Jorge Lockward

A pioneer is often thought of as the first person to accomplish something or the leader of a new movement.  But the use of this word in earlier times suggests otherwise. The word “pioneer” comes from the French word “pionnier,” meaning “foot soldier.” A pioneer is someone who works diligently with others over a long period to achieve a common mission that prepares the way for those who follow them.

Jorge Lockward is just such a pioneer. He is a renowned worship leader with an extensive background in global music, liturgy and worship. He is passionate about cultural diversity in worship that brings people together across the divides of ethnicity, social class, age, gender identity, and more. Jorge currently serves as the minister of worship arts at the United Methodist Church of the Village in New York City. Throughout the years, he has become widely known as a liturgist who brings together elements of worship from around the world with and for people who gather from around the world, whether through publications with the Global Praise Program of Global Ministries, or through leading worship and song at the World Council of Churches (Porto Allegre, Brazil 2006), for United Methodist Women (St Louis, 2010), the World Methodist Conference (Seoul, South Korea 2016) and the World Mission Conference (Arusha, Tanzania, 2018).

Jorge was raised in a devout, evangelical family in the Dominican Republic. His grandfather was Methodist, but he was raised in his father’s tradition in the Plymouth Brethren Church. In this tradition, the communion service is the most important service. He looked forward to going with his family on Sunday evenings to the service of Holy Communion and singing.

Jorge recalls the moment he experienced a life-changing vision from God, “I was at home around four o'clock taking a nap in the heat of the day. I didn't want to get up to go to church. I went into a kind of vision, and I saw in this kind of dream-like state, two scenes. One where people were leaving a service and their faces were lit up with the Spirit and they were alive. And then another one where people were leaving the service and they were just normal. I think nothing major had happened. And somehow I understood in that dream that the difference between one and the other was my ministry, because I am the one who was actually leading that service. You know, if my spirit was in it, the way that I led it, made a complete difference. If I was living it, if I was believing, something happened between my heart and my fingers, and some power came through that. So that's the day that I moved from being a musician to being a minister. Although I was young, it was very clear. And I woke up and went and played my heart out. I understood from that moment that I'm not playing, I'm leading, I am facilitating, I am creating the space for the Holy Spirit to move. It is the Holy Spirit that is doing God's work, but I am part of the river that engages all of this. That was a very foundational moment that changed my life forever.”

Jorge attended college in the United States and planned to go to Fuller Seminary after graduation, but at his father’s request, he returned to the Dominican Republic. His studies included pre-med and law as well as business administration. His business background led to a job as a banker, which he hated. He also worked as a substitute music teacher in a local school while continuing to minister through music in churches. Among all of his many talents, his passion and calling is to liturgy. “I am not a musician. I am really a liturgist, because all that interests me in music is what happens to people. I have many friends who are real musicians. They love music. I love what music can do with people. My title in my church is Minister of Worship Arts because it's not about music. It's about combining all of the elements, preaching, dancing, the spoken word, into something that has the potentiality, the possibility of connecting people to God and to one another and to the realities of the world. That for me is where my passion lies.”

Eventually, against the advice of his parents, he moved to New York. This change brought about a return to the Methodist heritage of his grandfather. He ended up living with United Methodist pastor Rev. Pedro Piron, who became his mentor and second father figure.

There he became the minister of music at West End Presbyterian Church for both their English and Spanish congregations. His challenge was to find bridges between the two congregations through worship and music. “I was already doing what people call global praise. Every place that I went I would learn something new and fresh. It kind of grew naturally in me. My core was hymns because that's what I grew up with. I studied classical music, I played for Pentecostal churches, I would do praise and worship music. And also, because I was bilingual, I was bringing that energy. But it's more than language. People don't understand that. There's a theology to this - that God is very wise and God does not give one group of people all of the gifts of the world, but some get this, some get that, so that we have to play together and bring the gifts together.”

Jorge’s global perspective on worship has brought diverse worship practices and styles of music to church gatherings. He served for many years as director of the Global Praise Program of the General Board of Global Ministries, editing innovative resources on global music and worship. “The whole point of that is to open the heart to what's next to us, what's nearby to us. It is in essence the core of who God is. We cannot know God without one another. The experience that you have, I need and the experience that I have, you need. In this conversation, this is where the divine comes together. That is the way of God. The way of God is always Trinitarian. So global praise at its essence is a Trinitarian effort.”

“The theological implications of global praise are really what I believe is important. The music itself is a vehicle, and it's a good vehicle. Global praise really releases us from arrogance. All of a sudden we realize, oh, this culture has a way of understanding this that my culture could never get. They have not just created that song, they have prayed it into being. So songs and liturgical forms are not compositions. No, they are the accumulation of holy experiences encapsulated in a song. And then if we do it properly and we share, share it with integrity, it can bless someone else.”

Jorge does not claim full credit for this work. He honors the pioneers who began the work before him – S.T. Kimbrough, the founder of the Global Praise Program, and Terry MacArthur, a former United Methodist missionary and long time worship consultant with the World Council of Churches. They were the first to bring together powerful worship leaders from around the world to lead worship from their experiences with their own people, rather than simply using translations of hymns from the west. Through mentoring and training others, Jorge has now passed this work on to new leaders.

He believes what he has offered back is small compared to what the church gave him. He humbly says, “This is not about me. One time I was doing a big event and I was very nervous. Rev. Piron said something unforgettable. He said, ‘Jorge, it’s God and God’s people. What could go wrong?’ If you just let it be God and God's people and flow with that, nothing can go wrong.”

Wallace is the long-time former director of Ask The UMC, the information service of United Methodist Communications.