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CHAIRPRESON'S ADDRESS TO THE 38TH GA PRESBYTERY
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,Plans to prosper you and not to harm you,Plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me . . .
(Jeremiah 29:11-12)
Here we are again! Another year has gone and a new one has come. By the grace of God, the Ga Presbytery has sailed through turbulent waters and has been brought to the island of hope. More than any other time, the Presbytery is strong and sharply focused. Our strong leadership cannot be denied; neither can it be derailed from the path of success on which we are now. Our strength can expand the strength of the whole of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG); and our commitment as a Presbytery is what can make PCG great, and bring the much needed change and respectability to the Christian Faith in our Country.
For the past twelve months, what we have been able to achieve can only be attributable to God working through dedicated members of our Church—both lay and ordained. I see how ministers, catechists, caretakers and presbyters in the districts and congregations work so hard to fulfill the mission of the church. Without your hard work, nothing would have been achieved at the Presbytery level. Therefore, on behalf of my team at the Presbytery Office, I salute you all and say; "I am greatly indebted to you for hard work."
As the leading Presbytery in the oldest (continuous) Church in Ghana, the Ga Presbytery must not allow itself to be imprisoned by its own preferential interests. We are not an island. The present connections between our Presbytery and other presbyteries have never been at its best. Being largely a Metropolitan Presbytery, we ought not to forget in a moment, that much is expected from us; and, at the same time, other Presbyteries would look up to us for strong and Godly leadership style. Such a thing can only be fostered if there is a close connection between us and the other sister Presbyteries; and, more importantly, if we do not think that these Presbyteries don't have much to offer. Every Presbytery in PCG is importantly unique and has a lot to offer to our much-loved Church.
Let us make no mistake. In the Church of Christ, history is only on the side of those, who, having accepted Jesus as personal Lord and Saviour faithfully obey Him; genuinely commit their lives to His service; and selflessly seek to promote peace and justice among all the ethnically diverse people of our Church which, like any other church, is undeniably positioned and finds itself in a multi-cultural society.
Two years ago, I did make the remarks that the greatness of our Presbytery "is contained in its increasingly pluralistic culture which has become a gorgeous mosaic of ecclesial beauty and growth. The future of the Ga Presbytery and, indeed, of the whole of the Presbyterian Church does not lie with any single ethnic group. The future lies with the collective responsibility and vision of all Presbyterians in this country no matter where they are coming from and no matter what language they speak." I still hold on to these timeless values. The future of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana has no place for tribal bigotry and inward-looking.
The present era of information and communication technology calls for visionary Christian leaders who are able to raise their heads above immediate environmental waters, no matter how hostile and rough these might be, to see beyond the horizon to visualize success and growth; and, to vigorously pursue these growth and success agenda in a strategic and coherent manner. I have always believed that strategic management is a hallmark of great and excellent leadership. We must do no less.
The time has now come for us to move beyond our conventional practices and operations which have not brought us much success and the best possible results. I have a vision—a Divine vision, which like Isaiah's vision of the bright and delightful New Future reassures of divine justice and righteousness bringing restoration of fellowship between God and humanity; between hunters and prey; between wild animals and domestic animals and between one human being and the other (Isa. 65:17-25). This is the future that we are being called upon to "rise up and build" for both Church and Society—Let us Rise up and Build!
Let me say it once more-this time, loud and clear! The time has come to go beyond and above conventional practices and operations which have not brought us the best results that we have anticipated. Let's just cite one instance: Despite the restructuring of the PCG and the establishment of Departments for operation, we have not been adequately meeting our targets. Take 'Church growth' for example in the Ga Presbytery. Statistical data coming from the Districts put membership increase for the year 2009 at 1.07% which is far below the 10% target for the year. Has the time not come to find new and innovative ways of operating in our Church?
NEED FOR A DIFFERENT MODE OF OPERATION
The present situation in our Church demands that innovative spheres of operation in which the Church will seek to achieve her ends in order to attain her vision be identified. These, when identified, will be the major and necessary vehicles that will be able to drive our Church to her vision goals. Fortunately, this is the direction where the next Medium-Term Strategic Plan (2010-2012) of the whole Presbyterian Church of Ghana seeks to lead us. We, as a Presbytery, must be greatly indebted to the chief facilitator of this national Plan, Mr. D. S. Obeng for leading the Ga Presbytery to study, understand and develop Action Plans based on this Medium-Term Strategic Plan to ensure meaningful and coherent operationalization.
New Evangelistic Understanding and New Objectives Under New Vision
In the PCG Medium-Term Strategic Plan (2010-2012), seven (7) of these operational spheres (which the Plan calls Key Results Areas--KRAs) have been identified which includes Mission and Evangelism. In the understanding of the Strategic Plan, the task of Evangelism is not just for one department (as it now prevails under the Department of Mission and Evangelism) or, for any particular group /organization in the Church such as the Evangelism Committee or the Bible Study and Prayer Group. Rather, evangelism is for every department, for every group and every member of the Church. Even the present Department of Finance has an evangelistic task to perform; so also is the DSS, CLAN and the AHRM departments. This then makes the Church Choir, YAF, and YPG which are now under the CLAN Department also responsible for evangelism and their programme of activities ought to reflect this.
Thus, in this new understanding, key area such as Mission and Evangelism becomes the task of the whole Church in which PCG now seeks to achieve results by way of mobilizing Church members to share the transforming power of the Gospel with such clarity and coherence that those hearing are moved to respond to claims of Jesus Christ, are made disciples, leading to church growth in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
The implications of this for the Ga Presbytery, for example, are enormous. In this new understanding, all identified specialized ministries such as the Northern Outreach Programme (NOP); Blue Cross; Sports; and professional groups like Seamstresses, Tailors, etc who are brought together under specialized ministry programme would now be used in evangelism. Converted Street children, Kayayei, and Commercial sex workers are also used to reach out to others. They are no longer end in themselves.
With the "Operation Go Back Home and Tell", the N.O.P. has begun to show the way. The "Operation Go Back Home and Tell" is an innovative programme which mobilizes Northern Christians leaving in the South (most of whom have also been converted in the South through the N.O.P.) to go back to the North with the powerful message of the Gospel to win souls for Christ. It is a programme that aims and works towards discipleship and church growth.
I would like to appeal to all delegates of Presbytery to seek for and have increased knowledge of the Church's Medium-Term Strategic Plan (2010-2012). I enjoin all stakeholders to study all the seven Key Results Areas (KRAs) which will ultimately drive the Church to attain her vision. The other six KRAs in addition to the Mission and Evangelism that I have mentioned and discussed include:
i. Church Life and Nurture:- which according to the Strategic Plan, aims at "providing Christian Education for all members from the cradle to the grave and inculcate Christ-Centeredness into members."
ii. Ecumenical and Social Relations:- also aims at "networking with other denominations, faith and society at large to enhance church growth, and playing a leading role in responding to emerging societal issues."
iii. Development and Social Services:- Here, the PCG seeks to "demonstrate the love of God in practical terms in all communities where she serves. . . through the health and agricultural services delivery, and also, the HIV and AIDS [as well as other] programmes."
iv. Education:- in the area of Education, PCG desires to inculcate "Christ-Centeredness in her education programmes in partnership with Government or through non-public educational institutions at all levels."
v. Administration and Human Resource Management:- in this area, PCG seeks to provide "competent and committed human resources and support services in a dependable, courteous and timely manner to all Departments and Institutions of the PCG toward the realization of the Church's Vision."
vi. Finance and Audit:- PCG seeks to ensure sustainability by formulating and implementing relevant financial policies and well-monitored projects and programmes for generating optimal flows of financial resources on a timely basis."
Doubtlessly, all these Key Results Areas or spheres to operate have serious implications for our Presbytery as well as districts and congregations within the Presbytery. What then are these implications?
Implications for the Presbytery
Close examination of the Medium-Term Strategic Plan (2010-2012) reveals certain important facts which we, as a Presbytery, must take note of:
- That, all of the Plan's objectives whether directly stated or not, is to be understood as linked or should be linked to Christ’s Great Commission and to the growth of PCG.
- That we, as a Presbytery, do not have to prepare another or separate Strategic Plan. Besides, no district or congregation within the Presbytery also has to have a separate Strategic Plan. PCG has only one Strategic Plan for all courts to operate—General Assembly; Presbytery; District and Congregation.
- That we, as a Presbytery, would rather develop Action Plans with specifications (e.g. steps, timeframe, implementer, monitoring, resources and their allocations, evaluation, etc.) for each strategy, indicating our priorities and directions to take for strategy realization.
- That we, as a Presbytery, no longer have to talk about Departments but rather we talk about Key Results Areas (KRAs). This then implies that Key Results Areas are now to be introduced to replace the departments. Already, the Presbytery has begun series of workshops which would ultimately take us there.
Meeting the New Challenges . . .
The presently envisaged strategic direction of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, doubtlessly, poses several challenges to us as a Presbytery. It is an established fact, that, the church is an institution which always resists and resents change; especially, where she finds a comfortable home and, therefore, seeks to attach herself to the status quo.
However, today, the Risen Lord is calling His Church to repentance and to a new vision and a new hope because He is making "all things new" (Rev. 21:5); thus fulfilling the divine promise given through Trito (or Third) Isaiah; for, "the Lord says, ‘I am making a new earth and new heaven. The events of the past will be completely forgotten’.” (Isa. 56:17)
It is the building of this new society that we, as Presbyterian believers, are called upon to undertake. The theme for our Church year: "Let us rise up and build" is therefore a call on us, as a community of believers, to have a new vision, to think anew, plan anew and execute this new plan to bring about the fulfillment of the Great Commission and towards the achievement of Church growth.
I must say that there are congregations and some leaders in the Presbytery-both lay and ordained—that have already caught up with this new vision we are talking about; and it has begun to show in their various areas of operation. If the two recently erected Districts in the Presbytery, namely; Sakumono and Fafraha would continue with the innovative spirit they have started, they will certainly be the models for the 21st Century church with all the trappings of [post-]modernity and, above all, the capacity to reach out, in grand style, to win souls for the Lord.
It is in the spirit of this same new vision that the two agricultural stations at Abokobi and Katamanso have been able to turn things around, each within the period of twelve months despite all obstacles. The sponsoring by the Ga Presbytery of the two managers to a business trip to Denmark, Europe in March this year is an indication that business is not as usual as before. Observers would realize that the Ga Presbytery is no longer doing business as usual. Many people have acknowledged and appreciated this. However, there may be one or two people who would not like changes to occur as they tend to resent and even resist change as said before. But the change we are talking about is not just a human dream or product. It is a divine promise which would neither fail nor disappoint. This is what we believe in and we are talking about; and, which can clearly be seen with the eye of faith.
. . . Tackling Old Challenges with the New Vision
It is to this end that I would like to call upon all Directors, all Agents, Presbyters and Group Leaders in the Presbytery and, indeed, all stakeholders to respond positively to the new direction that the Spirit of God is leading His Church today. The Church called by Christ's Name can not escape from the plethora of problems (or rather challenges) that face contemporary human society. While the Church shares some of these challenges with the larger society, others are uniquely her own.
Since I took office in September 2007, there have been certain challenges-make no mistakes they were there before I came-which many people do not want to face, let alone discuss them. I hear other people discussing them but only at the fringes of the courts of the Church and not the centre. The Church cannot shy away from contemporary challenges that confront her. The Early New Testament Church never shied away from the challenges of cultural prejudices that raised their ugly heads between the Hellenistic (or Greek) Christians and Jewish Christians (Acts 6). Neither did they shy away from the question of circumcision of Gentiles which led to the First Council of the Church in Jerusalem (Acts 15). Rather, they held the bull by the horns and faced these challenges head on. I give the glory to God that, having allowed the Holy Spirit to lead them, they were able to find lasting solutions. We must follow their example.
Let me mention just two of the contentious issues that we also cannot ignore any longer. There are some people who would be happy that Presbytery Chairperson has, at long last, brought the cat out of the bag. On the other side of the debating coin, there are also others who wished that such controversial matters should not be discussed at all. As a leader of a Presbytery in a Metropolitan setting, it is my duty to see to it that such controversial matters are settled peacefully and maturely in a democratic manner. After all, is a church that describes its polity as "Presbyterian" not founded on the core value of "Democratic principles"? What then are these two challenging issues that should be democratically and maturely handled?
First, it is the issue of the mode of selection of commissioners to General Assembly. I heard a senior minister who had served as Presbytery Clerk in two presbyteries saying that he was in the Ga Presbytery when the General Assembly concept was introduced about a decade ago but had never had the chance of attending General Assembly as a commissioner. Some might just laugh over this as a joke; but it is no joke. Can you imagine yourself in the same shoes? Will you be happy? Isaiah's vision of a new earth reassures of divine justice. We must allow social justice prevail. As a Liberation oriented theologian this is what I have always stood for-taking a preferential option for the downtrodden; and adhering to the theological cliché: "God is the God of the oppressed." Sometimes, such issues also become moral issues.
The second contentious issue which when mentioned tensions run high is the demarcation of presbyteries. Since I took office, the issue of demarcating the Ga Presbytery has come up on the General Assembly Council floor several times. Each time it came, temperatures would rise. The last time it came was the November 2009 G. A. Council meeting. The decision then was that, the Ga Presbytery and General Assembly Council (through its Ad hoc Committee on Demarcation led by Rev. Osafo Boateng) should begin discussions on the matter. The Chairman of the Committee has promised to meet Ga Presbytery Council on the matter. He is yet to come. This is an issue which should be openly discussed in a democratic and matured manner to find solution. We must not shy away from this any longer.
Remember, we must do all this not to please any human being. If this is the case, then, most of us would have no business in it at all. Let us do this for the sake of Christ’s Church. Not because Chairman of Presbytery or any other person wants it discussed or, not to be discussed. What God does want should rather be our main concern; and, as the People of God meeting at presbytery the decision is yours to take.
CONCLUSION
Reverend Chairperson, please allow me to conclude with just a few comments on the various elections that we are to hold at this year’s Presbytery as we seek the face of the Lord for spiritual direction. This year, we are to select leaders to represent our Presbytery or serve our Church at both General Assembly and Presbytery levels. At the Presbytery level, we are to elect our next Presbytery Clerk. I would like to register an appreciation to all the Districts for not only satisfying the constitution requirement of selecting candidates for that purpose, but also, for selecting such seasoned and competent ministers who have already distinguished themselves among their colleagues in the field. As we pray for the will of God to prevail, I wish all the three candidates well.
In addition to selecting commissioners to represent our Presbytery at the 2010 General Assembly to be held in Takoradi in the Western Presbytery from August 6 to 12, we are also electing two other leaders—one lay and other ordained. The lay is to represent the Ga Presbytery on General Assembly Council. Here again, the Districts have done well to nominate three competent and knowledgeable persons who in my opinion are well qualified for the position. As in the election of Presbytery Clerk, only one of the three persons nominated would be selected. As we pray for God’s will to prevail, I wish all of them well.
Finally, we are also to nominate three senior ministers to be our Presbytery nominees for the election of the next Moderator of General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. Since the nominations are now going to take place, I do not know whom to wish well. Perhaps, I have to wish all who qualify and are eligible well. I would also look ahead; and perhaps wish those to be ultimately nominated well as we pray for them.
In all these elections, our strength only lies with the Lord in prayer. I hope before these elections take place, adequate time would be set aside for prayer to seek the face of the Lord and for His will to prevail.
May the Lord continue to bless the Presbyterian Church of Ghana. May the Lord bless the Ga Presbytery. May God bless you all! Have a successful Presbytery!! Thank You!!!
Delivered by,
Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Martey
(Chairperson of Ga Presbytery)
19th April, 2010
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