Faith and Medicine Discussion Guide
Contents
What is Faithful PresenceHow To Use This Guide
Part 1: Medicine and a God that Sees Us
Part 2: We Are Better Together
Part 3: Offering Myself Wholeheartedly
Part 1
Medicine and a God that Sees Us
Download Part I Printable Discussion GuideDay 1
AssignmentWatch the video “Medicine and a God that Sees Us”.
Reflection and Practice
1. The doctors in the video seek to imitate God by practicing faithful presence. They are the hands and feet of Christ in their workplace. What do you learn about God’s character through watching the way they care for patients? Journal specific attributes that you notice, starting your sentences, “God is . . .” or “God is like . . .”2. Take a few minutes to replay in your mind a time when someone cared compassionately for you in a time of illness or need. What does it feel like to receive compassion? Close your eyes and imagine God present and caring for you in that moment.
3. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you to grasp how much God delights in you.
Day 2
AssignmentWatch the video a second time.
Reflection and Practice
1. Faithful presence involves compassion for all people, not only friends or people we enjoy being around. What enables the doctors in the video to care for difficult patients?2. Dr. Ben Frush tells the story of meeting a “notoriously difficult patient.” What emotions did Dr. Frush feel when he first met with the client? How did Dr. Frush choose to respond, and what helped him to practice faithful presence in that moment?
3. Dr. Farr Curlin states, “When I go to work, I frequently call to mind the fact I’m going to encounter people who are coming to me in God’s image and, in a mysterious way, even as Christ himself.” As you go about your day today, intentionally look at each person you encounter as God’s image, as though you are meeting Christ himself. Then journal about it at the end of the day.
Day 3
Reflection and Practice
Dr. Patrick Smith says faithful presence involves being “attentive.” Practice attentiveness today. You can do this by listening well to what your co-worker, fellow student, or client is saying. Ask follow up questions to show you are listening and that you care. At the end of the day, journal what it was like to practice attentiveness. What were the challenges? What were the gifts?Day 4
Reflection and Practice
Dr. Calvin Gross says sickness provides an unusual opportunity—an opportunity for close relationship and care. Try a new practice of looking for opportunity amid difficulties. Is there something bothering you? What might be the opportunity for noticing and doing good in that situation?Optional Activity
Watch the supplemental video “What Is Beautiful in Medicine?” As you go about your day, ask yourself, “What beautiful thing is God doing?” Then pay extra attention to what is going on around you. Where do you see beauty unfolding in your day-to-day tasks?
Day 5
AssignmentWatch “Medicine and the God that Sees Us” for a third time
Reflection and Practice
1. One of the primary challenges the doctors face in practicing faithful presence is the demanding pace of their job. Dr. Emy Yang and the other doctors discuss how efficiency and bureaucracy can threaten to overshadow relationships. How do they resist becoming mechanical and detached in their jobs? Be specific.2. Spend time in prayer, asking God to reveal ways that you prioritize efficiency over relationships. Ask God for specific ways you can become more relationship-centered. Journal what you sense the Spirit telling you, then put that into practice this week.
3. How might you incorporate rest and rejuvenation into your daily and weekly schedule?
Day 6
Reflection and Practice
1. Hope is essential for practicing faithful presence and implementing justice, but Dr. Patrick Smith says, “Hope should not be conflated or confused with optimism.” What do you think he means by that? Do you tend to conflate hope with optimism?2. Dr. Smith describes hope as a “deep moral vision” that is “informed by something beyond ourselves,” leading us to see where change is needed. Hope or a vision inspires us toward “individual and collective efforts to realize [bring about] the way things ought to be.” In your own community (whether on the job or at school), where do you see a need for more justice and faithful presence? Spend time daydreaming about what it might look like if things were the way they ought to be in your community. Journal your reflections and consider what concrete action God might be inviting you to.
Part 2
We Are Better Together
Download Part 2 Printable Discussion GuideDay 1
AssignmentWatch the video “We Are Better Together”.
Reflection and Practice
1. Christianity matters for our work because it teaches us to care about others beyond ourselves. Dr. Alexander Porte says, “The work I’m doing, to me, does not make any sense without faith. To take a job where you are paid less, doing harder work, it all comes from how I see Christ’s sense of justice, and that Old Testament justice is always paired with how you treat the poor.” How does your Christian faith motivate you to care about others in the work you do?2. Spend about ten minutes day dreaming about partnering with God in the work of justice. What might this look like in your own life now and in the future. Journal what comes up for you.
Day 2
Reflection and Practice 1. The Lawndale staff discuss the challenges of caring for other people’s burdens. Recall a time when you cared for someone whose needs were not easy to address. How did it make you feel? In what ways did God help you care for another when it was hard?2. Dr. Louisa Olushoga talks about her decision to provide care to those living in shelters who have significant psychiatric needs. What were the risks involved with taking the job? What emotions did she feel? What motivates her to do this work anyway?
Day 3
AssignmentWatch the video a second time.
Reflection and Practice
1. The Lawndale staff discuss the importance of teamwork in caring for others. As you watch the video, write down instances where you spot teamwork. What does that look like for the staff? What about teamwork with departments outside of Lawndale? Write a paragraph summarizing why teamwork is important.2. What does teamwork look like in your own employment or as a student? Ask God to give you insight into how teamwork can help you better care for others. Then look for ways to put that into action this week.
Day 4
Reflection and Practice
Dr. Detmer uses the phrase “Incarnational work.” Write down the definition he gives, word for word, stopping the video as needed. What might incarnational work look like for you right now, whether you are employed or a student? Spend some time talking with God about your life as an incarnational witness.Day 5
Reflection and Practice
Dr. Olushoga writes, “It drops me down to my knees every single time because I don’t actually feel particularly equipped to do that kind of work.” Have you ever felt inadequate in your efforts to make a difference? How did prayer help Dr. Olushoga in those times? How might prayer help you in the workplace?2. Read and pray Psalm 46.
Day 6
Assignment
Watch the video “We Are Better Together” a third time
Reflection and Practice
1. Dr. Olushoga talks about being honest with God about what we are feeling. She says, “I serve a God who can contain my anger, my frustration, and I don’t have to pretend that, you know, I’m happy with the things that are happening … His love is big enough to contain that.” What are your conversations with God like? Have you felt comfortable being honest about your emotions? Why or why not?2. Take a few minutes to reflect on the past 24 hours. What emotions have come up for you during that time? List as many different emotions as you can recall. Spend some time talking with God about what you have been feeling, then sit quietly to listen for what the Spirit might say to you.
Part 3
Offering Myself Wholeheartedly
Download Part 3 Printable Discussion GuideDay 1
AssignmentWatch the video “Offering Myself Wholeheartedly”.
Reflection and Practice
1. What emotions come up as you listen to Dr. Daisy Dowell share her life story and where she is now2. In what ways does Dr. Dowell inspire you? How might she be a role model for you as you approach your own work or vocational dreams?
Day 2
Reflection and Practice 1. How does Dr. Dowell’s Christlike treatment of others reveal how God sees and cares for you? Journal as many attributes of God that you see reflected in Dr. Dowell’s life. Meditate on that list of attributes, contemplating the truth of what God is like.2. Dr. Dowell states, “The hand of God has been upon me for as long as I can remember, and He has been so good, so kind, so gracious . . . I’m just so grateful. I owe him all.” Journal about how God has been present in your own life. How might that inspire you to give yourself wholeheartedly to God in your work?
What do you feel grateful for today? Spend time thanking God for those things. Begin a daily practice of gratitude as a way to stay inspired to embody Christ in your work.
Day 3
AssignmentWatch the video a second time.
Reflection and Practice
1. Dr. Dowell overcame many obstacles and hardships in her life to achieve her vocational goals. Write down each specific obstacle she faced. How did God help her through those hard times?2. What obstacles have you faced, especially in pursuit of your dreams? How might her example give you perseverance in your work or vocational aspirations?
Day 4
Reflection and Practice
1. Dr. Dowell says, “There’s so much wonder and beauty in what I do.” What are some of the beautiful things she notices?2. What beauty do you see as you go about your daily work and tasks? Be specific, journaling what you notice. Begin a practice of noticing beauty in the ordinary, even in challenging circumstances.
3. In what ways are you embodying faithful presence and bringing God’s beauty into the world within your local context? Are there specific ways you would like to bring beauty to others?Day 5
Assignment
Watch the video “Offering Myself Wholeheartedly” a third time.
Reflection and Practice
1. What prayer does Dr. Dowell pray over the babies she encounters in her work? Write down her prayer, word for word, stopping the video as needed. Then say this prayer over yourself.2. How might you be an answer to this prayer by bringing “real hope” to the people in your local community, including the people you see every day? Ask God to give you discernment to know how you can embody faithful presence to others in your work.
Day 6
Reflection and Practice
1. What life experiences influenced Dr. Dowell’s decision to go into medicine? What has influenced your vocational aspirations?2. Spend some time daydreaming about what you would do if you could do any job you desired. Then draw a picture of yourself doing that (you don’t have to be an artist! Draw stick figures if you have to). How would you practice faithful presence in that job? In what ways would that work contribute to the common good?
