The Business of Faith

The Church business is probably the fastest-growing business in Ghana today.

All over Accra, huge church buildings are going up to serve as homes to growing churches and to bear silent witness to how much money preachers can summon from our suffering masses. Today, as in the days gone by, our religious leaders have a lot of sway in our lives.

To illustrate this, let me remind you of something that happened in an Accra court last week. According to a Ghana News Agency report, one Boatema had been involved in a business transaction that had led to accusations of her pocketing, or in her case, tying some other peoples’ money at the end of her “ntoma”. According to the GNA, “When the case was called, Boatema resurfaced but could hardly walk. Pastor Ovia who accompanied her to court said Boatema was receiving prayers and treatment at his church…”.

Treatment at his church? Now do not get me wrong. I am quite religious and one day, when I sit down with you to talk about the miracles the Lord has performed in my life, your faith will be strengthened. But treatment?

Our communities of faith have played and continue to play a very vital part in our National and individual development. Generations of Ghanaians have been educated by missionaries and mission schools.

Recently, some of our churches have established Universities that are giving our youth opportunities to get education that will make them productive citizens.

Week in, week out, Pastors and Reverend Ministers mount their pulpits to preach to us about how to lead more pious lives and to aspire to heaven.

In politics, throughout history, people and communities of faith have played crucial roles in the struggle to establish justice and equity here on earth. The civil rights movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s in America that brought emancipation to blacks and inspired freedom fighters around the world was inspired, planned and executed by black churches with Reverend Martin Luther King and others at the helm. And they, in turn were inspired by Ghana’s independence that came, on 6th March, 1957, under the leadership of Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana and Africa, who had trained as a priest and had a Degree in Divinity. In that same league, there have been other men of the cloth who have been groomed by faith and fought for freedom. Amongst these were Cardinal Sin of the Philippines, Archbishop Romero of Nicaragua, Archbishop Tutu of South Africa and Reverend Essamuah of Ghana.

Also, notably, our churches have built hospitals that have provided healthcare for our people and given scholarships to promising students for training in healthcare. Many of our mission hospitals have been in the forefront of providing care to our citizens.

Despite these things, when the communists described religion as “the opium of the masses”, they had a point. Throughout history, religion has been, in addition to all its good deeds, a source of conflict and an ally for many oppressive systems and leaders. And the killing that goes on by Jihadists in the name of Allah shows that Islam shares fully, Christianity’s virtues and vices. In the last few years, our churches have changed, not necessarily for the better—or maybe newer and different churches are coming up that are not like the ones we grew up with.

Today, too many are attracted to the Ministry for unworthy reasons. Sometimes, it appears that too many churches are started with the goal of building fortunes rather than building the faith of the congregation. That is why there are so many splits in our churches. In the desire to make quick money, there are many churches that worship nearly every day, drumming, dancing and singing virtually daily, far, far into the night. When someone has had a full day of work and is subjected to loud singing for hours far into the night on a daily basis that gets a bit much.

Now let me return to Pastor Ovia in the Ghana News Agency story. There are many church compounds dotted around our country where people with all kinds of ailments are receiving “treatment”. There are places where sick people who need care are chained to trees and forced to drink concoctions daily for diseases that could be treated easily by trained health personnel. When those who pray for the sick, without any training, begin to treat patients, they are crossing a line. Let me concede that I have heard many stories where prayers have healed sick people but even while we pray for the sick, they must get basic care. Quite a few women in labour have lost their babies and sometimes their lives through delays in getting healthcare while they labored in prayer camps.

Too many pastors establish churches to feed off the labour of their congregations without much interest in the welfare of their members.

Some give counsel to their members which wreck their marriages and relationships with many family members.

Now how do we protect the public interest without interfering in the freedom of people to worship and to win souls for the Lord?

First, we must revisit our laws and regulations for establishing churches. With the help of the religious leaders, we must have ground rules that will permit and encourage genuine men and women of faith to thrive and serve God while weeding out the adventurers. Let the Christian Council, the leadership of the Catholic Church and the Otabils, Duncan Williamses and the Eastwood Anabas team up to provide leadership for us.

Second, while we celebrate the role of the religious community in our education, health and politics, we must encourage them to do better. A nation where more churches are built than libraries have the “render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s” balance wrong and it is heading for trouble. Let every church build a library so that the youth can learn from their books, knowledge and piety.

Third, we must have and enforce regulations about noise in our residential neighbourhoods. I know our churches play good music but at a certain level and after a certain time, even the best music does not go over very well. The right of one person to worship must be balanced by the right of others to be free from noise.

Fourth, on providing healthcare and medical treatment, we must insist that maybe churches continue the hallowed and safe traditions of building hospitals and praying for the sick instead of chaining them to trees as “treatment”.

Fifth, while the role of the church in our politics is commendable, I miss the days in our country when our religious leaders were more outspoken on behalf of the people and popular causes. These days, too many of our religious leaders are too eager to be welcomed to the corridors of power rather than to confront power. Remember the period before the elections when Religious leaders bought space on radio and T.V. and launched the “We pray for peace” adverts? Since the elections, there has been harassment of NPP supporters in Nima, Agbobloshie and other places. Have you heard any condemnation of these attacks? Are we going to wait till 2012 before beginning to appeal for peace again? As President Mills said during the campaign “We should not wait for things to go wrong before urging Atta Mills to exercise restraint. If they do that, I will not listen.” That advice is worth heeding.

Now that I think of it, it is interesting that when Honourable Asabe and his family were accosted at the airport and he wanted to call a religious leader, he did not call any of our Bishops and Prophets etc, —he called Prophet T.B. Joshua of Nigeria! As I am sure our Bishops and Prophets will all remind us, a prophet is without honour in his own homeland. Earlier this year, while there were reports that President Mills was visiting Prophet Joshua in Nigeria, to worship and to fortify his health, Nigerian President Yar Adua, had taken a vacation and was heading for treatment, not to Prophet Joshua in his own country but outside Nigeria.

Sixth, I know from the scriptures that “thou shall not judge” but let those who aspire to do the Lord’s work, in J.H. Mensah’s immortal words “check themselves”. While not judging them or doubting their motives, quite a number of them are giving their profession, sorry--- their calling a bad name. Let them search their souls and their hearts and make sure that the callings they feel are truly from the one true God.

Finally, let us all, as God’s children, exercise some judgement, in how much we rely on our religious leaders. There is only so much even the best of them can do for us. We must do more for ourselves.

Let us all, in these difficult times, keep faith with God and he shall keep faith with us.

Let us move forward, together, in faith.

Arthur Kobina Kennedy

Email: arkoke@aol.com