I started in medical practice in the tiny hamlet of Bryson City, NC (pop. then of 900) in 1981. A tiny seed planted in my heart at a small Presbyterian church there, to become salt and light, has, to my utter amazement and astonishment now spread to well over 100,000 healthcare professionals in over 120 countries around the world. Here’s a brief history of what God accomplished in and though one family physician.

Then, in late 1994, a man who would become my BFF, William “Bill” Carr Peel, DMin (who along with Evangelist Billy Graham are both blood relatives of mine and are BOTH 9th cousins once removed — how cool is that!), who was the founding director of the Paul Tournier Institute (an educational endeavor of CMDA to provide unique resources for Christian doctors) came to Kissimmee for a week. Bill used his incredible gifts and talents to put together the first draft of a teaching program for Christian healthcare professionals on how they could practically incorporate their spiritual faith into their health profession everyday.

The initial program was called “The Saline Solution: Sharing Christ in a Busy Practice“  and was funded, published, and distributed by the Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA) in the U.S., with the incredible support of CMDA’s then leadership, CEO David Stevens, MD, and COO Gene Rudd, MD.

Our first trial workshop was at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Mountain Retreat, NC, just outside of Asheville. The conference registration quickly filled, but quite a number of health professionals who could not register traveled long distances, even though “there was no room in the Inn,) in the hopes of somehow getting in. It created a standing (or sitting) room only weekend. The atmosphere was electric. The conference was organized and expertly administered by CMDA staff member, Wayne Sanders, a huge fan and proponent of the early Saline Solution conferences. In attendance was a (then) young dentist, Bill Griffin, DDS, (see more about “Griff” below).

We were off and running. In over five years, Bill and I traveled across the U.S. to teach the materials to tens of thousands of healthcare professionals. At times we were teaching one to two weekend conferences a month to upwards of 500 health professionals. We also traveled to and taught in England, China, and Hungary.

What an amazing and exciting five years that was. The conference in Budapest, was organized by an Emergency Department physician from the U.S., Bob Snyder, MD (see more about Bob below). Physicians from Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Hungary attended. Also in attendance was a (then) young Hungarian family physician, Gábor Györi, MD (see more about Gábor below).

In 2000, as I was preparing to start a stent as Vice President and Physician in Residence at Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, and Bill, who was co-pastoring a church in Dallas, and was soon to become the founding Executive Director of the Center for Faith and Work at LeTourneau University in Dallas, updated and converted The Saline Solution into a video course, also titled, “The Saline Solution: Sharing Christ in a Busy Practice.” The video course had a new leader and participant guides. It continued to enjoy wide distribution and acceptance not only in the U.S., but in locations around the world.

While in our new positions, Bill and I published several books and a video curriculum for Christian men and women in the business world:

• Going Public with Your Faith: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work (book)
• Workplace Grace: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work (book)
• Workplace Grace Participant’s Guide: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work (video curriculum)
• Workplace Grace: Becoming a Spiritual Influence at Work (LeTourneau 120th Birthday Edition)

At the same time, two friends, Bob Snyder, MD, from the U.S., and Gábor Györi, MD, from Hungary (see above), developed IHS Global with a goal of spreading “The Saline Solution” in an international format around the world and is now available as Saline Process Online Training (SPOT).

Dr. Snyder and Györi developed “The Saline Process” and formed the International Saline Partnership with nine other Christian healthcare organizations: Healthcare Christian Fellowship International (HCFI), Nurses Christian Fellowship International (NCFI),  International Christian Medical and Dental Associations (ICMDA), Christian Medical Fellowship – United Kingdom (CMF), Christian Medical and Dental Fellowship of Australia (CMDFA), Evangelical Medical Fellowship of India (EMFI), Health Outreach to the Middle East (HOME), Ukraine Medical Outreach (UMO), and IHS Hungary.

In 2014, “The Saline Solution” was updated in the U.S. with a new video series and new leader and participant guides and published as “Grace Prescriptions: Learning to Share Your Faith in Your Practice.”

By 2020, it was estimated that “The Saline Solution” and “Grace Prescriptions” conferences and small group curricula had been attended by over 65,000 healthcare professionals, primarily in North America. By 2024, it was estimated The Saline Process had been introduced into 129 countries to over 50,000 healthcare professionals.

In 2020, CMDA and Dr. Bill Griffin (see above), transformed “The Saline Solution” and “Grace Prescriptions” into a new video resource for health professionals, which along with study guides, was called “Faith Prescriptions.” It was designed to equip healthcare professionals to share the love of Christ with their patients and colleagues. The program was launched in 2021 in conjunction with CMDA’s National Convention, with the first 10 videos becoming accessible through the CMDA Learning Center for members. I was especially pleased to see so many “Saline Solution” and “Grace Prescriptions” graduates teaching many of these videos.

In 2024, a personal prayer of mine for a couple of decades was answered when CMDA and IHS joined forces to bring the International Saline Process into the U.S. and North America. CMDA and IHS co-hosted a Saline Process Witness Training (SPWT) workshop in Louisville, Kentucky on November 6-7, 2024, as a pre-conference workshop before the annual Global Mission Health Conference in Louisville, KY, held at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. It was a rousing success.

You can hear more about more about the history described above and about the recent ground-breaking conference in a CMDA podcast, “Saline Process Witness Training.” Drs. Griffin (from CMDA) and Györi (from IHS), along with Mayo gastroenterologist and medical missionary, Dr. Mark Topazian, discuss this exciting partnership and its future goals with CMDA CEO Dr. Mike Chupp.

I am so very grateful to the Lord, who used His Word, His Spirit, and His people to spark a small flame in my heart, spirit, and soul, to become salt and light with my patients in a small town of 900 souls in the Smoky Mountains in 1981 has now spread to 129 countries and many tens of thousands of health professionals (many of whom will have over 5,000 patients interactions each year) spread across 6 continents around the globe.

Jesus taught, in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” To Him be the praise, and honor, and glory for all He has done in and through me. I’m grateful to have been able to join so very many others in joining the Great Physician in His work of spreading His Good News via my beloved profession.

• The “Glory belongs to God, whose power is at work in us. By this power He can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20-21.
• “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name give glory.” Psalm 115:1.
• “So … whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31.
• “To God be the glory forever and ever! Amen!” Galatians 1:5.

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