The Chairman of the Council of Spiritual Churches responsible for the Southern sector, Prophet Gabriel Ntim, has bemoaned what he said was the increasing number of charlatans and false ministers of God, who are leading many people astray.
According to him, many so called Pastors and Men of God have failed to focus on the main vision of the universal Church which must centre on the Kingdom of God and promotion of love, unity and peace, but instead engaging in exploiting the ignorance and desperation of people for their personal aggrandizement.
Speaking to The Chronicle in an interview, Prophet Ntim noted that the time has come for the Christian bodies to put strategies in place to weed out the charlatans and expose their evil deeds in order to give true meaning to Christendom.
Describing the proliferation of charlatans and false pastors and prophets as affront to the church of God and leadership of the various churches in the country, the religious leader called for concerted efforts from well-meaning Christian institutions to help fight the menace.
Prophet Ntim, who is also the Founder and Leader of the Holy Universal Mission Church at Sokoban in Kumasi, mentioned some of the strategies as the development of a code of conduct for ministers of the various Christian denominations and church members within Christian ethics.
�We should also be concerned about the rising trend of falsehood, hatred, envy and the pull-him-down syndrome amongst ministers of the gospel, this retards progress and development of Christendom,� he lamented. Prophet Ntim further pointed out that preaching is not the only way to save lives, but also through the Gospel, Ministers must exhibit morally upright and credible lives to serve as example to the congregation.
He also advised Ghanaians to avoid excessive materialism and insatiable quest for wealth which he said, had contributed to the increasing rates of crimes and other social vices in the Ghanaian society. Meanwhile, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) also reports that the President of the Ghana Catholic Bishops� Conference, the Most Rev Joseph Osei Bonsu, has urged the clergy to provide the needed leadership to restore hope to the society.
He said they should do more to assist the people to remain steadfast and unwavering in their faith to trust in God�s abiding love. Speaking at the biennial conference of the Konongo-Mampong Diocesan Choir Unions at the Ejisu the Most Rev Osei Bonsu, who is the Bishop of the Diocese, expressed worry about the love for money and other good things of life by the clergy.
He said this had led to a situation where many of them seldom talk about God�s salvation promise, having put prosperity at the centre of everything, adding that Christianity was not simply about money-making or performing miracles as some pastors would want the world to accept.
Bishop Osei Bonsu said �the Christ we are worshipping went through pain and agony before His father glorified him� and appealed to genuine followers of Christ to refuse to be deceived by those out there to exploit and take advantage of them. He appealed to the choristers to use their talent to spread the gospel and help turn people away from evil.
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