Clean Para-church

You knew about Clean Church.
You should know about Clean Para-Church.

It would have given many a ray of hope.
It would have given Christians a reason to donate.
It would have been worth staying in HK.

It would have been.

Many years ago a paradigm shifting revolution was started by a Professor.
Professor Luther.
And an academic discussion on 95 Theses no less!

How many academics in theology in HK dare to stand up? Now?
How many academic discussions you have heard on the castration of justice in the society?
Or more precisely, the removal of the nucleus of politics from Gospel?
Even just at the level of academic discussion?

Zilch!

It was once said by a respected local seminary President, a theology professor, apropos, lamented that HK has the highest number of seminaries in the world by any count. That was a legitimate thesis for theological academic discussion, even not an indictment.

On the other hand, the president has kept admirers waiting patiently to hear him raise similar, on the distortion of justice in HK these two years, let alone about politics per se.
Just don’t hold your breath.

Let’s not assume that seminary professors are ill equipped to discuss the topics.
They are not.

Let’s not assume that seminary professors, like Clean Church pastors and leaders, are not compelled, to engage in subject matters peripheral to their core mission which is to groom future church pastors, teachers, evangelists, and missionaries, for the edification of the Church.
They are.

Millions of Protestants are glad that Professor Luther believed he was.

Maybe it is argued that Professor Luther was also a priest.
He preached his sermons weekly.
He waded into the lives of commoners.
That’s why he should nail the 95 Theses on the door.

But now in HK we have become specialised so let others deal with impurities. Theology professors stay focused on Biblical and theological expositions.
Pure seminary.
Clean seminary.

Perhaps that argument can be entertained.
Perhaps if . . .

If many of these theology professors, including the seminary president,
are not ordained ministers.
But many are addressed as Rev, so too appeared in Sunday Clean Church bulletins.

And, if they don’t, like Professor Luther, preach almost every Sunday in churches all over HK.
But nearly all do.

And, if they don’t, also serve as deacons, elders, and perhaps honorary or remunerated consultant pastors of churches.
But chances are many do.

They wade heavily into the lives of commoners, perhaps much more heavily than the priest, Professor Luther.

Yet they afford to stay within the safe and comfortable confines of academics.
There is no trace of impurities found in their sermons. Nothing as divisive as 95 Theses.
They stay clean and pure.
Leave politics out of pure and clean theology.
Let Christian social workers, and maybe teachers, bear the torch of demanding justice, and bear the wrath of autocratic rules.
Let commoners in churches, who don’t have a higher calling to devote to theological teaching, worry about questions of eroding of Basic Law, weakening of the rule of law, inequity in justice administration, emigration, loss of freedom of press, access to information, government accountability, on and on.

They stay focused on core mission.
Stay pure.
Stay clean.

Is that all to talk about clean para-church organisations?
Should only seminaries be singled out?

Of course not.
But then these other organisations, are even purer, as they tend to limit themselves to teaching Bible to laypersons or to publishing. Hence they are less well known and can easily hide behind their core mission.
Plus, they tend to be of a lower profile and less well known.

But some organisations reached hundreds of thousands of commoners, even in person.
But many of their teachers preach weekly at churches too.

For interested readers, a good starting point would be the extension schools of seminaries, and names that carry the Word, Logos, Truth, or Bible.
The intertwining denominational and personnel connections are easily discovered, as in CSI episodes.
The social responsibility remains equally undeniable.

All so pure.
All so clean.