Broadcasting the Teachings on Radio

The Ghana Experience

By Emmanuel Asiedu-Mante

It has been the practice of the Ghana church since Elizabeth Clare Prophet’s third and last visit to Ghana in 1978 to try and spread the Teachings of the Ascended Masters in Ghana and other countries on the continent of Africa. The practice has always been in the form of hiring an auditorium, printing posters, handbills and making announcements on radio and television. These are done to draw the attention of seekers and others who might be interested in the Teachings.

The Masters’ Teachings, either in the form of a lecture given by the Messengers or culled from any of the books or Pearls of Wisdom, are transcribed and read with explanations to the audience. After the delivery, the floor is opened for questions and comments. This segment is done to ensure that doubts and misunderstandings on any part of the Teaching are dealt with and cleared up.

Since 1978, the Ghana Church has organized public lectures on the Teachings of the Masters at various locations in Accra, the capital of Ghana. Thus public lectures have been held in the auditorium of the British Council Hall (Accra South;) Teachers’ Hall (Accra Central;) Trade Fair site (Accra East;) Accra Academy (Accra West;) and the auditorium of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (Accra North.)

In addition to Accra, public lectures on the teachings have been held in six of the ten regions in Ghana. There are currently Teaching Centers in six regions Ghana.

We noticed over the years that the benefits derived from this practice has been minimal. A lot of effort and money go into the organization of these public lectures. Unfortunately, only few people respond by attending the lectures. The disappointing number of attendees aside, none of those who show up at these public lectures stay on to be registered as Keepers of the Flame. The concern is that the resources of the Ghana church are thin and therefore extreme prudence needs to be exercised in the way moneys of the church are spent. To spend so much money by way of attracting seekers and not achieving the desired aim can be disappointing, frustrating and even irritating.

Trying a Different Outreach Approach Opens a Door

The Ghana church was therefore compelled to try a different approach to reaching out to seekers. The decision was taken to hold a public lecture right on the church’s own property at Adenta – a suburb of Accra. Handbills and posters were printed and given to Keepers of the Flame who went in pairs distributing the handbills and posters door-to–door to residents living within the vicinity of the church building. Savings were thereby made by avoiding costs on radio, TV, and newspaper advertisements. Savings were also made on the decision to use our own premises for the public lecture instead of going out to hire expensive auditoriums for just half a day.

The topic treated that day was How to Work with Angels. The pocketguide How to Work with Angels as well as the book Sacred Adventure (vol.2) were the source documents for the lecture. The lecture ran over two hours after which the floor was opened for questions and comments. This section also went on for about an hour after which proceedings were brought to a close.

After the closure, I was approached by a middle–aged man who introduced himself to me as Mr. Addae–Baffour. He said, among other things, that he was a staunch Catholic, but he found the teachings on angels to be quite fascinating. He then went on to tell me that he owned an FM radio station at Kasoa, on the outskirt of Accra and that he was willing to give me free air-time every Sunday evening to broadcast the Teachings of the Masters. Of course, I gleefully accepted the offer and have been broadcasting the Teachings of the Masters on that platform every Sunday evening for the past two years.

The Ghana Radio Outreach

The first topic that I treated on radio was Karma and Reincarnation. I spoke for approximately 50 minutes, all in English. I reserved 10 minutes of the one hour time allotted me for questions and comments from listeners. I had one listener calling in to inquire about my source of information. I told him that there are many references to Karma and Reincarnation in the Christian Bible. I gave him enough references in both the New and Old Testaments. He was probably looking for the word KARMA and felt disappointed when he did not see that word. But I explained to him that it is the same as you “reap what you sow” or “what goes round comes around.”

After the program, the producer who hosted the program met me outside the studio and advised me that majority of the people in the catchment area of the radio station, was Akan-speaking people. Akan is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ghana. He advised me to do subsequent presentations in the Akan language and occasionally intersperse it with English for the benefit of the non-Akan speaking listeners to the program. I have been doing that ever since and the response has been good.

Reactions from Listeners

There have been several and interesting reactions to the radio broadcast of the Teachings.

1. There were those who cursed me for daring to speak on subjects they considered to be satanic.

It was in the second week of my presentation on the radio. I had just exited the studio when my cell phone rang. I picked the call and before I could say “Hello,” I heard a man’s voice raining curses on me for daring to speak about the things he described as devilish and satanic. I tried to explain that there was nothing satanic about the Teachings and that what I had just delivered on radio is the true teachings of Jesus Christ. He was not in a mood to listen so I cut him off. When I got home, (the studio is about 45 minutes’ drive from my home,) I called him. I was of the view that may be, engaging him in a more sober mood will make him re-think and agree or even accept the whole or at least, part of the Teaching.

It did not work. This man was still in a belligerent mood and continued raining curses on me. I had had enough at this stage so I cut him off for the second time.

2. Those who disagreed with me.

This category of people vehemently disagreed with me and branded me a false preacher. To them, what I was propounding on radio was completely different from what their pastors and ministers have been telling them. And since they have confidence in their pastors/ministers, my version, in their opinion, was false.

3. Those who called to seek clarification.

This group of people are genuine seekers. They called to seek clarification on various aspects of the teachings. It was obvious that these were seekers who were eager to know more and were prepared to go the extra mile to understand the Teachings.

4. Those who accepted the Teachings:

This category of people agreed and accepted the Teachings, describing it as the true teachings of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, the number of people in this category is in the minority compared to the number in the previous groups. But the consolation is that there are people who accept the Teachings even if they are not many.

Observation

The predominant religion in Ghana is orthodox Christianity. This is followed by the Muslim religion. There are also Buddhists, Hindus, Hare Krishners, Bahai Faith, etc. These other religious groups constitute approximately 10% of the population of Ghana. The Christians population forms about 7% of the population with Muslims constituting about 18%. The Christian group is made up of orthodox Christians like Catholics, Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptist, etc. Then there are the Apostolics, the Charismatic, and the Pentecostals etc. The Buddhist, Hindus, Bahai Faith and African Traditional religions together constitute approximately 10% of the population of Ghana.

Lessons Learned

1. The greatest opposition to the Teachings comes from the Pentecostals, the Apostolics, and the Charismatics. To them, there is only one God and that God is Jesus. Any other name other than Jesus is a blasphemy. They also do not believe in angels. As far as they are concerned, angels do not exist and any talk about angels is wishful thinking notwithstanding the fact that angels are mentioned over hundred times in the Bible.
2. I dare say that most pastors are not teaching the true message of the Master Jesus. It is difficult to tell whether it is deliberate or it is out of ignorance. Several times I have had listeners call me on the program to say that what their pastors preach to them at church on Sundays is different from what I teach on the radio. Some of them genuinely get confused and it shows in the way they ask questions.
3. It is extremely difficult and frustrating to try to sell the Teachings to someone who is not ready for it. This is because the more you try to convince such a person, the more you are rebuffed. Unfortunately, it is not easy to determine on radio who is ready and who is not ready for the Teachings. So one has no choice but to keep on keeping on.
4. Jesus’ mission and Teachings during his Palestinian sojourn on earth have been distorted by orthodox Christianity – a situation that needs correction by all spiritual aspirants.
5. In conclusions, I need to say that a lot has been learned during the past two years that I have been presenting the Teachings on radio. I have made friends who genuinely enjoy and appreciate what I say on radio. I must also admit that I have ruffled a few feathers and actually infuriated quite a number of people.

I think what I need now is a radio with a national outreach so that I can reach out to a lot more people with the Teachings.

I believe that the Masters will open a bigger door for me to enable me reach out to a lot more people with the Teachings of the Ascended Masters.

Always Victory