President John Dramani Mahama has deplored the attitude of self-aggrandisement among some pastors in the country, saying that attitude defeats their call as men of God.
“Today, you see personal aggrandisement in the name of God in the church. This is very sad. If God has given you a gift, He did not give it to you to promote yourself; He gave it to you for the purpose of his work,” he stated.
The President expressed the concern when he joined the network of ministers of the Gospel at the Effie-Kuma branch of the Assemblies of God Church in Sekondi/Takoradi at the start of his four-day working tour of the Western and Central regions.
The church service was attended by hundreds of congregants, Members of Parliament in the region, Western Regional NDC functionaries and ministers of the Gospel from other churches.
As part of the tour, the President will inaugurate projects in the Western Region, including the Egwiraman Community Day Senior High School (SHS) at Biamankor in the Nzema East District.
President Mahama said the power of God’s anointing on some pastors today was missing, as they had chosen to focus on themselves, rather than God, and urged the church to seize every opportunity to pray for the leadership of the church and the country.
He also spoke against the manner in which the youth openly disrespected the elderly.
“Such disrespectful acts are certainly not our culture and tradition,” he said.
President Mahama said another issue that needed serious attention was the need for truthfulness and honesty on the part of all in the quest to contribute to the development of the country.
“One of our traditional values is to be honest and truthful, for which reason we do not grab things which do not belong to us,” he said.
He said it was important to go back to rich Ghanaian traditional norms that ensured truth and honesty in the past.
He said over the years the country had recorded many gains and it was about time Ghanaians developed the spirit of optimism, adding that the nation could become great and strong if the citizenry worked and thought in that direction.
Progress
The President noted that Ghana had made progress since independence, saying today the country was classified as one of the fastest growing middle-class countries in Africa, with more than 76 per cent access to electricity, compared to some of its neighbours.
Host pastor
The Host Pastor of the Effia-Kuma Assemblies of God, Rev. Dr Henry Paul Dsane, commended the President for his comportment and leadership style.
He said the church would continue to pray for more wisdom and good health for him to enable him to move the nation forward.
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