Greg Locke

Greg Locke is an American transphobic, homophobic, climate change-denyingBill Nye is not a scientist, uses made up statistics, lies about Climate Chamge, has zero concept of biology and uses the language of a wanna be gangsta rapper. by Pastor Greg Locke (11:59 am - 13 May, 2019) Twitter (archived from June 22, 2019). Baptist pastor and professional grifter at the Global Vision Bible Church, in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
Locke's first notable foray into the public sphere (after his many arrests, of course) was an example of the "stopped clock" saying: it was a takedown of Palestinan faith healer Benny Hinn in a 2005 self-published book entitled Blinded by Benny.Blinded by Benny by Greg Locke (2005) Sword of the Lord. ISBN 0873980948.
Locke uses his substantial online following on Facebook, Twitter,Tennessee pastor Greg Locke accused of spreading false info about COVID banned from Twitter by Natalie Alund (September 14th 2021) The Tennessean. and YouTube to transform his childhood propensity as a class bully into the literal bully pulpit, with his vision of "always being filled with hate and rage"Target-blasting pastor Greg Locke channels anger in new way by Brad Schmitt (May 1st 2016) The Tennesseean. directed toward transgender people,Mt. Juliet pastor’s video blasting Target goes viral by Andy Humbles (April 25th 2016) The Tennessean. gays, and cross-dressers,Since @converse promotes an 11yr old drag queen that strips in gay bars, I’ve decided to burn my pair and stop preaching in them. What one generation tolerates, the next generation celebrates. This country has gone buck wild crazy. #ConverseKiddiePorn #DragRace by Pastor Greg Locke (21.05 - 9. toukok. 2019) Twitter (archived from August 14, 2021). just as he thinks that Jesus surely would have wanted him to.
Locke came to prominence when he criticized Target's decision to provide gender-neutral toilets. Locke's prophetic and godly status was somewhat tarnished when it was reported that he cheated on his wife with the church secretary and packed the wife and children on a bus out of town so he could focus on the sinful delights of his new girlfriend.Greg Locke Divorces Wife, Finds New Girlfriend (January 8th, 2018) Pulpit & Pen. He eventually divorced his wife to marry his girlfriend,Pastor Greg Locke: 'Adulterer in God's Eyes' Marries Church Secretary by Seth Dunn (August 7th, 2018) Pulpit & Pen. so no doubt he thinks that God has forgiven him for his breach of the Ten Commandments.
If so, however, some of his fellow Christians have not. He has been roundly criticized for among other things abandoning the Church of the King James Version,Pastor Greg Locke Exposed by Steven L. Anderson (February 10, 2017) Blogspot. but much more seriously for having allegedly abused his wife both physically and psychologically.An Evangelical Pastor’s Ex-Wife Is Finally Talking About How He Abused Her by Hemant Mehta (March 8, 2018) The Friendly Atheist (archived from September 28, 2018).
==Earlier years==
Locke was born in 1976 to a broken family; one of the pastor's earliest memories are of his dad being locked up on armed robbery and drug charges. Locke had a troubled childhood; he resented his stepdad (Locke's mother remarried when he was 5), failed several grades, and had gotten arrested five times by the age of 15. In school, Locke had a reputation for being an extremely angry "loose cannon". 
After the fifth arrest, Locke ended up at Good Shepherd Children's Home, a "Christian-based home for disadvantaged boys and girls facing difficult circumstances in their lives", in Murfreesboro TN.Good Shepherd Children's Home, welcome page According to Locke, an encounter with a preacher at this home who stayed calm and collected while he raged and ranted help convert him to Christianity. After this conversion, Locke traveled around the world preaching on behalf of the Independent Baptist movement."The evolution of Greg Locke: How a controversial Tennessee pastor wants to save America from its demons" by Andy Humbles and Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean, 2022 April 20 In 2000, Locke obtained a certificate from a "correspondence" Independent Baptist school called the Baptist Theological School of New England, a tiny operation run by the Pascoag Community Baptist Church in Rhode Island."Independent Baptist Church Locator", militarygetsaved.tripod.com
Locke founded Global Vision Baptist Church in 2006. The church formally split with its affiliation with Independent Baptists in 2011, and changed the name to Global Vision Bible Church."Greg Locke timeline: From independent Baptist pastor to right-wing firebrand" by Liam Adams and Andy Humbles, Nashville Tennessean, 2022 April 23 In addition to his church duties, Locke was a personal fitness speaker during this period."Pastor Owns Starbucks Holiday Cups Controversy With Unexpected Ending To Viral Video" by Ernie Howell, Inquisitr, 2015 November 13
Even in the early years of his pastor career, true to his "charismatic" church affiliation, Locke had a predilection for attention-seeking stunts. However, many of his "stunts" were for much more worthwhile causes than what he eventually became infamous for. In 2012, Locke spent four days and three nights in a scissors lift 30 feet in the air to solicit donations for the homeless. In 2014, Locke began to use cycling trips (including one cross-country trip) for various causes, such as raising money to expand the church or raising money for victims of sex trafficking."Pastor to pedal cross-country to raise money for church" by Andy Humbles, The Tennessean, 2014 July 3 
Hints of his future reactionary style, however, showed up every now and then. For instance, in 2015, Locke made a video accusing (without evidence) the school system of brainwashing students with "Islamic indoctrination"."Pastor: Wilson students being brainwashed with Islam" by Andy Humbles, Tennessean, 2015 September 11 
By 2016, Locke shifted his attention to social media and viral videos, and Locke's stunt subjects shifted away from helping others to whatever was the meme du jour in the culture war. This was perhaps foreshadowed by a late 2015 Facebook video posted by Locke. During that time period, the coffee giant who traditionally switches from white cups to red cups for the Christmas holiday season, created a plain red cup with none of the very generic festive designs used in some of the previous years. This created a when the evangelical social media personality posted an online rant complained that Starbucks was "taking Christ and Christmas off of their brand-new cups".[http://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/people/2015/11/10/merry-christmas-starbucks-joshua-feuerstein-arizona/75533598/ "Who is #MerryChristmasStarbucks ranter and Fountain Hills evangelist Joshua Feuerstein?" by Kerry Lengel, AZ Central, 2015 November 10"Starbucks’s red cup controversy, explained" by Alex Abad Santos, Vox, 2016 November 10 
At that time, Locke was not nearly as reactionary as someone like Feuerstein; he simply used the outrage to make a sermon about the holiday, and did not take a firm stance on the controversy (stating in another video that "personally, it’s a red cup.") However, as the years passed, Locke increasingly started posting more hateful and raging "culture war" oriented videos (such as the aforementioned 2016 video on the Target bathroom controversy, and a 2017 video protesting Planned Parenthood) Perhaps this turn can be explained by Locke noticing that, on social media, making incendiary statements was what got the most "views".
Locke's reactionary turn became fully realized during the COVID-19 pandemic, where Locke dismissed COVID-19, the COVID-19 vaccine, and face masks, and started advocating even more extremist positions than before.
==Descent into madness==
===Wingnuttery and Christian Nationalism===
Increasingly in the 2020s, Locke's church started looking less like a temple dedicated to worshiping Jesus and more like a proxy of the radicalized Republican Party, dedicated to a pro-Trump (until he renounced his support) vein of Christian nationalism.The Pastors: They preach the Bible — and the big lie. With it, Pastors Ken Peters and Greg Locke are tapping into the pro-Trump vein of Christian nationalism. by Rob Kuznia & Majlie de Puy Kamp (2021) CNN.
Locke continued to be vocally supportive of Donald Trump, grumbling about how Joe Biden stole the 2020 U.S. presidential election,Pastor Greg Locke Continues to Insist Trump Won Election, Biden 'Is Still a Fraud' by Christina Zhao (5/30/21 at 4:42 PM EDT) Newsweek. right up until Trump urged people to get their COVID vaccinations.Far-right pastor Greg Locke turns on Trump: ‘He was lied to and he knows it — and his arrogance won’t change his mind.’ by Palma Sky (January 10th 2022) DeadState. 
In late August 2021, Trump political operative Roger Stone was a guest speaker at the church, and the congregation accordingly was decked in MAGA paraphernalia.Roger Stone and Pastor Greg Locke deliver energetic church service in Mt. Juliet by Andy Humbles (Published 3:21 p.m. CT Aug. 30, 2020; Updated 10:41 a.m. CT Aug. 31, 2020) The Tennessean. Later, Locke hosted the conservative youth activist Charlie Kirk as a guest.GOP activist Charlie Kirk to speak in Mt. Juliet with Pastor Greg Locke at Global Vision Bible Church" by Andy Humbles (11:42 a.m. CT Oct. 16, 2020) The Tennessean.
In a late June 2021 sermon, Locke's tone even took on shades of QAnon when he called Joe Biden a "sex trafficking, demon-possessed mongrel" and Kamala Harris a "jezebel demon", with non-sequitur references to typical QAnon targets like "pedophiles in Hollywood", Pope Francis, Oprah Winfrey, and Right Wing Pastor Greg Locke Insists Biden, ‘Jezebel Demon’ Kamala Harris are Leading ‘Sex Trafficking’ Ring Below the Capitol in INSANE Rant by Leia Idliby (Jun 28th, 2021, 11:58 am) Mediaite.Pastor Greg Locke's Speech Against 'Pedophiles in Hollywood' Viewed Over 1.5M Times by James Crump (6/28/21 at 11:28 AM EDT) Newsweek.
On October 24 2021, Locke's guest speaker was a pastor who also happened to be a Republican Congressional candidate. While guest preaching, Burns spread transphobic lies concerning the "bathroom" debate and relished when the crowd spontaneously erupted into a chant of "Let's Go Brandon" (a for the phrase "fuck Joe Biden").GOP Candidate Laughs As Church Crowd Yells Anti-Biden Slogan 'Let's Go Brandon' by Hemant Mehta (October 24, 2021) Friendly Atheist. Burns and Locke later, in September 21 2021, appeared at a "Salt and Light Conference" (hosted by an organization run by the first executive director of the Christian Coalition) along with several other prominent Republican politicians, and other noted conservative figures such as Joe Arpaio and E. W. Jackson.Radical Right-Wing Pastor Greg Locke to Join Multiple GOP Politicians at North Carolina Conference by Kyle Mantyla (September 21, 2021 12:00 pm) Right Wing Watch.
In mid-November 2021, Locke appeared at an event (that was part of a tour called "Reawaken America") at John Hagee's Cornerstone Church alongside many other far-right conspiracy theorists, such as Roger Stone, Mike Lindell, and Alex Jones. The event notoriously featured Trump associate and QAnon nut Michael Flynn calling for America to have only "one religion under God", rejecting the freedom of religion principle that is a major part of America's foundation. The event was also marked by yet another "Let's Go Brandon" chant erupting in a church.Just a Church Full of People Chanting ‘Let’s Go, Brandon’ (November 15, 2021) Relevant Magazine.Michael Flynn calls for ‘one religion’ at event that is a who’s who of the new Christian right by Bob Smietana (November 19, 2021 at 3:47 p.m. EST) The Washington Post.
All of this, of course, attracted much attention from the media. Reportedly Locke was extremely angry about media coverage about him, and in a late June 2021 sermon announced his plans to sue CNN and Newsweek for the "defamation" of accurately quoting him and posting clips of his "sermons"."Christian Hate-Preacher Greg Locke: I'm Suing CNN and Newsweek for Defamation" by Hemant Mehta (June 27, 2021) Friendly Atheist.
In mid-May 2022, Locke made his most nakedly political statement yet, by declaring that "you cannot be a Christian and vote Democrat in this nation", calling all Democrats "demons" and "baby butchering election (thieves)", and yelling that he wanted no Democrats in this church. To the these statements were so egregiously political, it violated regulations governing the separation of church and state that were necessary to follow in order for the church to be tax-exempt. So they filed a complaint against Locke and his church. Rather than fight the charges, Locke decided, as he proclaimed in a late May 2022 sermon, to renounce what he bizarrely termed as "501c3 communism" voluntarily."Witch-hunting pastor who attacked Joe Biden tells IRS he doesn't need their 'stupid tax-exempt status'" by Sarah K. Burris, Raw Story, 2022 May 23"Pastor Greg Locke no longer has tax-exempt status after hateful rant against democrats" by Carla Sinclair, Boing Boing, 2022 May 23 In the same sermon Locke denounced his tax-exempt status, he also showed his devotion to the Golden Rule by calling pastors who actually didn't demonize Democrats "limp-wristed false prophets", calling pastors who closed their church during COVID-19 "panty-wearing" "sissies", and calling out a few other specific preachers (notably Kenneth Copeland) for supposedly being false prophets and heretics."Greg Locke Removes Church’s Tax Exempt Status; Calls Steven Furtick, Kenneth Copeland, T.D. Jakes, Perry Stone False Prophets" by Jesse T. Jackson, Church Leaders, 2022 June 1
By March 2023, Locke claimed in an interview that he had been taking his political views too far in the past few years, and (while not renouncing these noxious views at all) wanted to refocus his ministry style towards deliverance ministry (that is, battling "demons" instead of Democrats)."Pastor Greg Locke turns away from political controversy to cast out demons in Jesus' name" by Jeannie Ortega Law, Christian Post, 2023 March 11 As part of this new direction, in July 2023, Locke scrubbed his Facebook page"Pastor Greg Locke repents, scrubs thousands of videos from Facebook to 'minimize collateral damage'" by Leonardo Blair, 2023 July 7 and teamed up with Benny Hinn after years of branding him a false prophet."Pastor Greg Locke unites with Benny Hinn after years of branding him ‘false prophet’" by Leonardo Blair, Christian Post, 2023 July 14 Locke also released a film called Come Out in Jesus' Name that was all about "demon-slaying preachers"."Now, Pastor Greg Locke is a demon slayer" by Rick Pidcock, Baptist News Global, 2023 March 14 In a sign, however, that Locke hadn't quite left his political Christian nationalism behind, most of the preachers in the film had connections to the theocratic New Apostolic Reformation, and the film contained many of the same tired Christian nationalism political themes (ranging from COVID-19 conspiracies to LGBTQ demonization) that Locke had been preaching previously. In addition, on January 20 2023, Locke's church hosted the controversial and very Christian nationalist political ReAwaken America Tour."ReAwaken America Tour held at Pastor Locke's church comes with religious pushback" by Amanda Chin, Fox 17 Nashville, 2023 January 20
===COVID-19 pandemic===
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Locke displayed unusual hostility towards public health measures and vaccines, and even dismissed the notion that a pandemic was happening at all (Locke called COVID-19 a "fake pandemic" in December 2020).How a pastor’s spread of Covid misinformation divided one Tennessee family by Elle Reeve et al. (10:09 AM EDT, May 29, 2021) CNN. In fact, Locke has been so openly hostile to COVID restrictions and vaccinations, that he has threatened to kick anyone out of his church simply for wearing a face mask during his services."I meant what I said," pastor doubles down on church's mask ban by Alex Heider (July 28, 2021 7:10 AM) KESQ News Channel 3. Likewise, in early August 2020, Locke posted a video threatening violence against a employee (whom he referred to as "Nazi Skippy") for merely trying to enforce a store face mask policy.Trump-loving pastor threatens Dunkin’ Donuts employee, chain changes mask policy by Eilish O'Sullivan (Aug 1, 2020) Daily Dot. 
He has also ranted against vaccines, making a mostly false claim that they are made with "aborted fetal tissue."How a pastor's spread of Covid misinformation divided one Tennessee family by Elle Reeve et al. (10:09 AM EDT, May 29, 2021) CNN. In May 2021, he also spouted a bizarre conspiracy theory that vaccinated "political elites" are actually getting "a bunch of sugar water" instead of the vaccine. (If one thinks otherwise, according to Locke, they are "smoking meth in your mamma's basement.")Pastor Greg Locke Claims 'Political Elites' Fake Getting Vaccinated, Inject 'Sugar Water' Instead by Jason Lemon (5/23/21 at 4:12 PM EDT) Newsweek. In early August 2021, he even ranted against Republican Tennessee governor for signing an executive order that merely ensured that hospitals had adequate staffing and support during the pandemic. (This order unfortunately was necessary because the Tennessee healthcare system was in danger of collapse by people who listened to people like Locke, refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19, got sick with COVID, and ended up in hospitals' overwhelming them.The South’s health care system is crumbling under Covid-19. Enter Tennessee. The state is a poster child for how rural areas are suffering disproportionately amid the pandemic in the worst public health crisis in a century. by Daniel Payne (03/19/2022 07:00 AM EDT) Politico.)"Tennessee pastor: Governor a 'coward,' 'chicks' in hospitals doing 'Tik Tok dances'" (August 10th 2021) 13 ABC WHAM."Ballad Health: 91% of those hospitalized with COVID-19 unvaccinated" by Mackenzie Moore (Dec 22, 2021) WJHL. 
At a late August 2021 rally, Locke encouraged people to "quit playing the coward" and "stir your school board meeting up for the glory of God," which in this case for some reason meant fighting against pandemic restrictions.Post-Trump, Christian nationalists preach a theology of vaccine resistance: Recent rallies have intermingled resistance to COVID-19 vaccines with calls for a resurgence of Christian influence. by Jack Jenkins (September 14, 2021) Religious News Service.
Locke's misinformation-filled preaching probably helped contribute to the death of at least one member of his church, who believed everything Locke said and ignored all health precautions on COVID-19, later dying from the disease.Family Speaks Out Against Hate-Preacher Whose COVID Lies Led to Uncle's Death by Hemant Mehta (May 28, 2021) Friendly Atheist.
On September 14, 2021, Locke was banned from Twitter for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.
===Support for insurrectionists===
On January 5, 2021, the day before the coup attempt, Locke prayed for the Proud Boys and its leader, Enrique Tarrio at a rally by advocating Christian nationalism.Christian Nationalism and the January 6, 2021 Insurrection by Andrew L. Seidel et al. (2022) Baptist Joint Committee.
Locke was present during the 2021 Capitol riot, preaching to a crowd of Trump supports at with a bullhorn on the day before the event.Middle Tennessee pastor says he was censored on social media following Capitol riots by Jackie DelPilar (January 13th 2021) WGXA News. Shortly before this, Locke referred to himself as part of the in a Facebook post.How White Evangelical Christians Fused With Trump Extremism by Elizabeth Dias & Ruth Graham (January 11, 2021) The New York Times. This obscure term was popularized among certain crowds by Glenn Beck and David Barton in a 2010 political rally, and referred to Protestant ministers who supported the American revolution. Naturally, this became a battle cry with a few dominionist Christians.What the Black Robe Regiment Misses About Revolutionary Pastors: Christians calling for clergy to rise up against the government should take a closer look at the complex approaches by America’s early preachers. by Jonathan Den Hartog (January 20, 2021 ) Christianity Today.
Later, Locke called Mike Pence a "Judas" for merely stating in a speech that the violence at the Capitol riot was a bad thing."Pastor Greg Locke Calls Mike Pence 'Judas' Following Speech on Capitol Riot" by Darragh Roche (6/4/21 at 5:24 AM EDT) Newsweek.
===Demons, demons everywhere===
In January 2022, Locke continued his unabashed fundamentalist crankery by blaming autism on demonic possession.Christian hate-preacher Greg Locke said this morning that children with autism actually suffer from demon possession. 'Your kid could be demonized and attacked, but your doctor calls it autism.' He added: 'Ain't no such diagnosis in the Bible.' by Hemant Mehta (11:25 AM · Jan 23, 2022) Twitter. In early February 2022, he revived the fundie tradition of book burning, targeting both old targets like Harry Potter and new targets like Twilight for being full of "spells, demonism, shape-shifting and occultism".Tennessee pastor burns 'witchcraft' 'Harry Potter,' 'Twilight' books" by Brooke Migdon (Feb. 07, 2022) The Hill. 
In mid February 2022, another insane clip of a Locke sermon went viral. In this clip, he claimed that, while supposedly casting a demon out of a woman who had recently begun coming to Global Vision, he learned the names of six witches who supposedly had infiltrated his congregation. During this unhinged rant, he accused the alleged witches of wanting to destroy the church, blamed recent illnesses in the congregation on the alleged witches, and also threatened to doxx them.Pastor Greg Locke threatens to dox ‘witches’ that infiltrated wife’s Bible book club by Justin Vallejo (15 February 2022 21:15) Independent.Tennessee preacher Greg Locke says demons told him names of witches in his church" by Bob Smietana (February 15, 2022) Religion News Service.
===Piss off thy neighbor===
Though many parts of the Bible preach the virtues of silence and even-tempered thoughtful brevity (), Locke prefers the extremely brash, angry, loud approach... to the point of pissing off many of his neighbors. Unusually for a church, in September 2022 alone, Locke's church received 22 noise complaints. In 2023, this resulted in both legal action from Wilson County (who, in addition to noise, also complained about failed permits for building expansion)"County sues Greg Locke for zoning, noise ordinance violations; preacher plans to countersue" by Anugrah Kumar, Christian Post, 2023 March 26 as well as a lawsuit threat from Locke's neighbors."Wilson County neighbors raise $10K, plan to file lawsuit against Global Vision Bible Church" by Kendall Ashman, WKRN, 2023 July 19
===Too crazy even for Locke===
While Locke has entertained and endorsed many out-there conspiracy theories, one conspiracy that Locke is firmly against is flat earth. According to a press release in November 2023, Locke believes that flat earth is a "dangerous hoax" that "swept through evangelical Christian churches on the back of QAnon conspiracy theories", and that the hoax, being "propagated by credible church leaders", has divided "families and full churches to devastating degrees"... including his own church."Pastor Greg Locke Exposes the Flat Earth Hoax", EIN Presswire, 2023 November 16
To repudiate flat earth, Locke challenged flat earth proponents to an open debate. A pastor named Dean Odle accepted the offer, and the "debate" was held on December 6 2023 at Locke's church. The resulting raucous train wreck stretched for over four hours and ended with Locke kicking Odle and his supporters out of his church, getting police involved in the process. Both sides then rushed to social media to whine and accuse the opposing side of purported altercations and misdeeds after the "debate"."Hate Pastors’ “Flat Earth Debate” Ends In “Profanities, Weed Smoking, Rammed Cars, And Police Involvement”", JoeMyGod, 2023 December 9"The Flat Earth Debate of the Century?" by Dr. Danny R. Faulkner, Answers in Genesis, 2023 December 13, archived on 2023 December 28
Additionally, he is not fond of Kenneth Copeland or Joel Osteen.
==See also==
*Hypocrisy
*Transphobia and public restrooms
*European witch-hunts
==Notes==
==References==
Category:2020 election denialists
Category:2021 U.S. Capitol riot
Category:Ableism
Category:Anti-vaccination movement
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Category:Crank magnetism
Category:Denialists
Category:Fundamentalists
Category:Global warming denialists
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Category:Internet kooks
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Category:Shysters
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