MONROVIA – The former President of the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) Bishop Kortu Brown has cautioned President George Manneh Weah and Senator Prince Y. Johnson to desist from their new phenomenon of “mal-positioning the Holy Pulpit” by engaging in verbal attacks against one another.
By Obediah Johnson, [email protected]
Bishop Brown is the Founder and General Overseer of the New Water In The Desert Apostolic Pentecostal Church in Liberia.
For some time now, war of words has ensued between President Weah and Senator Johnson.
Senator Johnson, who is the Founder and the current Chairman of the National Governing Council of the Movement for Democracy and Reconstruction (MDR), accused President Weah and his government of planning to assassinate him due to his decision taken to withdraw his support from the governing Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) ahead of the presidential and legislative elections in Liberia this year.
According to him, the party’s newly elected Standard Bearer Senator Jeremiah Koung of Nimba County will contest for the presidency on the ticket of the MDR because, President Weah has allegedly failed to live up to the agreement he signed to support him during the 2017 elections.
But speaking at his Forkay Klon Jlaleh Church on the Robertsfield Highway last Sunday, President Weah said he is not a murderer and was in no way planning to kill anyone.
He said if anyone should be accused of being a murderer, then it should squarely be Senator Johnson; judging from his past records. Senator Johnson is a former leader of the notorious rebel group- Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (INPFL) which captured, humiliated, tortured and killed ex-Liberian President Samuel Kanyon Doe on September 9, 1990.
President Weah accused the self-proclaimed godfather of Nimba County of having a tainted character, and being a divisive figure who manipulates people to get what he wants.
“Do I look like somebody who can kill anybody? Who are you for somebody to assassinate? You manipulate people every day. That’s why nobody wants to work with you. Are you infallible? You don’t know what you did in this country?” President Weah asked rhetorically.
Further rejecting the claim, President Weah said it could be the ghosts of those who Senator Johnson killed during the war that are haunting him.
But in a statement issued in Monrovia on Wednesday, February 8, Bishop Brown observed that the new phenomenon remains a deep public concern that is developing in the country with politicians who are pastors increasingly utilizing the pulpit to attack and counter their opponents.
According to him, a preaching pulpit is a place where the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is presented and from where the people are warned about their shortcomings, challenges and also call upon to address injustices in society like in the case of the Old Testament prophet, Micah.
He stressed that prominent people or institutions also have what is referred to as bully pulpits where they address issues of concern.
He noted that for example, the President has a bully pit from where he’s able to address the people on issues of national concerns, likewise Senator Johnson.
Bishop Brown maintained that a person is elected to represent their people-a scenario which implies that elected officials should speak on behalf of the people.
“Of late, there is an increasing political deliberation from politicians in the preaching pulpit. Ordinary people are concerned if the pulpit is not being misrepresented. Some see the pulpit as a sacred space and a place for the advancement of the cause of Christ and will not like to see the gospel pulpit turn into a political platform largely focus on self-serving interests and/or the advancement of political intrigues.”
Concerns about politicians being pastors
Bishop Brown emphasized that ordinary Liberians are concerned about whether politicians who are considered as pastors or vice versa should use the soul-winning pulpit for such exercises or pursuits by addressing political differences or attacking one another.
Quoting 2 Timothy Chapter 2:15, he reminded President Weah and Senator Johnson as preachers to “Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman who needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.”
He said the preaching pulpit is a very powerful space where people are called to transformation.
Be careful with the pulpit
“The Apostle Paul reminds us in the Book of Romans Chapter 1 verses 16 and 17 that “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the Power of God unto Salvation to every one who believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by Faith”. Anyone who stands therefore on the pulpit must see their role as a serious responsibility that cannot be taken for granted or as place where you are speaking to a “crowd” instead of a “church”. There are pastors who speak to crowds but not to a church. There is a big difference. The pulpit preacher is a servant. However, the crowd speaker is “served”. Anyone using the pulpit has to be careful in what they are doing.”
He stressed that when pastors mount the pulpit, they say what God wants them to say, noting that, “Jesus Christ Himself exclaimed in St. Luke Chapter 4 verses 18 and 19 that “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach Deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them who are bruised. To preach the acceptable Year of the Lord.”
Don’t use pulpit to attack political opponents
Bishop Brown noted that the pulpit is not for the attack of one political opponent or competitor.
He emphasized that the pulpit is intended to preach, heal, deliver, recover and set hurting people free.
“Even at that, they, pastors, who don’t hold any political office, when they preach sometimes, even in Bible days, were accused of being political or unfair in their deliberations, at times. What then about politicians using the preaching pulpit to drive their political points? Knowingly or unknowingly, they create a lot of confusion in society.”
Use your bully pulpits
He said pastors with political pulpits should largely use their bully pulpits to address political issues or opponents rather than using their preaching pulpits in order to avoid confusing ordinary people about the true meaning and purpose of the preaching pulpit.
“The Bible reminds us that God is not the author of confusion. Politicians are people in public service. They also need to hear from the preaching pulpit in line with God’s word as they utilize their political pulpits throughout the working week. I don’t think it’s wrong for them to preach if they feel called by God for that purpose. However, using the pulpit to increasingly attack political opponents is unwarranted and can amount to a mal-positioning of the purpose of the pulpit.”
Bishop Brown noted that this is not the primary objective of the pulpit even if the issues border on genuine concerns, among others.
Don’t use pulpits to tell lies
He said a pastor of course cannot use a preaching pulpit for telling stories that amount to half-truths and others.
He stated that when a political person increasingly uses the pulpit to communicate to the people issues of national concern; some of those issues need to be vetted because they are not unquestionable.
“That’s why press conferences and related forums are better suited for addressing such political issues. Nobody should hid behind the preaching pulpit to attack their opponents for public service for political reasons especially when you are in public service or have run for public office before. We believe that issues confronting the country should be addressed by politicians in the political square where sometimes they can directly interact with members of the press for better clarity.”
He said Pastors should also consider that no single church can only have one set of supporters or partisans in their midst.
If this is so, Bishop Bishop disclosed that such a religious institution does not have a congregation, but it has a crowd and not a church.
Bishop Brown recalled that in the past, thanksgiving and intercessory services as required by Scriptures were restricted to leaders and the people thanking God for his manifold blessings and asking him to continue to guide and direct the nation and its people.
He pointed out that this is also in keeping with the Preamble of the Constitution of Liberia.
Paragraphs one and two of the Preamble of the Liberian constitution state that: “We the People of the Republic of Liberia: Acknowledging our devout gratitude to God for our existence as a Free, Sovereign, and Independent State, and relying on His Divine Guidance for our survival as a Nation…;”. Any such worship service is a spiritual exercise and not a political exercise. It’s a call to the nation to show God’s gratitude for our existence and to ask His guidance for our survival. That’s why in the past, normally, political remarks or responses will be made at another political setting where issues of concern are properly addressed and not necessarily in that sacred service of worship, unity, togetherness, etc.”
Call for ceasefire
He said as a consequence of the above, President Weah and Senator Johnson must “ceasefire” and maintain the sacredness of the preaching pulpit.
“We urge them to resolve any outstanding political differences or issues through political conciliation, reconciliation, and/or mediation, amongst others. As we march towards the Presidential and Legislative elections in October 2023, all Liberians must keep the peace. Political people and/or leaders attacking one another from the preaching pulpit for political reasons is a new phenomenon in Liberia. We don’t think it’s sustainable.”
The impasse between the two former allies would escalate among their political supporters and partisans if steps are not taken to arrest the situation.