I am reposting this old blog post from 2018, because I am about to rant about Pastor Greg Locke, who was the subject of this post. It appears here as/is, minus the videos that Locke apparently took down.

Yesterday, I became aware of yet another “pastor” out there who was “up and coming” and is now disgraced.  I found out about Greg Locke and his church, Global Vision Bible Church (GVBC), when I read an article shared by the God page about how Locke slut shamed Stormy Daniels and then got thoroughly schooled by a Catholic Priest.  When I read the first article, I thought it was going to be another piece about right wing jerks claiming to be pastors and not actually knowing the Bible.  But it turns out Locke’s business is more sinister than his simply being a jerk. 

WokeSloth is a page that “God” has been sharing a lot from lately.  Its writers generate content based on other people’s content.  I’m familiar that process, since a lot of my own content comes about that way.  Hell, some people reach this blog because some of my posts have been linked to Wikipedia or other popular pages. 

A lot of people don’t click the links within articles.  Most people read something and move on, not digging deeper.  I, for one, like to follow links because they often lead to greater understanding and context.  Such was the case yesterday, when I read about how Locke called Stormy Daniels a “hooker” and reminded everyone that Donald Trump is still the president.  This so-called pastor apparently forgets that Jesus Christ spent a lot of time with prostitutes.  Moreover, Daniels is not actually a hooker.  She’s an adult film star. 

In any case, Locke posted this on Twitter.

This Tweet garnered a lot of responses, including the one below from a Jesuit Priest…

Boom!

I don’t know what prompted me to keep looking, but I clicked a link within the Woke Sloth article and ended up on a site called Pulpit & Pen, which posted a detailed article about the type of person Locke really is.  There was a video from CNN showing Locke in a suit, preaching to evangelicals in a small church outside of Nashville.  “You, ladies and gentleman, must get right with God!” he booms at them with his southern accent.

And yet, the recently divorced Locke, who is a “self appointed” pastor, evidently uses absolutely vile language toward his ex wife, Melissa.  Locke was married to Melissa for 20 years, but according to the Pulpit & Pen article, has designs on Melissa’s former best friend, Tai McGee, who is Locke’s church secretary.  Melissa reportedly shared hundreds of texts that were allegedly sent by Greg Locke.  In them, he calls Melissa a “selfish bitch” and says, “fuck you” to her.  He complains about her weight and predicts she’ll soon be “sleeping with strangers”.

In this blog, I have often stated that I don’t believe in “bad words”.  That’s still generally true.  I don’t think there is such a thing as a “bad word”.  What I do take notice of is the intent behind the use of words.  When a man says “fuck you” to the woman he’s been with for twenty years, it says a lot about how little regard he has for her.  When that language comes from a man who presumes to preach to other people about “getting right with God”, it’s especially egregiously hypocritical.  This is not a man who is “right with God”.  Sounds to me like he’s a garden variety abuser posing as a “shepherd”.  

And then, when he’s exposed for the person he is, Locke has the nerve to cry about it on YouTube and claim his ex-wife is a liar…  Where did all those texts come from?  

I can see why people are attracted to Greg Locke.  He’s not a bad looking man, though he’s not really my type.  He has a powerful speaking voice.  He has charisma and his audience is not exactly filled with mental giants.  These are evangelicals who ignored what an absolute horror Donald Trump is and voted for him, simply because he promotes their conservative agenda.  They are under the mistaken impression that Trump cares about their views, and they praise him, because he’s pushing their white supremacist, anti-woman vision on the rest of the American people and the world.

I noticed that Locke does not have a friend in fellow “pastor” Steven Anderson, who promotes his conservative messages out of his “church” in Tempe, Arizona.  Below is a video Anderson shared of Locke preaching about how his ex wife is “holding him back” (video was removed).

When I listen to Locke, I hear a guy who probably would have preferred to have been a comedian.  He sounds like someone who simply wanted to be a star.  He likes the attention, and having people listening to him yell.  I imagine it’s easier to be a pastor than a comedian, especially when your audience is a bunch of evangelicals who aren’t exactly known for being free thinkers.  Locke and Anderson can spout their tripe, spicing it up by yelling, and evangelicals will eagerly eat it up.  I think both of these men are driven by narcissism, not a love for God or concern for their “flocks”.

I wonder what Greg Locke was like as a child.  I bet he was one of those insatiable kids who couldn’t get enough attention from Mommy.  I read in an article in The Tennesseean that as a teenager, Locke was full of rage.  On the day Locke was born, his father was in prison for armed robbery and drug charges.  Locke’s mother eventually remarried, and Locke grew up hating his stepfather.  At age 11, Greg Locke was arrested for the first time.  In fact, by the time he was 15, he was sent to Good Shepherd’s Christian Home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Locke claims he was “saved” there, but I think he was probably just attracted to the power that can come from being a charismatic speaker.  I don’t think Locke is really much different now than the angry young man he was twenty years ago.  He’s just channeled that rage into “preaching”.

Anyway… I wish Locke’s ex wife peace, love, and luck.  She deserves better than this man.  So do all of Locke’s followers.