S. M. Lockridge

Shadrach Meshach Lockridge (March 7, 1913 – April 4, 2000) was the Pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, a prominent African-American congregation in San Diego, California, from 1953 to 1993. He was known for his preaching across the United States and around the world.

Life and work Lockridge was born in Robertson County, Texas, the oldest of eight children and the son of a Baptist minister. A graduate of Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, he worked for two years as a high school English teacher. In 1940 in Dallas, he felt led to preach. In 1941 he married Virgil Mae Thompson.

During Lockridge's tenure at Calvary Baptist, a predominantly African-American congregation, his ministry reached more than 100,000 people. ("That's my King!"), notably the six and a half minute description of Jesus Christ contained at the end of the hour-long sermon (the popular title comes from Lockridge's repeated refrain). YouTube, Google Videos, Godtube, and other video-sharing websites have numerous variations of this message in video clips of varying lengths, in both English and Spanish (subtitles or with a translator), with various video and musical backdrops, and user views have reached into the multi-millions.

Publications