Rally sparks religious controversy

Jan. 24—When the ReAwaken America Tour made its Nashville stop in Mt. Juliet over the weekend, the event sparked controversy amongst Middle Tennessee's religious leaders.

The discourse not only centered around the event itself, but also on its venue — Global Vision Bible Church.

Located on Old Lebanon Dirt Road, the church and its pastor, Greg Locke, have been the subject of scrutiny for years. Noise complaints and petitions have been filed against the church, and Middle Tennessee religious leaders held a press conference on Friday admonishing the ReAwaken America Tour and the Global Vision Bible Church's teachings.

"Today, we are here to speak our truth that the ReAwaken America event today at Greg Locke's church is more about people trying to grow their personal power, platforms and political ideologies than to grow what we believe to be the kingdom of Christ," the Rev. Rick Roberts — who leads Nashville's St. John's Lutheran Church (which is where Friday's press conference was held) — said.

Roberts defined Christian nationalism as the belief that America is defined by Christianity and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. He then described the event and its teachings as demanding, exclusive and destructive.

The ReAwaken America Tour began after former national security advisor, Gen. Michael Flynn, received a pardon from former president Donald Trump and connected with Clay Clark, who hosted anti-lockdown gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tour's first date was in April of 2021.

"This is a dangerous ideology that is actually very contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, who never tried to overtake the government, or to assert power or control in any way, besides love," Roberts said. "This is the dangerous ideology being preached at the ReAwaken America Conference this weekend, not the gospel of Jesus Christ."

A petition against the views and teachings that the ReAwaken Tour through called Christians Against Christian nationalism was signed by around 30,000 Christian leaders across the country and across denominations of faith.

"As pastors and as Christians, we want to declare that these groups and their agendas do not speak for the Christian faith," Nashville's Metropolitan Interdenominational Church's Rev. Donna Jane Whitney said.

In response to the recent scrutiny, Locke posted the following statement on Facebook ... "After all of the media nonsense, slanderous words, hateful lies and community uproar over our large events at church, this was my statement to the news media. I meant it then and I mean it now. It's true and I'm not apologizing for it. I won't be bullied for having a growing church. If we were hosting a pride event this wouldn't be an issue and no one would complain but it's a church and people get nervous and look for problems."

Complaints about the Global Vision Bible Church from the community go beyond the events it hosts and its teachings. Over the course of the two-day event last weekend, the Wilson County Sheriff's Office received more than 20 noise complaints.