CCHFtalk

Community Health as Community Development | Rev. Dr. James Brooks Recorded live at the 2025 CCHF Conference, this workshop with Rev. Dr. James Brooks explores how healthcare and community development intersect in Lawndale. Through the story of Lawndale Christian Health Center, discover how addressing food deserts, strengthening local partnerships, and engaging churches and schools are reshaping what it means to pursue whole-community health. Dr. Brooks shares both the challenges and the triumphs of this journey, offering inspiring stories of resilience, collaboration, and faith at work in the heart of Chicago. Tune in to hear how Lawndale is redefining healthcare—not just as clinical care, but as a movement toward a healthier, more connected community. _________________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

Interview with Bob Mason of Medical Strategic Network In this episode of CCHFTalk's Strategic Partnerships Series, Steve Noblett sits down with longtime friend and partner Bob Mason, Executive Director of the Medical Strategic Network (MSN). Through the well-known METS conferences and student preceptorships, MSN has equipped thousands of healthcare professionals and students to integrate spiritual care into patient care in ethical and practical ways. Bob shares the inspiring story behind MSN's founding, the vision of whole-person care, and how spiritual health conversations can renew both patients and providers. He highlights the transformative impact of training—on reducing burnout, shaping residency paths, and reawakening healthcare workers to the call of compassion at the heart of medicine. Listeners will also hear stories of clinics and students who have been equipped through MSN programs, as well as practical ways CCHF clinics can partner with MSN to strengthen their culture of faith-informed care. Visit medsn.org to learn more. _______________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

From Conception to Community: Legacy Interview with Dr. Lance Loberg In this special legacy interview, Dr. Lance Loberg takes us back to the origins of the Christian Community Health Fellowship—when it was just an idea sparked by a medical student's research project and a shared vision with co-founder H Spees. From his early encounters with Dr. John Perkins during the civil rights era, to shaping CCHF's name, motto, and first publications, Dr. Loberg shares how faith, medicine, and community development came together in the late 1970s to launch a national movement. Along the way, he reflects on decades of serving in community and migrant health centers, working with Native American tribes, and providing care in county jails. This conversation is a living link to CCHF's roots and a challenge to keep "upholding the vision" of living out the gospel through healthcare with the poor. _______________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

🎧 Episode Title: "Mainstreaming Addiction Medicine in Primary Care" Guest: Dr. Zach Sartor, Faculty Physician, Waco Family Medicine What happens when addiction treatment becomes a normal part of everyday primary care—especially in places where specialty services are out of reach? In this episode, Dr. Zach Sartor of Waco Family Medicine shares how their Primary Care Addiction Medicine (PCAM) team is reshaping care for patients struggling with substance use. From team dynamics to clinical workflows to patient impact, you'll hear practical insights on integrating addiction medicine into the heart of primary care—especially in rural and underserved communities facing the brunt of the overdose crisis. _______________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

In this special episode of CCHFTalk, we sit down with Grace Tazelaar—nurse, mentor, missionary, and lifelong advocate for Christ-centered healthcare—for a moving legacy interview titled "Champion of Missionary Nursing." Grace's journey into nursing began early, inspired as a child by a visiting missionary nurse who shared stories of caring for the sick and proclaiming the Good News in underserved regions. That spark turned into a calling that shaped her remarkable career—one rooted in compassion, courage, and unwavering faith. Over the years, Grace has trained nurses at the university level, discipled young professionals through Nurses Christian Fellowship, and served in Uganda with the Luke Society during turbulent and dangerous times. Her heart for the poor led her to the Mississippi Delta, where she joined the team at Cary Christian Center, bringing hope and healing to a deeply underserved community. Grace became involved with Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) in its earliest days. She played a key role in promoting the unique role of nurses in missional healthcare and eventually served on the CCHF board during a pivotal season of transition and growth. Even in retirement, Grace remains active with Health for All Nations, continuing her lifelong commitment to integrating healthcare and gospel witness. Her story is a powerful reminder: the hope of the weak and the poor is built on the foundation of faithful, humble servants like Grace Tazelaar. If you're a nurse—or anyone called to serve Christ through healthcare—you won't want to miss this episode. Grace's life will inspire you to consider your own calling and to pursue a career that is not only clinically excellent but eternally significant. 🙏 Our prayer is that God's Kingdom becomes your pearl of great price—the one thing worth giving your life to. May Grace's story encourage you to live boldly and sacrificially in Jesus' name. 🎙️ Listen now, share it with your friends, and don't forget to like and subscribe. We're here to encourage, equip, and connect you with others who share your passion. Hope to see you at a CCHF event soon! _______________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

Ted Hewson was officially the first executive director of the fledgling organization known as Christian Community Health Fellowship, or CCHF. CCHF was birthed in southern Mississippi around 1980, but it moved to Philadelphia shortly after its first national conference in 1982. Ted was hired as the first director, but he eventually handed off most of those duties and became part of an early team along with his wife, Patty. Patty had served as a nurse at what eventually became Esperanza Health Center in Philadelphia. David and Libby Caes then took over director responsibilities, organizing conferences and serving as editors of the Health and Development newsletter. Ted and Patty are a wealth of stories and history from the earliest days of CCHF. They were gracious enough to meet me at Esperanza on a Sunday afternoon last summer, and here's a recording of our visit together. In its early days, CCHF was small, under the radar, and largely unheard of. Conferences drew just 30 or 40 people, and the organization had no budget. It was run by young men and women who were bivocational at best. But it was a collection of Jesus-loving idealists who believed in the power of the gospel to change not just individuals, but entire systems. More than forty years later, CCHF remains a low-profile community, most at home in neglected neighborhoods, serving under-resourced neighbors. Yet we do it creatively—integrating our faith with our skills and our gifts, and slowly transforming the institution of medicine. At the time of this interview, there are more than 340 Christian clinics serving vulnerable neighbors with excellence and compassion, anchored in the desire to help people find our true Healer, Jesus Christ. Over 2,000,000 unique individuals are part of this CCHF community. We've grown to where we are today because relationships matter. I hope you'll come into relationship with others in the CCHF community—receiving and sharing encouragement, wisdom, and insight—so that we become a movement of medical disciples who faithfully represent Christ and His Kingdom to our patients, in our organizations, and to the broken institution of healthcare in our country. Thanks for listening. I hope you make it to a CCHF conference soon—I'd love to meet you! ~Written by Steve Noblett _______________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

CCHF's new CEO, Dr. Rick Donlon had the second part of the Friday morning plenary session of the 2025 CCHF Conference. This plenary session was recorder on Friday April 11th during the 2025 CCHF Conference in the Cincinnati area. Rick currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) in Memphis, TN., and recently as the Interim Chief Medical Officer at Mercy Community Health Services in Franklin, TN. He also serves part-time as an emergency department physician at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Donlon earned his Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth TX, and his Doctor of Medicine from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans followed by a combined internship and residency in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee in Memphis. He is board-certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and holds an active medical license in Tennessee. Dr. Donlon has co-founded several healthcare initiatives, including Resurrection Health and Christ Community Health Services, which focus on serving low-income populations in the Memphis area. His recent publications include contributions to book chapters on healthcare missions, emphasizing the importance of serving underserved populations. Dr. Donlon is an active member of various professional organizations and community boards, including the Community Advisory Board for the Assisi Foundation. The CCHF Conference is truly unique experience. It is the domestic medical missions conference designed for people who see medicine as a calling, and are committed to missional, faith-driven healthcare here in the United States. Visit CCHF.org to learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship and our yearly national CCHF Conference. We hope you enjoy this podcast, follow, like and share with your friends! ___________________________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/

Dr. Grant Scaroborough of Columbus, GA had the Friday morning plenary session of the 2025 CCHF Conference. This plenary session was recorder on Friday April 11th during the 2025 CCHF Conference in the Cincinnati area. Grant, M.D. Grant currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer Mercy Med of Columbus. A native of Columbus, Dr. Scarborough graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Biology. Immediately following graduation, he spent two years on staff with Young Life in metro-Atlanta. It was during this time that Grant became involved in an outreach effort to the homeless of downtown Atlanta and soon felt called to actively work with and for the underserved around him. After seeking the counsel of several trusted advisors, Grant came to believe that this calling would lead him to practice medicine. Dr. Scarborough earned his medical degree from Mercer Medical School and completed his internal medicine and pediatric residency at the University of Tennessee – Memphis, and finished his Med/Peds residency at the University of Tennessee. In the fall of 2007, Dr. Scarborough returned to Georgia as co-founder of Christ Community Health Services of Augusta. After several years in Augusta, Dr. Scarborough and his family felt the call of the Lord to move to Columbus, GA. As a board certified pediatrician and internal medicine physician, Grant desires to see God glorified through caring for the poor and discipling young medical students to do the same. The CCHF Conference is truly unique experience. It is the domestic medical missions conference designed for people who see medicine as a calling, and are committed to missional, faith-driven healthcare here in the United States. Visit CCHF.org to learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship and our yearly national CCHF Conference. We hope you enjoy this podcast, follow, like and share with your friends! ___________________________________ CCHFTalk is a production of Christian Community Health Fellowship. CCHF's Mission: The mission of Christian Community Health Fellowship is to encourage, engage and equip Christians to live out the gospel through healthcare among the poor and marginalized. CCHF's Vision: We envision a movement of God's people who choose daily to promote healing in marginalized communities in the name of Jesus. To learn more about Christian Community Health Fellowship (CCHF) and how you can get involved please visit our website at CCHF.org. If you see medicine as more than a career choice - as a calling to serve Christ – then these are your people. Yearly we host the CCHF Conference where hundreds of individuals and organizations join together to network, learn, and worship. Visit https://www.cchfconference.org/ for full schedule, details, & to register! Subscribe & Follow CCHF: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healthfellowship/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cchfconnect X (Twitter): https://x.com/cchf Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CCHF_HealthFellowship LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cchf-christian-community-health-fellowship-/ CCHF Website: https://www.cchf.org/ CCHF Conference: https://www.cchfconference.org/