Characters in the story so far
- Bishop Edward Ansah – head pastor, Amazing Souls Worship Center, West Legon, and wife, Rev Mrs Victoria Ansah
- Pastor Edwin Nyarko – pastor, Amazing Souls Worship Center, and wife
- Pastor Bismark Kissiedu – pastor, Amazing Souls Worship Center, and wife
- Pastor Kwame Aidoo – Renaissance Chapel Int Ministries, Branch pastor
- Mr and Mrs Hutchful – members, Renaissance Chapel
Story So far
Just days before a big international convention at his church, Bishop Edward Ansah, founder and senior pastor of Amazing Souls Worship Center, heard the terrible news from two of his pastors about their involvement in an abhorrent sex act.
Another minister from a different church, Pastor Kwame Aidoo, was experiencing financial troubles in his life due to his commitment to conform to new church policies that had been adopted at his church, the Renaissance Chapel International Ministries, which was not far from Bishop Ansah's church. He intended to seek assistance from the Hutchfuls, a wealthy family in his congregation.
Characters in this Episode
- Apostle Moses Tay (founder and senior pastor), Renaissance Chapel
- Rev Aseda Enchill (Associate pastor), Associate pastor, Renaissance Chapel
- Bishop Ansah – Founder, Amazing Souls Worship Center
- Kofi Hayford – Music Director, Amazing Souls Worship Center
Pastor Kwame presented Mr and Mrs Hutchful with his plea.
"So, when will you preachers quit begging?" Mr Hutchful demanded.
"Wasn't it just last week you came in to borrow money?" Did you pay?" Mrs Hutchful added.
Pastor Kwame couldn't say anything. He simply bowed his head in shame, wishing he hadn't come.
"Pastor, we'll just help you out one more time; remember to pay!" Mrs Hutchful yelled.
"Thank you, madam and sir!" Kwame expressed his appreciation.
When Kwame left the Hutchful's house, he resolved never to return. He was grateful for their assistance, but he didn't expect to be humiliated in such a way. After all, he was their pastor, and he deserved some honour and respect. He recalls continuously reminding them of the passage that:
“Anyone who is ·learning the teaching of God [being instructed in the word] should share all the good things he has with his teacher.”
Just then, another passage popped into his thoughts, as if in response to his inquiry:
“Don't set foot too frequently in your neighbour's house, lest he becomes weary of you and hates you.”
That scripture struck him hard, and he realized he'd made a mistake.
Meanwhile, at the Renaissance Chapel headquarters, where Pastor Kwame was a branch pastor, tension was building. The news had spread that Rev Aseda Enchill, the ministry's associate pastor, had left the church. The founder of Renaissance Chapel, Apostle Moses Tay, was having none of it. The following day, he summoned an emergency meeting of all pastors and church leaders.
"There are sons who stab their fathers in the back," he began the meeting. "They shall not go unpunished!" he screamed.
"Their paths will be slippery!"
"Amen!" exclaimed the pastors and leaders.
"They shall be barren in the fertile land!"
“Amen!”
"They will perish in mysterious ways—accidents, plane crashes, and gunshots!"
“Am-eeeeeen!”
During the discussion, Apostle Tay gave all of the leaders strong instructions on how to deal with the ungrateful pastor. They were supposed to avoid his company. Every pastor and leader was instructed to remove Rev Aseda's phone number from their address book. He was to be regarded as an enemy.
"What I am saying is scriptural. The Bible warns us against associating with infidels. Anyone who associates with Reverend Aseda is an enemy of our Church!”
The Apostle was agitated. He regarded his assistant, Rev. Aseda Enchill, as his son and close friend. He had paid for his university studies and personally guaranteed that he was hired by an oil company despite lacking the required expertise. Again, he had persuaded his niece into marrying Rev. Aseda and paid for the extravagant ceremony himself. As a wedding gift, he gave Rev. Aseda and his new bride a car and a house in Accra's most prestigious neighborhood. He unduly elevated his brother-in-law to the title of Reverend in the church so that he could bypass the long-serving pastors and become the associate pastor at Renaissance Chapel. The hurt caused by the betrayal was fairly understandable.
Rev Aseda established a church roughly 400 meters from Renaissance Chapel within the next two weeks, an ethical step in Christian ministerial circles. The Apostle Moses Tay called a prayer meeting that week. He led the prayer himself throughout the meeting, which was unusual.
The prayer points were undoubtedly unusual, and most of them made some of the more discerning members cringe, but they prayed them nevertheless.
"Point your hands in the direction of that cursed church and repeat after me: May the church's pastors be cursed and know no peace. May that church never prosper or grow. May the church be full of funerals and weeping! May their financial situation never be stable...!"
It was a never-ending prayer campaign against the newly formed ministry.
Bishop Ansah and the Amazing Souls Worship Center team had a fantastic conference, but he was not happy. He was gripped by a deep sense of dread at the impending danger. The preceding three weeks of fasting and pleading for forgiveness had left him emaciated and weak.
“Bishop, there is a problem!” the music director of Renaissance Chapel approached the bishop while he was deep in thought.
The embattled bishop inquired, "What is it again, Hayford?"
The dynamic music director, Kofi Hayford, paused. He was concerned by the bishop's tone. He knew the bishop to be a warm and welcoming individual who had encouraged them to approach him with any concern at any time. Was this, however, the correct time? Was there something else bothering the bishop?
Hayford suggested, "Let me come back another time, Bishop."
“Tell me now!” the bishop screamed. “Tell me the damn news now!”
Hayford trembled, sensing that something wasn't quite right. However, the bishop appeared to be in a foul temper, hissing and snarling at him to tell him the news.
“Okay, Daddy. It is the about the choir.” He managed to say.
“What is it about them,” the minister retorted.
“They...they...”, he started stammering.
“Young man! Don’t waste my time!”
“Daddy three of the ladies are pregnant!”
“And how is that my business?”
“Daddy I am afraid it is!”
“How is it my business?” the bishop shouted now.
"Your daughter," said the young man. "One of them is your daughter."
"What?" exclaimed the bishop, shocked.
“She attempted to have an abortion, and it wasn’t successful!”
“What do you mean by it wasn’t successful?” the bishop jumped to his feet. “Where is she? Where is my daughter?”
By this moment, the bishop had the young man's neck in his hands and was choking him. Others in the building hurried to the scene and attempted to restrain the sobbing bishop, who collapsed to the floor.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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