Clergyman calls on Christians to respect leaders

Reverend Dr. Justice Ofei Akrofi, President of Bible Society of Ghana, on Wednesday appealed to Christians to respect leaders of the country, to ensure peace and harmony for national development.

He noted that “leadership is a noble position, which needed to be respected, and as such its the responsibilities of leaders to fear God and do everything possible to please Him.”

Rev. Dr, Akrofi was speaking at the United Bible Societies' (UBS) day of prayer, organised by the Bible Society of Ghana (BSG) in Accra.

He asked leaders to be courageous and rule according to the dictates of God, and cited that in the Bible, David was able to defeat Goliath because the former was courageous and believed in God.

Rev. Dr, Akrofi cautioned political leaders to be circumspect in their utterances, to prevent chaos in the December 7 polls.

Rev. Erasmus Odonkor, General Secretary of BSG, said every May 9, was set aside for various Bible societies throughout the world, to pray for the spread of God’s word and the growth of the church.

Rev. Odonkor said the fellowship of Bible societies included 146 affiliated societies and offices, which translated, print and distributed the scripture to more than 200 countries and territories.

He said in 1946, these societies formed the UBS, an international service which assisted the combined efforts of the national societies and administered the finances pledged for worldwide ‘Bible work’.

Rev. Odonkor said the UBS helped to coordinate the translation and production of scriptures, and acted as an information point, gathering and sharing Bible news from around the world.

The BSG is a non-denominational Christian organisation, registered under the Trustees Act 1962 of the Republic of Ghana, an affiliate member of the UBS, with its mission of making God’s word available and affordable, encouraging its use to transform lives.

As part of the programme, prayers were said for the church in the country, for the growth of UBS and BSG, Ghana, and for peaceful elections in Ghana.**