The following story is the product of interviews with and submissions from numerous sources local to Middle Tennessee. The truth of the reporting here is dependent on the accuracy of the information reported by those sources. Pulpit & Pen is confident in the accuracy of the information provided. Anyone with first-hand information about Pastor Greg Locke, his actions toward Global Vision Church and or his wife, is encouraged to contact Pulpit & Pen on our contact page.
Jarrod Almond is the “Executive Pastor” of Global Vision Bible Church (GVBC). He recently walked into Nissan of Cool Springs with a check from GVBC for $60,000. He walked out with two new cars, a Maxima for himself and a Quest for GVBC Senior Pastor Greg Locke. Locke (a father of four) [1] felt the need for a new minivan; he lost possession of his 2007 minivan through signing a Marriage Dissolution Agreement (MDA) in November.
His estranged wife, Melissa, who did not have a driver’s license for the first two decades of her marriage to Greg, received the 2007 van along with monthly monetary support as a condition of her separation from Greg. She now resides in an out-of-state women’s shelter due to being coerced by her husband to file for divorce and leave the state. Greg Locke remains in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, filling the pulpit of GVBC and staying close to his church secretary, Tai McGee. Tai McGee, like Pastor Locke’s new van, is younger than his wife. At mid-life, Greg Locke, aged forty, has expressed his desire to move on with his life.
Mature for her age, Melissa met Greg through her work at the Good Shepherd Children’s Home, caring for residents there when she was just 16 years old. It was there where she would meet her future husband, Greg Locke.
Locke is the child of a broken home. His father was an incarcerated felon and he has described his stepfather as tough and uncommunicative. After several arrests, he ended up at Good Shepherd, where he seemingly turned his life around and set about to becoming a gospel preacher. Now, after coercing his obedient and submissive wife into filing for divorce, he appears to be on schedule to break, not only the home of his own wife and children, but also that of the church secretary to whom he has been romantically linked.
As the founder of his own church, the power to remain employed and supported by GVBC rests exclusively with Locke and his close ministry partners. The power to fund the church remains with donors and church members willing to look the other way from Locke’s disqualifying deeds. Despite the controversy, Locke remains as pastor of GVBC and Tai McGee remains church secretary. Even his new minivan remains at the church. At the dealership, Jarrod Almond was adamant to know how the automobiles he was purchases could be “gifted” to the pastors of the church. This may in fact have been accomplished by titling the new cars in the name of GVBC instead of the names of Almond and Locke. Were Locke, as an employee of the church, to receive a car from GVBC it could count as approximately $30,000 worth of taxable compensation.
Such a spike in income could put his children’s eligibility for Tenncare in Jeopardy. According to their MDA, neither Greg nor Melissa have health insurance but their children have coverage through Tenncare, which is the state of Tennessee’s Medicaid program for low-income individuals.
Despite having a social media following of over a million, and a job as the pastor of a popular church, Greg Locke’s MDA indicates that he does not own any real property and possesses no health insurance coverage; yet somehow he gets by. With the controversy surrounding the putting away of his wife, some GVBC members are wondering what is happening with all the money they have been donating. Still others have been wondering what has happened to his wife, who is beloved by many back in Mt. Juliet.
One thing no one has to wonder about, is where Tai and his new van are.
[Contributed by Seth Dunn]
*Please note that the preceding is my personal opinion. It is not necessarily the opinion of any entity by which I am employed, any church at which I am a member, any church which I attend, or the educational institution at which I am enrolled. Any copyrighted material displayed or referenced is done under the doctrine of fair use.
**Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article implied that the purchase of the Quest took place after the signing of the MDA. The timing of the purchase and the MDA is not currently certain to the author.
[1] Technically he is a father of three. He and his wife have been in the process of adopting a fourth child.
