NEWS FEATURE: Pediatrician in the Pulpit: For Pastor, Medicine, Religion Go Hand in Hand

c. 2003 Religion News Service BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ On Sunday morning, the pediatrician in the pulpit of Northside Church of God could hardly avoid working medical references into his sermon. Holding up a baby doll, he compared the growing child to the maturing of a church. “We, the body of Christ, are no longer infants,” […]

c. 2003 Religion News Service

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. _ On Sunday morning, the pediatrician in the pulpit of Northside Church of God could hardly avoid working medical references into his sermon.

Holding up a baby doll, he compared the growing child to the maturing of a church. “We, the body of Christ, are no longer infants,” said Dr. Derrol Dawkins, pacing in front of a congregation of 65 people and speaking in a booming voice. “We should not have to have someone spoon-feed us.”


Dawkins, owner of Metro Pediatrics since 1984 and pastor of Northside Church of God since 1990, preaches like he practices medicine _ with lots of energy.

On a recent Monday, he had a real, screaming baby in his arms: 2-year-old Angel Walker, who had the flu. She covered her ears and yelled at the top of her lungs as soon as Dawkins walked into the examination room. Dozens of sick patients sat in a lobby waiting area decorated with a painting of Noah’s Ark.

“It’s flu season, and usually at this time of year I am on skates,” Dawkins said.

Dawkins could use a pair of skates to keep up with his dual commitments as pastor and physician. His wife, Patricia, helps him balance his schedule. On Sundays, he’s preaching at his church. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, off days from the office, it’s not uncommon for him to be conducting funerals for his congregation. “Most times they will arrange the funeral on a Wednesday or Saturday and we’ll work things out,” he said.

Sometimes, though, he has been known to leave his doctor’s office and head straight for the cemetery. “Many times I’ve had to leave the office and go to a graveside,” Dawkins said.

“I don’t know how he does it,” said Vanessa Walker, who has four children, including Angel, who are patients of Dawkins.

“It’s been amazing,” said Dr. Susanne Matthews, who has worked as a medical partner with Dawkins at Metro Pediatrics since 1991. “He has to be a compassionate listener. He has to do that in both jobs.”


Both Dawkins and Matthews view their pediatric work as ministry, not just medicine.

“He’s prayed with people,” said Matthews, a member of Sixth Avenue Baptist Church. “He doesn’t force himself on anybody. He tends to be able to sense when they need to.”

Dawkins said he feels at ease praying with people if they need it. The pastor and the physician are always in the room at the same time. “The hats are interchangeable,” he said.

“We don’t try to proselytize,” Dawkins said. “We don’t make a concerted effort to say, `Now you need to come to my church.”’

Dawkins has been preaching since the late 1970s and practicing medicine since he trained at Children’s Hospital during his pediatric internship and residency in 1980-83. He was chief resident at Children’s in 1983-84, when he opened Metro Pediatrics.

Dawkins graduated with a biology degree from Northwestern University and then from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Medicine in 1980.

But for Dawkins, 49, being a pastor has always been as important as practicing medicine.


“They kind of went hand in hand,” he said. “I enjoy doing both and God has equipped me to do both. I really love both.”

Most people who meet him as a pastor are surprised to learn he’s also a pediatrician; most who see him as a doctor have the same reaction when they learn he’s a pastor.

“It kind of raises eyebrows when I have conversations with people,” Dawkins said.

It also leads to unusual evolving relationships with congregants and patients. He may care for children whose weddings he later celebrates and who in turn have children who come in for medical care.

Once Dawkins cared for a baby who died as an infant and the parents asked him to perform the funeral.

“He understands the moral issues and the medical issues,” Matthews said. “It’s a gift.”

Dawkins said he feels privileged that God lets him be both doctor and pastor. “He will equip you to do whatever he’s called you to do,” Dawkins said.

DEA END GARRISON

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