The General Secretary of The Church of Pentecost, Apostle Alexander Nana Yaw Kumi-Larbi, has called on Christian leaders to endeavour to be of people of integrity in order to possess the world for Christ.
Apostle Kumi-Larbi said this in a paper he presented on the topic, “Living a Life of Integrity as a Christian” at the ongoing Heads’ Prayer Meeting of The Church of Pentecost on Tuesday, November 12, 2019, at the Pentecost Convention Centre (PCC), Gomoa Fetteh.
“Our generation critically needs leaders with integrity – people who cannot be bought, will not compromise their integrity, will walk the talk, and will be completely honest in small things as in great things.
“Unfortunately, integrity seems to be a critical aspect of leadership which are mostly found wanting, both in the church and society as a whole. God expects his children to stand out and be counted as a people who do not yield to corrupt practices but always upholding ethical values in every area of their lives – at home, in the workplace and in the church,” he stated.
Using Genesis 27:22 and Proverbs 10:9 as his main texts, Apostle Kumi-Larbi pointed out that one way that the church can cause Christ-glorifying societal transformation is to ensure that each member is living a life of integrity.
According to him, the Christian who has integrity is sound, reliable, trustworthy, and could be described as dependable.
Integrity, he said, is an important virtue of the Kingdom of God which Christians are called to be and demonstrate to the world.
The General Secretary bemoaned the high level of corruption in the society while the majority of the people profess to be Christians, saying, “Our society is bedevilled with corrupt practices, including cronyism and nepotism, over and under-invoicing, wrongful and inappropriate acquisition of academic accolades for vainglory and acquisition of power.”
Citing the 2018 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) report as presented by Transparency International (TI) which indicated that only six African countries scored 50 or above (Seychelles 66, Botswana 61, Cape Verde 57, Rwanda 56, Namibia 53, and Mauritius 51) out of a total score of 100 in the global ranking of 180 countries, he stressed the need for the Christians to uphold integrity in order to transform the society.
“Despite the huge presence of churches in Africa and especially West Africa, the 2018 CPI showed that Burkina Faso and Ghana tied at 78th position with 41 points, Ivory Coast 105th (35), Togo 129th (30) and Nigeria 144th (27).
“Also, in a survey conducted by the Ghana Integrity Initiative consortium (GII), the following were presented as forms of corruption: Bribery, embezzlement, fraud, favouritism, extortion, illegal contribution, nepotism, conflict of interest, abuse of discretion, and payment of facilitation fees (GII, 2017).
“These statistics and information are very disturbing and is a wakeup call for the Church of God to demonstrate its prophetic role as salt of the earth and light of the world (Matthew 5:13-16),” he indicated.
The General Secretary mentioned that Christians are expected to be upright and “whole” without the stain of corruption and vile in both their private and public life.
Touching on integrity crisis in the church, he stated: “In the church today, it is difficult to find people who are loyal to the Lord, the church and leaders. Also, getting people who genuinely serve with humility, and willingly accept sufferings and trials for the sake of the gospel as Paul did is gradually fading. We are faced with people coveting others money, properties, spouse, etc., all in the name of the gospel.”
He charged Christians to study the word of God for themselves first, believe in it and practice it before teaching others. “Unfortunately, most of us prepare sermons with other people in mind. This has made it difficult for the members to follow the teachings the leaders offer,” he said.
PENTECOST NEWS.