Pastor Greg Locke Mourns Death of His Son Following Drug Overdose

Milton Quintanilla

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By Milton Quintanilla, Crosswalk.com

Tennessee pastor Greg Locke recently lost his 20-year-old son, Evan, to a drug overdose, and plans to host both a public and private memorial in his honor.

“I don't know that there is a grief deeper than losing a child,” Locke, who leads Global Vision Bible Church, told congregants during an emotional Sunday service.

He added, “I'd go stark-raving crazy if I ever lost my wife, but I think there's a difference in a spouse’s grief and a child’s grief.”

Per The Christian Post, Locke’s son, Evan, passed away from a drug overdose following a years-long struggle with drug addiction, which was also in the public eye.

Locke likened his son’s death to that of King David’s son, Absalom, who rebelled against his father for not taking action against his firstborn son, Amnon, who raped Absalom’s sister, Tamar. Absalom was ultimately killed by David’s commander, Joab, despite David telling his generals to "deal gently" with Absalom.

After learning of Absolom’s death, King David cried out, “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you!"

“It's made me see the Bible differently just in a few days. I used to be frustrated with King David,” Locke acknowledged.

Like every time I'd read the Bible, I'm like, ‘Bro, Absalom was a jerk. He chased you around for years. Try to steal everything you had. For years, y'all had like a discombobulated relationship, David, if you didn't notice,” the pastor said. “But when he found out Absalom was dead, none of it mattered. And for three chapters, all he could say was, ‘Oh, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom, Absalom.’”

Regardless of his son’s passing, Locke contended he would continue preaching the gospel.

“So what's done is done. The devil tried to beat you up with grief, guilt, could have been, should have been, would have been, had I been, God says don't do it. You did what you could. People choose,” he declared. “Just makes me hate the devil all the more. Makes me want to preach the Bible all the more. Makes me want to reach people all the more and love the broken all the more.”

A public memorial service for Evan Locke is scheduled to take place on Wednesday ( May 13) at Global Vision Bible Church in Lebanon, Tennessee, at 7 p.m., while a private ceremony will take place on Thursday morning.

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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.