[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Well, I want to welcome you all to a brand new year, 2026. And this program is being released on New Year's Day as we launch into a new season of faith in healthcare. And this is the third year, I believe, in a row in which I've had the opportunity to invite our vice President of Stewardship, Mr. George Courtney, to the studio and to the program.
And George, we're going to be doing a little bit of looking back and some looking forward and, and talking about blessings that God has given us. So thank you. I'm going to ask you one question, then we're going to turn the tables. This is the one time of year I get to look forward to answering more questions than I ask.
[00:01:03] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:01:04] Speaker A: So just as we launch into 2026, what is stewardship? To George Courtney.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Wow, what a. Well, first, thank you, Mike for inviting me to be here today and to be a part of this and to reflect on God's blessings. As I think about stewardship, it ties into that very well because stewardship in its basic definition means that we're caring for or taking care of somebody else's belongings and measuring how well I steward it, whether it's something that my wife or my son or my daughter in law might entrust to me to take care of or whether it's our livelihood and our financial resources that God entrusts to us. And so when I think about stewardship in the context of cmda, I really think about how we constantly work and encourage one another to steward towards bringing other individuals to Christ through the ministries of cmda. So bringing that Christian witness to healthcare. And it's exciting to watch how God uses each and every one of our generous donors and supporters members to make this ministry happen each year.
[00:02:19] Speaker A: Yeah. And you know, we do tend to sometimes we think about stewardship, think about finances. But your answer may be think of the fact that our board members, when they were thinking about Dave Stevens and his successor, all of them read the book Stewards of a Sacred Trust that has nothing to do with finances per se, but more of a sacred trust that our members and ministry partners have given to our board to the make sure that CMDA is led with the right individual.
Stewards of a sacred trust.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: Yes. Stewardship can cover a number of different areas in our lives.
As a new beginning of a year, it's a great time to say how have I done it? Managing my intellectual capacity? How have I done that God has given me? How am I doing it? Managing my family and my time with my family? How Am I doing it measuring my financial resources that God's constantly entrusting me with? So it's great to look multifaceted at how am I doing as a steward of what God's entrusted?
[00:03:22] Speaker A: Well, let's turn the tables. What do you have for me?
[00:03:24] Speaker B: Well, we think about the beginning of new years, and, Mike, I'm always amazed at how God has given you the gift for Bible memorization and hiding God's Word in your heart.
What's a verse that you think of whenever you begin to think about new beginnings, a new year?
What verse comes to your mind?
[00:03:43] Speaker A: Well, for the last several years, you've heard me share this, that my wife and I choose a different psalm to focus on. So it's not the same scripture that I go back to, but a new Psalm.
Dr. John Patrick several years ago challenged me to do this. And so this year, in keeping with our national convention theme, which will be in Colorado at the base of the Rocky Mountains, I chose Psalm 121.
And basically, the psalmist, it's not necessarily David, just it's a psalm of ascent. Going up to Jerusalem, I look up to the mountains. The psalmist says, where does my help come from? Well, actually, it doesn't come from the mountains. It comes from the one who made those mountains heaven and earth. That's where my help comes from. And, wow, is that not encouraging. It's seven or eight verses in that chapter, and my wife and I are going to work on that over the next several weeks. But that's. That's where I'm looking to. That scripture's on my mind. The second one that I do go to quite frequently, which, frankly is if my wife will do it and my family on my tombstone. I want this verse.
Proverbs 3, 3, 4. Everybody knows Proverbs 3, 5, 6. But the verses right before that, Solomon says, let love and faithfulness never leave you. Bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and men. So the vertical relationship, horizontal. Those have kind of become my Old Testament life verses.
[00:05:12] Speaker B: I love those passages. And Psalm 121. Any of our listeners who have traveled with us to the Holy Land over the years have heard Jeremy, our guide, read those as we ascend to Jerusalem. It's one of the passages that he will often read or refer to.
[00:05:33] Speaker A: Oh, that's a good memory.
[00:05:33] Speaker B: As we're coming into Jerusalem, and by the way, we're going back to Jerusalem. I have to add that in Praise God.
[00:05:41] Speaker A: It's been a while.
[00:05:42] Speaker B: It's been a while. And so we hope to get an announcement out shortly for November so our listeners can be thinking about that. And we'd love to have every one of you come join us whenever we announce that. But it's a wonderful passage.
[00:05:56] Speaker A: I'm glad to hear that, George.
[00:05:57] Speaker B: We have so much to look back over this course of the year and I am constantly amazed by the number of resources that we have at cmda. And I know we have multi resources because different ones apply to different members, to different supporters, different passions. Different passions, right. And the one that I really enjoy seeing come out every issue is CMDA today.
So let me ask you a question about that. If you're thinking ahead, the next issue of CMDA was going to come out. You get to pick the COVID of it. Who's going to be on the COVID and tell us a little bit about that backstory.
[00:06:36] Speaker A: Wow. So that's a hard task. So I'm glad you gave me these questions in advance so I could think about this a little bit because there are a bunch of people who could appear there.
But I think two men and I'm not going to make this all about our men leaders because another question later, I'm going to focus on some women, but two men this year, one turned 90 years old, Dr. Jim Smith, who has been supporting our Medical Education International, formerly koimea ministry for so many years. And each time a new leader comes along, Jim comes along and mentors them and has helped them and encouraged them.
Everybody involved in that short term mission ministry of teaching, including me, I went to Cuba in November. Everybody knows about Jim Smith and he has been faithful. I mean he continues to travel internationally at age 90. He's amazing. And we actually in Louisville this year celebrated with him his 90th birthday. The other, another leader is someone that our regular listeners audience would have heard his voice would be Dr. Andy Lamb. And this year they celebrated 50 trips that he has led with Global Health outreach. And so two men. Andy's not 90, but he has led 50 trips. And so our listeners can go back and listen to his testimony about how this kind of service, George, has transformed his entire life. How he fathers, how he's a husband and how he's a servant of Christ. By these experiences all over the globe with Global Health outreach.
[00:08:04] Speaker B: Mike, you're so right about that. These two individuals are just excellent. Both of them would make wonderful cover stories for cmda. As I continue thinking about our year, I can only imagine in the course of a year, how many hands you've shaken and how many stories you've conversations we've had. Yes, I get to travel with you some. And I know I'm sitting there waiting for you because individuals want to talk with you. They want to share what CMDA has meant to them and how he's transformed their lives. Share a couple of stories from the year for us.
[00:08:38] Speaker A: Well, I just shared about two men very involved in missions. But missions is one of our four pillars. But we also have community ministries and a couple of women that have just one younger and one a little bit older who stand out to me.
One is a student who joined our board this year, George, Ms. Kayla grutters. And even before she joined the board, our CCM folks shared with me an article from her medical school. Now this is a medical school that's actually known to me because it's in southwest Michigan where I practiced intermittently for several years, but western Michigan in Kalamazoo. And this school hasn't necessarily had any kind of a reputation from being very facilitative for Christians or any people of faith. But there's been a transformation and Kayla Grutters, our new student trustee, has been at the heart of that. In fact, this article that I'm holding right here about Kayla is remarkable.
And she was involved in crew, in undergrad ministry and just felt a passion that she needed to be involved with her peers. And so Kayla, in just two years, so 2023, decided to answer the call to become a student leader president.
And that campus has been transformed to become one of the most Christian friendly campuses in all of the Midwest leading campus. She's been involved in advocacy. She's been involved in missions. She's been involved in helping develop a database for her peers, student peers who are looking for residencies that actually support residents who are Christians who care about their faith deeply. And so I've had a chance to welcome Kayla to the board and full of ideas and energy and God has used her.
When I think back to when I was a medical student, I don't know how I would have fit into my life. The things that Kayla has fit into her life as a student there in Western Michigan. The other individual is our president elect, George. She was elected this year, Dr. Kara Brown, who just happens to live in Loveland, Colorado where we're having our national convention in April. And Kara has been involved in so many different things years ago, involved in our House of Representatives and eventually came on our board and now is our president elect.
And Kara has been with her husband Matt, have been involved in raising up a new community chapter in Northern Colorado.
She and her husband Matt are excited about our new sailing process training. She came to team leader training, stayed in our home not too long ago during that training. And Kara is a poster professional with for a woman of God who wants to please God in every aspect of her life.
And I know we have many, many Karas and Kayla's out there, but those are two that I answered to your question.
[00:11:29] Speaker B: Well, again, wonderful individuals that God has brought into our pathway. And we've been able to do ministry together. Right.
And it's amazing.
It really comes together and speaks to the type of ministry CMDA is. We are a faith ministry. We operate by faith. Now, sometimes we're wearing our knees out a lot more. We ought to be on our knees more often whenever we think about being a faith ministry and trusting God. But we do rely on great leadership from our board and from the House of Representatives and individuals that are involved, whether at the local leadership level of a local council.
And so it leads me to think about our board.
What are a couple of the strategic questions our board are thinking about? What's on their heart as we think about the new year?
[00:12:24] Speaker A: Yeah, really, really good question, George. So one of the tasks that I was given by our strategic planning committee of the board, we've been discussing for about a year on the board, a concept that you and a consultant introduced to me, which is a brand promise.
What do we promise constituents or those who are investigating what CMDA is all about?
What is the promise that we can make in good faith different from a mission statement, different from a vision statement?
And so that's been something we've been chewing on as a task force, and the board gave it to us. And so we've been working with a couple of board members and you've been on that task force.
And so in January, we'll be taking back to the board some ideas and having the board give us some feedback on what they like best. I mean, they're all several, as you said, we're very diverse in terms of ministries. And so you can't get seven words that completely comprehensively right. Cover who we are, but we would like to be able to say in an elevator, this is what we commit to those who would like to walk alongside us in ministry. So brand promise. The second thing is, you know, at any ministry, I've come to realize that what you can do well, depends heavily on the leaders that you have in place to run ministries and their giftings and their passions. And so over several years, we've had a vice president of missions who's a pastor, Bert Jones. And Bert went to go work at Asbury, his alma mater, and was replaced by a wonderful board member who knows CMDA well, Dr. John Pierce.
Now, John has just as much passion for missions, but he's not a pastor. Instead, he's a medical educator.
So we've asked John to come up with some specific objectives in missions and medical education to help us and take back to the board a strategic objective that we want to accomplish in 2026 and 2027 in terms of equipping our members with biblically accurate and consistent medical, dental and otherwise healthcare education for our members. And so the board is going to be working with us in sharpening those objectives and those lead measures.
[00:14:44] Speaker B: Well, that sounds like very big, audacious goals for the year and some great things to be working on.
I'm excited to see where they go. It's been fun to be a part of the Barren Promise workshops that we've been doing and very excited to see what God brings out of that. As you said, we're very broad, so getting us down to a couple of words is a real challenge.
[00:15:07] Speaker A: Yeah. And for our listeners, we have spent dozens and dozens and dozens of hours to come up with the right seven or eight or ten word brand promise.
[00:15:17] Speaker B: Right.
Well, all of this, if we take it all that God has entrusted to us. We talked about stewardship earlier. We're stewards of the mission of CMDA.
And if we take the founding of CMDA, go back to 1931, there in the dorm room, Kenneth Geezer and George Peterson are coming together and they start a time of fellowship and Bible study together and prayer together because they knew they needed God in the midst of their training, in the midst of their lives.
Why would CMDA want to say that campus and community ministries is still very vital today?
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Well, some things are just never going to change over time and that is that God gets ahold of young people and does just can do amazing things. And I mentioned Kayla Grutters earlier. There are many other medical students and dental students. I could point to George, who very similar. And God is getting ahold of them as they are young.
And it happened to me.
I mean, I'm one of E Pluribus unum. I'm one out of many that God got ahold of as a medical student and said, this is the path I want you to walk. And cmda, my campus advisor, second year medical students, helped me stay on that path and not get distracted by the four Ps of power, prestige, position and payment, but to stay centered on Christ centered compassionate care. And so bringing up young trainees, students and residents to stay on track and keep Christ first will always be a top priority. These are our future leaders.
They also challenge me. I mean, there's a student in Orlando that I got to meet this year. I went to go speak for our dermatology section. Didn't know that I was going to get to meet a fellow Hoosier in Orlando, Aaron Brask, also a boilermaker, which makes my heart happy. But Aaron, in a brand new medical school, osteopathic school, Orlando College of Medicine of Osteopathic Medicine, decided to start a CMDA group in Orlando this year. And that school is just taking off. They've had like 50 students involved. They're doing mission trips. Aaron started his own podcast. I don't know if I was an inspiration at all to him in faith and healthcare, but he started his own podcast newsletters. I've just been amazed again, like Kayla, how in the world do these students fit this in? But they are, with our help and guidance of our regional directors and campus advisors there in Orlando. This student group is making a great impact not only on their school, but also on the allopathic school at the University of Central Florida, not very far away.
So the impact for the future, George, by us investing in these students, we are entrusting to them what God entrusted to us. So 388 schools across the United States and we're shooting for 400 this year.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: That's a wonderful goal. I'm always excited to get a monthly report from Bill Reichard's team with Campus Community Ministries and to see those numbers where we're at with student groups and also community groups and seeing how they have grown over the course of the year. Not to overlook the side by side ministry, it has really blossomed this year.
[00:18:41] Speaker A: Under Rebecca Layman's leadership and a wonderful team there, so dedicated to supporting their husbands, but far more than that, to supporting each other.
Nearly 100 side by side chapters across the country. It's pretty phenomenal.
[00:18:56] Speaker B: That is phenomenal for sure. Well, each week the senior leadership team gets together on Tuesdays for a time to reflect and celebrate at God's blessings.
We roll up our sleeves and work on difficult tasks that God gives us to work on.
And it's exciting as we dream about the future, thinking about what the new year might look like and the ministry opportunities that CMDA has in the coming year.
What do you hope we get to focus on this coming year?
[00:19:28] Speaker A: Well, let me answer in terms of the framework that our listeners may remember talking about in the past, the case for making the case for cmda, for bringing the hope and healing of Christ to the world. Casc. So let me answer that using the CASC framework and C is for community. And our regional directors and Bill Reichert, whom you mentioned, are looking in each of our four regions to start two or three new community chapters. These are chapters, fellowships, if you will, gatherings of healthcare professionals who are in practice and many of them are near a medical school or dental school and so they involve students and trainees as well. But wanting to grow that big people ministry among those who are in practice, looking to strengthen the local councils that we have in place. We now have a scorecard that's been developed over the last 24 months and applying that scorecard to the local ministries where we have a witness already. But making those councils stronger is bill and the RD's goal in terms of advocacy. Dr. Jeff Barrows, who retired this year, and Dr. Brick Lance, one of our board members who's been serving for years, took his place. But Jeff continued on and has recorded and we are producing the third part of our Standing Strong series.
The first was Standing Strong with the church, Standing Strong in training. And now Jeff has recorded and we hope to premiere. We plan to premiere our national convention in April. Standing Strong in Practice. And this again is for practicing healthcare professionals to have influence over their peers, their staff, their institutions on very key issues. Many would say they're the controversial issues of our day.
When I listen to my podcast that I like to listen to all these issues even on non healthcare, non medical programs keep coming up. Bioethical issues on sexuality, on abortion, beginning of life, end of life. So Jeff recorded that and we're going to be pushing that out in 2026.
Many different opportunities, George that we're looking forward to. Covid impact on our short term mission teams.
It seems to be now historical.
Yes, praise God that we're back to where we were before COVID and lots of teams. Whether it's working with a team to meet needs of patients or going in to train, lots of opportunities. And then what I'm really excited about, one of our big emphases for 2026 in the arena of equipping, elevating our members, our constituents. Christian Witness in healthcare is a program called Sailing Process Witness Training. We've already been working on it for the last year, year and a half. Our Senior Vice President Dr. Bill Griffin is spearheading that effort.
Great champion for that effort.
[00:22:23] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:22:23] Speaker A: And so we have more training of trainers to teach that and we have several sites in the spring. But wanting to equip in this on site training that's over the course of a day and a half.
Anyone who wants their Christian witness to become more prominent and take first place. This is a training that's gone around the world, started in the US in the 90s and it's now back and a much more robust training. Well done.
So we're grateful for our global partners who've helped make this program even more robust. It's back in America and the rest of the world is praying for us. Cmdaus as we're training our members.
[00:23:11] Speaker C: Applications are now open for the CMDA Mentoring Academy, a year long journey designed to help Christian healthcare professionals grow spiritually, professionally and personally through one on one mentoring and blended learning.
The program runs April 2026 to April 2027, launching at the CMDA National Convention with about 44 hours of in person, virtual and self study components.
Eligible applicants include physicians, dentists and advanced practice providers who desire to grow as disciple makers.
The Application deadline is December 31, 2025.
Learn more and
[email protected] applicants.
[00:24:02] Speaker B: Mike, I love how you've helped us take the breadth of CMDA and bring it down to manageably understanding the case for cmda. It really encapsulates what we do and it's easy to communicate about these aspects of cmda. Looking at that, it takes an awful lot to carry out all those ministries.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: Yes, it does.
[00:24:24] Speaker B: And I just think so much of our donors and members out there who generously invest their time and their resources, share with us a little bit how they could be involved in helping CMDA with their support and prayers to ignite and continue what God has called us to do.
[00:24:46] Speaker A: Well, my favorite way to think about this is one of my board members about four or five years ago asked me the question, what do you think CMDA should do? What would you do if resources weren't the issue? You know what would be? A dream, a vision. And so a couple things have come to mind. Number one is those schools. 388 schools adding community ministries.
We have four regional directors. They are so stretched, George.
[00:25:14] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely.
[00:25:16] Speaker A: And they can't possibly manage all of these schools and all this. So if we had more resources, Bill Reichert and the RDS would hire associate regional directors to help them manage these regions, which on average are 13 states and probably 4,000 to 6,000 members and 40, 50, 60 schools.
And so we would be able to have more people out there raising up Christians in healthcare in these places.
Also, I actually have doctors who are experts in areas where we are the tip of the spear. The battles we're fighting, in particular the transgender moment that we're dealing with, which we now like to say our preference for the phrase is sex, rejecting procedures.
And we have specialists who are positioned, psychiatrists, pediatricians, obgyns, who are positioned to come on board and help us.
But as of now, George, we need more resources to be able to bring those people on to help us fight those battles. We have to be stewards of the resources God gives to us and entrusts us with. If he entrusts us with more resources and our donors come to the plate, then we will put others to work who are ready, who have told me and told Bricklance we're ready to come on board. How can we help CMDA fight these battles? So those are a couple things in 2026 that come to mind. In addition, the sailing process, witness training, Bill Griffin.
Bill Griffin's doing a great job. But, you know, to put on these trainings, it requires administrative help to coordinate. And so we need help there to put on those programs.
[00:26:59] Speaker B: I think that's a great vision for where donors and members can be involved in this upcoming year. They can join us in praying about that. Rose and I have been around CMDA for 30 years, very long time. And as we reflect, you know, I'm sitting here reflecting as you're speaking, I'm remembering four regional directors from back in those days, and not nearly the number of campuses and the breadth of campus ministries as we have today.
And we've just sort of stayed steady and kept pouring another can of water in the soup and trying to keep making it. And it's getting pretty thin. And it's time to grow them, to have the impact that we all desire, transform lives, coming to Christ in healthcare, going out, transforming their communities. And so it's a wonderful vision and opportunity for us.
[00:27:52] Speaker A: And I should not be remiss, George. I mean, I heard David Stevens say this over and over again. The strength of CMDA is our volunteers. I mean, we have volunteers across more than 2,000 volunteers. Especially when you think about those campus ministries, campus advisors, faculty advisors, many, almost all of the schools are being led by volunteers. So we are so grateful for those who are investing and also giving resources, but investing their time in the next generation.
[00:28:20] Speaker B: Yes. And the area directors and the local campus staff members that care and shepherd Those students on those campuses. You're so right.
We want to recognize the investment that they have made to help fulfill the mission of CMDA out on the front lines. And so that's exciting and definitely something for us to continue to work towards. Well, I am sure we've been talking a little vision here for a while. I'm sure we face some challenges in 25 that only God could help us navigate.
What comes to your mind and how did the organization, with God's help, navigate some of those challenges?
[00:29:00] Speaker A: Well, one of our challenges, very painful and literally tearful closing down of the Nicaragua ministry, which has been really a flagship, flagship for global health outreach over the years. And just our problem with customs and with Nicaraguan government requirements. We finally had, with a couple, three teams in a row, cancel at the last second.
We had Rolando there, very faithful staff. And so we basically had to close down that ministry, which was painful. And of course, Dr. Trish Burgess looked for other places in the Caribbean, Central America, South America to do ministry similar to that. But that was a great challenge. And we just have to look that God in his time, God willing, will reopen that country. But for the time being, we're looking elsewhere.
The other challenge, George, has to do with leadership. I mean, the most critical aspect of my job is making sure that we are well led in those four pillars of community, advocacy, service and equipping. And we had two of those pillars where we had the leaders retire, or as I mentioned earlier, Bert Jones going to Asbury. And so that was a challenge. But we just saw God at work in preparing their successors. And in particular, what both of these successors had in common is they knew CMDA very well because they both served on the board.
I mentioned Dr. John Pierce coming on as a vice president of Missions and medical education, and Dr. Brick Lance coming on board to succeed Dr. Jeff Barrows as Vice President of Advocacy and Bioethics. And Brick brings a great deal of energy, freshly trained in bioethics. And so I'm just so grateful how God is our recruiter, if you will, and has brought these wonderful leaders from. From the board. I'm just grateful to the board for its support and now for these two men for filling those leadership positions.
[00:31:08] Speaker B: We have to remind ourselves this is God's ministry. He loves it much deeper than we do. And all of us love it. We've met a lot of people, we've seen a lot of lives transformed.
We've been able to be a part of one another's lives in special ways. And yet God loves it more deeply than we do. So we whenever somebody resigns or leaves, I'll never forget I was resigning from a job early in my career and leaving and my boss looked at me, said, well, that's good news. I was like, good news? Were you hoping I was going to leave? He said, no, I just know God is moving you to something better and I know he has something better in store for us.
[00:31:52] Speaker A: What a great attitude.
[00:31:53] Speaker B: And I've carried that with me over the years and really believe that good people have God has transplanted them to where he can use them in more special ways in different stages of life.
[00:32:04] Speaker A: And going back to Psalm 121, it says he doesn't need to sleep. He who watches over you does not slumber you. And I need sleep. But he's working 247 on our behalf.
[00:32:14] Speaker B: Yes, absolutely. Thank the Lord. Well, as we think about wrapping up here our time together and we think about 2026, what would be something you would leave our listeners with today as they begin a new year? New beginnings are great.
It's a great time. We get to start every day over and only once a year do we get to start the new year over, refocused and have a new vision for what God has in store.
[00:32:44] Speaker A: Well, a couple of things I'd certainly encourage our audience to to inquire. Check out our website on where a training, one of these sailing process witness trainings might be coming close to them. Because I think this is just even if I've seen students sit in this training at the Louisville conference where we had the training and friends of mine who sat through it who have been for 20, 25 years practicing integration of faith into healthcare veterans. But they came out saying, I learned so much.
I learned so much in this training. It just tells me that I don't care how long you've been in practice, being in a setting with other Christ followers in healthcare and learning from them, how they introduce patients and staff and peers to Christ is such a learning experience. So that's number one.
Number two, an emphasis, George, over the last few months that we've been internally talking about is how can CMDA and specifically our members who are parts of local churches, come alongside their pastors and their lay leaders and help empower them on these issues, these issues of our day, whether it's sexuality, whether it's abortion or end of life care or infertility. So many different issues that parishioners are dealing with. But how can we equip our members to be they're in that church Many of them are leaders in their church on elder boards. How can we equip them and encourage them to get to empower the church to be the church?
And then last, last of all, I want to just challenge our audience that my mantra is that every member of CMDA is a mentor. And we talk a lot about mentoring and discipling. And we have a commission for the last two or three years headed up by Dr. Francis Noutha Lapati on mentoring and discipleship. But I want to encourage our listeners who right now, number one, are you receiving mentoring from? Because you never lose that need to be mentored by those ahead of you, wherever stage in your healthcare career that you are.
And then who, what two or three individuals are you investing in so that you can multiply yourselves, much like Andy Lamb and Jim Smith have multiplied over the decade.
Who can you identify right now that you are mentoring and discipling in health care so that they can have maximum impact wherever they are, whatever stage, and if you just make yourself available. I mean, I'm not in clinical practice now, I'm not in a medical school, but I've been able to find two or three students and residents. One just finished his family medicine residency that I have been mentoring now over the last several years. And it is one of the highlights of my life, George, to continue mentoring. So that's as we look to 2026. Who does God want me to invest in this year?
[00:35:37] Speaker B: Right. And how empowering that is to the individual that you're investing in. You're empowering them to take what they've been taught and what they've heard and to deliver it. And in today's culture, I think one of the things I observe is that it takes an army of brave individuals, I think being brave today to speak up, whether it's outside of healthcare or in healthcare, to speak up about the gospel and about true transformation in Christ.
[00:36:11] Speaker A: Amen.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: So I love the mantra of trying to be either mentoring and being mentored ourselves.
[00:36:19] Speaker A: And we have resources. Cmda.org mentor if you just go there, you'll find that we have abundant resources to use all across the map. No matter where you are. What's your discipline in healthcare that will help you become a more effective mentor?
[00:36:35] Speaker B: Well, Mike, it's been great to be with you today and looking forward to this exciting year ahead of us.
We're with God's help, going to overcome other challenges, I'm sure just the world we live in. We're going to face new challenges, but it's great to know that we have this wonderful army of Christians in healthcare around the country and around the globe through icmda. Champion us all on one another on and bearing one another's burdens and just praying us forward, holding our arms up when the battle gets tough.
[00:37:10] Speaker A: And George, this is New Year's Day podcast, right?
[00:37:12] Speaker B: Absolutely.
[00:37:13] Speaker A: And the early bird rate for registration for a national convention, it ends I think around January14.
So I want to encourage your listeners to sign up. Dr. Peter Saunders is one of our of ICMDA is going to talk to us about what God is doing globally. Lots of other John Stonestreet's going to be there. Carl Truman, our Bible teacher, lots of great stuff. So I want to encourage you, go to CMDA.org events and get yourself registered for the 2026 National Convention.
[00:37:40] Speaker B: And you mentioned Dr. Carl Truman being with us on the 10th of January.
He's going to be with us. A special webinar that we've put together on Giving Tuesday back in December to say thank you to the many donors of CMDA and members and others are certainly invited to join us for that day. But it would be a great view of what Dr. Truman is going to bring to us.
[00:38:09] Speaker A: Remind me how our audience can sign up.
[00:38:11] Speaker B: For sure they can contact
[email protected] and just say they want to be a part of that. We'll send them a link to the Zoom account to sign up and they'll be able to.
[00:38:24] Speaker A: And I know that he's going to be talking about his new book coming out in April, the Desecration of man, something that he's really focused on, I think the last 18, 24 months of his life. So his new book is coming out and he will be our Bible teacher right after that book release, but he will be giving us a preview of that topic.
[00:38:42] Speaker B: So if I take what we've just said in the last minute, we're basically telling all of our listeners, get engaged. Don't sit on the sideline. There's a place for you. Come to the national convention, come to one of our regional events, go to our website and look at the resources that God has available to help equip you to be a voice in your church, to help mentor, to be mentored. And so I really hope in the new year that all of this will just do a wonderful work for God.
[00:39:12] Speaker A: And I like to finish up a lot of my episodes. Those of you who have listened for a while know that one of my favorite verses to encourage you with is 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 verses 11 and 12 so we at CMDA keep on praying, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.
Then the name of our Lord Jesus in 2026 will be honored because of the way you live, and you will be honored along with Him. What a privilege. This is all made possible because of the grace of our God and Lord Jesus Christ. Thanks George for leading us in this conversation today, January 1st.
[00:39:49] Speaker B: Thank.
[00:40:01] Speaker A: You.
