Dr. Tom Blee had a great life and a concern for those about whom few others were concerned. As a trauma surgeon, he knew how to heal the bodies of the broken people who entered the ER, but he needed more than surgical skills to see them fully healed. That’s where John Turnipseed enters the story. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves! This is a story of a man ruined in the midst of seeking to see others rebuilt. It is a story of redemption and it is a story of ministry. It is a story of friendship and it is a demonstration of the Gospel in the life of a man who some might be tempted to see as a savior, who knows he just a surgeon and sinner equally in need of grace.
Tom Blee’s transparency is rare and his faith strengthened in the crucible of great suffering. But what comes through is his joy and gratitude to God and delight in seeing others be healed.
My conversation with Dr. Blee is going to provoke you to consider how the stories of others influence and are influenced by your own story. It will also provoke you to wonder how God might be calling you into an alliance with other Christians in order that together, you might make the world tangibly different.
And, if you’re a donor to Faith Radio, this is a story you’ll treasure. In 2014, Neil Stavem interviewed John Turnipseed and he also appeared on FR’s Real Recovery. Neil had him back on in December 2015 and Dr. Tom Blee heard that broadcast. Tom connected with John Turnipseed and together they forged the LifeTeamAlliance. Here are two men, who, from a worldly point of view, couldn’t be more different, but who, in Christ share a unity of spirit and bond of peace that’s making the world different.
Check out Tom Blee’s book, How to Save a Surgeon, forward by John Turnipseed.