to do medicine prayerfully as a service to God just for the sake of helping others. Towards the end of the trip, I received an email from my lawyer. The family had dropped the case. No reason given, they just dropped it. Previous requests to drop the case had been met with no success, and suddenly, out of the blue, it was over. Receiving this news during the trip to Honduras definitely lifted a burden from my shoulders and I celebrated with my new friends. But the trip itself was what actually provided rest for my weary soul. The two events coinciding seemed to be a confirmation from God, and I felt truly blessed. ✝
Emily Dalton, MD, is a general pediatrician in Northern California. She is the medical director of the local Sexual Assault Response Program, and covers emergency calls for deliveries and pediatrics at the local hospital. She is a periodic participant in CMDA mission trips. She is married and has four adult children.
“Has God indeed said . . . ?” A Biblical Perspective on Sexuality, Part 2
by André Van Mol, MD Transforming your view of sexuality so that it is rooted in a biblical basis
Part 1 of the series dealt with pre-marital sex, the biblical model of sexuality, porneia, adultery and polygamy. As a correction to the section regarding porneia in Part 1, it should have stated that forbidding fornication “. . . came from the Tanakh (the Old Testament)” rather than “. . . came from the Tanakh in the Old Testament.”
T
o recap our central theme, God set forth precisely what He thought about sexual relationships in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them;” and in Genesis 2:24, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh” (NASB). Jesus cited these passages again in Mark 10:6-9 and Matthew 19:4-6, closing each by stating, “Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” This is about a timeless covenant, a union both physical and spiritual, which is the biblical standard: sexual intercourse exclusively within a heterosexual covenant relationship of marriage where our male and femaleness exhibit a wholeness of the expression of the image of God that neither gender can portray alone. Were sexuality never again mentioned in Scripture after Genesis, the standard would still have been set. Ultimately, we are told the covenant between husband and wife is symbol-
ic of a greater union, “This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Ephesians 5:32, NKJV). Sexuality and the rights of women It has been put forth that women in the Bible had few rights, sexually or otherwise. It’s not so. The Proverbs 31 woman had ample rights enumerated—property purchaser, businesswoman, philanthropist, artisan and so forth. Even in the case of culturally sanctioned polygamy, Exodus 21:10 ordered, “If he takes another wife, he shall not diminish her food, her clothing, and her marriage rights” (NKJV). Rights indeed existed. Paul made clear in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (NKJV). USC’s D.B Nagle notes in his text, The Ancient World, Reading in Social and Cultural History, that Christianity and Judaism “gave greater equality to women” (Fourth edition, p. 250). Prostitution Some have claimed that prostitution was only wrong if religiously linked, such as with temple prostitutes. This is mistaken. Leviticus 19:29 states, “Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn
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to prostitution and be filled with wickedness” (NKJV). Leviticus 21:9 stipulates, “If a priest’s daughter defiles herself by becoming a prostitute, she disgraces her father; she must be burned in the fire.” Big sin, big penalty. 1 Corinthians 6:15-16 cautions, “. . . Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For ‘the two,’ He says, ‘shall become one flesh’” (NKJV). This back reference to Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 as the standard for sexual relations—one man and one woman in marriage—makes clear that prostitution would be wrong.
their mouth, that is what defiles them” NIV 2011). Yet Jesus and Paul repeat the sexual prohibitions. Note Matthew 15:19-20, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are what defile a person . . .” (NIV 2011) and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites . . . will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you . . .” (NKJV). These sexual prohibitions are timeless commandments meant for our well-being of mind, body and spirit, and to empower right relationships. Jesus was not sexually permissive
Cleanliness codes and biblical sexual prohibitions Sexual prohibitions are repeated in the New Testament (NT), but cleanliness codes related to foods generally are not. The biblical standards for sexual interaction given in Genesis 1:27 & 2:24 predate the law of Moses and its cleanliness codes. Leviticus 18 and 20 are often singled out by authors claiming that limiting sex to marriage is like forbidding ham sandwiches. Yet these chapters are about sexual practice—incest, adultery (understood as a very broad term, as previously noted in the writings of Philo Judaeus), same-sex intercourse, bestiality, etc.—not foods. Jesus set aside food restrictions (Matthew 15:11, “What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of
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Revisionist teaching has it that Jesus abolished sexual prohibitions in the Sermon on the Mount, yet that passage proves this claim empty. In Matthew 5:27-28, Jesus taught, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (NKJV). Jesus was raising the standard, not lowering it. As professor Robert Gagnon wrote in The Bible and Homosexual Practice, Jesus was making it clear that, “It is not enough to refrain from fornication and adultery. One must also refrain from actively imagining one’s sexual involvement with another woman” (Abingdon Press, 2001; p. 205). Dr. Gagnon also clarifies, “The essence of love in Jesus’ understanding, though, was not maximizing free self-expression for others. For Jesus, love involved orienting others away from self-interest and in the direction of the interests of the kingdom of God . . .” Professor Gagnon commits a subchapter to “Deconstructing the Myth of a Sexually Tolerant Jesus” (pp. 196-209). In John 14:6, Jesus states, “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (NKJV). Love and truth, truth and love. Love without truth is hypocrisy and the running companion of negative enablement and codependency. Same-sex sexuality There are many biblical passages on same-sex sexuality, and none are positive or affirming. The prohibitions are repeated in the NT, not removed. Jesus made clear what He thought about sexual relationships: “And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh’” (Matthew 19:4-5, NKJV). He is quoting from Genesis 1:27, 2:24 and 5:2, with
1 Samuel 18:3-4 notes that Jonathan and David made a covenant, meaning a promise between the two, in which Jonathan is described as removing his armor and outer robe (not stripping nude) and giving it to David as part of that agreement. It is a custom and promise of protection—my armor and weapons are for your use—as well as a demonstration that one has nothing of harm to hide from the other. It’s not a near
Eastern strip tease. In 1 Samuel 20:41, David and Jonathan “kissed one another; and they wept together, but David more so” (NKJV). They “wept together,” not “they had sex together.” Kissing is a common greeting and a parting custom in the world even today. And have you never cried when leaving a best friend whom you knew you might never see again? Were David and Jonathan, and Ruth and Naomi gay? Not by the texts we have. The same kind of misreading, ignorance of history and misrepresentation of customs and practices is done to claim Jesus was gay and that Paul was a self-loathing homosexual. The critics miss much. New Testament verses dealing with same-sex sexual behavior are many. Romans 1:26-28 describes that, “. . . women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman . . . men with men committing what is shameful . . .” (NKJV). 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 warns, “. . . Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites . . . will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (NKJV). Note well the “and such were some of you,” indicating Christians abandoning same-sex sexuality. The biblical language wastes no time addressing orientation or motives, but speaks to the commission of the sexual sin—sodomy, catamy, women lying with women, adultery and so forth. It leaves no question it is the practice that is being specified, and there is no exemption for motivation or orientation. 1 Timothy 1:10 speaks of the “sexually immoral” and “those practicing homosexuality,” among others, as being “contrary to the sound doctrine” (NIV 2011). Jude 7 notes, “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” Ephesians 5:30-32 teaches that heterosexual marriage is the symbol of Christ and the church. Homosexual unions do not meet the requirements. For further reading regarding same-sex sexuality, I have some suggestions. For men attracted to men, read Desires in Conflict by Joe Dallas (Harvest House, 2003). For women attracted to women, consider Anne Paulk’s Restoring Sexual Identity: Hope for Women Who Struggle with Same-Sex Attraction (Harvest House, 2003). For addressing gay theology, I value Joe Dallas’ The Gay Gospel? (Harvest House, 2007) and Dr. Robert Gagnon’s The Bible and Homosexual Practice (Abingdon, 2001). The Complete Christian Guide to Understanding Homosexuality by Joe Dallas and Dr. Nancy Heche (yes, Anne’s mom) (Harvest House, 2010) provides one-stop shopping on the entire topic.
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passages predating the Mosaic law. This is before the cleanliness codes and should not be rejected with them as some try to do. What about David and Jonathan? Weren’t they gay? 1 Samuel 18:1 reads, “. . . the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul” (NKJV). In 2 Samuel 1:26, David says to Jonathan, “Your love to me was wonderful, Surpassing the love of women” (NKJV). The love described here is brotherly, male bonding, “bromance,” which can be very deep yet non-erotic. The same holds true for the account of Ruth and Naomi. This strong fraternal (or sororal) bond is common in ancient and modern world literature. A byproduct of our sexually obsessed culture is the idea that a potent but non-sexual same-sex relationship is mocked as one hiding something else. Trying to read homosexuality into these texts says more about the reader than the subjects. The preconceptions and ulterior motives of critics get projected onto the Bible, so they see what they want in Scripture rather than what is really there.
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To anyone espousing a more sexually permissive position, I offer a few thoughts. Our human capacity for self-deception is boundless. All of a man’s ways seem right in his own eyes, even when they end badly (Proverbs 21:2, 14:12). Are you allowing God to direct your sexuality and how it is expressed, or are you allowing your sexuality to direct your view of God and the Christian life? Is your chief concern how quickly you can push aside Scripture to get on with your intentions? Are you simply trying to generate a theological case for behaviors you have already determined in your heart that you will act upon? Statements supporting loosened sexual standards for Christians inherently involve a degraded view of Scripture and its authority, and conform to the description of doctrines of men used to subvert Scripture (Matthew 15:8-9 and Isaiah 29:13). It is reminiscent of those in 2 Timothy 4:3-4 who “will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires” will accumulate false teachers for their “itching ears” (NKJV). Please consider that every “you shall” and “you shall not” in the Bible is included for our benefit that we might have a minimum of suffering and needless harm
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and a maximum of abundant life. 1 Thessalonians 4:38 provides a succinct distillation of biblical sexuality— well worth memorizing. Genesis 3:1 recounts of the serpent leading Eve into temptation by questioning God’s commands, “Has God indeed said . . . ?” Those casting doubt on biblical instruction often seem to be doing the same thing. ✝
André Van Mol, MD, is a boardcertified family physician in private practice. He serves on the boards of Bethel Church of Redding, PrayNorthstate, Moral Revolution (moralrevolution.com) where he writes the Ask the Doctor blog and iBranches (a safe home for children victims of domestic minor sex trafficking—DMST). He speaks and writes on bioethics and Christian apologetics, and is experienced in short-term medical missions. He and his wife Evelyn—both former U.S. Naval officers—have two sons and a daughter, and are foster parents.
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A Biblical Foundation for Medicine Part 2: Medicine Grounded in the Character of God by John Dunlop, MD, MA (Bioethics)
This is the second part in a three-part series discussing the ways that the Bible should be impacting your practice. In this issue, we will be looking at how our understanding of the attributes of God can inform our professional lives. The final part will present an overview of the role of medicine in the Scriptures as we reflect on where the healing professions fit into God’s plan for redemption. If you missed the first article in the series, visit www.cmda.org/tcd.
The Character of God
A
ny Christian view of medicine must begin with the person of God since He is first and foremost the heart of theology. Our behavior, thoughts and attitudes are to be impacted by who He is.
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God enjoins us to grow in our ability to be like Him in many ways: “. . . be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44, ESV) and “be imitators of God . . .” (Ephesians 5:1, ESV). Thus, a foundation of medicine should most of all be based on a biblical depiction of God. Reflecting on His character can help us know who a Christian doctor should be. While not the entire picture of God, the following characteristics are crucial to our profession. God is Loving The Scriptures tell us that God not only loves, but that He is the essence of love itself (1 John 4:8,16). Like other attributes, love is intrinsic to His being. Theologian Wayne Grudem defines God’s love as His ability to “eternally give of himself to others.”i I know of few physicians who, in the midst of their complex lives and mixed motives, would not like to think that they are continually giving of themselves for the good of others. I believe most of them are doing so. A practicing physician must be continuously driven by a desire to do what is best for the individual patient. Not all patients are easy to love, but it is possible to identify some lovable characteristic in almost everyone. Focus on that, and you can admire and learn to appreciate that patient for that one thing. Then allow an emotional connection to develop between you and your patient. God loved us when we were sinners (Romans 5:8). Compared to that,
it should be easy for us to love others (1 John 4:19). God is Merciful and Gracious God is good not only to those who are in misery and distress (mercy) but also to those who deserve only punishment (grace).ii He asks us to do the same: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36). Much of medical care is directed at the consequences of wrong (often sinful) choices made by individuals. Yet a medicine founded on biblical principles will respond to these needs with mercy, grace and often much patience. Throughout the centuries, gracious Christians have cared for the mentally and physically ill as agents of a merciful God. In their Declaration of Faith and Health, Van Eys and Vaux write “God’s mercy, in providing relief for our own pain, should make us mindful of our responsibility to alleviate the suffering of others.”iii God Never Changes Theologians describe God as immutable, meaning that He does not change (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8 and James 1:17). That is intrinsic to His being God. He cannot get better or He would not be perfect now. Unlike Him, we are constantly changing; we have our good days and our bad days. There are days when I am emotionally needy and crave the affirmation of others, while at other times I am overflowing with God’s provision. This can be so frustrating. I continually pray for more of the latter. How comforting it is to know that God will be the same day in and day out. He will be faithful to who He is. In the midst of great difficulty the prophet could write: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23, ESV). While we deal with such vacillation in ourselves, we also recognize that a large part of medical practice is helping people deal with change. Illness comes; death intervenes; change is inevitable. How much easier it is to keep going when we can trust this God who never changes.
patients study and learn the science of medicine well. An essential way to show compassion to patients is to be competent.iv This requires a lifelong commitment to learning. It involves time spent outside of the office, but also in the presence of the patient, to carefully think through the diagnosis and the treatment options available. Frequently the facts are readily available, but we need the wisdom that is often honed through years of practice. This can be acquired through personal experience or vicariously by consulting with an older or more specialized colleague who has seen more cases like the one at hand. Acquiring wisdom may require times of quiet reflection since the search for true wisdom cannot be hurried. We should also remember that James challenges us to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5). God is Righteous There exists an essential ethical component to every thing that is done in medicine. In biblical thinking, doing what is right is doing what is consistent with God’s holy character. Closely akin to the righteousness of God are His truthfulness and faithfulness. Surely these are attributes that should characterize the medical profession. We will speak truthfully to our patients and never abandon them during their care. God is Just Here we confine ourselves to justice in the distribution of medical care. The Scriptures make it clear that the disenfranchised of a society (that class would often include orphans, widows, elderly and aliens) have a place very close to God’s heart, and He holds a society in general, but more specifically His covenant people, responsible for their treatment (Jeremiah 22:3, Malachi 3:5). God is Creator The human organism is, to quote the Psalmist, “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14, ESV). God’s creativity is awesome. Quality medicine requires a practitioner to reflect God’s creativity when approaching the complex medical, emotional, social and spiritual problems confronted. “Out of the box thinking” is frequently required to find solutions.
God is All-knowing and All-wise God as Servant Wisdom is key to good medical practice, but wisdom must be based on knowledge. It is imperative that all who are involved in the care of
God announces that He is our helper (Isaiah 41:10,13). Our Lord Jesus came “not to be served but to serve … ” and thus provides an example to those in medicine
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(Matthew 20:28, ESV). This requires an essential humility on the part of those in practice. They must not be impressed by their own abilities but rather impressed by the fact that they have a personal relationship with God. Thus the prophet Jeremiah writes: “Thus says the Lord: ‘Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord’” (Jeremiah 9:23-24, ESV). Jesus blessed those who were poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek and those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness (Matthew 5:3-6). Too often, doctors perceive of themselves as masters. We speak of “doctor’s orders,” and believe that physicians have certain entitlements that belie the fact that they are called to serve. The way to the kingdom of God is a path of servanthood. It is counting “others more significant than yourselves” (Philippians 2:3, ESV). Paul’s emphasis continues: “For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake” (2 Corinthians 4:5, ESV). God as Healer The concept of health runs throughout the Scriptures. It is not viewed as simply physical well-being, but that of the whole person including the immaterial as well as the material. This is the meaning of the
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Hebrew word “shalom.” Healing and preserving health is reversing some of the results of mankind’s fall into sin. Consider the following passages: “If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer” (Exodus 15:26, ESV). “The Lord sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health. As for me, I said, ‘O Lord, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!’” (Psalm 41:3-4, ESV). “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise” (Jeremiah 17:14, ESV). “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up” (Hosea 6:1, ESV). To accomplish our healing, God in Christ was missional. He took the initiative and came to meet our needs. “And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, ‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners’” (Mark 2:17, ESV). Not only missional, Christ was also sacrificial. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, ESV). We too must be intentional and sacrificial in our pursuit of shalom for our patients. We must ultimately recognize that healing is not with-
in our power. God is the healer. We are His “fellow workers,” and when we see a good response to what we have participated in, we should be careful to give the praise to God rather than taking it for ourselves. We thus see in the character of God a model that serves as a foundation for medical practice. It should be the goal of all Christians involved in healing professions to increasingly reflect the character of God in our practices. This should influence the “style” of medicine we pursue in significant ways. In this essay, we have only scratched the surface of how our understanding of God should inform our day-to-day practice. Carefully reading a text on theology would provide a rich and potentially life-changing experience. I would recommend Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. In the next issue of Today’s Christian Doctor, we will look at how medicine is viewed in the Scriptures and consider some of the principles laid out not only for the style but also the substance of medicine. ✝
Bibliography Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, (Grand Rapids, MI., Zondervan, 1994) pg. 198.
i
ii
Grudem, pg. 200.
Jan Van Eys and Kenneth Vaux A Declaration of Faith and Health in the July 3-10, 1985 issue of The Christian Century, in On Moral Medicine Stephen Lammers and Allen Verhey, ed. (Grand Rapids, MI. William B Eerdmans Publishing Co. 1998) pg. 249.
iii
Edmund Pellegrino and David Thomasma. The Virtues in Medical Practice. (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1993) pg. 83.
iv
John Dunlop, MD, MA (Bioethics) practices internal medicine and geriatrics at the Aurora Health Clinic in Zion, Illinois. He received his MD from Johns Hopkins where he did residencies in Internal Medicine and an MA in Bioethics from Trinity International University where he serves on the adjunct faculty. He is the author of Finishing Well to the Glory of God: Strategies from a Christian Physician (Crossway 2011). He can be reached at JDunlopMD@gmail.com.
2012 National Convention
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Jean Wright, MD Chief Medical Officer at Carolinas Medical Center Northeast – Mint Hill, North Carolina
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