Why Ghanaians Must Demand Accountability from Both the Pulpit and the Podium
Every Sunday in Ghana, a familiar scene plays out. The choir sings, the sermon stirs the soul, and then the offering basket moves, from pew to pew, sometimes with music, sometimes with a gentle admonition: “Bring ye all the tithe into the storehouse.”
On Monday, a different collection begins. Customs officials check declarations, the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) sends reminders, and traders and employees calculate what portion of their sweat will go to the government in the form of taxes. One happens in a church; the other at a market, office, or port, but both must be paid in percentages. One is called a tithe, the other a tax. Yet, both serve the same basic purpose: to sustain institutions we depend on.
Curiously, in Ghanaian public discourse, some citizens fiercely reject tithes as man-made exploitation. Others defend the tithe passionately but recoil at the word “tax”, especially when it is time to pay. This selective moral outrage deserves interrogation.
This article interrogates that outrage, draws a parallel between the pastor and the politician, the tithe and the tax, examining why both are necessary, how both are abused, and why Ghanaians must demand accountability, not abolition.
The Pastor and the Politician: Different Callings, Similar Responsibilities
At first glance, a pastor and a politician seem worlds apart. One wields a Bible, the other a budget. One promises heaven, the other promises heaven- on- earth, but fundamentally, their roles are strikingly similar.
Both the pastor and the politician lead institutions: The pastor oversees a church, often employing staff, maintaining properties, funding outreaches, paying utilities, and providing social services to the community.
The politician is responsible for stewarding the state, often mobilising and allocating resources to sustain national infrastructure, remunerating public sector workers, servicing public debt, and delivering essential social services to citizens.
Neither institution runs on prayer points nor campaign slogans alone. Money is the lifeline of administration.
Just as parliament approves budgets for ministries and government agencies, churches also approve budgets for ministries of a different kind: welfare, evangelism, youth work, and community support. To expect a church to function without tithing is as unrealistic as expecting a government to function without taxes.
Tithe: More Than a Collection Basket
Tithing, the practice of giving 10 per cent of one’s income to the church, is deeply rooted in Judeo‑Christian tradition. It is no news that faith-based organisations rely primarily on member contributions. Studies on religious giving show that regular contributions, including tithes from members, make up the bulk of church income.
However, in recent years, the practice of tithing, once a sacred obligation, has come under intense public scrutiny and ‘attack’. Social media platforms, now the unofficial pulpits of modern opinion, have become battlegrounds where tithing is debated, criticised, and sometimes outrightly condemned. In fact, many Ghanaians loudly criticise tithing as unbiblical or a scam.
Interestingly, even within Christian circles, there is a growing theological disagreement about its place in New Testament Christianity. While some Christians (both the clergy and laity) believe that the practice is an Old Testament theology, outdated and has no place in modern Christian practices, there is, however, a sizeable number of Christians, especially pastors, who argue and insist that tithing predates the law, and is as relevant in today’s Christian practice as it was yesteryears.
But beyond the debate, one critical question remains unanswered: Where should churches raise money to fund their activities? Let us move from sentiments to facts. Churches, unlike corporations, do not generate profit through commercial sales. Their primary source of funding remains: tithes, free-will offerings, special donations, and project contributions. Among these, tithing stands out as the most consistent and predictable stream of income. Without it, most churches would struggle to pay staff, maintain infrastructure, run outreach programs and support social services. In essence, tithing is not merely a religious act; it is a financial system that sustains the Church’s social and spiritual impact.
In many towns, the church responds more quickly to needs than the district assembly. Across many places in Ghana, churches play a significant socio-economic role that is often underreported.
They contribute significantly to the economy by creating employment opportunities and stimulating demand for a wide range of goods and services. These include religious items such as anointing oil, communion products, clergy apparel, as well as technical products and services such as audio-visual equipment and audio-visual production services. Additionally, churches provide avenues for musicians, instrumentalists, and other professionals to offer their skills, thereby supporting livelihoods and fostering economic activity within various communities.
For instance, an article published by Pentecost News on the official website of the Church of Pentecost indicates that, as of December 2021, the Church had provided direct employment to a total of 6,054 Ghanaians. This positions the Church as one of the largest non-governmental employers in the country, underscoring its significant contribution to national development and job creation. In this way, churches function as non-state development partners by absorbing a sizable portion of the unemployment burden on the national government.
Time and space will fail me to enumerate in detail the contributions of the orthodox churches and other pentecostal and charismatic churches to Ghana’s socio-economic development, particularly in the areas of education, healthcare, and social services.
So, the question remains: Who funds all this work?
COVID-19: When the Church Showed Up
If there was ever a moment that tested the Church’s relevance to national development, it was during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the Church did not disappoint. They did not issue press statements; they showed up with substance.
Churches- orthodox, charismatic, Pentecostal and even spiritual churches, committed several million Ghana cedis toward Ghana’s COVID-19 response. The Church of Pentecost, International Central Gospel Church (ICGC), the Methodist church, the Catholic Church, and other faith institutions in Ghana became frontline partners in the national response. They supplied medical equipment to treatment centres, PPE for health workers, isolation facilities, and critical logistics support to the state. When lockdowns strained livelihoods, churches mobilised relief: food, essentials, and hope. The critical point is that government allocations funded none of these contributions. They were funded largely through tithes, offerings, and voluntary giving.
Nevertheless, many social media commentaries heavily criticise giving to the church, including tithing, and some have scorned those who are bold to pay tithes as if they pay their tithes from their income. I have also come across social media commentaries calling for the outlawing of churches, arguing that churches are to blame for Ghana’s slow pace of development. Some of these comments are clearly born out of ignorance, but some are sheer hatred for the church and anything that represents it.
On one hand, critics argue that tithing is outdated, exploitative and unnecessary; on the other hand, these same voices expect churches to create jobs, support education and healthcare, provide relief during national crises and generally contribute to national development.
The irony is hard to ignore. It is somewhat like criticising a cocoa farmer for planting cocoa, while still expecting chocolate at the end of the season.
Why Some Reject the Tithe but Accept the Tax
Many Ghanaians see nothing inherently wrong with taxation, even though government corruption is well-documented. In fact, no patriotic Ghanaian argues that taxes should be abolished because politicians steal our taxes. Instead, the common refrain is: “We need better transparency and accountability.” And rightly so.
Even with inefficiencies, Ghana’s development trajectory, however slow, has been shaped by tax revenue; if taxation were scrapped because of corruption, the country would collapse within months. The same logic must apply to churches regarding tithing. Why abolish one system due to purported abuse while reforming the other?
Acknowledging the Problem: When the Storehouse Becomes a Private Warehouse
Let’s examine some of these discomforts. Shall we? The goal here is not to demonise the church, but to clarify why accountability is non‑negotiable.
Manipulative Fundraising Techniques
A major source of public anger against tithing and giving to the church in general is the psychological pressure attached to giving.
Examples include:
- Teaching that failure to tithe automatically blocks blessings or invites curses
- Linking financial giving to healing, marriage, promotion, or protection
- “Prophetic direction” that conveniently aligns with the pastor’s building project or personal lifestyle.
- Tiered recognition systems, where those who give more receive ‘special prayers’ or special access to the man of God. This turns the tithe from voluntary worship into transactional fear‑giving.
In state terms, it is synonymous with a government threatening citizens with disaster unless they pay taxes. Ghanaians would protest instantly. Yet, similar manipulation sometimes passes unchallenged in religious spaces.
No Audits, No Reports, No Questions Allowed
In many churches, especially founder‑led ministries, financial opacity is normalised: no annual financial statements to members, no independent audit of accounts, and questions about finances being labelled as “rebellion” or “lack of faith”. Ironically, many of these same congregants work in organisations where audited accounts are mandatory, yet they are told accountability in church is unspiritual. By contrast, this is opposed to standard practice in government. Despite its shortcomings, the government routinely publishes budgets, Auditor-General’s reports, and parliamentary accounts. While citizens rightly criticise instances of corruption and misuse, the underlying principle of transparency remains firmly established. When churches, however, do not adopt even basic standards of reporting, it creates room for doubt and fosters public suspicion. It is important, however, to mention that some churches in Ghana subject their finances to boards and auditors and publish detailed accounts annually, at least to their members. However, these churches are a drop in the ocean.
Personal Enrichment Disguised as “Blessing”
Perhaps the most visible abuse of giving is when church funds are indistinguishable from a pastor’s personal income. When offerings and tithes are treated as the personal property of the “man of God”, rather than the church, implying divine ownership that discourages questioning, then tithing may look like a scam. The issue here is not that pastors should live in poverty. Scripture itself affirms fair compensation for pastors. But when church staff struggle with delayed allowances, while the founding pastor lives markedly above the church’s declared income level, many may refuse to honour their tithing obligation. It is problematic when there is no governance structure separating money that belongs to the church and ministry expenses from personal lifestyle choices of the man of God or Daddy ‘GO’, or what many charismatic Christians in Ghana call ‘Papa’. In such cases, tithes become less of a communal resource and more of a private revenue stream.
Must these abuses invalidate tithing? Certainly not! The critical distinction many debates miss is that the misuse of tithe is a leadership failure, not a theological failure, much the same way the misuse of tax is a governance failure, not an argument against taxation. Ghanaians understand this instinctively when it comes to the state. We know corruption exists, yet no serious thinker proposes abolishing taxes altogether. Instead, we demand Auditor‑General reports, parliamentary oversight and civil society monitoring.
The church also deserves the same maturity of thought. To condemn all tithing because of misuse is like condemning all public servants because of corrupt politicians. The tithe is not the problem; the tax is not the problem; rogue leadership is. But both the pastor and politician must remember that they are stewards, not owners.
Jesus once said, “Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and unto God what is God’s – Matthew 22:21”. That wisdom still holds, supplemented by a modern clause: “And demand accountability from both”. The tithe and the tax are not enemies of progress. Misuse is.
A society that stops giving because of corruption will starve its institutions. A society that gives blindly will enrich abusers. The way forward is neither blind faith nor cynical withdrawal but engaged generosity, informed citizenship, and the courage to ask hard questions of both the man in the pulpit and the one behind the podium.
No one stops paying taxes because a million dollars was found under a politician’s bed. Likewise, rejecting tithes wholesale because of rogue pastors is like refusing kenkey because one seller used yesterday’s pepper.
Fellow Ghanaians, let us stop arguing over whether to give and start agreeing on how money, holy or public, should be handled. After all, someone must pay for governance and church administration, but pay what is due and boldly demand what is right.
Remember, do not do what you would not like anyone to ever find out. I come in peace!
The writer is a pastor and a public and nonprofit management professional.
Email: emmanuelbohyebaidan@gmail.com
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