Medical Dental Fellowship promotes missions at Birmingham gathering

More than 450 Baptist physicians and dentists gathered at the Wynfrey Hotel in Birmingham recently for the 26th annual meeting of the Baptist Medical Dental Fellowship (BMDF).
   
James D. Williams, executive director of BMDF said this is the fourth time the group has held their meeting in Birmingham. “We meet in various cities, but our members really like coming to Birmingham,” he said. “They especially enjoy the Wynfrey and the Galleria.”
   
Organized in 1977, this group of more than 1,800 medical professionals and students has members from 43 states and several countries. The BMDF national headquarters are in Memphis, but the annual meeting is held in various cities around the southeast every spring. The theme of this year’s meeting, held March 27–30, was “Look at the Nations and Be Utterly Amazed” taken from Habakkuk 1:5.
    
“Over 1,000 medical volunteers were in 54 countries of the world last year,” Williams said. “The theme reflects the international work we’re doing and what God’s doing. It’s testimony to what medical missions is doing to fulfill the Great Commission.”
   
Doctors, nurses, dentists, missionaries, pastors and theologians spoke on topics from overseas health insurance to spirituality in medicine during the weekend-long conference.
   
Among the special presentations was a talk on the “Jesus” Film and its impact on missions by Paul Eshleman, a message from Calvin Miller on the importance of servant hood and a report on missions from International Mission Board president Jerry Rankin.
   
Dr. Jerry M. Graham, a general practitioner from Huntsville, who has been a BMDF member for 15 years, said being involved with the organization helps him personally in his career and as he does missions work. 
   
“I enjoy fellowship with giants of the Baptist faith,” Graham said. “As well as being an educational experience it’s a great encouragement to me to see what other Christian physicians are doing.”
   
Graham has been on medical missions trips to Venezuela, Brazil, Ukraine and, most recently, Haiti. He was selected to serve on the BMDF board and attended his first board meeting this year.
   
“I’m learning how the organization is set up and experiencing the business aspect of it,” he said. “It’s a long term commitment, but it’s such a worthy organization.”
   
During the meeting, BMDF held a memorial to honor the life and missions work of Dr. Martha Myers, one of three Southern Baptist Inter-national Mission Board workers killed Dec. 30 at the Baptist Hospital in Yemen. Myers was a physician and member of BMDF.
   
“Martha was a shining light in terms of medical missions commitment, and her death impacted so many of our members,” Williams said. “She spoke at our annual meetings when she was in the country. Forty-three BMDF members went across the years to help volunteer in the Yemen hospital where she worked. Two of our members had just helped her last May.”
   
Williams said another highlight of the meeting was the unveiling of “Volunteer Medical Missions: A Sourcebook,” a manual for individuals and churches who are interested in organizing and implementing medical missions. “This will be helpful for those who want to start a faith-based clinic in their community or take a group from their church overseas to conduct a medical missions trip,” he said.
    
Also a new promotional compact disc describing BMDF was featured and distributed at the annual
meeting.