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CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky.— “How does God speak to you in your life?” asked Dr. Matthew Sleeth, former emergency room physician, at a Kentucky Heartland Institute on Public Policy (KHIPP) event at Campbellsville University recently.

Answers from the audience varied from sports, experiences, God’s Word, music and relationships, but Sleeth found nature to be his window to God’s voice.

While on vacation near the Gulf of Mexico, Sleeth told his wife the biggest problem in the world is that the world is dying. “I say this because of the changes I’ve seen in the world in my own life.”

At the time Sleeth discovered this problem, he did not have religion in his life so he didn’t know what to do about the issue. It was then that he read Matthew 7:1, which is similar to Ghandi’s quote “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”

Sleeth said, “We’re capable of spotting flaws in others, yet we fail to recognize our own mistakes.” It was then that he decided to change his lifestyle.

“God calls us to make radical change and gives us the power to make radical change,” he said.

Through new awareness, Sleeth developed a theology on trees as a symbol of the Lord. He said, “If there’s a vine, a bush or a tree, God is there. Psalm 1 says ‘a righteous person is like a tree.’ Trees appear over one thousand times in the Bible.”

This theology is also seen through the life of Christ. “Christ was born and he became a carpenter. After He was raised from the dead, he was mistaken as a gardener… this was not a mistake.”

Sleeth encourages students to help the environment by cleaning up and by planting trees. He said a tree is “the only gift to give that can keep growing bigger, better and more beautiful.”

While on campus, Sleeth toured Clay Hill Memorial Forest, a 135-acre environmental center owned by Campbellsville University.

He was also interviewed by John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president, on his show, “Dialogue on Public Issues” on TV-4, Comcast Cable Channel 10, Sunday, Dec. 27, at 8 a.m.; Monday, Dec. 28, at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.; and Wednesday, Dec. 30, at 1:30 p.m. and 7 p.m.

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Article written by Christina Miller, student writer at Campbellsville University

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