The hypocrisy of Ghanaian churches: Methodist Vs Pentecost Vs The Rest

The opinions expressed in this write-up “The hypocrisy of Ghanaian churches: Methodist Vs Pentecost Vs The Rest” aims at provoking healthy debate and calling on the church to think new and to show love, care, and support for its members no matter what just as Christ requires of the church without any form of discrimination which has characterized some church decisions.

This write-up juxtaposes the reactions of the churches regarding the comments of the Methodist Bishop about former President Mahama and the reactions of the church of Pentecost to the Taxi Drivers’ honesty and return of GHS8400 left in his car by a passenger.

The church which is built on Christ is expected to accept its people (members) as its own no matter the situation, whether good or bad. But how many churches do this? The body of Christ seems to have neglected one aspect of the role, thus supporting members of the church who are in trouble and bringing them out of it as a sign of love. This article is not against correcting church members, nor is it saying churches should spare the rod of correction and deny others praise when it is due. It is not calling for churches to support wrongdoing. With these clear, now let us go deep into the matters at heart.

The hypocrisy of Ghanaian churches needs to come to an end but wait minute…

Today, the Methodist church and the Church of Pentecost are trending for different reasons. Whiles the Methodist is trending for what has been tagged as an attack on former President John Mahama, the Church of Pentecost is trending for the acts of honesty shown by a church member who happens to be a taxi driver.

From the two stories, it is obvious and undeniable that, churches are quick to own up and associate with members who have made a good name in public and private life. It is however slow and disassociates itself from members whose acts are disgraceful, wrong, or unacceptable.

When the good deeds of members shine so bright in the public domain, churches show allegiance and ownership and portray themselves as being the best. They pride themselves on being the source of teachings that have brought about the good deeds and behaviour of its member.

Alas, if a member falls or makes a mistake that may bring the name of the church into disrepute or does something wrong and unholy in the estimation of the church, that member is neglected, exorcized, and left to his or her faith.

In such a situation, it is not uncommon for the body of Christ will quickly come out with a long letter to disassociate itself from the member and the act if their name is mentioned. In some instances, the church will prove with membership cards and unpaid dues of the member as enough evidence that the so-called member is no longer part of the church or he or she has not registered fully with the church.

In the last 72 hours or so, God has been speaking to the Churches in Ghana and Christians in general. What has happened to the popular song “rescue the perishing, care for the dying”, the words of Christ … “I came to find the lost”, his prodigal son, and the good Samaritan man parables in the church and how the church accepts villains and vanquish as its own people to show them love and to redeem them to Christ?

The hypocrisy of Ghanaian churches needs to come to an end but how soon will it be? Can you imagine what will be the reaction if the statements of the Methodist Bishop led to praises being showered on him, the church will own up publicly? The church would have come out to take credit for that, probably.

God forbid, but can you tell what would have happened anyway if the taxi driver who is a member of the Church of Pentecost, if he (the taxi driver) had run away with the Ghs8,400 cedis and is later caught? The church will never openly come out to take ownership of him as a member.

The coming Sunday at church during church services across the nation all the churches will join in the craze as we celebrate the taxi driver who has become a star boy and a hero. It is good to celebrate such feats, but the church must not neglect its members who have fallen or committed offenses which have brought disgrace, or trouble. Such persons need more support to come out of their challenges. Christ needs these persons as well in his presence and for His work.

The church in Ghana seems to always be seeking face-saving opportunities, but is not ready to own up and take part of the disgrace if its members mess up.

No church in Ghana has ever owned up when any of its members commit s crime yet, they behave like the Pharisees of old, showing off as the originators of good deeds and exemplary lives of ordinary people in public.

The Methodist church’s stand about pronouncements made by their Bishop and the reactions from the Church of Pentecost shows us the kind of churches we have in the country. When our members need us in hard times, the church will be nowhere to be found on many such occasions to provide the needed support.

However, when things go well or something positive emerges in the life of a member, the church is in a hurry to take credit for it.

This approach does not help the body of Christ. I was in prison, you did not visit me, I was sick….do you remember this?

Christ did not come for the saved, but to bring to the father the lost. The church must emulate this by owning up and helping its members who have fallen off the Christian standard to rise again.

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Go to the Nsawam prison and find out which church each of the prisoners belonged to before they ended up there. You will find various charismatic and orthodox churches fully represented. You will find many souls from churches locked up there. Have you heard any church coming out to say, we are XYZ church, so so-and-so number of our church members are in jail for xxx offenses?

The church in Ghana needs to resurrect from its seemingly dead state to the needs of members and the general society. If the church is ready to tag members exonerated or praised for good deeds as their own, and let the entire society know they have contributed to living testimony and exemplary lives of Christ or expected by Christ exhibited by members, the church should be equally ready to help rescue its members perishing and to take responsibility for the wrong its members commit.

READ: Tears flow as Church of Pentecost Apostle donates entire retirement package

The hypocrisy of Ghanaian churches needs to come to an end as we consider the Methodist Vs Pentecost trending issues today and how we are all handling it.

 

Source: Wisdom Hammond | NewsGhana24.com