Ghana: The 'Christian Soldiers' march on want
By John Owusu
This writer looks into a new phenomenon in Ghana's religions and explains why the Orthodox churches are fast losing their members to the 'Spiritual' churches.It is an end of year's experience in November and December to be accosted in the streets, offices or at the market places by people commonly called the "Unknown Christian Soldiers" holding out envelopes. The request is usually for one to put in money to show his appreciation for God's guidance and protection during the year.
These requests are followed with lavish quotations from the Bible and one cannot help but dip one's hands into the pocket for "a widow's mite".
Most of these "unknown christian soldiers" are from the numerous spiritual churches that have mushroomed across the length and breadth of Ghana. Not only have they multiplied in numbers, but have also created a competition in christendom by winning into their fold some orthodox christians.
The reasons for this situation are both sociological and psychological. At the inception of christianity, adherents were made to concentrate attention on winning a place in the "New Jerusalem". Material well-being could be an impediment to spiritual upliftment for, as the Bible says, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God. However, he could get around this problem when he "cast thy loaf upon the waters" or abide by the comforting phrases in the beatitudes - blessed are the poor in spirit... etc.
These assuring injunctions, in the course of time, have lost their lustre and appeal. They were seen in some quarters as purely religious propaganda, hence spiritual salvation per se gave way to the contention that christian worship should also cater for the physical and psychological upliftment of adherents.
And so, any church organisation that oriented its mode of worship to the tripartite needs of spiritual, physical and psychological well-being made much practical sense and therefore appealed to people.
The orthodox churches like Methodist, Presbyterian, Anglican and Roman Catholic have been accused of stifling the spiritual needs of worshippers. Their institutionalised and formalised type of worship does not inspire many worshippers. There is cultural imperialism as they stick to organs, piano, etc. and sing hymns in the European tongue.
In contrast, the spiritual churches mode of worship is action-oriented. The instruments of worship are mostly traditional drums. Their songs are short-versed and easily memorized and there is total participation and involveent by worshippers characterized by exhilaration through dancing, clapping of hands and bearing of testimony. This atmosphere creates a feeling of belonging to and acceptance by society.
Psychologically, the spiritual churches are a source of satisfaction to most Ghanaian women who mostly constitute their membership. Most of these women who have marriage pro- blems or want their businesses to succeed believe that the spiritual churches have a therapeutic effect.
CHURCH MIDWIFE
There was a case of a 24-year-old woman in Kumasi who during labour asked to be sent to The Lord My Shepherd Church at Amakom, a suburb of the city. She had been assured by the late Odiyifo (Prophet) Asare of a safe delivery only at the church. And true to the assurance, the believer - midwife at the service of the church did the expert job which the maternity wards at the hospital could do.Getting to the close of last year, the hegemony which spiritual churches had over their orthodox counterparts had warned considerably as they started losing some of their membership.
The reason for this could be found in the social deprivations in the system that threatened the existence of many Ghanaians.
The era of trade boom when traders needed spiritual protection to get more sales had gone and inflation, biting hard and prices at the markets were unbearable. Food is not scarce now but to have two square meals a day is still an undreamt of reality to many Ghanaian worker. The question agitating most minds is one of physical existence more than spiritual salvation For, the quest for membership to "Heaven" cannot be pursued or empty stomach, some Christians contend.
In the face of this development in the Ghanaian system which places a lot of impediment in the way of man's search for spiritual upliftment, the churches last year played down the role of "harvest" in their organisations and chose to step up soul winning crusades to win people for Christ and to sustain the faith and confidence of old members.
And very interestingly, unlike former times when such crusades popularly called "camp meetings" were held mostly in the rural areas, this time the concentration of the crusades was in the urban centres; especially in the cities of Tamale, Bolga, Kumasi, Tema and Sekondi-Takoradi.
A reason assigned by an evangelist for such selective exposure was that it is these places, apart from population density, that the demand for the means for physical existence is such that many people have deliberately closed their eyes to social vices and see church- going as a means for either exhibiting material wealth or spending leisure time.
Between November and December, 1984, a number of soul winning exercises variously labelled went on in the country. There were the "Deeper Life Retreat", "Believers' Convention" which asked "people to take a journey with us into the spiritual world"; "Deliverance Salvation", "Youth Quake '83", the "Ghana Evangelical Association Crusade", the "Church of God Convention", just to mention only a few.
Despite the early realisation to focus attention on winning souls and sustaining the faith of the faithfuls, what is not certain is the amount of impact Christendom could make on Ghanaians in this era of economic difficulties.
The daily thought of the average Ghanaian is how to work successfully the arithmetic of survival. The challenges of physical survival brought about by the country's tattered and weak economy are more pressing and call for prompt solutions. God and the soul's salvation appear to be too remote in relative terms.
More credence was given by attendance at the "Deliverance Salvation" and the "Believers' Conventions". Apart from the committed church members, the Deliverance Salvation Convention was patronized by children people who scarcely reflect on the socio-economic conditions; and the average age of those who attended the Believers' Convention at the Christ Apostolic Church, Bantama, Kumasi, was 23. Most of them have just entered the hurly-burly activities of earning a living and to counteract the socio- economic depressions, there is the need for religion to supply the psychological stability.
Some churches have come to grips with the current social reality that to the hungry man religion which preaches eternal salvation does not make much appeal. They have there- fore taken to farming ventures to accomplish the tripartite search for spiritual, psychological and physical comforts.
The Kristo Asafo Church has cultivated large acreages of food stuffs in many parts of the country. And be- tween May and October last year when the food situation in the country was critical, the church on many occasions sold cheap balls of kenkey and bread to the public.
Following this exemplary gesture, many churches have decided to go into intensive large scale farming to help meet some of the physical aspirations of Ghanaians - a step which has probably received a positive nod of approval from the creator himself.
