Dr. Matthew Sleeth, who rejected a lucrative medical career and materialistic lifestyle for environmental activism, will speak about that transition at Vanderbilt University.
Sleeth will speak at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 6, in Benton Chapel on the Vanderbilt campus. The event, sponsored by the Ecology and Spirituality study group of Vanderbilt’s Center for the Study of Religion and Culture, is free and the public is invited.
Sleeth details his journey in Serve God, Save the Planet, published by Zondervan Publishing Company in April. Five years ago, he lived with his family in a big house, had two luxury cars and many material possessions. As chief of the medical staff at a large hospital, Sleeth was living the American dream—until he began to think that something was terribly wrong. As he saw patient after patient suffering from cancer, asthma and other chronic diseases, he began to understand that the earth and its inhabitants were in trouble. Feeling helpless, he turned to his faith for guidance. He discovered how the scriptural lessons of personal responsibility, simplicity and stewardship could be applied to modern life. The Sleeths have since sold their big home and given away more than half of what they once owned.
“Although I believed in the ‘environmental cause’ before I accepted Christ as my savior, my belief did not translate into action,” Sleeth writes. “After I became a Christian, I went through a process of examining my life, and I found it was filled with sin and hypocrisy. I decided to conduct an assessment and figure out a rough estimate of the actual environmental impact by my family. This honest inventory indicated what the Christian faith required of me.”
In Serve God, Save the Planet, Sleeth shares the joy of adopting a less materialistic lifestyle, and reveals what was easy and what was hard about the changes his family has made.
For more information on Sleeth and Serve God, Save the Planet, go to http://servegodsavetheplanet.org/?page_id=2.
Media Contact: Jim Patterson, (615) 322-NEWS
jim.patterson@vanderbilt.edu