Health, Healing, and Shalom:: Frontiers and Challenges for Christian Healthcare Missions

Ever since Jesus's proclamation in word and deed as the Great Physician, his followers in mission have assumed that salvation and health are intertwined. Yet for every age, Christians need to examine how they can best announce the gospel message of God's healing in word and deed in their own context. In our era, we are often simultaneously grateful for modern medicine and frustrated by its inability to care for the whole person in effective, affordable ways.In this edited volume, authors with an interest in health missions from a wide variety of experiences and disciplines examine health and healing through the theological lens of shalom. This word, often translated "peace," names a much more complex understanding of human well-being as right relationships with one another, with God, and with creation. Reading various aspects of healthcare missions through these glasses not only yields much-needed correctives to current practice but also exposes the Spirit's invitation to participate in God's ongoing work of tending, caring, and healing our broken world. Review Over the past decade we have seen a consistent increase in the number of next generation medical disciples. One of the challenges we face with equipping this next generation is the need for a well-written practical theology for healthcare missions. Given the recent dramatic changes in the healthcare landscape, the growing interest among Christian medical students and residents for this type of work, and the lack of published resources, we have been eagerly awaiting the release of Health, Healing, and Shalom. Steve Noblett