RCCG and the Leke Adeboye phenomenon…when silence is not golden

For the umpteenth time, Leke Adeboye; son of Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God has allowed his tongue to run riot.

The last time he made a public comment that generated so much heat was when he  urged young people who come  to church for help to go and farm. He made them understand that the church does not have free money.

That statement brought out the venom in many people who described him as a spoilt child. Some believe he could afford to allow his mouth to run anyhow because he never had cause to go through the pain many were going through.

The dust on that statement is yet to settle. In fact, just last year, a blogger took him up again on the issue in a protracted social media battle.

He was also at the centre of a social media storm when he shaved his head at the demise of his elder brother and publicly justified the act. Some said it shouldn’t have been an issue of social media.

An unkind cut

This time, however, he descended heavily on pastors of the RCCG with the unkindest cut. He took to his Instagram handle to chide them for allegedly preaching in their parishes after the hot-end sermon of his father on Sunday, April 3.

For him, the G.O’s sermon was the “holy seal”. Nobody was expected to preach afterward. In fact, the holy spirit was not expected to lay anything in the hearts of any parish pastor that Sunday.

If they had any such prompting, they have to keep such to heart and defer it to the second Sunday of the month.
The first Sunday was Daddy G.O.’s Sunday. And to have gone ahead to preach after the G.O had preached, implied such a preacher is a “goat” in the reckoning of Leke.

How he arrived at such an uncouth conclusion remains a conundrum for many who hold the church and Pastor Adeboye in high regard.

Leke Adeboye’s trajectory

But for many who have followed the trajectory of Leke Adeboye, such a comment is one of his many garrulous statements in the past. It is not strange. He is just being himself, telling it as it is.

“But pray, are those pastors not truly “goats?” How dare they preach after the G.O had preached? Is that not disrespectful to authority?”That may just be a defense for young Adeboye’s vituperation by a zealous fan of his.

A deacon in the church viewed it as a case of being a goat or a sheep in a Christian context.

“As Christians, we are expected to be like a sheep, obedient, and not like a goat, stubborn.” the deacon said.

He however added that ” if it was daddy GO or even PastorJohnson Odesola that was reprimanding pastors not to behave as goats. it would have been in order.

“The issue is that it is Leke, who is from a privileged position of being Daddy GO’s PA. He talked above his head to Pastors who have long been around. If not that he was PA, he should be a no-body in the realm of affairs of RCCG”

This diatribe caught many unawares

When Leke Adeboye chided those who come begging the church for support, some felt he was just being realistic.
But this particular diatribe caught many unaware.

Of a truth, the RCCG has a tradition of ceding the first Sunday to Pastor Adeboye. Parishes of the church are encouraged to hook up to the headquarters on the first Sunday of every month via the internet or through Dove Television.

But some parish pastors really don’t feel comfortable that the anointing they carry on the first Sunday of the month is not allowed to find expression.

So, after the sermon of Pastor Adeboye, they recap what GO had preached and in between have the opportunity to also ‘minister’ to their congregation.

That is the very thing that irked Leke. He felt for a pastor to preach after his daddy had preached, such pastor is not a true son but rather a “goat”.

Read also: We normally shave off our hair to honour a fallen hero-Leke Adeboye: https://churchtimesnigeria.net/leke-adeboye-hair-honour-dare/

Goat, one adjective too strong

The word goat is indeed one adjective too strong. There are perhaps many “goats” in the RCCG by the junior Adeboye’s reckoning. Unfortunately, those who were so indicted will have to carry on as if nothing had happened.

They dare not even talk. Some may even have to go and tender an unreserved apology to the young Adeboye and take a step further to seek forgiveness from the G.O for trying to display “undue” anointing.

But then, as the saying goes in Yoruba parlance, the free flow of tears does not blur one’s vision. Young Adeboye’s seeming innocuous outburst is an admixture of both pain and pleasure.

It is pain because it is coming from the son of a respected clergyman. It is pleasure on the other hand for those who dwell in the realm of the sublime. Such outburst for the mature is dismissed with a wave of the hand.

It is considered in the ilk of a child who does not know the potency of a drug but calls it a vegetable. Young Adeboye seems to be oblivious of the implication of the office he occupies as the Personal Assistant to his father, a position he said he got on merit.

He does not know

He does not know. If he knows, he would not talk anyhow. He would not ride roughshod on pastors of the church his father oversees. If he knows, he would not assume the role of other officers of the church.

Leke Adeboye simply seems lost in the reverie of his father’s image. His vision seems blurred. And his hearing seems impaired.

Perhaps, the position of being PA to Daddy GO is blowing some air of pride across his face. Naturally, it could be. His position gives him a direct access to his father and makes him receive accolades from pastors old to be his father. This is just because of his position as PA to daddy GO.

However, he should realise that the position of a PA is not a calling. It is a man-made position. It cannot be compared to pastors who have been called to the service of the Master. Of course, he himself is a Pastor, but indeed, there are Pastors and there are Pastors. Some are called. Some are appointed. And some are designated.

Leke should be courteous

Leke Adeboye therefore needs to be courteous. He should not allow his tongue to go ahead of his thought. He should endeavour to think through his words. In the alternative he should use a media consultant to pass across his message in a refined way.

Obviously, Leke Adeboye is in want of more wisdom. We all do need more of God’s wisdom. And if the church is wise, it is time to ask him to shun the use of social media. It seems he lacks the finesse to engage in public discourse yet.

Also, the church indeed has to wash itself clean from the young Adeboye’s unholy comment. They may need to put out a rebuttal and back it up with a warning to the young man to keep his tongue. After all the Bible enjoins us to guard our tongues with all diligence for out of it comes the issues of life.

Implication of RCCG’s silence

If the church keeps mum over this latest comment by Leke Adeboye, it will be assumed that his position is the position of the church. It will go to mean that the RCCG holds its pastors in contempt.

Somehow, to think that all parishes should have to hook up to the G.O. by all means is an untidy arrangement. A parish pastor is the one responsible for the flock in that parish.

But then, what does the church make of parishes in remote areas where they can’t even afford the gadgets that will help them hook up to the headquarter church?

As good as the idea of listening to one man on the first Sunday of the month is, the RCCG should not make this doctrine a superior law than the flow of the Holy Spirit, who works in diverse ways in the life of people.

Leke Adeboye should also bear in mind that he is only a PA to the G.O. He is not the voice of the church. But then, if the RCCG as a church is not complaining, there is little anybody can do.

It is however gratifying that he has pulled the post down from his IG handle. It is hoped that he will apologise and refrain from making divisive statements.

By Gbenga Osinaike