The Administrative Bishop of the Methodist Church, Ghana, says true leaders should not look for self-appreciation and respect in the eyes of their congregations.

“As leaders who have come to occupy positions, how do you want others to see you? Is it with respect, is it with appreciation? What are we looking for? Sometimes we begin to look for self- appreciation; we begin to look for affirmation and that can lead to something else,” he said.

The Right Rev. Dr. Paul Kwabena Boafo was preaching the sermon during the induction service for the Connexional Executives of the Association of Methodist Brigades Ghana, and the decoration of Mr Enoch Teye Mensah and Professor Tim Acquah-Heyford as Connexional Patrons at the Calvary Methodist Church, Community Three, Tema.

The Right Rev. Dr. Boafo admonished the executives to guard against self-centredness which could lead to arrogance and aggressiveness among the people they led.

Alluding to John the Baptist in the Holy Bible, he observed that he shifted attention from himself to Christ when asked whether he was the Christ.

With that, he admonished the new leaders not to work for their self-interest but to ensure that they promoted the work of their maker which was to nurture the youth of the church to fear God and walk in His ways.

Mr Mensah in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) said the church over the years had played very meaningful role in the upbringing of the Ghanaian child.

He said, “When the schools were controlled by the churches when we were growing up, one had to go to church where there was the Sunday school which imbibed a lot of values in us.

The Connexional Co-ordinator, Association of Methodist Brigades Ghana, Brother Robert Nii Amaa Amartey, said the basic mandate of the organization was “to develop young children to become true followers of Christ and to serve in newness of life as future leaders.”

Boys’ and Girls’ Brigade is an international organization for young people which was originally established in October 4, 1838 by Sir William Alexander Smith at Glasgow, Scotland, and instituted in 1911 in then Gold Coast in 1911 at the Christiansburg Castle, Osu.

They currently draw membership from the Methodist, Presbyterian, the Anglican and a couple of other Churches in Ghana.