Don’t regulate churches- Bishop Nterful urges government
The Senior Bishop of the Lighthouse Church, Bishop Emmanuel Louis Nterful, has kicked against suggestions that the government should regulate churches in the country.
He said regulating churches would amount to “the government telling us the pastors how to preach and what to preach,”
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In recent times, there have been concerns about the negative activities in some churches, which many argue call for the regulation of churches.
In May this year, Parliament hinted of its intentions to investigate and prescribe regulations to guide church activities in the country.
The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Aaron Michael Oquaye, directed the joint committees of Youth, Sports and Culture and Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, to assess the feasiblity of regulating churches after the House had discussed the proliferation of churches at the expense of human rights and the use of working hours for church activities.
Reacting to the concerns at the Ekklesia Roundtable Series organised by the Kingdom Equip Network (KEN) in Accra last Thursday, Bishop Nterful, said the issue of regulation was misplaced.
However, Bishop Nterful, who is also a Chairman of the Anagkazo Assemblies (AA) denomination of the Lighthouse Church, said issues of criminality such as violation of basic human rights had existing laws clearly spelt out in the 1992 Constitution and could be dealt with accordingly, but regulating churches was outside the boundaries of government, since the Church was the temple of God.
He said the Bible was the Church’s Constitution and would always be a point of reference whenever there was an issue of ministerial misconduct or violation of scripture.
Off the track
The Academic Dean and Senior Lecturer at the Trinity Theological Seminary, Reverend Dr Dorothy Bea Akoto, said some churches went ‘off the track,’ stating that “from what we see in the media, you realise that some pastors violate human rights and in instances like that, there might be the need for government to come in.”
She observed that there was little attention given to people whose rights were violated in churches, hence the need for necessary actions to be taken to mitigate the abuse of such rights.
The conference
Under the auspices of the Kingdom Equip Network (KEN), the Ekklesia roundtable series 2019 was attended by various bishops, pastors, ministers and individuals from various churches.
The conference enlightened participants on specific topics such as the role of the clergy, academia and how to enhance the governance of churches and the nation.
Specific topics discussed in this year’s edition included power, souls, pulpit and gift and financial accountability.
The Convener of the Ekklesia Roundtable Series, Rev. Dr Emmanuel Kwabena Ansah, said effective governance in the church had been weakened, affecting the credibility of many churches, stating that “there is a need for church leaders to be sensitised to take good care of their members and ensuring accountability among various departmental leaders in the church.”
