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.

.Why I no longer work with female secretaries – Pastor Adeboye

.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.