Last week, controversial pastor Greg Locke of Global Vision Bible Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, held a "burning service" after his sermon. During the burning service, church congregants threw items deemed by the church to be related to the occult into a large bonfire.
The event is part of Locke's sermon series on deliverance titled "Deliverance from Demons." In Wednesday night's message, Locke claimed that multiple people came to his office over the past week and received "full-blown deliverance."
"I've seen the enemy exposed in an unbelievable way this week," Locke explained. "I can't unsee what I've seen."
He also argued that the American church had largely shied away from deliverance, which he said Jesus focused on more than anything else in His earthly ministry.
"We're more concerned about how the carpet looks than we are people getting delivered," he noted. "We're more concerned about how the glitz and the glamour and the glitter looks on the YouTube video than we are about people that are falling down under the power of an evil influence that needs to be delivered in the name of the Lord."
While the church partakes in communion every Wednesday, Locke said that the Lord told him to hold off from administering the sacrament that evening because witches and Freemasons were reportedly in attendance.
"There's a mixed multitude in this tent – I ain't breaking bread with witches. In Jesus' name, I'll call the spirit forth that's inside you, and we'll expose you for who you are, right up here in these cedar chips [the ground floor of the outdoor tent], I ain't breaking bread with demons," the pastor declared. "I ain't breaking bread with Freemasons. I ain't breaking bread with occultism," he continued.
Locke also shared that Homeland Security was in attendance at the service. Nevertheless, he asserted that no one would stop the fiery event scheduled to take place after the service. He argued that the church has a "constitutional right and a biblical right" to burn occultic materials.
"We have a burn permit. But even without one, a church has a religious right to burn occultic materials that they deem are a threat to their religious rights and freedoms and belief system," Locke contended.
After Locke's message, church members went outside and created a large bonfire in which they threw a variety of items, including Harry Potter books, Ouija boards and tarot cards, among other things. The event was captured on video, but the sound is turned down.
"Let's go give the devil a black eye!" Locke declared.
In recent weeks, Locke drew controversy for reportedly stating that obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and autism were signs of demonic oppression.
Locke also came under fire for promoting the burning service online.
Related:
Controversial Pastor Greg Locke Says OCD, Autism Are Signs of Demonic Oppression
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Related: Pastor Greg Locke
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
