About Paul
My medical career began at Johns Hopkins University. The summer after my first year in medical school I went on a backpacking trip through Europe. While in the home of Francis and Edith Schaffer in L’Abri, Switzerland, I met Jesus. Then, shortly after my return to Baltimore I met my wife-to-be. Following our first year of marriage, we spent a summer in Kenya at a mission hospital. It was there the Lord birthed our vision to serve in medical missions.
In Kenya, I experienced firsthand the intertwining of poverty and disease. I had to acknowledge that my understanding of this relationship was indeed shallow. So, before leaving Baltimore for residency in New York, I took an extra year for master’s training in public health at Hopkins with an emphasis on global health. This was during the heyday of WHO’s primary health care initiative. I studied under Dr. Carl Taylor, founding chair of the Department of Int’l Health- one of the world’s best international community health programs. My New York residency was in internal medicine, focusing on primary adult care.
After those three years, we moved to Columbia, SC, for Bible school. At Columbia International University, I pondered a holistic, Bible-centered approach to health and began to grasp God’s heart for salvation and the healing of the nations. My eyes were opened to His concern for the poor, which runs throughout the Old and New Testaments. My foundation for a Christian perspective on health was taking form.
The diseases of poverty are best tackled by compassionate care for both the individual and the community. Changes in the community are like coarse tuning of guitar strings while individual care is like fine tuning. In order to practice “coarse tuning” I trained as an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta. There I learned how to investigate outbreaks and treat the “community” as my patient.
With the above training on board, we felt ready for the next steps in pursuit of our vision to serve in East Africa in medical missions. We became members of SIM and prepared to go as missionaries to Ethiopia. We would be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge all the people who came alongside to encourage and disciple us in our Christian walk as the years went by; for these we are truly grateful! Many of these individuals and churches supported us in prayer and finance as we left for language school in Ethiopia with 3 children (soon to be four) in tow.
The story of our early years in Ethiopia are captured in the first chapter of Healthcare and the Mission of God. May I say that despite all my preparation, I was not ready for the challenges of those years. We wouldn’t want to repeat them, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Those hard times surfaced some of my unrealistic expectations about healthcare (and myself). As I journeyed toward healing, I began to perceive how healthcare might be connected to the purposes of God.
Over the next three decades, we also served in Nepal and Thailand. I was appointed by SIM International in 2014 to come alongside SIM’s healthcare missionaries around the globe. In these myriad settings, I came to know first-hand the joys and challenges across a spectrum of healthcare missions, from clinical care, prevention, and discipleship to mission leadership. I saw how God used SIM’s HIV and AIDS ministries to enable the church to fulfill its mission mandate. I’ve seen the importance of teamwork and partnership, having mentored and been mentored by others.
I remain passionate about medical and health ministries. What a fantastic way to demonstrate the love of Christ to those who do not know Him — the gospel in deeds that match our words. Nevertheless, I’m acutely aware of the range of issues and problems that can accompany such a journey into missions, including a high turnover rate and burnout.
The unique challenges facing Christian healthcare providers were part of my motivation in writing Healthcare and the Mission of God. Becoming a missionary (or cross-cultural worker) is not just about crossing geographical or cultural barriers. It also involves dealing with obstacles that arise in our own minds as we follow Jesus’ call. Too often, as medical professionals, we can follow a call but lose Jesus in the process. To align our purpose with the mission of God, we must start by identifying some of our own misconceptions. Although retired, I continue to be involved in training and coaching. God continues to show His love through Christian healthcare. Let’s take a fresh look at the connections between health and the gospel. This way, we can keep work balanced and integrated with Christ’s call on our lives. I want to offer hope to an upcoming generation of doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers, not just prevent burnout.
I look forward to sharing my journey with you and listening to yours. This space is an invitation to connect and learn from one another.
