“One of Christ’s historic roles is that of healer, making the cosmos and all creatures fully well, as he shows through his ministry in first - century Galilee and Judea. Christians have founded hospitals and clinics ever since, demonstrating God’s claim to be Lord even over disease and its distortion of human flourishing.”
Jason Byassee
There are real concerns about the health of clergy. In a recent book, Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis. we hear about the efforts of the United Methodist Church of North Carolina. It is a combination of quantitative and qualitative research results combined with a health promotion initiative.
I was left thinking how similar their findings are to what we see in the reviews of the health of physicians, nurses and therapists. We are all looking for a “flourishing” of our lives that is even more than a better lipid profile!
As a practicing physician, I cherished my time in the pew. Hearing a larger story and connecting it to the events of my life was a time of sabbath healing. It is what we all need whether we are clergy of congregant, physician or patient.
The power of this book is it’s dual authorship, a dialogue between an health advocate and clergy. We need more of these kind of inter-professional conversations. We will all find a kind of flourishing when we escape the isolation of our professional silos.
Marvin
References
Proeschold-Bell, R. J., & Byassee, J. (2018). Faithful and Fractured: Responding to the Clergy Health Crisis. Baker Academic.
Hage, M. L. (2011). Our Healing.
Hage, M. L. (2012). “Burnout” and a “Path Report”.
Hage, M. L. (2012). Equipping Healing Agents: Sustaining Vocation. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Hage, M. L. (2016). Healing Doctors
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