By Gbenga Osinaike
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye has expressed deep concern over the rising rate of adultery cases in the church, pointing out that the church will no longer indulge ministers found guilty of such act.
He made this known at a recent meeting with top pastors in the church.
The meeting, according to findings of Church Times had in attendance Special Assistants to the General Overseer, Pastors in Charge of Regions/Provinces and Assistant Pastors in Charge of Provinces. Also at the meeting were elders, secretaries and Church Growth officers of the mission.
The executive summary of the meeting, which was signed by the Special Assistant to the General Overseer (Admin and Personnel) Pastor Johnson Odesola gave graphic details of what transpired at the gathering.
With a sub-headline: Rampant Cases of Adultery, the executive summary noted that the: “Daddy G.O disclosed that cases of adultery were very rare when he newly became the G.O, unlike now that it is a daily occurrence.”
The summary read further, “the mission has decided to return to the old form of punitive measure to curtail adultery in our midst which was 6 months imprisonment, cutting grass on the Redemption Camp, payment of 1/3 of monthly salary, if the guilty reported himself first.”
It was however not made clear the nature of the imprisonment offenders would face. Efforts to reach Pastor Odesola for clarification did not yield fruit. A text message sent to him for further inquiry did not get any response.
The meeting was also addressed cases of indecent dressing in the church especially among senior pastors and their wives. According to the summary, “indecent dressing must stop immediately. The fact that a senior pastor’s wife has refused to change despite the fatherly and motherly affection shown to her and several periods of intimate counseling by Daddy and Mummy G.O should not be used as a rule by others to indulge in indecent dressing; this is exceptional.”
Pastor Adeboye also addressed the issue of succession in the RCCG urging top pastors of the church to have a clear succession plan in place. He however reinterated that his own successor is left for God to decide as was the case with Moses. “it was not Moses who chose Joshua and in the same vein it was not Elijah who chose Elisha. God did. If Moses had his way, Caleb would have been his choice of a successor,” the summary quoted Adeboye to have noted.
Earlier at the meeting, Adeboye had exhorted the pastors taking his Bible text from Luke 22v24-27. With the topic, “to lead is to serve” he said, “anyone chosen to be a leader is chosen to serve not to be served.”
Referring to the feeding of the crowd by Jesus, he observed that it was the apostles who ate last at that event out of the left over adding, “Unfortunately nowadays senior ministers of this church want to eat first”
While urging the pastors to come down from their high horses, he stressed, “It has now been made clear why God asked me not to retire yet contrary to my previous plans. It was to clear the mess from the camp of the PICPs which has seriously been attacked by the devil.”
He said further, “henceforth, education and years of experience as ordained ministers will no longer form the only set of criteria for appointment as a PICP but character as commanded by the Bible in 1 Cor11v1”
He also expressed concern over the ostentatious lifestyles of some of the pastors in charge of provinces, disclosing that there there would soon be a major shake-up in which those who had been promoted in error would be demoted”
He cited the case of a PICP who procured two jeeps with a bank loan immediately on assumption of office. This according to him calls for serious concern especially as it was noted that Adeboye was close to 70 years before hiring a personal assistant.
On the new three-kilometer auditorium, Adeboye expressed concern over the non-completion of the project, noting that while he is grateful to those who have donated chairs, the furniture can only be useful after the project had been completed.