Greg Locke threatens lawsuit after former pastors allege 'spiritual abuse,' lack of accountability

Outspoken Tennessee Pastor Greg Locke has mentioned the possibility of taking legal action as he faces allegations from former pastors of the Lebanon-based Global Vision Bible Church that he inflicted “spiritual abuse” on church employees and has not been transparent with the use of church finances, a claim he denies. 

Locke, an author with a large online following, didn't mince words during Sunday's service as he addressed allegations laid out in a letter published earlier this month by former pastors Justin and Kasey Greenwell, who announced their resignation and are working on a book about their experiences at the church. Locke says he has "zero to hide" and suggested he has spoken with his lawyer about potentially moving forward with a lawsuit. 

“If you think you’re going to drag this church through the mud, draw people out of it and then publicly besmirch my wife for no reason,” do not “think for a second as a shepherd I’m going to take that laying down," Locke said.

In a Facebook post published Dec. 9, the Greenwells announced their resignation and posted a copy of the letter they sent to Locke and his wife, Tai. They cited what they called a “lack of true biblical accountability within the ministry." Insisting that “The New Testament church operated under a plurality of elders, shared leadership, and collective discernment,” the Greenwells claimed their experience at Global Vision Bible Church was “marked by the absence of such structure.”

“Decisions were not shaped by a functioning board or council of elders," they wrote. "There was no system in place for shared governance or mutual accountability. Instead, the weight of leadership and decision making fell entirely on you and Pastor Tai, creating an atmosphere where correction was impossible, disagreement felt dangerous, and accountability simply did not exist."

“This lack of covering left staff spiritually exposed, emotionally vulnerable, and without a safe or biblical structure to process concerns or conflicts.” 

The Greenwells claimed that Locke had "promised" to "establish a board, open the financial books, and allow the staff to take part in major decisions that shape this ministry."

“That day never came," they told Locke. “You lied to us.” 

“The fruit of that broken word has revealed where the priorities of this ministry truly lie,” the Greenwells added. “When accountability is denied and transparency is avoided, it communicates something devastating: that money is being protected more fiercely than integrity, more fiercely than the people who sacrificially tithe, trust, and give to this house.”

The letter contained allegations of mismanagement of funds, as some members have questioned why the church failed to close on a multi-million-dollar real estate deal in 2024 that would have allowed it to move from a white tent in Mount Juliet to the Love's Way Church in Lebanon. After that sale fell through, the church began leasing a 32,000-square-foot warehouse facility in Lebanon in November 2024. 

“I personally know from answering the phones for the church that you borrowed hundreds of thousands of dollars from congregants online in the form of ‘loans’ for the new church that never came to pass," the Greenwells wrote in their letter. "When we asked to see the books, we were denied. When we inquired about spending decisions: the museum purchases, extravagant travel, and unexplained expenses, we did not receive clear or direct answers.”

The fact that the planned purchase of a new church fell through loomed large throughout the letter. In addition to raising concerns about money management, the Greenwells suggested that Global Vision Bible Church may have broken the law. 

“Federal guidelines for charitable organizations exist for a reason: to protect donors, congregants, staff members, leadership, and the integrity of the ministry,” they stated. “A 501(c)(3) requires a functioning board, transparent decision making, documented oversight, and clear separation between personal preference and organizational stewardship.” 

The Greenwells insisted that their “concern is not rooted in accusation but in the sobering reality that without these structures, everyone involved becomes vulnerable: legally, ethically, financially, and spiritually.”

The letter included additional details about what the Greenwells viewed as spiritual vulnerability, decrying a “culture of hierarchy and emotional manipulation" that they say staff and congregants "regularly endured." 

“[M]any of us experienced what can only be described as control dressed in spiritual language," they asserted, stating that “unity was equated with silence," “honor was equated with suppressing concerns” and “loyalty was equated with surrendering discernment.” 

“This environment cultivated fear, anxiety, confusion, and a form of emotional dependency that Scripture never endorses,” the letter stated. The letter also accused Tai Locke of practicing “favoritism” and said employees were discouraged “from building genuine relationships with one another.” 

The Greenwells characterized the prevailing environment at Global Vision Bible Church as “a form of spiritual abuse,” specifically an “emotional, physical, and spiritual misuse of authority that damaged the hearts of those who served within this ministry with sincerity.” The climate extended beyond church leadership into the congregation itself, they added. 

“Many hearts within the congregation have grown confused, disoriented, and weary; not because they lack hunger for God, but because they have been taught to depend on a flawed system instead of the living Christ. People have been equating God’s presence with a building, equating spirituality with performance, equating unity with silence, and equating honor with suppression,” the Greenwells wrote, adding that these “distortions” create “spiritual infants instead of disciples” and “produce dependency on man instead of devotion to God.”

The Greenwells urged church leadership to repent and expressed disappointment that they themselves had not done so earlier.

Responding to the allegations laid out in the letter on Sunday, Locke said he has "zero to hide" and questioned why he would steal money from a church to which he donates more than is given. Over the last three years, he claims he and his family have donated all of his book sales royalties to the church, totaling over $800,000. He also claimed that his company, Locke Media, donated over $1.2 million to the church from proceeds of the 2023 film "Come Out in Jesus Name."  

“Bank statements don’t lie,” Locke asserted as he proclaimed his innocence, saying that the money raised for the hope of purchasing Love's Way was completely separate from the funds donated by businessmen to help him buy a new home after his previous home was shot up in September 2024 with one of his children inside. 

“The IRS, who we’ve been turned over to multiple times, said the last time they met with us and I quote ‘You’ve given us over and above the information that average organizations do,’” he proclaimed. “Anybody that’s a giver in our church that actually contributes can look at these books anytime they want to,” Locke declared as he defended his church’s transparency. 

Addressing the Greenwells’ comments about accountability, “When people say silly things like ‘well, he’s not accountable,’ what they mean is ‘I’m mad because he’s not accountable to me.’” He pushed back on the idea that the church does not have a board, saying there has been a "board set up in this church for years."

"One of them is standing up and clapping right now," he said. "Men of God all over this nation who have done more for the Gospel than Greg Locke has ever imagined to."

He also pointed to a full-time lawyer on staff and an outside accountant who is not affiliated with the church. 

“To say that I’m just flying by the seat of my pants and have no authority whatsoever is a lie,” he said. Locke described the Greenwells as “deceptive” because they were “writing a book about [the] church” while on its payroll. 

Locke appeared to acknowledge the allegations of spiritual abuse in the letter, but insisted that he had already "repented" for being a "lousy pastor." 

"Everything that was in that was mentioned in that letter was from a previous dynasty, the tent era. And I've already repented for all of that stuff," he said. "I don't have to double repent. If God got over it, why can't people get over it? I don't have to keep repenting for things that I've grown out of. I've already repented for the way that we have treated people in the tent days. I've already repented for being a lousy pastor in the tent days. I'm not going to fall on the sword twice just because you think I should."  

Locke never mentioned the Greenwells by name during his remarks to the audience, saying, “I wish them no evil, I wish them no harm.”

At the same time, Locke recounted a conversation he had with his lawyer, who assured him, “We’ve been given everything that we need if we need to move forward” with a lawsuit. Locke prefaced his discussion with his lawyer by noting that he had never instigated lawsuits before, although the church had won eight lawsuits. 

"Now, I'm not saying I am," he said of filing a lawsuit against the Greenwells, but seemed to suggest he might be open to the idea. 

"Whenever that nonsense takes place, it will keep taking place until somebody says, 'Dear God, that is enough,'" Locke said. "I'm tired of people in this church believing lies."