Transcript Christian beliefs and medicine

Leadership for
Christian
Healthcare
A case study of Bulgaria 2004
Matthew 28: 18-20
The Great Commission,
Matthew 28: 18-20
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A Commission for Global Transformation
Christians: change agents of God (Salt and light)
Transformation through relational networks (love
God and love your neighbor as yourself)
Covers all areas of life (all authority heaven/earth)
Signs of the Kingdom signaling Christ’s victory on
the Cross, also in the health field = our
responsibility  work is ministry
Not heaven on earth / no Utopia / no triumphalism
/ no mere horizontal activism
Seven Characteristics of
Christ’s Commission
1. Authoritative – exousia = dignity, authorization,
glory
2. Mobilizing – poreuthentes = literally: having gone
/ as you go
3. Discipling / Mentoring - mathiteusate  multiply
leaders
4. Incorporating – baptism: presupposes
evangelism and intercession
5. Cross-cultural - panta ta ethni
6. Educative – didaskō – teach all things…
7. Encouraging – I am with you all the days…
Christian leadership
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Leadership = influence + focus
Leadership development is a lifetime learning
process that goes through various phases
Six development phases:
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Phase I- Sovereign foundations
Phase II- Inner-life Growth
Phase III- Ministry maturing
Phase IV-Life maturing
Phase V-Convergence
Phase VI-Afterglow or celebration
Phase I: Sovereign foundations
 God is developing the leader by laying foundations in his life,
this is a sovereign operation.
 God works through
 Family / tribe / people / nation: even if your family/tribe/people/nation was
not perfect / Christian / rich etc
 Environment: even if some think it was wrong environment
 Historical events: God wants to use whatever happens to us to shape us
as leaders.
 The potential leader
 has little control
 should learn to respond positively
 take advantage of what God has laid in these foundations.
 Prayer of surrender and acceptance of the foundations God has
sovereignly laid in your life
Phase II: Inner life Growth
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Getting to know God better
Learning the importance of prayer and obedience
Growing in discernment and understanding
Getting involved in ministry and learning by doing  new
inner-life lessons.
 Being put to the test repeatedly. God wants to use testing
experiences to develop character:
 Good response  learn the fundamental lessons God is
teaching you. Result: expanded ministry and greater
responsibility.
 Poor response  waiting till another time to be tested
again in the same areas.
Phase III: Ministry maturing
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Ministry is the big focus.
Experimenting with gifts and talents.
May get training to be more effective.
Also reaching out others.
God is developing the leader in two ways:
 Through ministry the leader identifies gifts, talents and skills
and learns how to use them with increasing effectiveness
 Learns more about relationships in the Body of Christ. These
relationship experiences teach both negative and positive
lessons. The negative experiences in our relationships with
co-workers are critical to our maturing. The lessons bring
personal inadequacies to the surface so that God can deal with
them
What is the focus of first
three phases?
 God is working primarily in the leader, and not
through him or her.
 Many emerging leaders don’t recognize this
and become frustrated. They are constantly
evaluating their ministry through productivity
and activity while God is quietly evaluating
their leadership potential and working
character in their lives for He wants to teach us
how to minister out of what we are in Christ
 Ministry activity and fruitfulness are not the
focus of these three phases, although we can
be very busy in ministry all the way
Phase IV: Life maturing
 Uses talents / spiritual gifts in a satisfying and effective ministry
 Has prioritized the best use of talents / gifts because learning what not to do
is as important as learning what to do.
 Result = mature fruitfulness
 Isolation, crisis and conflict are valuable learning experiences
 The principle that ministry flows out of being has new significance as the
leaders character mellows and matures.
 Leader’s experiential understanding of God is being developed.
 Communion with God becomes foundational; it is more important than
success in ministry.
 Through this change, the ministry itself takes on an increased relevance and
fruitfulness.
 The key to development during this phase is a positive response to the
experiences God ordains. This response will deepen communion with God
that will become the base for lasting and effective ministry.
Phase V: Convergence
 Convergence of life maturing and ministry maturing
 God moves leader into role that matches gift-mix and
experience so that ministry is maximized.
 Many leaders do not experience convergence because:
 hindered by own lack of personal development,
 organization keeps leader in a limiting position where
gifts/talents are not optimally utilized
 The major development task is to guide leader into a
role and place where he can have maximum
effectiveness.
 Leader to trust Gods guidance, rest in faith and watch
as God moves him toward a ministry that embodies all
the development of preceding phases.
Phase VI: Afterglow / celebration
 The fruit of a lifetime of ministry and growth
culminate in an era of recognition and indirect
influence at broad levels.
 Leaders in afterglow have built up a lifetime of
contacts and continue to exert influence in
these relationships.
 Others will seek them out because of their
consistent track record in following God.
 Their storehouse of wisdom gathered over a
lifetime of leadership will continue to bless and
benefit many.
Checkpoint: Where are you?
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2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Phase I: Sovereign foundations
Phase II: Inner-life Growth
Phase III: Ministry maturing
Phase IV: Life maturing
Phase V: Convergence
Phase VI: Afterglow or celebration
What is Christian Healthcare?
 Before we seek to answer that question,
let us first take a closer look at the
relationship between world view and
healthcare
World view (basic beliefs) +
healthcare
Healthcare practice
Vision of healthcare
Health/Disease/Death
Truth/Science/Research
Ethics/Values/Norms
Human being
God
Christian healthcare: TPC
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God: Theism; for Christian: Christ-centred
Human: imager  10-facetted whole
Ethics: authoritative framework re good/evil
Spirituality: In relation to God through Christ
Health: 10-facetted shalom
Healthcare: focused 10-facetted ministry
Aim: specific contribution to shalom
Driving force: agape-love
Care-giver: called professional steward
Total health: Optimal shalom
in all of life
1. Faith
2. Ethical
3. Judicial
4. Aesthetic
5. Economic
6. Social
7. Linguistic
8. Cultural/technical
9. Psychological
10.Somatic
WHO: Only 4 of 10
Minimum
Maximum
A national healthcare system
Levels 
Elements 
Policy
Technology
Structure
Finance
People
Macro
Meso
Micro
(national /
global)
(institutional)
(interpersonal)
Bulgarian healthcare:
 developments
1. Some new very modern specialized
clinics
2. Specialists well-trained
3. Many new / modern medicines
available
4. New / modern technologies have
become available
Special problems in Bulgaria
 Staff discouraged
 Financial problems
 Lack of finances  bad situation in many hospitals
 Low income some categories of healthcare workers
 Many without health insurance (unemployed,
students)
 Management problems
 Corruption
 Inadequate healthcare reform program
 Care delivery problems
 Disappointment with official medicine  flow
towards alternative practices
How to solve Bulgarian
healthcare problems?
 Secular approaches
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Usually begins with policy, structure, technology
Healthcare = managed system for healthcare delivery
Major problem 1: not enough money
Major problem 2: the people
 Christian approach
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Begins with people in the Great Commission context
Healthcare = complex matrix of relational networks
Major problem 1: Dualistic Christianity
Major problem 2: Reductionistic Christianity
Major problem 3: Great Omission Christians
Your answers: How to solve…
1. Do not know what to do…
In what areas can our organization help
transform the healthcare system?
Levels 
Macro
Meso
Micro
(national / global)
(institutional)
(interpersonal)
Elements 
X
Technology
Structure
Finance
People
X
Appointed authority
Policy
X
X
X
X
X
Which two areas can we start with?
What can our organization do at a Micro
level?
 Get to know one another, exchange info
 In work: be faithful; learn from non-Christians;
 Problems
 Trying to solve problems in own strength without God
 Staff exploited: junior doctors, nurses,
 Action
 Build relationship with the Lord / Prayer for wisdom to
solve problems
 Take initiative for comprehensive approach
 Fight for truth / rights / Obtain legal advice to counter
exploitation
What do at meso level?
 Make effective network of Christian doctors:
 Make list of Christian specialists
 Build relationships between them:
 Interpersonal
 Inter-practice / inter-clinic
 Meetings
 Action:
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Better PR/FR of CMA
Better link CMA – local churches
Christian doctors: free outreach ministries
Christian hospices
What do at macro level?
 CMA organization needs to improve
 Prayer: mtg q 1/12 (Anni); prayer coordinators in big towns;
 Organization structure renewed: regional / local
 Better PR/FR: churches, media, professional journals
 Ethical concept for CMA
 Relationships medical workers – patients
 Contact parliament / ministry / other institutions:
internet etc: presentations to govt and other officials
 Networking with other organizations / NGO’s (Christian
and non-Christian
Things to do
 National committee to encourage:
 Working group: anti-exploitation A+A
 Christian h/c workers networks in: Sofia,
Plovdiv and Assenovgrad, Varna: start with
list : name profession e-mail or tel
 PR/FR action group
 National policy group: privatization of
hospitals; bankruptcy;
 National networking group