After we heard and responded to God’s good news with faith, we became part of God’s family. We did what most babies do – they grow and learn many new things. That is what being a disciple (learner) is all about – learning and growing in the truths of God’s Word, abiding in Jesus, and learning to be like Jesus. And we do what He was doing – make disciples!
Is it possible to make disciples while we engage in healthcare? If I am working full-time in healthcare, is disciple-making my role? Even if it’s my desire, how do I fit it into a busy day? Is it an add-on, something I do after hours? If I don’t have time for lunch, how am I going to make disciples?
Our calling as Christian health professionals is first to Christ and THEN to our profession. The first is our primary calling and the profession secondary; our Christian calling is foundational. All Christians are called to a life of being and making disciples. (Matthew 28:19).
British medical doctor and pastor Martyn Llloyd-Jones said, “The greatest danger which confronts the medical man is that he may become lost in his profession.” Busyness can absorb all our allegiance. Our identity can be about our status as doctors and professionals rather than as Christians. How do we be salt and light in the medical profession to those around us? What does it look like?
Our identity in Christ
My first inclination as a doctor is to ask, “What must I do?” But discipleship starts with our identity, not our activities. My first question should be, “Who am I?” As doctors, nurses, or X-ray technicians, our days are filled with busyness. But our activities don’t define us. The root of a tree gives life to the fruit. Our life in Christ must give life to everything we do. We are human “beings,” not human “doings.”
The medical profession offers powerful ways to minister to bodily needs. But we are tempted to lose ourselves in medicine if our allegiance is to bodily needs alone. It is not just our patients who must be treated as whole persons; we must treat ourselves as whole persons, created to love God and others. That wholeness is found in Christ.
How might that work out in daily practice? For starters, it means bringing our whole selves to patients and the people we interact with daily. We are not just there to take medical histories and order laboratory tests. We are not just there for Mr. Jones’ sick body but for Mr. Jones himself. This means relating to him with Jesus’ eyes and compassion. It means that we are not only focused on his pathology but on how he is coping with his pathology. It means listening. What gives his life meaning? Where is his trust when the going gets tough? Do we want to know?
“The greatest danger which confronts the medical man is that he may become lost in his profession.” — Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Making disciples in healthcare
Let’s first examine how Jesus made disciples. Here is a helpful quote to remind us of what He did: “His disciples were with him, learning to be like him. ‘With him’meant that they were literally where he was and were progressively engaged in doing what he was doing” (The Oxford Handbook of Evangelical Theology, Gerald McDermott). How did Jesus care for the whole person?
When Jesus took His disciples away to rest after an intense ministry, the multitudes followed Him. They sought Jesus because they wanted healing. Mark tells us, “And when He went ashore, He saw a great multitude, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things” (Mark 6:34). By the end of the day, he fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish. He cared for their physical and spiritual needs. And although they were primarily interested in their physical needs, Jesus turned their attention to their deeper need: Himself as the bread of life.
All the while, Jesus was training His disciples. How? He was also challenging their hearts, not just the hearts of the multitudes. He was molding and shaping the disciples’ outlook on the ministry. They, too, needed a Savior who met their deepest need. Not just a Savior who gave them what they needed for others, but who gave them Himself. They learned that the outward and physical needs of life are important to God but cannot be separated from their deepest need, a new heart. They learned by example how Jesus ministered to people.
Healthcare is not just about fixing broken bodies. It is about restoring broken people. Like the disciples, we also must learn from Jesus how to minister in this way. Often, patients have deep concerns in their hearts and ask questions like, “How could this have happened? Where is God?” The pain of suffering drives them to ask what life is really about. It opens opportunities to sensitively address the pain of others.
Jesus was surrounded by his disciples. We are often surrounded by healthcare providers. Patients come and go. But the staff and colleagues we work with, like the disciples, also need to learn more of the Savior who meets their deepest needs, not just their outward needs. If we are convinced that disciple-making is part of our calling, we will learn and grow together with our teams with humility.
In my book, Healthcare and the Mission of God, I describe a surgeon who wanted to expand a mission hospital’s bed capacity to accommodate more patients, thereby increasing opportunities for evangelism. The nurse in charge knew this would burn out the nurses. A conflict ensued. The surgeon was so intent on doing (and convinced he was right) that he was willing to sacrifice relationships with colleagues. He was doing anything but making disciples. What do others see when they encounter your team?
Making disciples fits into a bigger picture
“But we can’t buy compassion!“
As we have seen, the life of Jesus shapes us and those around us, including nurses, doctors, aides, and others. It shapes the way our team cares for patients. It also shapes the way we interact with hospital managers, leaders, family members, ancillary staff, housekeeping – everyone! In the broader context, it also influences the way our people interact with the community and the church. Whether our own “team” is from the hospital, clinic, or outreach program, the lives we touch can have a lasting impact because the gospel has a lasting impact.
The gospel’s long-term impact can’t be measured by malaria deaths averted or surgery procedures alone. For instance, Muslim people in Malawi requested that mission leaders build a clinic for them. Our leaders considered this request carefully but also asked, “Why us? Couldn’t you get funding from the Middle East?” They responded, “Yes, we can. But we can’t buy compassion!” Is that not an open door for ministry?
Compassion. Purpose. Hope. Forgiveness. All these are part of the big picture. Being disciples and making disciples is at the heart of that picture.
Leave a Reply