Physician in Local Church

The average Seventh-day Adventist congregation looks to its physicians not only for medical assistance but also for spiritual leader­ship. Because of the doctor's training and his influence in the community, he very naturally commands esteem in the church. The purpose of this article is to emphasize a few ways in which a physician can help his local church.

Whether he is qualified or not he may be asked to sing, pray, teach, assume general lead­ership, or preach the sermon. We know of churches where a physician regularly preaches once a month. In a small church one doctor preached fifty sermons over a period of two years. This church had no regular pastor and was very appreciative of his help. In the small churches, where doctors are most likely to be needed to conduct the services, they also find greater. opportunity for personal development than in large churches. We believe that our en­tire denomination would benefit generally if many who now belong to the larger churches would give time and leadership to some of the more needy smaller churches.

"Trees that are crowded closely, together do not grow healthfully and sturdily. The gardener trans­plants them that they may have room to develop. A similar work would benefit many of the members of large churches. They need to be placed where their energies will be called forth in active Christian effort." —Ministry of Healing, p. 152.

Very often the doctor is asked to lead the congregation to the throne of grace in prayer. Prayer is really the most solemn part of any church service. The one who prays can bring about the much-desired spirit of devotion, con­secration, and surrender, simply by pouring out from a deeply spiritual heart his own desire and needs before God. He may feel hesitant about offering a public prayer, but if the heart is right there is no reason why one cannot learn how to pray a public prayer.

The Lord has given us a model prayer. In Thoughts From the Mount of Blessing, pages 161-176, Mrs. E. G. White has given the most beautiful treatment of this prayer that is to be found anywhere. Here the Lord was definitely teaching His disciples how to pray. One writer states that since studying the Lord's prayer he usually follows this order in his public prayers: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplica­tion. The word acts serves as his mental guide in his public praying. A thorough study of the Lord's prayer will lead any minister or doctor to a desire to plan his public prayers.

If the physician is asked to teach a Sabbath school class, he will find an abundant source of lesson helps in the Spirit of prophecy. Com­mentaries are good but not necessary. A man with spiritual insight can glean a wealth of in­valuable thought from the writings of Mrs. White on nearly any given Scripture or sub­ject.

Some doctors are not given to much speaking. Even so, they can still be a strong influ­ence for right in the church, for what a person really is, has a greater influence than what he says.

The doctor will certainly want the members of the church to feel that their interests and happiness are completely identified with his own. One of the best things he can do is to study the names and faces ^-of the members of the church until he can tell every one by name. The sweetest sound in all the English language to any person is the sound of his own name. A warm, sympathetic handshake, with a personal greeting by name on Sabbath morning, will be a real comfort to the church members. Our members need to understand that the doctor is one with them, a humble servant of the Lord.

We are happy that it is possible for the stu­dents in the Loma Linda division of the College of Medical Evangelists to gain experience along public lines in the churches of the South­eastern California Conference. During the past school year nearly all these students have par­ticipated in some public way in a church serv­ice. Eighteen different churches have been visited and over forty churCh services have been conducted. One of the students usually gives a health talk, another a sermonet, a third student acts as the elder, and other students provide the special music. In addition to these Sabbath morning services the students have been rendering musical assistance or giving health talks at evangelistic meetings in three near-by cities, and have conducted a regular Friday evening broadcast for the patients in the Loma Linda Sanitarium.

We are hoping that soon an integral part of the medical students' training will be the giv­ing of Bible studies in non-Adventist homes. This, after all, is where the core of spiritual service is to be found^-. Jesus spent a larger part of His time dealing with individuals than He did in preaching. (Ministry of Healing, p. 19.) He did more than heal broken bodies. "The Saviour made each work of healing an occasion for implanting divine principles in the mind and soul."—Ministry of Healing, p. 20.