Gregory Duane Locke of Global Vision Bible Church (GVBC) in Mt. Juliet, TN can finally honestly say that he is “a divorced pastor.” Locke’s divorce from his estranged wife Melissa was finalized three weeks ago. In January, Locke released a dramatic Facebook video proclaiming to his 1 Million+ followers that he had been abandoned by his wife and that his marriage had been dissolved. Locke’s tearful claim to be an abandoned “divorced pastor” turned out to be a false one. Subsequent Pulpit & Pen investigations revealed that, at the time of his video, Locke’s wife had already stopped divorce proceedings, hoping to reconcile. Furthermore, it was discovered that his wife had been coerced into filing for divorce by her pastor husband. Pulpit & Pen was able to track Melissa down in a Georgia women’s shelter in March. During a riveting interview with me, Melissa Locke revealed that her husband and pastor, Greg Locke, had been physically abusive to during their marriage. Furthermore, Mrs. Locke provided text messages from her husband in which he viciously fat-shamed her and berated her with profanity. Despite the way her husband treated her, Mrs. Locke sought to honor her marriage vows and reconcile with him. Greg Locke would have none of it and filed a divorce suit of his own. At the center of the Locke’s marital controversies has been Melissa’s best friend and GVBC Church Administrator Tai Cowan. Two weeks ago, Pulpit & Pen received the pictures shown below.
According to the party who provided the pictures, a person local to Mt. Juliet, the pictures show Greg Locke’s white Nissan Quest minivan in the driveway of the residence of Tai Cowan. This weekend, a Pulpit & Pen correspondent was able to gather corroborating evidence that the residence shown is indeed that of Tai Cowan. The pictures are time stamped at 9:42 PM and 11:02 PM, respectively, on May 11th. This would put Greg at his secretary and alleged girlfriend’s house (during the night) before his divorce was finalized. Is this fitting behavior for a pastor, even a single one? Those who attend GVBC and financially support Greg Locke through his online ministry need to seriously consider the wisdom of backing a man who passes himself off as a pastor. Quite frankly, there is no system of eldership or church democracy at GVBC. Greg Locke, outside of any outside source of authority or discipline, simply declares himself to be a “pastor.” Outside of preaching at a building on Sunday morning and taking donations, does Greg Locke live the life of a biblical pastor? As a husband, he is divorced from his wife of over twenty years, a woman who claims she was battered by him and spent several months in an out-of-state women’s shelter. As a father, he has been under investigation by the Tennessee Department of Children’s services. To boot, overwhelming evidence indicates that Locke is and was dating his church secretary before his divorce was final (even vacationing with her and his family in Gatlinburg).
When it comes to “pastor” Greg Locke and Global Vision Bible Church, how much is enough? Everyone currently supporting this man should consider what their money could do at different missions organization that isn’t steeped in controversy and moral decline. For every non-Christian who sees Christ’s church through the lens of Greg Locke’s popular, politically-charged videos, please consider the claims of the Bible against the life of Greg Locke. It is apparent through his actions that Greg Locke clearly does not represent Christ and is utterly unqualified to claim the title of “pastor.”
*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.
