Before I re-entered the full-time preaching ministry in October 2012, I was deeply engaged in thinking, reading, and writing about bioethics. For several years I had been living with one foot in the local church—preaching and pastoring—and the other foot in the Christian academy—pursuing my Master of Divinity and working for the seminary at which I was studying.
My seminary studies introduced me to bioethics and also spurred my passion for exploring it theologically. I delivered a paper on nanotechnology, wrote another on cognitive enhancement, became a member of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, and attended their annual conferences. . .
Since then, however, my attention to bioethics has waned. So many other matters—the constant demands of pastoral care, leading a ministry staff, administrating programs and events, and weekly preaching, among others—have seemed more urgent, more necessary to the work I am called to do. My membership with CBHD lapsed. The bioethics books on my shelf have remained unread. My intention to educate church members about bioethics has gone unrealized. So, when the invitation came to write this piece I was surprised and, frankly, unprepared. My immediate thought was, “What on earth can I write about and not seem like a totally uninformed fool?” But it occurred to me that many pastors probably find it difficult, like I now do, to integrate bioethical education into the daily, monthly, and yearly work of local church leadership.
