Religious leaders told not to dupe followers

Tema, June 23, GNA - The Presiding Bishop-Elect of the Methodist Church of Ghana, Reverend Professor Emmanuel Kweku Asante, on Sunday called on religious leaders not to focus their activities on the acquisition of wealth to the neglect of their Pastoral duties. He asked them to resist temptation in all forms, in order not to tarnish the image of the profession and the church. The Presiding Bishop-Elect was preaching the sermon to mark the commissioning of 14 new religious Ministers including a lady, from four dioceses of the church namely Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Tarkwa at the Saint Paul's Methodist Cathedral in Tema.

He said it is unchristian for religious leaders to attend to only those who satisfy their material and economic needs, as that would defeat the purpose of their calling to priesthood, and advised against lobbing for posting to well endowed areas where they would enjoy comfortable lifestyles.

Professor Asante said people living in deprived areas need God's preaching to bring hope to them, and therefore asked the Ministers of the gospel to accept posting to the rural areas.

He said the recent false teachings in the system requires that Ministers of the Methodist Church be conversant with the Bible to counteract teachings and observe the instructions of Christ. The new Ministers have already gone through three years training at the Trinity Theological Seminary and are to serve another three-year probation after which they would be accepted into full ministry. The out-going Presiding Bishop, Most Rev. Dr Robert Aboagye-Mensah encouraged the Ministers to endeavour to win more souls to the Church.