God is Spirit
God is Spirit Part 4 (Removing the middleman part 2)
The Koinonia of the Spirit
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Religion of Thursday, 18 July 2019
Source: Ghananewsagency.org
Ghanaians are losing trust in Churches - Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum
The Superintendent Bishop, Jesus Generation Ministries, says Ghanaians are losing trust in the Church due to the ungodly activities of “some men of God”.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Nana Anyani-Boadum says, “There is contentious distrust concerning the motives of some men and women of God in this country; there is a great disenchantment with organized religion in this country; there is so much of cynicism in the public space against the Church of God, cynicism that is born out of painful disillusionment.”
He said this during the launch of the thirtieth anniversary of Manna Mission Incorporated at Manna Mission Church, Teshie.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum stressed the seriousness of the public’s posture against the church by saying, “Not that anybody wants to be too hard on the church. People see that the church that Jesus formed is deviating.”
In that vein, the Cleric informed that there were clear defining negative experiences in the public space that provided the empirical evidence for the level of distrust against the church to the extent that state legislators were getting worried about the activities of the church.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum informed that the Church in Ghana was a century old, “And like a vintage wine, it is expected that the older the wine gets, the better it tastes, but what is the public image of the Church in Ghana today?”
The Right Reverend observed that “there was no end result in life that provides limitless possibilities without some parameters. Should we provide the Church in Ghana that limitless possibilities to do whatever we like? So pastors, the notion that you can operate without an unfetted freedom is not a virtue.”
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum insisted that commercialization of religion and the abuse of human rights in the name of religion must be frowned upon by the apostolic fathers of Ghana.
“We need some sort of apostolic oversight to help promote peer review among the smaller churches that are coming up, and we need some corrective measures in a positive tone to help these churches,” he informed.
On the debate on whether government should regulate the activities of the church due to the activities of some miscreant pastors, he insisted that the worry about the church was not misplaced, but believed there were enough laws in Ghana to deal with the shortcomings of the clergy, “Because any attempt to go beyond the laws and introduce new legislations may infringe on our civil liberties.”
The President of Manna Mission Incorporated, Rev. Dr. Seth Ablorh, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the launch, agreed with Rt. Rev. Anyani-Boadum by insisting that, “Government cannot regulate the Church of God. The Head of the Church is Jesus. Jesus led apostles, and the apostles led leaders to govern the church; if something goes wrong and some young people say we will come and make discipline happen, no matter how sincere they are, it is wrong.”
Rev. Dr. Ablorh said just as discipline in the nation belonged to the police and other security agencies, discipline in the Church of God belonged to the Christian Councils, therefore government should empower the Councils to discipline their home by insisting that all churches belonged to the councils.
Rev. Dr. Ablorh informed that the Church will resist any attempt by the State to regulate her activities because the Church was capable of strengthening her internal mechanisms for addressing flaws in church practices.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Nana Anyani-Boadum says, “There is contentious distrust concerning the motives of some men and women of God in this country; there is a great disenchantment with organized religion in this country; there is so much of cynicism in the public space against the Church of God, cynicism that is born out of painful disillusionment.”
He said this during the launch of the thirtieth anniversary of Manna Mission Incorporated at Manna Mission Church, Teshie.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum stressed the seriousness of the public’s posture against the church by saying, “Not that anybody wants to be too hard on the church. People see that the church that Jesus formed is deviating.”
In that vein, the Cleric informed that there were clear defining negative experiences in the public space that provided the empirical evidence for the level of distrust against the church to the extent that state legislators were getting worried about the activities of the church.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum informed that the Church in Ghana was a century old, “And like a vintage wine, it is expected that the older the wine gets, the better it tastes, but what is the public image of the Church in Ghana today?”
The Right Reverend observed that “there was no end result in life that provides limitless possibilities without some parameters. Should we provide the Church in Ghana that limitless possibilities to do whatever we like? So pastors, the notion that you can operate without an unfetted freedom is not a virtue.”
Rt. Rev. Dr. Anyani-Boadum insisted that commercialization of religion and the abuse of human rights in the name of religion must be frowned upon by the apostolic fathers of Ghana.
“We need some sort of apostolic oversight to help promote peer review among the smaller churches that are coming up, and we need some corrective measures in a positive tone to help these churches,” he informed.
On the debate on whether government should regulate the activities of the church due to the activities of some miscreant pastors, he insisted that the worry about the church was not misplaced, but believed there were enough laws in Ghana to deal with the shortcomings of the clergy, “Because any attempt to go beyond the laws and introduce new legislations may infringe on our civil liberties.”
The President of Manna Mission Incorporated, Rev. Dr. Seth Ablorh, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after the launch, agreed with Rt. Rev. Anyani-Boadum by insisting that, “Government cannot regulate the Church of God. The Head of the Church is Jesus. Jesus led apostles, and the apostles led leaders to govern the church; if something goes wrong and some young people say we will come and make discipline happen, no matter how sincere they are, it is wrong.”
Rev. Dr. Ablorh said just as discipline in the nation belonged to the police and other security agencies, discipline in the Church of God belonged to the Christian Councils, therefore government should empower the Councils to discipline their home by insisting that all churches belonged to the councils.
Rev. Dr. Ablorh informed that the Church will resist any attempt by the State to regulate her activities because the Church was capable of strengthening her internal mechanisms for addressing flaws in church practices.
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