A religious freedom group wants the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to investigate a controversial, conspiracy theorist, witch-hunting Tennessee pastor for preaching politics at the pulpit.
Americans United for Separation of Church and State claimed in a Monday letter to the IRS that Greg Locke, pastor of Mt. Juliet’s Global Vision Bible Church, violated the Johnson Amendment, a law that prevents nonprofits from endorsing or opposing political parties or candidates.
“If you vote Democrat, I don’t even want you around this church,” Locke said in a sermon Sunday (posted online here). “You can get out. You can get out, you demon. You can get out, you baby-butchering, election thief.
“If you vote Democrat, I don’t even want you around this church. … You can get out, you baby-butchering, election thief.”
Greg Locke
“You cannot be a Christian and vote Democrat in this nation. I don’t care how mad that makes you. You can get as pissed off as you want to. You cannot be a Christian and vote Democrat in this nation.”
In the same sermon, Locke insulted President Joe Biden many times (“that sleepy old fool is going to bust hell wide open”), claimed “Obama is behind” all of America’s problems, doubted that the recent shooting in Buffalo, New York was racially motivated, repeated the lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump, promised another insurrection if “you keep on pushing our buttons,” and warned of demons and witchcraft. Locke also promised to be at the U.S. Supreme Court building Tuesday to “raise hell for the life of them babies.”
President Joe Biden “is going to bust hell wide open.”
Greg Locke
“Now, when our democracy is threatened by white Christian nationalism like never before, the IRS must investigate blatant Johnson Amendment violations like Locke’s remarks and enforce the federal law that protects the integrity of both our elections and our houses of worship by ensuring nonprofits don’t engage in partisan politics,” said Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United. “Tax exemption is a privilege, not a constitutional right. The government has attached sensible strings to that privilege. This rule, which is broadly popular among religious and nonreligious Americans alike, ensures charitable donations meant for the common good are not spent on corrosive partisan politics.”
“Tax exemption is a privilege, not a constitutional right.”
Rachel Laser, president and CEO of Americans United
“Global Vision Bible Church” could not not be found in database searches of charities by the IRS, the Tennessee Department of State, or nonprofit navigator Guidestar. The domain suffix of the church’s website is “.com” instead of “.org,” perhaps signaling it is a for-profit company. However, no business called “Global Vision Bible Church” appeared in a search of the Tennessee State Department site.
Calls to the church and a media relations number requesting the church’s most-recent tax forms were not immediately answered.
A January news release from the church claimed that a “reverse offering” event at the church in December raised $66,000, which was dispersed ”among those who are carrying financial burdens and living on little.”
“Global Vision Bible Church has a habit of giving back,” reads the news release. “Despite inflated reports and rumors of Pastor Locke’s net worth, he lives a modest life, giving abundantly in moments like the December 19th service.”
Americans United said that in his Sunday sermon, Locke “clearly told congregants to vote a certain way,” a clear violation of the Johnson Amendment. But, they said, he did not spare Republicans either.
“You need to be delivered from voting Democrat,” Locke said. “I think in that list in mass deliverance I’m going to start putting ‘spirit of Democrat.’ Come out in Jesus’ name.
“By the way, that doesn’t mean that I’m a full-fledged Republican, either. They’re two heads of the same snake. My loyalty is not to a party, my loyalty is the Kingdom of God.”