Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.- Galatians 5:19-21 (KJV)
Sometimes "smaller" stories within Charismania pile up and require to be glommed together into a devotional so at least they are discussed. Today we will be addressing two such whackadoodle stories we have seen recently. The two are dealing with fringe lunatics who continue to gain popularity. The first is Greg Locke and the second is Alexander Pagani. Now, Pagani is one of the up and coming "demon slayers" who has carved out his niche to fleece the flock primarily through a YouTube ministry. Locke was one of the kingmakers in this crowd but recently it appears he has fallen into favor with the more advanced sectors of Charismania and there has been a palpable and obvious attempt through Charisma News to rehabilitate Locke's image of this crazed political loon who likes to accuse his own congregants of being witches and demons. Unfortunately for the Charismatic Industrial Complex you might be able to take the demon slayer out of the bizarre, but you can't always get the bizarre out of the demon slayer.
To quantify this, our first story is pretty straight forward. On Halloween, Greg Locke's church will hold another book burning at his church. I say another, because this is a schtick he has been doing for awhile now because it generates the press he seeks. The secular media reports on this properly, as a crazy-man burning books like it is 1933 Germany. I do not care if you think it is righteous to burn Harry Potter books. I do not like them nor watch the movies, but it is lazy and stupid to gather at a place designed to worship God and throw them into a bonfire. Besides the obvious similarity to the Nazis, which is not missed by the lost, Greg Locke has zero moral authority to do this. The advertisement he created for the event states the following:
On Halloween night we will be doing two important things"
1. We will be conducting a mass deliverance service for children. Parents, don't miss this opportunity to pray for the freedom and healing of your children. 95% of the adults we deal with in deliverance ministry have been under attack since they were kids. This will be a powerful move of the Lord.
2. We will once again be burning all things related to the occult. Ask the Lord to show you what's in your home that needs to be removed. I can assure you, there are some items that must go.
The advertisement says, "Occult Burning" and features a picture of Locke and his new wife, Tai. For the unaware, Tai was the church secretary who Locke had an affair with behind his wife's back and divorced and left her for. The unmitigated gall to pose for a picture for an event lecturing people about items of questionable morality they may have in their homes when yours lies in the same bed with you is despicable. Greg Locke is disqualified from ministry, although his teaching alone should do that. The occult? Read the key verses carefully today. Paul outlines the works of the flesh and clearly indicates that adultery is akin to witchcraft. Before the forgiveness police start abusing scripture, realize this is not about forgiveness. That is between Locke and God. This is about if we believe in the word of God at all and if we do, then Locke has disqualified himself from ministry over and over again.
