Welcome, dear reader!

Here’s a story of a man of God and his battle with the forces of wickedness, corruption and greed. Should be an interesting one. Let’s go!

“Your Excellency, with the greatest of respect, I greet you this morning. Kind Sir, please, things are awry in this country. We know you are fully aware of this, and we know you know full well that many of the people around you are leeching this country dry. But you continue to tell us they’ve done nothing wrong. You continue to protect the people hurting this country. Kind Sir, the Lord is telling you…”

“Mtchewww! Massa, massa, massa!”

The sound of the speaker was cut off from the phone it was playing on.

“Is it that pastor?”

“Who again? Thar pastor diɛɛ, he talks too much! Ahh! Debiaa, the government has done this, and this minister is on the wrong track, and bla bla bla! Hoh! When the previous government was sending this country into the doldrums, what did he say?”

“Ashock sef. I’m sure he’s one of them pastors the opposition has paid to be doing their dirty work. Shameless.”

“Forget am sef. Me diɛɛ, I don’t even listen to him. It’s such a shame. You say you’re a man of God, yet all you do is slate this government that is doing so well. It’s a shame, chale. A big, big shame…”

“Serious oo. How many pastors do you see making all these silly statements about the government? He’s a joke. I dunno what clout he’s looking for, but I sure hope it’s worth more than the actual work of God he should be focusing on…”

Ludwig Asante, who was seated in the front seat of the taxi, could hear everything the three young men sitting at the back had said, despite his AirPods being firmly plugged in. He shook his head in amusement.

Typical. These foot-soldiers and their hate for Rev. DMJ…

Reverend David Mensah-Jones, the head pastor of Reverence Ministries, was the pastor they were talking about.

His pastor.

For a while now, Rev. Mensah-Jones had become quite vocal about the state of the nation. It was no secret that the government of the day was failing in its promise to raise the nation from a struggling one to a prosperous and thriving one, needing aid from no other country. Some of its decisions and policies were clearly a burden on the ordinary citizen, yet they that made up the government continued to live lavishly, almost as if nothing was wrong with the nation’s economy.

Rev. Mensah-Jones, who was already the kind of pastor who didn’t hold back on controversial issues, had begun calling them out, stating that God was not pleased with their acts. Having mentioned that a burden for Ghana had been placed in his heart on a number of occasions, he came at these offending leaders with respectful firmness. Unlike many who rained the most vile of insults on them, he refrained from doing so, but would not mince words, making them know their actions were not pleasing to God, and that they ought to repent.

It was clear his statements on the pulpit generated many mixed opinions. For a lot of people, they admired the fact that he bravely spoke the truth and refused to shy away from such an important issue. Being dissatisfied with how the government was handling the economy and the nation’s general state of affairs, the words of Rev. Mensah-Jones were much needed.

For many others, especially those who supported this government, he was nothing but a pawn of the opposition party they hated with a passion. To them, he was talking nothing but nonsense, and served as an embarrassing example of when politics seeps into religion.

It was not easy having to deal with such persons whenever Ludwig or any other member of Reverence was in town. Some of them would go straight for the jugular and tell them to tell Rev. Mensah-Jones to stop talking about the government. Others would just sneer in disgust and shake their heads and walk away.

Not that it bothered them, though. They knew everything he said on that pulpit was the truth and nothing but it. Everything he said needed to be said. Besides, those who disliked his words weren’t as many as those who liked them. Many people were highly disappointed with the government’s term of power, and Rev. Mensah-Jones’ strong words were often lauded by such unsatisfied citizens.

But then again, even if the entire country was against Rev. DMJ, it wouldn’t make any difference, Ludwig thought to himself as he indicated to the driver where he would be alighting. He smirked as he noted the surprised looks on the faces of the three gentlemen in the back seat once the taxi stopped right in front of the junction leading straight to the church and he stepped out. As for that man, once he’s convinced it’s the calling of God to do what he does, he doesn’t mind being unpopular.

***

A faint pound emanated from the door of the reverend’s office.

“Yes, Ludwig, come in.”

The reverend, seated at his table, nodded as one of his young protégés entered his office.

A man who exuded the authority and grace of a sage in his old age, Reverend David Mensah-Jones was a striking figure, standing tall and slender with an air of elegance and poise. His countenance revealed a wisdom that only came with age and experience, despite his youthful appearance. In his mid-forties, he exuded a sense of maturity and confidence that commanded respect from those around him.

On the pulpit, he was a ‘minister of fire’, one who never shied away from calling out the wrongs prevalent in society and issuing calls for repentance. His disdain for political correctness and compromise was evident whenever he spoke; he stood for the cause of Christ and made it plain every single time he opened his mouth.

It would be easy to assume that this stern disposition of his on the pulpit translated into his private life, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rev. David was a very pleasant personality who many loved to be around once they got to know him in person. Married to a gorgeous and sweet-hearted woman by the name of Sika, and the father of three wonderful children, Matthew, Mark, and Maria, he was an affable and loving man.

“Reverend, good afternoon!” Ludwig greeted.

“Yes, Ludwig, good afternoon. How are you doing?”

“All is well by God’s grace, Reverend.”

“Great. The juice is here?”

“Right here, Rev.” Ludwig opened up his backpack and pulled out a polythene bag full of bottles of green juice.

David nodded in satisfaction. “Sweet. Lemme have one.”

Ludwig duly pulled one out and handed it over to David, who shook it, opened and took a big gulp. Looking at the bottle, he nodded. “Auntie Maggie’s green juice. Never disappoints, chale. So you said it’s now 12 cedis per bottle?”

Ludwig nodded. “Yes, please.”

David shook his head. “This one that was just 4 cedis this same time last year? Ei! Chale, ɛyɛ asem ooo!”

“Hmmm. The way items have become expensive in the market, it’s not funny. Mama isn’t happy about it, but there’s nothing she can do.”

David shook his head, then drank some more juice. “I can’t blame her. She has to do what she needs to do to survive. That’s how it is all around. Times are hard, yet those supposed to help us are enjoying themselves. It’s just sad, honestly. It’s just sad.”

“Hmmm, it is. Yet when you say it, some of the government’s fanboys will be talking all sorts of nonsense about you,” Ludwig commented as he placed the bag on the fridge in the corner of the office. “As I was coming, some of them were in the taxi watching one of your videos, and they were saying all those things, that the opposition has bought you, you’re doing it for clout, all that stuff.”

David chuckled. “As always, my dear Ludwig. As always. And I hope you didn’t confront them.”

“Oh no, I didn’t.”

“Good. There’s no need to. They can say all they want, I’m really not perturbed. Look, if there’s one thing the Lord has helped me understand in this walk with Him, it’s that pleasing Him will more often than not lead to getting on the bad side of certain people. And you need to be at peace with that. Jesus said woe unto you if all men speak well of you, so I’m not worried if they remain offended at my obligation to let the authorities know the truth.

“As long as I’m a servant of God, I’ll always be under obligation to tell His people what is on His mind, and the appalling governing of this nation is heavy on His mind. I will speak it, and speak it boldly. And whether I become unpopular or hated, that’s not my problem. As long as I can account to my Master that I did all He told me to do, they can trash talk me all they want. I’ll happily be unpopular if it means my Father is pleased with me. And that is that.

“Or… how-how do the Gen Zs say that these days?”

Ludwig wasn’t expecting that, but it was no strange thing for the reverend to ask. He grinned and replied, “They’ll say: and that’s on period!”

“Eii, this Generation Z no be easy! Anyways, yeah, you can leave the bag there. Sika will pass by in about half an hour to take it. Meanwhile, take my car keys and go and get this book from the car for me…”  

Well, that’s a brief introduction to our protagonist. Clearly not worried about what people think about him. I guess we’ll be learning a bit more about him as we move along…