Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith
The Bible is filled with biography – one character after another parade across the pages. God loves to teach lasting lessons through the lives of individuals. With that in mind, Stephen Davey has undertaken a special biographical series illustrating biblical truths through the lives of contemporary believers. These ordinary men and women provide a wonderful legacy. They are influenced and influential because of their faith in God. They are Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith.
Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith
A Tribute to Christian Leaders E.V. Hill and S.M. Lockridge.
Walk with us as we journey down the path of faith trodden by two remarkable leaders of the Christian faith - EV Hill and SM Lockridge. This episode is a tribute to their lives, tenacity, and the courage that drove them to preach the gospel in a society that was not always accommodating. Their stories echo the early believers' resilience, reminding us that the gospel's power lies in our unity in Christ, irrespective of societal norms.
Discover the story of EV Hill, a man who rose from poverty to become a biblically literate preacher. Without formal theological education, Hill's passion for the word of God drove him to share the gospel with an unshakeable confidence. We also turn our attention to SM Lockridge, whose powerful preaching, most notably in his sermon 'That's My King', has inspired millions. From their humble beginnings to their widespread influence, the impact of these men is a testament to their unwavering faith and dedication to their calling.
music playing. And Welcome to Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith. With Stephen Davie, I'm your host, scott Wiley. In this series, stephen explores the lives and legacies of ordinary people whose faith had a profound impact. Stephen is the president of Wisdom International. You can learn more at Wisdom International. In today's episode, you'll meet EV Hill and SM Lockridge. What if the gospel was your priority? What if you shared the truth with those around you without holding back? Well, like Peter and John in the Book of Acts, ev Hill and SM Lockridge preached with confidence inspired by their passion for Jesus music playing, and we continue our brief study, a series of identifying lives of believers worthy of imitation, as the apostles told.
Speaker 2:The early church even defined within their assembly those worthy of imitating. So we've just sort of taken a little pause here and we're introducing some choice servants of the Lord from recent church history and some as far away as about four or five hundred years ago. If you've been around here long enough, you've probably heard me mention, of course, my father preaching in the number of churches and I can remember growing up traveling with him his ministry there in Norfolk, virginia, to sailors predominantly sailors. There in that serviceman's center he would load up an old bus and every Sunday night we'd go to a different church to worship. Typically it would be a church that would provide prayer support or financial support to their ministry. He preached in all kinds of churches. I wasn't raised in the Baptist church. He would preach in Presbyterian churches, missionary Alliance churches, methodist churches, bible churches, baptist churches, brethren churches and frankly I didn't realize the wonderful education I was getting in the broader world of evangelical Christianity and it's something I treasure now.
Speaker 2:In fact, when he called me this morning we were reminiscing about one particular Sunday. It's one of really the few Sunday evening services I can still remember. I can still see myself sitting in that assembly. It was a predominantly African American church, a Baptist church, when they had invited him to preach. It was a different kind of service than I had ever seen before, but it still brings back fond memories. I can tell you nobody was sleeping in the pew, not like while I'm preaching here on Sunday morning. Everybody was alert, in fact, from the announcements to the closing benediction. It was just riveting. And when he preached they encouraged him all along the way to keep going. I warn you not to do that to me. I might keep going and never stop. But I was still taking piano lessons.
Speaker 2:I think I was about 10 years of age and I remember just sort of being caught up with the gal who was playing the piano. It was unbelievable. I just focused and watched her, not a sheet of music in front of her. She played every note on that piano several times, up and down. It was an upright piano. I can still see it. It was painted red and as far as I was concerned that was fitting, because that piano was on fire. That service and that music just swept me off my feet. It was wonderful. I treasure those memories.
Speaker 2:In fact I was telling my dad I don't know if it's because of events like that but to this day I am particularly inspired and motivated and moved by the preaching of evangelical black pastors. I so appreciate and admire their courage. They stand on the shoulders of their fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers who, many of them, were pastors, who preached and lived with great courage in a culture and society that was not accommodating in any way, shape or form. I love bringing to our congregation so that we can hear the good preaching of men like Richard Allen, farmer and Robert Smith and EB Charles and Charles Ware and others, and love the fact that in our own congregation we're multi-ethnic and appreciate how the gospel makes us, just as VBS is teaching our children. We're one race. We need one savior. We're part of one family in Christ.
Speaker 2:But to this day, some of my favorite preachers are these African-American pastors. I can't imagine, beloved, how difficult it would be to pastor as an African-American In 1860. I can't imagine how difficult it would be to pastor in this country in 1960. So when I think of these men two of them I'm going to introduce to you they were not only faithful as men, as husbands, as fathers, but they were faithful to the gospel in a society that was not accommodating to them. In fact, I'm going to tell you a little bit about how they made enemies on both sides of the tennis net, simply because they delivered the truth of God's word. And, frankly, when I hear them preaching about freedom in Christ, when I hear them preaching about the faithfulness and provision of God, there is a richer, deeper nuance to their voice, and they so move me and motivate me and inspire me.
Speaker 2:Two of my favorite pastors from recent history both of these men have been with the Lord now for nearly 20 years are Evie Hill and Esim Lockeridge. If you don't know who they are, it's about time I introduced them to you. There are no biographies written about these men, and that is very unfortunate, but if you read their obituaries, if you read their sermons, if you listen to audio recordings of them, if you read things they've written themselves, you'll pick up enough information that I've, as I've tried to piece it together for you today. They lived with similar devotion and courage and passion, and if I could boil down their lives and ministries into three observations, it would simply be these what mattered to them was the gospel of Christ. What mattered to them was the gospel of Christ. What motivated them was the approval of Christ. That's what motivated them, not the approval of mankind, but the approval of Christ. And what seemed to mesmerize them was the glory of Christ. Seeing what little I could find on the life of Evee Hill, it took me in my mind to the book of Acts in the early church. Let me invite you. We'll look briefly at a text in Acts, chapter 4. So turn there. If you have a copy of the New Testament with you, this text could be on the calling card of these men. This was their highest objective and it ought to be ours as well.
Speaker 2:And while you're turning, let me tell you a little bit about Edward Victor Hill Sr. He was born in the early 1900s in a log cabin in Texas. He was born into poverty. He grew up in poverty. However, he would later write this, and I quote him I didn't know I was poor. I didn't know I was poor because we never equated material things with poverty. To us, poverty was a matter of the spirit, and we were rich in spirit. That alone is a wonderful lesson for us.
Speaker 2:Well, through hard work, he graduated from high school and the providence of God, he earned a scholarship to a college that had been founded in the late 1800s to give the children and grandchildren slaves an opportunity to get a college education. The name of the college was so long name. Let me give it to you prairie view agricultural and mechanical college for the benefit of colored youth. How's that for a name? It would later become part of the Texas A&M university system, a&m standing still for agricultural and mechanical education, although of course there are many degrees.
Speaker 2:But that really wasn't his desire. In fact he wanted to learn in the ministry, but this was an opportunity to go to college and so he did. His mother sacrificed tremendously, he would say later to buy a bus ticket to get him there, and when he arrived he had a dollar and 83 cents in his pocket and only the suit of clothing on his back. That's all he had. He didn't receive a theological education. He didn't receive a biblical training as a biblical training ground there at the school, but it was valuable in many other aspects. At the age of 21, he then became the pastor of his first church, and it was located in Texas. He would go on to pastor for nearly 50 years.
Speaker 2:He might not have had the best theological preparation, but I couldn't help but think, as you study his life, that he had the spirit of illumination and a desire to learn the word and for the most part he was self-taught and if you listened to him you would think he had earned several degrees. You would think he was a walking Bible encyclopedia, articulate and brilliant. But that wouldn't be how he'd be viewed, certainly early on in his ministry. And I couldn't help but think of Acts, chapter 4 and verse 13. Notice, the apostles are called in before the Sanhedrin and we're told now as they, that is, the Sanhedrin, the High Court of Israel, the Supreme Court, as they observed the confidence of Peter and John. If I can stop you for just a moment, that word, confidence, is a word that is nuanced. It carries the idea of expressing yourself and not holding anything back. I love that Telling the truth and not holding anything back.
Speaker 2:So they're listening to these fishermen deliver what was the fulfillment of Old Testament Scripture, and they'll be marked by the fact that they are fishermen and they're speaking with confidence. Now the Sanhedrin, as you probably know, have brought them in to shut them down, but they just can't quite turn them off. This is where they say we're not going to obey you, we're going to obey God. So here's Peter and John speaking to the Supreme Court of the nation Israel with confidence. They're delivering the truth of the gospel, they're holding nothing back.
Speaker 2:And the Sanhedrin one more comment, and then we'll look by the way happened to be the most biblically literate, theologically trained group of men in the entire nation. They're going to miss it. These fishermen are going to get it. The Sanhedrin, they're stunned. Notice again these men are uneducated and untrained. The word for uneducated literally means unlettered. The word for untrained means unschooled. There's no diploma, there's no degree, there's no pedigree. In spite of that, notice, they were amazed and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus. Don't you love that? They've been with Jesus. She wasn't a matter of education, it was a matter of association. Maybe the reason and I think about my own life, maybe you wondered the same about your own life, perhaps we're not having the spiritual fruit we'd like to have is because we're more educated than ever, but the world isn't recognizing us as having been with Jesus. You can go out there and you can talk about God all you want, but you start talking about Jesus and it's a different story. They have been with Jesus Early on EV Hill would be recognized for that kind of intimate association with the Lord. And I'm going to tell you, he will be disliked by the white community. He will be disliked by the black community and everybody in between, because he's called to preach and he's going to deliver the truth. He will speak it and hold nothing back.
Speaker 2:I went to his university online to try to get a little research done. In fact, I thought there'd probably be a paragraph or a page on this most illustrious alumnus and they did have a page. In fact it's titled Notable Alumni of Prairie View and the list is quite impressive. There are the names of corporate CEOs, university presidents, professional athletes in the WNBA, the NFL, many names are recognized. There are the names of recording artists and concert musicians and civil rights leaders, but his name isn't found among the notable alumni of Prairie View. The most famous pastor to have ever graduated from that school is not listed and I just sort of you know, prop my feet up on my desk and said well, let me think of why and it was pretty obvious why as you study his life he didn't fit.
Speaker 2:He didn't fit the white community. He didn't fit the black community. He was a notable alumnus in the school of biblical doctrine, but because of that he made enemies on both sides. It might have been because he placed the gospel above racial issues, even though he was a confidant to Martin Luther King Jr. When he preached it was about the gospel. Maybe he didn't make the list because he was more interested than in building a church than a political movement. Maybe it was because he had friendships with men like Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham. Maybe it was because he preached as he did a very strong pro-life position. In fact he preached and held to a very strong six literal day creation view. Maybe it was because he left the Democratic Party early in his ministry and began identifying with conservative political leaders. He would pray at the inauguration of one Republican president. He would become a confidant to another one. Maybe he didn't make the list because on one occasion he called the American Civil Liberties Union Satanic.
Speaker 2:That's not going to win you, friends. You see, what mattered to him was the gospel of Christ. What motivated him was the approval of Christ and not man. He is worthy of imitation. How freely do you speak out there of your association not with God, but with Jesus. How open are you to share your views when asked or given the opportunity of when life begins in the womb, about the creative handiwork of God's power? You know I don't want to offend anybody. This mattered most to him. It's interesting.
Speaker 2:I read a book some time ago by James Montgomery Boyce Now the Lord was the pastor of 10th Presbyterian in Philadelphia and he was a friend of Evie Hills and in his book Boyce's book on the Christian and politics, which is the name of it I copied out of that book an illustration about the ministry of Evie Hill as he pastored Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in the Los Angeles, california area. He eventually left Texas. In fact he spent nearly 40 years in California. Well, at one time early in his ministry, evie Hill was a ward leader for the Democratic Party and as a ward leader his assignment was to get his ward out to vote. That strategy continues to this day, on both sides of the aisle and in the middle as well. And he designed the strategy that what he needed to do was get a block captain for each block in his region and on election day the block captain would call their neighbors on the block and encourage them, remind them, today you got to go vote A great strategy. Well, when Evie came to Los Angeles and again pastoring, he was convicted by that thought and he thought you know, if I used to do that for politics, why don't I translate that into the ministry of the gospel? And so he thought why don't I get a block captain for each block in this Los Angeles area from our church? He calculated that in his area, south Central Los Angeles, the number of city blocks was 3,100. That was an ambitious goal, but he decided that would be their goal and the entire church moved intentionally in that direction. Church members decided where they lived based on whether or not somebody in the church already lived on that block. Can you imagine I mean in our day my thinking is hey, I got a couple of families on my street that go to Columbia, this is great. They would have said no, no, no, no, no. You got to spread out. We need somebody on every block. When Evie was sharing this strategic method with James Montgomery Boyce, he had already established block captains in 1,900 blocks in South Central LA.
Speaker 2:He tells Eve does of a funny story, of something that happened. He said there was one man who had been so put off by the black captain where he lived. She was always inviting him to church Every time she saw him. She wanted to talk to him about the Lord, the gospel. She was friendly, tactful, yet persistent, and he kind of avoided her at every opportunity. And finally he got tired of her and he decided to move. The moving truck came, he loaded up his possessions and just before he drove away the black captain came out there and bid him farewell, gave him one more invitation to church as he was driving away. And as he drove away he said to himself I'm so glad I'm rid of you people.
Speaker 2:The moving truck pulled away and as soon as it was out of sight the black captain ran into her house, got out the directory of the Mount Zion block captains, found the person in charge of the block to which her neighbor was moving, and when he pulled up there was the new block captain waiting for him. Welcome to your new home and let me invite you to church. His comment was classic. He said good Lord, you people are everywhere. I love that. I read that, though. I was deeply convicted by that. I could imagine if we truly believed, we were positioned and stationed and assigned to our block, that cubicle, that desk, on assignment, not to get out the vote but to exalt Jesus Christ. His life is worthy of imitation.
Speaker 2:Let me introduce you to a colleague of his who grew up equally passionate about the gospel. His name was Shadrach Meshach Lakerich. He would go by SM, a lot shorter. He was born in 1913. He lived to the end of that century. He died in the year 2000. Again, there is no biography on his life. In fact there's less information on SM's life than EV's. But again, if you look for scraps here and there and read the obituaries and what other people said about him and listen to some sermons and whatever, you can put some pieces together, as I have for you and for my own ministry and heart.
Speaker 2:He also grew up in Texas in poverty. He pastored his first church in Texas. I can't imagine how difficult it would have been to pastor a church in Texas in 1925, to go through what he went through on so many levels, societally as well as pastorally. He would serve for nearly 40 years in the ministry, much of it in California. He was called the pastor in San Diego and while there for decades became a really powerful religious voice and social voice. He became the president of the California Missionary Baptist State Convention. He was also known for his courageous and powerful preaching. He liked EV Hill. They were like Peter and John to me. They just laid it all out there and held nothing back, made plenty of enemies, plenty of friends. As soon as he eventually served on the faculty of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism and would teach evangelism courses, he served on the great Los Angeles Sunday School Convention. He even published two books that were for the most part sermons, one on the Lordship of Christ and the other entitled Rekindling Holy Fires, which he tended to do. He would be used widely of the Lord. He'd preach at Crusades associated with Billy Graham, evangelistic rallies, conferences all around the world. Colleagues called him a giant among preachers. He was even self-taught, but when you listen to his articulation you would think he had earned theological degrees because of his study and life in the Word.
Speaker 2:His best known message is a sermon entitled that's my King. He preached it 40 years ago. In this sermon he describes the Lord and it's clear to me, and that's why I put that third observation on the lives of these two men he was mesmerized by the glory of Christ. To date, that sermon. There's no video, there's only audio and it's kind of scratchy. But that audio from 40 years ago now has been downloaded millions upon millions of times. It's more than likely the most listened to sermon in modern church history and it's nothing more than the exaltation of Jesus Christ. The lyrics and I say lyrics because it is poetry in motion, some of them I've edited down.
Speaker 2:It's an hour long. Let me give you three or four minutes worth. Some of it goes like this my Bible says he's the king of the Jews, he's the king of Israel, he's the king of righteousness, he's the king of the ages, he's the king of heaven, he's the king of glory, he's the king of kings and he's the Lord of lords. He's my king. I wonder, do you know him? He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's son, he's a sinner's savior, he's the centerpiece of civilization. He's unparalleled, he's unprecedented.
Speaker 2:I wonder if you know him? He sympathizes and he saves, he strengthens and sustains, he guards and he guides. He forgives sinners, he discharges debtors, he serves the unfortunate, he regards the agent and he rewards the diligent. I wonder if you know him? His light is matchless. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting, his love never changes, his word is enough, his grace is sufficient, his reign is righteous, his yoke is easy and his burden is light. I wish I could describe him to you, but he's indescribable, he's incomprehensible. You can't get him out of your mind, you can't get him off your hand, you can't outlive him and you can't live without him. The Pharisees couldn't stand him, but they found out they couldn't stop him. Like Peter and John, pilate couldn't find any fault in him, herod couldn't kill him, death couldn't handle him and the grave couldn't hold him. That's my king.
Speaker 2:Wow, evie Hill and SM Lockeridge are worthy of imitation Because of their oratory, their skill in communication, which was great, not because of the size of the congregations they pastored, which were large, not because of the reach of their political influence or the depth of their understanding. They were worthy of imitation because what mattered to them was the gospel of Christ. What motivated them was the approval of Christ, what mesmerized them was the glory of Christ. Father, thank you for the lives of these men, their wives, their children, their churches, not among the best-selling crew of this generation, not even listed as a notable alumnus, but well-noted by you, known by you and really what matters more than that. We thank you for the fact that they courageously and faithfully exalted you, lord, lived to deliver the gospel to their world and only cared whether or not you approved of their message. Help us to imitate them a little bit more as we reenter our world as your ambassadors. We pray it in Jesus' name, amen.
Speaker 2:Now don't go anywhere, because you've got to hear a little clip of SM Lockerage, and I've been afraid that many of you have never heard this. So this will whet your appetite and, frankly, it's about time you heard some good preaching. So we're going to play about a four-minute clip. In fact, I quoted some of his lyrics and I want you to hear the last part of an hour-long sermon. Go ahead and stand up, because you need to be flexible here as you hear a wonderful preacher of God's truth, god's word, as he exalts the Savior. We're just going to let this be the benediction. After we hear it, we're probably going to want to clap and say amen too when we get to the end of it. Let's just roll this clip.
Speaker 3:He is the king of the two, he is the king of Israel, he is the king of righteousness, he is the king of the eight. He is the king of death, he is the king of glory, he is the king of the eight and he is the Lord of the Lord. That's my king.
Speaker 3:You know me, lord me of men and the fire in his elixir blood. He is the king of. He's a savage. He's a primitive, why he's lost his ideas in the interview. He's a high-prejudice, infamatic. He's a strong and tough man. Approved the odds.
Speaker 1:Do you know?
Speaker 3:what I mean. He's a fine, great, full of sweets. He's a leader of the Japanese and the Black. He's a deminist and he's made it. He's used the things he claims to live for. He's a gear, a sinner. He's a target, a debt. He's the leader of the Japanese. He's a great, great. He's a man, he's a young, he's a good, unfortunate. He's a boss, he's a hero, he's a war, he's a citizen and he's a unified country.
Speaker 1:Do you know, what I mean.
Speaker 3:My king is a king of lies. He's a best friend of winners. He's a good way of delivering. He's a bad way of being. He's a great. He's a roadway of life. He's a highway of ornaments. He's a great way of delivering. Do you know what I mean? He's a liar. He's a man. He's a bullet. He's a leader today. He's a worthy. He's ever-living. He's a man of nothing. He's a brother. He's a man. He's a great. He's a sinner. He's a great. He's a right. He's a joking. He's a big and he's a person of any life Great. I would never describe it to you. He's a great. He's a good person. He's a man of the highway. He's a great. He's a popular individual. He's a great individual. He's a great individual.
Speaker 3:You can't say, brother, you're mine, you're paying all your A's. You're paying all your A's and you can't hear the sound. Great, that is easy. Couldn't say. But they died last. They couldn't die. I couldn't find any talking. No, heroin couldn't eat death, couldn't handle it. And the great good-holy, that's my thing. Yeah, you're all a little happy and you're always with me. I'm talking about your head, your chest and your head, your chest, you're paying your A's and you're not going to die. That's what I'm saying. Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Thank you, thank you, thank you. That was my thing. Amen, god bless you.
Speaker 1:That was Stephen Davy, the president of Wisdom International. You're listening to his series Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith. If you enjoyed hearing the stories of EV Hill and SM Lockridge, please leave a rating and review on Apple Podcast or wherever you're listening. Stephen has a website filled with resources to help you know what the Bible says, understand what it means and apply it to your life. Learn more at Wisdom International. I'm Scott Wiley. Thanks for listening to Modern Heroes of the Christian Faith.
