Christians must take up political leadership - Presby Moderator

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church Rt Rev Professor Emmanuel Martey has admonished Christians and men of exceptional and principled character to take up political leadership in the country.

According to him, this is the only way the nation’s development agenda can be leapfrogged to its ultimate destination.

Explaining his claim, Rt Rev Professor Emmanuel Martey said that such Christians are imbued with the fear of God and are ready to hold the plight of the people closer to their hearts than their own ambitions for personal gain and self-aggrandizement.

However, the Presby Moderator, who was speaking at a special church service to honour the newly elected Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa South, Kofi Okyere-Agyekum, advised against bringing clergy into mainstream politics, though he admitted they have the right to run for office.

He emphasized that members of the clergy play intermediary roles in the church and that it is therefore not advisable for them to engage in politics since all shades of political interests could be represented in a church’s congregation.

Rev. Martey noted that, “it is important that many Christians take political leadership positions in order to be able to come face to face with the ordinary people on the street and live and work with them on daily basis and understand them.”

He said Christian political leaders are better positioned to fashion policies that will lead the people out of the doldrums of poverty.

He urged them to take a cue from the newly elected Okyere-Agyekum and follow his lead into politics.

The Presby Moderator indicated that many people have abandoned their ambitions and jumped into politics because they see it as a quick way to make money.

This, he believes, is not helping the nation’s growth and developmental agenda and therefore encouraged the youth to stay focused on their dreams and to work at becoming giants in their chosen fields.