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Greg Locke

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Ashmoo (talk | contribs) at 12:50, 17 November 2022 (lede establishes notability not a list of everything done. And this seems more like a perjorative not clearly supported by the text. Better to put the beliefs that are 'conspiracy theories' into the lede, because it is WP:V). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Greg Locke
Locke in 2017
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
OccupationPastor
Children4

Greg Locke is an American Baptist pastor and founder of Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee. He publicly supported Donald Trump, and opposed COVID-19 measures.[1]

Early life

Locke was born in Donelson Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1976.[2] His father was incarcerated during Locke's early life, and his mother remarried when he was 5; Locke had a turbulent relationship with his stepfather.[2]

Following multiple arrests, Locke was sent to a children's home at the age of 15, where he converted to Christianity.[2]

Career

Locke founded Global Vision Baptist Church in 2006. In 2011, the church officially split from the Independent Baptist movement and changed its name to Global Vision Bible Church.[3]

In 2016 Greg Locke posted a Facebook video in which he criticized changes to Target's bathroom policy.[4] As of April 2022, Locke's social media audience numbers in the millions.[5] In September 2021, Locke was permanently suspended from Twitter.[6][7]

Locke kept his church open through outbreaks of COVID-19, and claimed that it was is a "fake pandemic".[8] He said that those who wore masks to his church would be asked to leave,[9] and discouraged his congregation from getting vaccinated.[10]

Locke was present during the January 6 attack on the Capitol.[11] He encouraged his congregation to travel to Washington, D.C. and was apparently scheduled to speak before Trump at the Ellipse; this did not eventuate, but Locke did preach at the Freedom Plaza on January 5, and near the Capitol steps during the riot.[12] Afterwards, Locke condemned the violence, but maintained that it had been instigated by antifa.[12]

Locke has been a speaker at several stops on the Reawaken America tour, which feature conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 2020 presidential election.[13][14][15]

On January 23, 2022, Locke claimed that OCD and autism are "demonic possessions" which was condemned by neurodivergent rights movements and the Autism Faith Network.[16]

On February 2, 2022, Locke held a burning of "witchcraft" books from the Twilight and Harry Potter series.[17][18] During a sermon on February 13, he claimed to have discovered six witches within his congregation during an exorcism and threatened to expose their names.[19][20]

Personal life

Locke met his first wife, Melissa Biggers, at Good Shepherd Children's Home while he was there as a ward of the state; Biggers was among the facility's staff.[21] In 1995, Locke and Biggers became engaged. They have four children, two of whom are adopted. In January 2018, Locke confirmed in a video posted to Facebook that he and Biggers had separated,[22] and the divorce was finalized in May.[23]

In 2018 Locke married Taisha (Tai) McGee, his administrative assistant and his ex-wife's best friend.[23]

References

  1. ^ "Middle Tennessee pastor calls Delta variant nonsense, will turn away people who wear masks". July 27, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Schmitt, Brad (May 1, 2016). "Target-blasting pastor Greg Locke channels anger in new way". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  3. ^ Humbles, Liam Adams and Andy. "Greg Locke timeline: From independent Baptist pastor to right-wing firebrand". The Tennessean. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  4. ^ Gowen, Annie (March 31, 2022). "A Jan. 6 pastor divides his Tennessee community with increasingly extremist views". Washington Post.
  5. ^ Homans, Charles (April 24, 2022). "A Crusade to Challenge the 2020 Election, Blessed by Church Leaders". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 29, 2022.
  6. ^ Smietana, Bob (September 14, 2021). "Twitter permanently bans Greg Locke, pro-Trump, anti-vax pastor". Religion News Service. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  7. ^ Alund, Natalie Neysa. "Tennessee pastor Greg Locke accused of spreading false info about COVID banned from Twitter". The Tennessean. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  8. ^ Reeve, Elle; Russell, Lacey; Guff, Samantha (May 29, 2021). "How a pastor's spread of Covid misinformation divided one Tennessee family". CNN. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  9. ^ Kilander, Gustaf (July 27, 2021). "Pastor tells congregation to avoid wearing masks: 'Don't believe this Delta variant nonsense'". The Independent. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  10. ^ Peiser, Jaclyn (July 27, 2021). "Evangelical pastor demands churchgoers ditch their masks: 'Don't believe this delta variant nonsense'". Washington Post.
  11. ^ Gowen, Annie (March 31, 2022). "A Jan. 6 pastor divides his Tennessee community with increasingly extremist views". Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Kuznia, Rob; de Puy Kamp, Majile. "7 defenders of the big lie: The Pastors". www.cnn.com. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  13. ^ Quinn, Brian. "ReAwaken America: Speakers captivate crowds at Cornerstone gathering". Livingston County News. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  14. ^ Goshay, Charita M. "ReAwaken America tour set for stop in Canton Friday, Saturday". Canton Repository. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "Michael Flynn calls for 'one religion' at event that is a who's who of the new Christian right". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 20, 2022.
  16. ^ "Controversial Pastor Greg Locke Says OCD, Autism Are Signs of Demonic Oppression". ChristianHeadlines.com. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  17. ^ Sung, Morgan (February 5, 2022). "Pastor holds bonfire to burn to 'witchcraft' books like 'Twilight'". NBC News. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  18. ^ Yang, Maya (February 4, 2022). "Tennessee pastor leads burning of Harry Potter and Twilight novels". The Guardian. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  19. ^ Smietana, Bob (February 15, 2022). "Tennessee preacher Greg Locke says demons told him names of witches in his church". Religion News Service. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  20. ^ Vallejo, Justin (February 15, 2022). "Pastor Greg Locke threatens to dox 'witches' that infiltrated wife's Bible book club". The Independent. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  21. ^ Bromley, David. "Global Vision Bible Church". World Religions and Spirituality Project. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  22. ^ Blair, Leonardo (January 12, 2018). "Tearful Pastor Greg Locke Admits He Is Now Divorced, but Insists 'I Am Not an Adulterer'". The Christian Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Blair, Leonardo (August 10, 2018). "Popular Internet Pastor Greg Locke Marries Church Assistant After Divorce". The Christian Post. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
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