Seventh-day Adventists ministers and doctors must appreciate and respect each other. In order to establish this sympathetic comradeship, the members of each profession must recognize their responsibility, to the members of the other. Much may be said—and has been said—about the necessity of doctors co-operating with ministers. This article will confine itself to the equally important problem of the minister's obligation to the doctor.
First, the minister must remember that his doctor parishioner is more than a source of revenue to the church. The doctor is a man like other men, and he feels the need of sympathetic companionship and spiritual help. If he is financially successful he is besieged with fair-weather friends—parasites who wish to take advantage of his generosity. He cannot be blamed if he tends to develop a suspicious tendency as again and again he sees thinly veneered cupidity. The doctor has a right to expect in his pastor a man who is above mercenary motives, and who will not resort to insincerity in order to secure the physician's financial support for church projects.
The doctor will appreciate a pastor who sometimes calls on him because he needs spiritual companionship, and not because the church needs a new organ, furnace, or roof. Although the wise doctor will not desire to dictate the policies of the church, he will appreciate the confidence of the pastor, who will at times talk over church problems with him, especially if he is a church officer.
Second, the doctor has a right to expect that his pastor will conduct a church service that he can be proud to invite his friends and patients to attend. One of the great opportunities of the doctor-minister relationship is the possibility of bringing people to the church service, and eventually to Christ, as a result of the contacts made by the doctor.
Now suppose the doctor is not sure but that next Sabbath's service may be a promotion drive, a stereotyped series of readings, or an unprepared sermon. Will he not find his impulses to do missionary work inhibited if he has had a few such disappointing experiences? After all, if he cannot feel free to bring individuals to his church, how can he accomplish much that is lasting for them in spiritual lines? The doctor has a right to expect that the worship service of his church will be carefully planned so that nothing—announcements, music, length of service—need give cause for apology. He has a right to expect that the sermon will reflect preparation, thought, and spiritual maturity.
Third, the doctor has a right to expect in his pastor a man whom he will not be ashamed to introduce to anyone as his pastor. This implies a degree of culture on the part of the minister.
It also involves an interest in people. The doctor should feel free to recommend his minister to patients whose problems are spiritual, without fearing that the minister may bungle the case. The doctor should feel that the minister knows what to do and what not to do in the sickroom, in the death chamber, and in all other human situations. Only as this confidence is felt can the possibilities of the doctor-minister relationship be realized.
Fourth, the doctor has a right to expect that the minister will conduct his evangelism on such a plane that he will not be ashamed to have a supply of the minister's handbills in his reception room. The doctor wants the minister to preach the truth, and to preach it with conviction; but he shrinks from the sensational, the inaccurate, and the bizarre. He has been trained in scientific accuracy. He is more sensitive than some others to misstatements, evasions, and faulty logic. The preacher would do well to value him as a friendly critic.
This article has dealt with only one side of an important relationship. The conclusions that have been presented have evolved as the result of acquaintance with scores of Christian physicians. Perhaps some doctor who reads these paragraphs will get an inspiration to present the other side of this subject, "What the Minister Has a Right to Expect of His Doctor Parishioner." The really important thing is that Christian doctors and Christian ministers learn to help each other and love each other. Each can be an inspiration and a challenge to the other. The two together can be a source of strength to the church and a means of mediating the Christian faith to a needy world.
Instruction in the Schools
The practice of giving instruction on temperance topics in the schools is a move in the right direction. Instruction in this line should be given in every school and in every home. The youth and children should understand the effect of alcohol, tobacco, and other like poisons, in breaking down the body, beclouding the mind, and sensualizing the soul. It should be made plain that no one who uses these things can long possess the full strength of his physical, mental, or moral faculties.-Echication, p. 202.
The ministers are asleep; the lay members are asleep; and a world is perishing in sin. May God help His people to arouse and walk and work as men and women on the borders of the eternal world. Soon an awful surprise is coming upon the inhabitants of the world. Suddenly, with power and great glory, Christ will come. Then there will be no time to prepare to meet Him. Now is the time for us to give the warning message.--Testimonies, vol. 8, p. 37.
