Religion
‘I Know Myself: Adeboye Explains Why He Avoids Female Secretaries’
General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, has revealed why he no longer works with female secretaries. The decision, according to him, is based on maintaining spiritual discipline and avoiding compromising situations.
The 83-year-old cleric spoke during his sermon titled “Jonah Must Go” on day two of the Holy Ghost Congress 2025 at the Redemption Camp along the Lagos–Ibadan Expressway. The message was later shared on RCCG’s YouTube channel.
Adeboye recounted how he once had a female secretary during his time at Ebute Metta in Lagos State but decided to let her go after moving to the camp, where he often worked deep into the night. He explained that even though she was a dedicated Christian, he preferred to eliminate scenarios that could test his resolve.
According to him: “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.”
Adeboye also narrated an instance involving a young pastor who sought his counsel after noticing he was unusually excited about going to work just to see his secretary. After advising him to release her, the pastor obeyed and his ministry later flourished.
He recalled: “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.’
“The reason I feel excited about going to the office on Monday is that I want to see my secretary again.’
“As soon as you get home, sack her. Pay whatever you have to pay.”
The pastor acted immediately despite the secretary’s emotional reaction and later rose to prominence, which Adeboye attributed to removing a potential “Jonah.”
In contrast, he recounted another case involving a pastor in the United States who refused to heed the same counsel and eventually faced the collapse of his ministry and marriage.
Adeboye noted: “I had another son, who was pastoring one of our big churches in America, I told him, ‘Sack that secretary.’
“He said, ‘You’re joking, sir. We’re not talking about Nigeria. We’re talking about America.’
“At the end of the day, we had to relieve him, It wasn’t long before the lady chased the pastor out. And became the owner of the pastor.”
He urged Christians to cut off relationships or connections that hinder spiritual growth, emphasizing that releasing certain people can also set them on the right path.
“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.”
