Pastor Greg Locke Retracts Explosive Abuse Claims Against Copeland And Osteen
Four years ago, Tennessee pastor Greg Locke called prominent charismatic pastor Kenneth Copeland a “sex-trafficking rapist,” saying he had the “pictures” to prove it.
Locke never delivered.
In the same fiery 2022 sermon, Locke also called TV megastar Oprah and actor Tom Hanks “pedophiles.” In a December 2021 video posted last week by apologist podcaster Mike Winger, Locke called Houston megachurch pastor Joel Osteen a “pedophile.”
“Some of your preaching heroes are going to hell!” Locke bellowed in the 2021 video. “I’ll stop preaching if what I’m telling you is not true!”
On Monday, Locke took to social media to retract his allegations, saying he didn’t, after all, have any evidence in his “personal possession” from a woman who, he had said, contacted him. He said that what he initially thought were credible stories about criminal activity later “began to shift and unravel.”
“I was not being given truth,” Locke wrote Monday. “I was being used as an amplifier.”
The Roys Report emailed the offices of Osteen, Copeland, Oprah and the publicist for Hanks about the accusations, Locke’s retraction, asking whether Locke personally apologized to them. None immediately responded.
Locke excused his error by saying several people told him and his wife Taisha their “grave concerns” about Copeland and Osteen. His main source was a woman who presented timelines, photographs and first-hand testimonies of crimes, he said. Locke wrote that he saw evidence but didn’t “take ownership of it.”
“Importantly, none of this material was ever placed in my personal possession, forwarded to me, or stored on any of my devices,” Locke wrote. “Believing these claims to be credible and urgent at the time, I spoke out boldly in that video.”
Locke wrote that he then spent four years investigating and asking for verification, with his personal “spirit of humility and pursuit of truth” guiding him.
But “key details changed, commitments were withdrawn, and it became clear that my voice had been leveraged because of my public platform and reputation for boldness,” Locke wrote.
Locke said he repented in front of his church “multiple times” for speaking without verifying the accusations. He said his spiritual advisors advised against a public discussion Locke initiated last week with apologist podcaster Mike Winger about a matter already handled privately. Locke also wrote that he pursued reconciliation with families who were involved and learned from his mistakes.
“My commitment remains the same today as it has been for decades: preach the gospel, protect the flock, and walk in integrity,” Locke wrote.
Despite having promised in 2021 to resign should he be proven wrong, his name is still on the website of Global Vision Bible Church in Lebanon, Tenn., 25 miles east of Nashville. TRR reached out to Locke for an interview, but he declined.
Dueling with Winger
Locke’s retraction came after an online back-and-forth with apologist podcaster Mike Winger, once a youth pastor, about whether pastors should publicly expose each other for wrongdoing. Their exchange is part of the larger discussion among Christian YouTubers about how to expose what Winger calls a “coverup culture” among charismatic leaders.
Locke has had numerous accusations leveled against him. In March, TRR reported that Locke was arrested for driving with a suspended license. Despite having a police record and being made to take a mug shot, he denied that the arrest happened. Last year, TRR reported accusations from former church members that Locke created a culture of spiritual abuse and manipulation.
Locke is also known for being a COVID-denier, accusing Democratic politicians of child abuse, and spreading claims about election fraud.
TRR reported in 2022 that he told his congregation he had conversations with demons who told him witches had infiltrated his church to destroy it.
In front of his congregation in 2022, Locke swore on the Bible he was telling the truth about the demons, saying if he lied about this, “what won’t I lie to you about.”
Winger has another read on the matter, especially Locke’s latest allegations.
“Greg Locke lied through his teeth when he said he had evidence,” Winger said May 4 on YouTube. “Based on his own words, he should quit ministry,” he added.
Locke vs. Winger
Locke and Winger have been circling each other for months on the question of whether to call out or defend charismatic leaders.
In recent years, Winger has published extensive exposés on charismatic ministries, fingering televangelist Benny Hinn for spiritual deception, Bethel Church of Redding, California, for mishandling abuse allegations and charismatic pastor Todd White for leadership abuses.
Last year, Locke sat for an interview with Charisma Media CEO Stephen Strang, defending Hinn and saying his accusers were motivated by “clicks and likes.”
In March, Winger’s ministry offered to pay up to $100,000 for an independent investigation into Todd White, which Winger said on social media White’s ministry didn’t accept. Locke responded with a snarky reference to the biblical parable of the talents in Matthew 25.
“The likelihood of any of this obtaining a ‘well done’ is literally a ZERO,” Locke wrote on X.
The feud continued last week, when Winger posted on X, “Benny Hinn is a bad guy,” and “Todd White is a bad guy.”
“Give it a rest Bro,” Locke responded 30 minutes later. “You’re exhausting.”
“I haven’t even begun to exhaust you,” Winger replied.
Locke’s ‘dead man switch’
X user Tom Scott posted a clip of Locke’s 2022 sermon with his accusations against Copeland and Osteen on Winger’s back-and-forth with Locke on X last week.
In that clip, Locke called Copeland a “demon” and “pedophile,” as well as a rapist. He then challenged Copeland to take him to court, saying he would release incriminating photos.
Locke also attacked Osteen, calling him a “demon-worshipping” pastor. Locke added that if someone asked him if Osteen was “that way with women,” he would reply, “No I’m here to tell you, Joel Osteen’s that way with boys!”
In a December 2021 video that Winger posted on YouTube, Locke also called Osteen a “pedophile.”
In 2022, Locke asked the people of his congregation — who had been hooting, clapping or cheering — if they had heard of the “dead man switch,” an automatic trigger that sends data if someone dies.
“In case they try and suicide me, I’ve got one of them,” Locke said. “It’ll all go on the internet, every last drop of it. Tom Hanks, Oprah and all them pedophiles.”
On April 30, Winger made a video saying Locke’s accusations are “too serious to ignore” and called for Locke to do something with what he allegedly knows.
“If children are in danger and victims are left undefended, then those who can do something should do something,” Winger wrote on X.
Winger told TRR he reported the matter to the FBI last week. Locke had claimed that “Joel Osteen belongs in prison,” among other things. So “if you have real evidence,” Winger said in a YouTube video, “I’ll absolutely support you in that.”
Other Christian YouTubers who regularly discuss abuses by charismatic leaders published videos calling for Locke to release his evidence. One was Blaise Foret on his “Wake Up and Win” podcast.
Minor Prophets YouTuber and Michigan pastor JonMark Baker joined with Ron Cantor, a whistleblower who had alleged misconduct by Jewish apologist Michael Brown, to urge Locke to go to the authorities.
“If not, then you are participating in their sin … [and] you don’t care about these kids at all,” Cantor said.
Cantor was skeptical, however, saying Locke often makes outrageous allegations.
“I just see an angry person who loses his temper in the pulpit a lot,” Cantor said.
On May 1, Locke challenged Winger to a live “uncut, raw and nothing off limits” discussion online.
“You’ve purposely tried to destroy lives, ministries and reputations, including my own with situations you know nothing about,” Locke wrote on X. “Have a real conversation.”
Responding on X, Winger agreed, on the condition that Locke consent to having another Christian YouTuber, Ruslan KD, as moderator. But Locke retracted his offer to speak with Winger. Then he retracted his allegations.
Locke blamed the surfacing of his 2022 sermon on Winger’s “continual public exposures and interruptions within the body of Christ.”
“I owe him — and the public — no further personal information or private meetings on this matter,” Locke wrote on X.
This article was originally published at The Roys Report.