Editorial: Clergy – moral conscience of the church; Congregation – moral conscience of society

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

3116 Edition

November 14-20, 2011

Editorial

Editorial: Clergy – moral conscience of the church; Congregation – moral 
conscience of society

Translated by Lydia Ma

Every third Sunday in November is traditionally set aside to celebrate Taiwan 
Theological College and Seminary (TTCS)as per PCT General Assembly’s calendar. 
The purpose of setting aside such occasions is to call to the attention of PCT 
congregations to pray and financially support certain PCT ministries. In the 
case of TTCS, prayers and donations go a long way in enabling it train 
seminarians to stay rooted to this land and serve this country’s inhabitants. 
In doing so, PCT ministries will continue to shine as a sign of hope in Taiwan.

The gist of theological training is to nurture and train clergy members before 
they go into the mission field to fulfill their calling. However, such a 
training is also a legacy left by old missionaries of the past which continues 
to exert its influence on us today. Now, the baton has been passed to us and 
seminaries need our help in ensuring that the gospel gets passed down to 
younger generations who will continue the work of being positive influencers in 
Taiwanese society. 

Theologian Jaroslav Pelikan once said, “Tradition is the living faith of the 
dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” By this he reminds us 
that though the legacies of old missionaries still live on in Taiwan, we should 
be careful that these memories and our religious traditions don’t become like 
policies set in stone and thus hamper us from using new means to reach this 
generation.

Our faith should be renewed daily as it is the basis of our relationship with 
God. This is especially true for people who’ve received a special calling to 
become clergy. For clergy members, God’s word motivates their ministry, daily 
quiet times and prayers help them understand God’s will, and theological 
training trains them in teaching and transforming their flock. When pastors 
become influencers by being the moral conscience of their congregations, their 
flocks are in turn able to become the light and salt of their respective 
communities.

PCT seminaries are currently in the process of applying for accreditation with 
the Ministry of Education. Our hope is that we can influence Taiwanese society 
more extensively. Over the years, TTCS has trained many people within the PCT 
for full-time and part-time ministry and it has been able fulfill its calling 
well thanks to the prayers and financial contributions of churches and PCT 
members. TTCS graduates have gone on to become an integral part of PCT 
evangelistic ministries in Taiwan and abroad. Their training at TTCS has 
enabled them to become active and pioneering participants in the ecumenical 
world. It is our plea that you will remember TTCS in your prayers and financial 
offerings.



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