Greg Locke | |
|---|---|
 Locke preaching at Global Vision Bible Church in May 2023 | |
| Born | May 18, 1976 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouses | Melissa Biggers (m. 1996;div. 2018)Taisha McGee (m. 2018) |
| Children | 4 (two biological; two adopted) |
Gregory Duane Locke (born May 18, 1976) is an American non-denominational evangelical Protestant preacher and pastor. He is the founder of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee. [1] [2]
Locke was born in Donelson Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1976. [3] Locke claims his father was imprisoned during Locke's early life, and his mother remarried when he was 5; Locke had a turbulent relationship with his stepfather. [3]
Locke states that following multiple unrecorded arrests, he was sent to a children's home at the age of 15, where he converted to Christianity. [3]
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. [4]
In 2016, Greg Locke posted a Facebook video in which he criticized changes to Target's bathroom policy. [5] As of April 2022, Locke's social media audience numbers in the millions. [6] [7] In September 2021, Locke was permanently suspended from Twitter; his account was later reinstated. [8]
Locke kept his church open through outbreaks of COVID-19, and claimed that it was a "fake pandemic". [9] He said that those who wore masks to his church would be asked to leave, [10] and discouraged vaccination among his congregation. [11]
Locke was present during the January 6 attack on the Capitol. [12] He encouraged his congregation to travel to Washington, D.C., and was scheduled to speak before Trump at the Ellipse. Locke did not end up speaking at said event, but he did deliver sermons at the Freedom Plaza on January 5 and near the Capitol steps during the riot. [13] Afterward, Locke condemned the violence but maintained, without substantial evidence, that it had been instigated by antifa agitators. [13]
Locke has been a speaker at several stops on the pro-Trump ReAwaken America Tour, which features conspiracy theories about vaccines and the 2020 presidential election. [14] [15] [16]
On January 23, 2022, during a sermon, Locke claimed that obsessive-compulsive disorder and autism spectrum disorder "could be" forms of demonic possession: "Are you telling me my kid's possessed? No. I'm telling you your kid could be "demonized" and attacked but your doctor calls it autism." This statement was condemned by advocates for neurodivergent people and the Autism Faith Network. [17] [18]
On February 2, 2022, Locke held a burning of books and materials related to witchcraft and the occult. [19] [20] 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. [21] [22]
Locke is the executive producer of the documentary film Come Out in Jesus Name, which was released in March 2023 through Fathom Events. [1] The film chronicled the ministries of deliverance ministers such as Alexander Pagani, Isaiah Saldivar, and Mike Signorelli. [23] In a statement made to The Christian Post, Locke also expressed a desire to change his focus from politics, saying that he was “misdirected by focusing on things not in the spiritual realm.” [2]
During the early days of the bombing campaign in Gaza in October-November 2023, he advocated for violence against Palestinians. He further called for missiles to destroy the Dome of the Rock and called Islam a Satanic cult. [24]
On March 31, 2024, on Easter Sunday, an unknown man parked a trailer filled with Bibles at an intersection near Locke's church, and then intentionally set it on fire, according to the sheriff's office. Locke said that the act "was most assuredly directed at us" and that it proved Christianity is "under attack more than ever before in the United States of America". [25]
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. [26] 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, [27] and the divorce was finalized in May. [28]
Locke married Tai Cowan McGee in 2018. Prior to their marriage, she was his administrative assistant. Locke has repeatedly denied any suggestions of infidelity. [28]
On September 3, 2024, Locke's family residence allegedly came under intense gunfire by an unknown suspect. Police reportedly found 30 to 40 bullet shell casings around the property, which were determined to have been fired into the garage, house windows and a family vehicle, with one bullet hitting a pillow in a bedroom. Despite one Locke family member (not Greg) being home at the time, they were not injured and no immediate arrest was made by law enforcement; an investigation is ongoing. Greg arrived at the house shortly after the attack and the family stayed at a hotel that night as a safety precaution. [29] [30]
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Baptist Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian body in the United States. The SBC is a cooperation of fully autonomous, independent churches with commonly held essential beliefs that pool some resources for missions.
Snake handling, also called serpent handling, is a religious rite observed in a small number of isolated churches, mostly in the United States, usually characterized as rural and part of the Holiness movement. The practice began in the early 20th century in Appalachia and plays only a small part in the church service. Participants are Holiness, or Pentecostals. The beliefs and practices of the movement have been documented in several films and have been the impetus for a number of state laws related to the handling of venomous animals.
Calvary Chapel is an international association of charismatic evangelical churches, with origins in Pentecostalism. It maintains a number of radio stations around the world and operates many local Calvary Chapel Bible College programs.
John Stephen Piper is an American theologian and pastor in the Reformed Baptist tradition. He is also chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Piper taught biblical studies at Bethel University for six years (1974–1980), before serving as pastor for preaching and vision of Bethlehem Baptist Church (Converge) in Minneapolis for 33 years (1980–2013).
Lakewood Church is a non-denominational evangelical Christian megachurch located in Houston, Texas. It is among the largest congregations in the United States, averaging about 45,000 attendees per week. The 16,800-seat Lakewood Church building, home to four English-language services and two Spanish-language services per week, is located at the former Compaq Center. Joel Osteen is the senior pastor of Lakewood Church with his wife, Victoria, who serves as co-pastor.
Saddleback Church is an evangelical, non-denominational Christian multi-site megachurch based in Lake Forest, California. It is the largest church in California, and one of the largest in the United States of America. The church has several campuses in California and around the world, as well as a number of extensions. Weekly church attendance was 30,000 people in 2023. Its senior pastor is Andy Wood, and his wife, Stacie Wood, is a teaching pastor. Saddleback was formerly associated with the Southern Baptist Convention, until 2023.
Greg Laurie is an American evangelical pastor, evangelist and author who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship, based in Riverside, California. He also is the founder of Harvest Crusades. Laurie is also the subject of the 2023 film Jesus Revolution, which tells the story of how he converted to Christianity and got his start in ministry in the midst of the Jesus movement.
The Potter's House Christian Fellowship, commonly known as The Potter's House, is a Pentecostal Christian organisation based in the United States of America. It was established in Prescott, Arizona, in 1970 by Wayman Mitchell. The Potter's House was a member of the Foursquare church until 1983 when they separated to form a new independent fellowship.
John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. is an American pastor and author who hosts the national Christian radio and television program Grace to You. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Church, a non-denominational church in Sun Valley, California since February 9, 1969. He is currently the chancellor emeritus of The Master's University in Santa Clarita and The Master's Seminary.
A multi-site church is a specific church congregation which holds services at multiple geographical locations, either within a specific metropolitan area or, increasingly, several such areas.
George E. Grant is an American evangelical writer, and a Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) pastor.
Bethel Church is an American non-denominational neo-charismatic megachurch in Redding, California, with over 11,000 members. The church was established in 1952, and is currently led by Bill Johnson. Bethel has its own music labels, Bethel Music and Jesus Culture ministries, which have gained popularity for contemporary worship music. The church runs the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry with over 2,000 students annually.
George Arthur Buttrick was an English-born, American-based Christian preacher, author and lecturer.
Pentecostalism is a renewal movement within Protestant Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal relationship with God and experience of God through the baptism with the Holy Spirit. For Christians, this event commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the followers of Jesus Christ, as described in the second chapter of the Book of Acts. Pentecostalism was established in Kerala, India at the start of the 20th century.
The Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, United States, is a Presbyterian Church in America multi-site church with three campuses with approximately 2,000 total weekly attenders as of 2022.
Timothy Bruce Cavey, known as Bruxy Cavey, is a Canadian author and former pastor. He is the author of The End of Religion and Reunion. Cavey, along with Greg Boyd, has been an important voice in recent discussions of Christian nonviolence theology in North America. Cavey has been a guest professor teaching university-level courses around North America, particularly Tyndale University, Messiah College, and Fresno Pacific University Biblical Seminary. He was a pastor at The Meeting House church in Oakville, Ontario, for 25 years, but was asked to resign from his role as teaching pastor in March 2022 after a third-party investigation revealed his years-long sexual abuse of a member of his church. According to the Toronto Star, a church official stated that the investigation found his conduct to be an abuse of power and that it amounted to sexual harassment. In June 2022, Cavey was arrested and charged with sexual assault.
Gino Jennings is an African-American religious leader, known for establishing the First Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Inc. in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The New Independent Fundamental Baptist Movement is an association of rightwing King James Only, independent Baptist churches. The New IFB began with Steven Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in response to perceived liberalism in other independent Baptist churches. The New IFB does not consider itself to be a denomination. As of 2019, the New IFB listed 32 affiliated congregations on its website, most in the US with some in Australia, Canada, the Philippines and South Africa.
Harry Edward (Ed) Litton Jr. is an American evangelical pastor who was the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, elected in June 2021. He also serves as the senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
