Accept we have challenges
The Senior Pastor of the first Baptist Church in Tema, Rev Osei Kwabena Nkrahene has challenged the government to accept that the country have problems that needed the consensus of all citizens to addressed.
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According to him, the continual living in denial of the facts would not help address the situation the country found itself.
"We must accept the reality that we have problems and not challenges as some people may call it. The mere acceptance alone could see all citizens irrespective of political affiliation agreeing to build consensus towards addressing them.” Rev Nkrahene counseled.
Speaking at a ceremony to ordain a pastor of the church, Rev Nkrahene, wondered why the country’s leadership would want to apply personal solutions to address national problems.
“We are not thinking outside the box, but rather applying personal solutions which would only go to spell doom for the country”, he said.
Describing Christianity today as also shifting focus from the realities and wading into politics, Rev Nkrahene appealed to colleague preachers to be guided by the tenets of the bible with emphasis on uprightness, the fear of God, commitment and loyalty towards the betterment of society.
“We cannot continue to preach prosperity to the people and neglect the need to nourish them physically and contribute their quota to the country’s development.”
“Today, even in the church, there is so much dishonesty, and when these attributes are transferred into our national circles, we can only be wishing a failed status for our country”, a worried Rev Nkrahene stated.
He however expressed the hope that honesty and the fear of God would reign supreme in the heart of the people in ensuring that things were better.
Commitment is Key
The immediate past Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Baptist Convention, Rev David Narteh Ocansey, who performed the ordination preaching on the theme, “being a good soldier of the Lord”, tasked Christians to remain loyal and committed to the country.
“If Christians who by the virtue of their relationship with God are themselves becoming dishonest in their dealings outside the church, such tendencies would continue to compound our woes”, Rev Ocansey pointed out.
Newly Ordained Pastor
The newly ordained Minister, Rev Guggisberg Tetteh, in his remarks also stressed the need for Ministers of the Gospel to developed mechanisms that would cushion the poor and vulnerable members.
“In a church where the pastor has more than five cars, there is the need for the development of social intervention programmes that would benefit the poor as well”, Rev Tetteh said.
“The church cannot continue to neglect the physical needs of the very members whose monetary offertory empowers its leaders”, he added.
Rev Tetteh, a product of the Northern Baptist Theological Seminary is presently pursuing a Masters in Ministry programme at the Minnesota Graduate School of Theology in the USA.
Writer’s email: [email protected]