I have read with much concern the article in the Daily Searchlight newspaper of 28th August 2009 which was also published on the websites: 1. myjoyonline.com 2. www.ghanaweb.com. with the above headline: The Rot in the Methodist Church! The article set out to defame me. After much consideration, I have decided to first write this rejoinder hoping that it would be given the same prominence as the defamatory article in question. Please note however, that I reserve my right of action in respect of the defamatory matter. Throughout my tenure as Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church Ghana, I noticed with interest that around almost every period of Conference or the Expanded General Purposes Council meeting held in between the biennial Conference, articles appeared in newspapers either attacking me, some Church officers or the Church. Thank God that in spite of all these attacks which were couched in the form of criticisms, the Good Lord has brought me safely to the end of my tenure. The great joy I have is that God, through His people, appointed my successor and gave the two of us a smooth transition to allow the new administration to take off in peace and harmony. I have made a public commitment to support the new leadership in every way especially in prayer. I will continue to serve the Church and the new leadership in any way that the Lord sees fit. I will therefore resist any temptation through newspaper articles to do anything that will disrupt or in any way disturb the Church's peace, harmony and ministry or the work of the new administration after the Lord has brought my period of privileged service to an end in such a beautiful way. Your article attacked me for my last Conference address at Winneba. It wondered why Conference members "could not and did not even see it fit to question the truth or half-truths peddled by the out-going Presiding Bishop" and added that this "may well epitomize the blind allegiance that characterize the way things are done in the Methodist Church Ghana". Let me affirm my faith and confidence in the members of the Methodist Conference and Synods who are men of wisdom and knowledge, who possess the fortitude and courage to question issues, provide solutions and generate ideas for the development of the Church. As part of the mischief you were carrying out by your article, you did not indicate what my address said. My address to Conference was a report of what I had done, challenges, achievements and issues for consideration of members. I had no doubt in my mind, before, during and after my address that the Church still had problems to grapple with. I believe the Conference members also knew this. Solving problems is a concern for all Church leaders and at every opportunity leaders including the Bishops you referred to raise these problems to remind the Church members that our task is not over. The battle continues. The achievements of my tenure are known to God and the Church members. If my tenure was "wasted years", my God who restores what has been wasted will restore to the Church, and as I continue to abide in Him and serve His Church, I know He will be merciful to me. In serving the Church as Presiding Bishop, I did not disregard its structures. For every true Methodist knows that the Church carries out its ministry on the strength of its structures. The structures sustain the peace and harmony in the Church, and where there is the need for change, the same structures give direction as to how to achieve it. You also accused me of ignoring projects and programmes including evangelism. Let me say simply that this is not true. Further, I do not want to be drawn into any comparisons with any administration. God gave every administration the opportunity to serve. I believe with every such opporttunity God gives a vision. The leader of every administration carries out the vision of God within the structure of the Church. It is not proper for a past leader or anybody, for that matter, to hold a serving leader to the vision given to a past leader. I will not do this. My successor should carry out his vision. I will serve with him and support him to carry out his God-given vision. He should succeed where I failed, have boundless success where I succeeded and break new frontiers for the Church. For that is the work of God. Jesus told His disciples that they will do greater works when He is taken up. There is satisfaction when you see your successor succeed especially where there has been a smooth transition and you serve with him. You wrote with so much determination to destroy the Church and its officers, to the extent that you failed to observe the basic requirement of the journalistic profession which requires you to cross-check your issues before publication. You did not check any of the issues with anybody in the Church. The result is that you made false and unjustifiable allegations on all the issues including the trips to Israel and Kenya as well as purchase of vehicles by bishops and ministers. There is good reason for the trips and the purchase of the vehicles you referred to. Your statement that I attended a youth conference is also false. The bishops, ministers and officers of the Church are accountable to the Church and to God. We are very much aware of it and in fact genuine criticisms help us a great deal. But destructive criticism does not do any person any good. If your writer is a Methodist or has Methodist associates, then he should understand that the Methodist Church Ghana has no fear of genuine and constructive criticism. What it abhors is destructive criticisms which even the Lord hates. I decided to write this response as my first reaction after seeing the comments on the internet. Many have been misled by your article into towing your line of character assassination and attacks on churches and pastors. I realized as a pastor that there is a congregation I have to preach to on certain human conduct which God detests namely bearing false witness, criticising people before hearing them and deliberately speaking ill of others with the aim of destroying them. There are serious consequences for the one who commits any of such acts. Use the opportunity God has given you as a journalist and the invention of the internet to build what is good - not a shield behind which cowards fail to face personally those they seek to destroy. Reputation is hard to build. It should not be destroyed by the stroke of a pen either deliberately or carelessly. I see your article as a deliberate effort to tarnish my hard won local and international reputation -- and I ask, "For what purpose?” Finally, it appears to be customary for some writers to welcome people into office with some caution and warnings. Through this process they seek to set an agenda for the person which they later use to attack him or her. My successor has his vision. Do not set your agenda for him as you seem to do in the article. God Himself has His agenda for him. Let him be free to pursue it. Be in tune with God and you will be blessed even in your criticism. Yours faithfully, Most Rev. Dr. Robert Aboagye-Mensah