Pastor Greg Locke talks 'deliverance' from Evangelicalism at Dallas Mass Revival
Attendance numbers
While no official attendance numbers have been released, the June 24 event’s website predicted a turnout of roughly 4,000 people at the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Greenville, located about 50 miles northeast of Dallas.
Days before the event, a follow-up email sent by the event administrator said due to “the fire of awakening released by God upon His people,” the organizers of Dallas Mass Deliverance decided to move to the bigger venue in anticipation of “10,000 registrations.”
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Upon arriving at the event, it was clear that, whatever the final numbers were, they were well short of expectations.
Hosted by Davids and his wife, the “Prophetess” Rebecca Bible Davids, the revival — held in a tent-style building hearkening back to the heyday of American Pentecostalism — is the brainchild of Davids and Pastor Greg Locke, who appeared earlier this year in the surprise box-office hit “Come Out In Jesus' Name.”
Much like the film, the Dallas Mass Revival had all the energy of an old-school tent revival, which is exactly how Ms. Davids described it.
“In case you don't know, this is not a show, this is not a regular conference. This is revival here,” she explained. “This is revival.”
After acknowledging the attendance of a number of other self-titled “apostles” and “prophets,” Ms. Davids began to introduce Pastor Locke before stopping short and comparing it to when Jesus arrived at the Jordan River to be baptized.
“You know when John the Baptist says, ‘I'm not honored to even unlatch your shoes,’ so I'm not going to go there,” she added.
Before preaching out of 1 Corinthians 2, Locke candidly shared with the audience that, yes, he is fully aware he is the “least likely man on the planet to not just be involved in deliverance ministry, but to somewhat be tip of the spear in helping to bring back a movement that should have never gone anywhere.”
“We're talking about the number one ministry of Jesus, and yet here's what the Church by and large says. They say, ‘We'll get you a bracelet, a hat and a shirt that says ‘what would Jesus do?’” he said. “I know what Jesus did because I read a Bible. Jesus cast out evil spirits.”
Locke acknowledged that in his ministry as lead pastor of Global Vision Bible Church in Tennessee, he was long opposed to events like the one at which he was now a speaker.
“You have to understand that I am a man that was against all of this,” he said. “I was against deliverance; I was against miracles, tongues, signs, wonders, baptism of the Holy Spirit, supernatural healings,” he said.
“I preached the Gospel, the death, the burial, the resurrection. But you need to know something about Greg Locke: for 30 years, I preached cute sermons with really no power and deliverance changed everything about my life. Deliverance changed our church.”
For Locke, that transformation extended to his fathering skills, his marriage and his walk with Jesus — but it didn’t stop there.
"Deliverance is not just a one-and-done,” he said. "Deliverance is a disciplined Christian walk by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
So, is there such a thing in Scripture as "deliverance"?
According to Got Questions, an Evangelical apologetics site, while the Bible frequently speaks of the devil, his demons, and the supernatural realm, “there is little said about deliverance from them, and nothing said about deliverance as a ‘ministry.’”
“The ability to cast out demons is not listed as a spiritual gift or a ministerial duty,” the site explains.
Seemingly anticipating those common Evangelical objections, Locke acknowledged how unlikely it was for him to be participating in a Charismatic-style event.
“I know all the arguments against why we're supposed to be here today. I know all the arguments against healing and laying hands on the sick and casting out demons and the foolish argument, ‘Can Christians be afflicted by demons?’” he said.
“Of course they can be afflicted by demons," added Locke. "The Church has been demonized and can be set free by the power of the name of Jesus, but the problem is the pastors themselves have never submitted their life to personal deliverance, and if you have a leader that's never been delivered, you'll have a church full of people that are bound in their religion.
"I was that way for many, many years. I knew the truth, I saw the supernatural, but I was afraid of it.”
He also didn’t hold back in criticizing Evangelicalism and what he described as its own Protestant version of Phariseeism.
“Moms and dads coming to church, pretending to love Jesus, then going home fussing, fighting, cussing, arguing, witchcraft on the television, burning sage in their house, Mama with her yoga membership getting a Kundalini Spirit down at the local Southern Baptist Church,” he said.
“Our kids look at all that, and they're like, ‘Well, my goodness, if that's Christianity, I don't want anything to do with it.”
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post and the author of BACKWARDS DAD: a children's book for grownups. He can be reached at: [email protected].
