Why I no longer work with female secretaries – Pastor Adeboye

General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has shed light on why he no longer employs female secretaries, linking the decision to his desire to avoid situations that could jeopardise his spiritual focus.

The 83-year-old spoke on the subject during his sermon titled “Jonah Must Go” on day two of the Holy Ghost Congress 2025 at the Redemption Camp, Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. The church uploaded the sermon on its YouTube page on Tuesday.

Adeboye recalled that he once had a female secretary while serving at Ebute Metta in Lagos State, but decided to dismiss her when he moved to the camp, believing the change was necessary for his spiritual discipline.

He said he made the choice because he wanted the “Jonah” in his life to depart.

Adeboye said: “From the moment I got to this campground, from the moment I got to a stage where at night I still have to work, I ceased to have a female secretary. Some people think it is gender discrimination. I know myself. I know who I was before Jesus saved my soul.

“I see the possibility of being left alone at night with the opposite sex. Oh, but if you are to get a secretary like the last one I had, she was a wonderful child of God.

“She was my secretary at Ebute Metta. Wonderful lady. True child of the living God. And when I arrived, I knew I would still be in the office at 3 a.m. And I could imagine, after a long day’s work, everybody finally sees the last visitor. And then my secretary comes at 2 a.m.

“’We are through now, sir. Is there any way I can help you? Like, you know, a cup of tea to relax?’ Jonah must go.”

He also shared examples involving two RCCG pastors whom he advised to dismiss their female secretaries. According to him, one pastor obeyed and later became “a great man of God,” while the other ignored the advice and eventually strayed.

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“There is one of my sons here. A great man of God. When he started, his ministry was tiny. He came to me from the north. He said, ‘Daddy, I have a problem.’ I said, ‘What’s your problem?’ He said, ‘I always feel excited when it is Monday.’ ‘What’s the problem with that?’ He said, ‘Because I’ll be going to the office on Monday.’ I said, ‘Yeah, what’s the problem?’ He said, ‘The reason I feel excited about going to the office on Monday is that I want to see my secretary again.’

“He said, ‘What should I do? What’s wrong? What prayer?’ I said, ‘Prayer? As soon as you get home, sack her. Pay whatever you have to pay.’ He said, ‘Yes, sir.’ He got back to the office the following Monday. And told the girl, ‘Thank you very much. We’ll pay you this much for notice. But you, you cease to be my secretary from today.’ She erupted. Not that I blame her.

“I know where you are coming from. You’ve gone to visit that stupid man you call your father. My son says, ‘Call him stupid. Just go.’ Today, he is a great man of God. Why? Because Jonah had gone,” he said.

The cleric explained that the second pastor, who once led an RCCG church in the United States, was later relieved of his position after refusing to dismiss his secretary. The pastor eventually married the secretary and started his own ministry.

He said, “I had another son, who was pastoring one of our big churches in America. And I had some things. So I brought him here. I told him, ‘Sack that secretary.’

“He said, ‘You’re joking, sir. We’re not talking about Nigeria. We’re talking about America.’ I said, ‘Is that so? Sack her.’ He said, ‘No way.’ Well, at the end of the day, we had to relieve him. The husband of the secretary was cross with me.

“Took a harsh decision. Only for him to discover. I think four out of the five children the woman had belonged to a former pastor. And it didn’t end there. It wasn’t long before the lady chased the pastor out. And became the owner of the pastor. God has mercy on pastors. Anything that can truncate your destiny.”

Addressing the congregation, Adeboye urged Christians to sever ties that do not aid their spiritual growth, adding that ending such relationships may also help the other party.

“When you look at the parable of Jonah. You may begin to say, ‘If I cut off this relationship. If I throw Jonah into the ocean…’ Leave the rest to God. The God of all flesh. Until they threw Jonah into the sea. He wasn’t going to where God wanted him to go. Leave the rest to the God of all flesh,” Adeboye said.