Discipline corrupt public officials in the church

The Reverend Professor Paul Frimpong-Manso, President of the Ghana Pentecostal and Charismatic Council (GPCC) has asked church leaders to teach members to eschew all forms of corrupt acts that retard the nation’s growth.

“Defending the Christian faith will require the Church and every Christian not only to speak up against the canker of corruption in society but also hold ourselves accountable first, by teaching and disciplining the corrupt public officer and private businessperson in our Churches to eschew corruption and petty stealing,” he said.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso said this on Thursday at the opening ceremony of the 53rd Annual Conference of Heads of Churches and Organisations (CHCO) at Gomoa Fetteh in the Central Region.

The four-day capacity building Conference is on the theme: "Defending the Christian Faith in Contemporary Times" (Jude 3-7; 20-21).

The over 230 denominations attending the event will discuss issues affecting member churches of the Council, a reconstitution of the National Executive Council and the promulgation of the Council’s revised constitution.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso said it was no longer a secret that public sector corruption had become the greatest threat to Ghana's democracy, development, peace, and stability amid a thriving Church in, which over 70 per cent of its population were Christians.

“How do we defend the Christian faith when 70 per cent of all monies siphoned illegally from the public purse every year were stolen by Christians who are supposed to be the Light and Salt of this world?”

“How can the Church as the Body of Christ defend the Christian faith in these last days in a morally degenerating and corrupt society where the lack of fear of God and the love for money is reaching the tipping point?” he asked.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso said a defense of the Christian faith went beyond “mere rhetoric, sloganeering, condemnation and militancy.”

He said it meant allowing one’s "Light" to shine in every dark area of his or her private and public life and allowing one’s "Salt" to season and stop the rot (corruption) in every sphere of their national lives.

Rev Prof. Frimpong-Manso said the fight against corruption of all forms in Ghana could only be won when the Church deliberately got involved at all levels of society.

He urged pastors and Church leaders not to just extol members who gave huge sums of tithes, offerings, and other monies to support God’s work but probe and be sure of how those individuals raised such monies.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso said the theme for the year was in response to the challenging times created by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had impacted the socio-cultural and spiritual well-being of the global population.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso said the challenges required that the Church re-strategised and allowed the Holy Spirit to take His central position in the affairs of the Church.

“For the Church, these emerging challenges should awaken us to the opportunities therein to re-assert our transformative influence as the Salt and Light of this world,” he said.

Rev. Prof. Frimpong-Manso called on all Church leaders to take practical steps in actualising the theme for the year.