editorial

How many choices will you make today? You might not think about them all. Some, like which colour socks to wear, probably don't matter too much. Others, like whether tonight's dinner comes from the kitchen cupboard, the local pizza takeaway or is shared with friends next door may well have consequences, but perhaps don't seem too significant. Choices may be made without realisation that a choice has been made – for example choosing to read for an hour also means choosing not to do something else in that time.

Other choices may be thought through in minute detail. How much time did you spend deciding where to go to medical school? Or whether you wanted to be a doctor in the first place? Or whether you would believe in Jesus?

Choosing which church to attend is often a hard decision. Giles Cattermole offers some hints (page 34), reminding us that the decision isn't just about ourselves. Deciding how we share God's word with our friends is often not easy with a wide variety of evangelistic methods being advocated. God-Man-God (page 36) suggests a gospel outline we could use, whilst Rachel Hubbard shares an example of a recent evangelistic endeavour in Newcastle (page 4), which fed those on the receiving end both spiritually and physically!

Future decisions also require choices. Where will we eventually work? There is health need everywhere, whether in the leafy London suburb or in Birmingham's inner city. Yet there are many fewer doctors for each patient in other parts of the world. Katie Dexter (page 31) considers what we can do to answer Jesus' call to care for the poor in its international context.

One day the story of our career may affect the choices of tomorrow's students. John Wyatt's story is set out in Abigail Brempah's interview (page 11). We hope it will inspire and enthuse. Another famous doctor is Luke, writer of the gospel and Acts. Alex Bunn compares him with the less inspiring Pontius Pilate (page 40), and helps us think through the way in which Luke and Pilate made their decisions.

How will we make our decisions? What ethics basis will we use (page 27)? How will we deal with a difficult case? Lizzie Groom explores some of the deeper issues raised by the sad case of Kerrie Wooltorton (page 18). If we use the Bible as the basis for our decisions, how will we know which version to use (page 38)? Not everyone will use the same basis as us, and we will need to ask why when someone makes an assertion that we may not agree with (page 24).

I very much hope this issue of Nucleus will help you know God's word, and be guided by it as you approach the choices that face you each day.