SM Lockridge.
Published this six years ago. Thought I’d put it back up.
Thought I’d throw this one in just for fun!
I’m working on Good Friday and Easter. Then headed to Florida for a week. Unless the world falls apart I won’t be blogging much.
He is risen.
Permit me to put the ball on the tee for Sunday:
(Editor – here’s the link – one of my favorite sermons of all time.)
Sorry about the google link.
My eldest daughter watched the two SM Lockridge videos and echoed this back for her old man.
One of Campolo’s best!
This is S. M. Lockridge’s message, not Tony Campolo. This one gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
You mean the original? Campolo preached one by that name so I thought it was that.
Campolo heard it from his pastor during a “preach off” at his home church. As Dave points out, Campolo borrowed it, and gives due credit to his pastor. His pastor wasn’t Lockridge, so I’m not sure which one came first. Won’t be the last time one preacher uses another preacher’s sermon.
Really? Preachers “borrow” sermons from others. I was not aware of such a thing.
Not that I’ve ever done such a thing………Okay. Maybe a couple of times.
I dug a little on this over the weekend:
1. S.M. Lockridge served from 1953 to 1993 at Calvary Baptist in San Diego and only previously pastored at Fourth Ward in Ennis, Texas. That cannot be rectified with Campolo’s audio version by the same title that I listened to.
2. Campolo has several phrases that are very close to Lockridge’s. It’s difficult to believe that the two aren’t based on a common source. And Campolo credits his pastor in Philadelphia in both audio versions of the sermon and his book by the same title. I assume that’s (Rev. Dr.) Alfred F. Campbell who has served at Mt. Carmel Baptist in West Philadephia for 47 years (they have an active search committee that was receiving applications through the end of February to call a new pastor.)
3. There are repeated sites that make the claim that (or variations):
“Several years ago author and speaker Tony Campolo was so impressed by Lockridge’s lesson on “It’s Friday. But Sunday’s Coming!” that he began to deliver the lesson himself and even wrote a book with that title.”
One site shortened that claim to this:
“I am grateful that Tony Campolo brought attention to a sermon entitled, “It’s Friday but Sunday’s Coming” by African American preacher S. M. Lockridge.”
I didn’t attempt to call Campolo, and I’m inclined to believe him. Lockridge today is better known for the sermon than Campbell (no search results that directly tie that sermon title to Campbell), but it’s both entirely possible and believable that Campbell preached a variation (or even the original) and Campolo copied the phrasing from Lockridge. He does not mention Lockridge in his book by the title of the sermon that was first published in 1982. Or at least it isn’t in the Kindle version I just bought (curse you one-click!!!)
Interesting, Greg. You’ve mentioned ties to the Northwest before. Is your dad Jim Harvey?
Yes!
I pastored in Bend, OR, for several years. Didn’t know your dad well. Only met him a few times, but I was acquainted with his ministry in that region. I was just wondering.
Campolo used this message, but in his famous sermon, admitted he heard it from another pastor.
More Dr. Shadrach Meshach Lockridge
What I didn’t know about Dr. Lockridge was mentioned by my dad during a phone call tonight: he was a good friend of Rob Zinn’s and Rob had him up to preach at Immanuel after I was in Texas. Drats!!
Some where in my collection of sermon tapes is a message by the Sociologist at Eastern Baptist College, Tony Campolo, on the same subject. It is obviously an imitation of Black preaching. The imitation is excellent, exciting, engaging, enthusiastic, enticing, enthralling, exceptional, any other eees you want to add. The tape dates back more than 25 years. The oratory of African American preachers was something that marked Southern Whites early on, but the knowledge of how to do it was lost or mislaid or simply not taught, much to our loss and cultural deprivation. R.G. Lee and George W. Truett were two men who could do it. The Evangelist Rolfe Barnard and Evangelist Vance Havener were two more. Even Billy Sunday must have been given to such a style, if the brief excerpts that I have are any indication.
Yes, it seems Campolo learned it from his pastor in an African American church in Philadelphia. He then perfected it. It’s incredibly moving and by the time it’s done, you want to repeat the mantra: it’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!
Pastor Campola heard it from Pastor Marshall L. Shepard Sr. and Pastor Shepard heard it from Pastor S. M. Lockeridge, who wrote it and made it famous with many other sermons like “My King” But that is not Lockeridge on the audio/video, that’s someone playing him like someone playing MLK in “I Have a Dream”. There are a few recordings with Lockeridge’s actual voice and if you heard it in his voice, goose-bunks would be the least of your emotions or reactions. Check it out when you can. Blessings to all and BTW, we all borrow here and there, but Tony is still an awesome preacher and teacher. Yet, I’ve not met or heard anyone top Lockeridge… REBT 🙂
Ramon: that version is believable. It isn’t consistent with the book version of Campola’s story by the same title as the famous sermon. He specifically mentions Mt. Carmel Baptist, not Mt. Olivet Tabernacle where Shepard was pastor. He mentions seven preachers that day, but specifically refers to his pastor in this passage:
[after he preached] ‘I sat down next to my pastor and he looked at me with a smile. He reached down with his hand and squeezed my knee. “You did all right!” he said.
I turned to him and asked, “Pastor, are you going to be able to top that?” The old man smiled at me and he said, “Son, you just sit back, ’cause this old man is going to do you in!”‘
As noted previously, he refers to his church as Mt. Carmel, but to be specific:
“I belong to an African-American church in West Philadelphia. I’ve been a member of that church for decades, and for me Mt. Carmel Baptist Church is the closest thing to heaven this side of the pearly gates.”
I believe Tony’s story as I said before. But he does not credit by name the preacher who followed him that day, only by reference. The context suggests it it was his pastor Alfred F. Campbell, not Shepard. He does not clear this up in the 2000 recording this is available at his site, in the outline available at his site, nor in at least the Kindle book. I specifically searched and did not find any of the following terms (searched individually) in his book It’s Friday but Sunday’s Comin’
Alfred
Campbell
Marshal (without the additional l so it would match both versions)
Shepard
Shepherd
Lockridge
Olivet
On the other hand, “Carmel” matched in the section quoted earlier and only there
“Fred” matched with two references to a “Winifred Davidson” and a “Fred Craddock”
I’m being very specific on this because I feel Campolo receives credit in part because he didn’t credit by name either the preacher he heard first preach the sermon nor any other person by name for the sermon while using it as his sermon AND book title. Given he is an academic, that’s actually pretty disappointing, though I don’t disbelieve his story.
There is a lot of false preaching in todays church. Tradition holds that Jesus was crucified on Friday which is not true. In John 19:14 indicates that the Jews, during the week of Christ’s crucifixion were observing a Passover Sabbath which no doubt fell on Friday of that week. Mark 15:42 tells us that Christ’s crucifixion took place the day before the sabbath.
This was not Friday- the day before the weekly sabbath, but thursday- the day before the Passover sabbath. This would enable Christ to be as predicted, in the grave three days and three nights.
JESS, calculate the ‘days’ and ‘nights’ count according to the Judaic way of measuring how a ‘day’ is percieved, and Friday does works out as the day of Our Lord’s crucifixion.
interpreting sacred Scripture according to modern terminology does fail at times
Christiane,
I didn’t interpret the scripture in modern terms, I used the KJV and put it together, I am correct, you are wrong. Sorry!
Look these verses up in your KJV and maybe you’ll put it together differently:
Esther 4:16 & 5:1
Gen. 42:17,18
I Kings 20:29
I Sam. 30:12,13
We all have to remember Jesus was in the tomb three days (and), three nights.
Our Lord rose on the morning of the Third Day
Jess,
You would benefit from the purchase and study of Bullinger’s book on figures of speech used in the Bible: http://www.amazon.com/Figures-Speech-Used-Bible-Bullinger/dp/161640759X
This is clearly a synecdoche. See the discussion on Division in Bullinger: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/Canons/Invention/TOPICS%20OF%20INVENTION/Division.htm#whole
There is a difference in reading the Bible literally (i.e. in a ‘literate’ fashion that honor the Chicago Statement by recognizing and understanding figures of speech) and reading it literalistically (i.e. in a manner that forces a wooden literalism on texts that are clearly intended or routinely used as figures of speech).
Denying a Friday crucifixion based on a literalistic interpretation of the Bible is one of the arguments I tired of years ago in my college days. A plain reading of the text without chapter and verse divisions shows the sequence as the crucifixion took place, they watched where the body was buried and hurried home to prepare for the Sabbath, observed the Sabbath, and then very early on the first day of the week they rushed to the tomb to pay their respects. There is no mention in the gospels or the epistles of an “extra” or “Passover” sabbath.
And even if there is, the math still doesn’t work out, since Jesus was already out of the tomb on Sunday morning. If Jesus was crucified on Thursday, that puts him in the grave Thursday night and Friday (Day 1), Friday night and Saturday (Day 2) and Saturday night (not a whole day) before Sunday morning. The only way to get 72 hours out of a Thursday crucifixion is to have him rise from the grave Sunday evening.
Nice try.
Rick,
Please read in the Old Testament carefully and you will find what a day consists of. There are many examples of a day being less than twelve hours, yet it was still called a day. Your math is all wrong.
Jesus said, are there not 12 hours in a day? You will figure it out.
A child could figure this one out.
Jess,
This particular debate really doesn’t matter anything about anything, but it is worth noting that there are several explicit references to the resurrection happening on the third day. Perhaps the best is Luke 24:21 where the men talking with the resurrected Jesus say, “it is now the third day”. Since we know the Bible does not contradict, yet since we also know we have the Bible saying both “three days and three nights” as well as numerous “on the third day”, there must be a symbolic use of the numbering of days taking place somewhere. Since the majority of references – including Jesus’ own words – say “on the third day”, I’m inclined to think this is how it played out, and “three days and three nights” was offering the more symbolic connection with Jonah.
Chris,
I know the important thing is that Christ died for our sins, I cannot put my feelings into words for what he done for me.
I know Jesus was in the tomb three days and three nights.
If one counted backward from the first day of the week (early)
then one would have their answer, and it’s not Friday.
Chris, I love to raise questions, many of which I don’t have the answers. To me this is an important issue, even if it has nothing to do with being or getting saved. Thank you for your comment.
Are you sure you intended that we read the Bible “…in a ‘literate’ fashion that honors the Chicago Statement”?
Good grief! From a glorious proclamation of Jesus to an “discussion” about who is right about days. Get gripped by the glory of Easter folks. Thanks Dave. S. M. Lockeridge was one of the best preachers I ever heard.
That is all from back in 2013