Controversial Pastor Greg Locke has made good on his pledge to hold a “burning service,” with his congregation reportedly coming together Wednesday night to torch Ouija boards, copies of “Harry Potter,” and other items.
Locke, the Global Vision Bible Church pastor in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, posted a video on his Facebook page last night that started with worship and preaching and ended with a massive fire held at the church.
“The devil doesn’t win,” Locke proclaimed at the start of the video.
He went on to say that the church wouldn’t tolerate witchcraft and the occult and then later urged people to join him outside the tent for the burning service.
“Let’s go give the devil a black eye!” Locke said.
Footage shared on Facebook shows people throwing items into the giant inferno. Watch that portion of the video at the 1:02-mark:
Newsweek reported Locke has been advertising the “massive burning” in recent days, with posts on Facebook explaining it’s part of a series he’s doing on deliverance.
Deliverance is a concept in some Christian circles involving freeing people from the grips of demonic influence. There is debate and discussion around some of the ideas and language within, though “exorcism” is a term some use interchangeably.
“We will be in our continued series on deliverance from demons,” one post read. “We have stuff coming in from all over that we will be burning.”
Locke reportedly encouraged people to bring “Harry Potter stuff” and “Twilight” books and films as well, alleging these products are “full of spells, demonism, shape-shifting, and occultism,” Newsweek reported.
The other items mentioned included spell books, Ouija boards, crystals, and other elements believed to be tied to occultism.
The burning service came after Locke sparked outrage last month for purportedly saying autistic children could be “demonized.”
“Because we’ve called it possession, parents refuse to deal with it,” he said. “‘Are you telling me my kids possessed?’ ‘No, I’m telling you your kid could be demonized and attacked, but your doctor calls it autism. … There’s deliverance in the name of Jesus Christ for your children and your children’s children. There’s deliverance in that. Ain’t no such diagnosis in the Bible. Christian Leaders reported this isn’t Locke’s first time burning books.
The outlet noted he once torched a book by Freedom From Religion Foundation lawyer Andrew Seidel, “The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism Is Un-American.”
Locke is no stranger to controversy, as he was banned from Twitter last year after being accused of spreading false information about COVID-19.
