Is It Faith or Religion? W/ John Clements

John Clements is a medical practitioner whose career has spanned over 50 years. He has a heart for children in developing countries. His early career included a year running a Christian mission hospital in the Peruvian Amazon, followed by postings as Chief Medical Officer in Bangladesh and Afghanistan with Save the Children Fund. He joined the global leadership team for infant and childhood immunization at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. Over his 17 years with the UN, he worked in around 100 countries, mostly in the developing world. He has taught public health at the postgraduate level at a number of universities.

He writes extensively and has published many books, book chapters, and articles in the medical literature on public health issues. In 2003, he moved to Australia, where he worked as a consultant with several UN agencies and Australia-based international health agencies. He is an associate professor at the University of Melbourne. In 2020, he was awarded membership in the Order of Australia for his work in international health. He has two adult sons, both of whom work in the international aid sector. He was an elder in an evangelical church for a number of years before moving to house churches.

His story really kicks off when he was in primary school, age 10. With a very strict school mistress who insisted they take a book out of the library every Friday and bring it back the next Friday, and by chance - by God, John took a specific book out which made him curious.

It was the life story of Albert Schweitzer. He was born in 1870 in Germany, and he became a world-renowned organist. He played bars and things like that. He had a lot of success with his recordings Organist toured Europe, becoming the darling of Europe at the age of 30.He felt the call of God on his life. He went to medical school, got qualified, and spent most of the rest of his life in Gabon, Africa, the darkest continent in the world.

It was a very primitive situation. He got involved, built a hospital, provided services where none were available, ran a hospital, operated it, and did incredible work.He became internationally recognized for his writings, and in 1956 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. So here was a man of great stature and moral courage who had just spoken to the deepest part of John's heart.

And he was certain that he wanted to do what Albert Schweitzer did right away.John studied the right subjects at school. He went through medical school, was trained in pediatrics and obstetrics in public health and tropical medicine, and then, to his amazement, he went to dark Peru and was offered the chance of running a hospital in the Amazon by a Catholic mission organization called Jas International, operating out of Liverpool.

Talking about his experience and how people from there didn't trust West Medicine and the white nurses and doctors that were running it. They regarded someone with pale skin and brown eyes as a gringo.

From being referred to as a "gringo," which was an obstacle to overcome, and the fact that they were very reluctant to come to the hospital at first to then calling him El Doctoral, which was good.

Fast forward to when he came back from Peru and met his wife. And just like everyone else, his faith had quite a few dips. John encourages young people who are struggling with their faith that hey need to know that it's quite normal to have a dip in their faith. 

John found another passion to become a chaplain and do the work of Christ, for which he eventually became an elder in a church. He also has written a book called "The Gospel Unadorn." Targeting the mature Christian in easy-to-understand language, the book explores the difference between faith alone in Christ alone and those elements of church religion that have been hoisted onto the backs of believers.

Check out his website to order your copy: