Speaking with CT, Dates drew parallels to Paul and Timothy, referencing Pauls instructions to the younger leader based on what he had witnessed firsthand in ministry. Both of them have produced some stalwart Christian leaders and teachers. In 1998, Meeks led a push to close 26 liquor stores in a 19-block radius near Salem. Another thing is I dont think this dual assignment is in perpetuity. Please click here to learn how. The statementposted on the anniversary of the 13th amendment abolishing slaverycalled for collective repentance and criticized those who would downplay SBCs racial history or label others as critical race theorists for acknowledging systemic injustices. Pretty sure there were no consequences whatsoever for him over it. Im not in the weeds at Progressive. Charlie Dates Has Led Progressive Baptist To choose a successor Meeks says he and his wife, First Lady Jamell Meeks, prayed and fasted. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. Charlie Dates named successor to James Meeks at 10K-member Salem Baptist Church of Chicago. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Both have spoken at Moodys annual Founders Week conferences. And if you have a testimony of the amazing things God is doing in your life through our ministry, please email it to info@progressivechicago.org. SERVICE TIME 9:30 AM CST Watch Live "It's Alright to Cry"| Pastor Charlie Dates | Progressive Chicago Watch on Latest Sermon Pastor Charlie Dates is the Senior Pastor of The Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, Illinois. . Mohler, to take one example, endorsed a philandering, racist president, thereby betraying his Black and brown Christian family. Butand this is no secretfor years it stayed in the vein of its history. Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, under the leadership of Charlie E. Dates, is a. And while Progressive is a large congregation (around 1000 members), it doesnt come close to Salem (which has about 10,000). Gleannings aggregates what others are reporting. Dr. Charlie Dates became the youngest senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago in 2011 at age 30 and in January 2023, he became the senior pastor of the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago. Rev. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. I wonder how many of them provide full time paychecks. It just isnt where God has me in this season of my life (yet). What specifically attracted you about this role at Salem Baptist? And I dont even go to Progressive, which is less than 15 minutes from my home (closer than my current church home). In 2011, Reverend Dates became the youngest Senior Pastor to serve the historic Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, which saw exponential growth under his leadership. I adore Charlie Dates BECAUSE of how he and his wife PERSONALLY ministered to me when I needed it. Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas. . Dates also served on Salem's ministry team for a while before leaving in 2011 to serve as the leader of Progressive Baptist Church. In 2020, Dates, married with two children, was among a number of black Christian church leaders to cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention over a statement from the denomination's Council of Seminary Presidents denouncing racism and critical race theory. How has God moved and worked in ones life? Wests The Church Without Walls (originally Brookhollow Baptist Church) has ranked among the 100 biggest in the country and averages 9,000 people in weekly attendance, according to its site. As I prayed about it, I got no inkling that it was time, just yet, to walk away from Progressive. Before his call to Progressive, he served as an apprentice pastor at New Zion Baptist Church in Rockford, Illinois, and as a pastor at Salem Baptist Church in Chicago. Sign up now ! Ill become senior pastor of both the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago and remain that at Progressive.. But the church left in 2020 after SBC leaders rejected critical race theory en masse. This workshop will cover everything from home buying basics to the most important step, funding and loan process. Join us before worship service on Sunday, March 19th directly following service. Their stand against racism rings hollow when in their next breath they reject theories that have been helpful in framing the problem of racism, he wrote, disappointed that the presidents would come together to speak out against it rather than turning their criticism toward other ills such a racism itself. Im still surprised Charlie Dates wasnt forced to step down after he publicly used a racial slur against Virgil Walker on social media last year. Charlie Dates is set to succeed Rev. Dr. Charlie Dates will take his place. (RNS) In 2018, something happened at the MLK50 Conference in Memphis, an event co-hosted by the Southern Baptist Conventions policy arm and The Gospel Coalition. Now we have 2 churches thinking only one particular man can lead them. While I do not know much about Charlie Dates, it has becoming increasingly true that the higher you rise the harder you fall.. Blessed to serve in the city in which he was born, Reverend Dr. Charlie E. Dates is Chicago through and through. It's time for us to bring in new families. Again, amen to that. I had to fight all of my flesh not to just walk away. Facebook/Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, Pastor Charlie Dates (R) and Rev. 11,909 were here. Meeks' retirement comes at a time when many longtime church leaders have been transitioning out of leadership as they contend with dwindling attendance and other ministry upheavals laid bare by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rev. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT: Southern Baptist Convention Disfellowships Saddleback Church, Christian Conservationists Sue to Protect Ghana Forest, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the Beautiful Mystery of Gods Silence. "It's Alright to Cry"| Pastor Charlie Dates | Progressive Chicago by Pastor Charlie Dates. If you have legal questions, attorneys will be available to help you at the legal clinic. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The young pastor said he had to convince his members that joining the denomination for the sake of mission partnerships would be a good move. Dates explained he saw rejecting CRT as part of a continuing heritage of dangerous conservatism.. We were already working with the SBC on a training program at our church, and almost all of the Illinois Baptist State and SBC national leaders I had met seemed aware that their forefathers fell woefully short of any standard of biblical justice. Dr. Charlie Dates is widely invited to preach at churches, conferences and universities throughout the United States. . I can say Ive been called worse for going to white schools and belonging to white clubs, and Im kinda numb to it at my age. Meeks has been activeand sometimes controversialin the community. Also, any comments with profanity, name-calling, and/or a nasty tone will be deleted. I will admit to knowing very little about Charlie Dates, but what Gus Chiggins posted is extremely concerning. In 2011, he became the youngest senior pastor at Chicagos Progressive Baptist Church. In 2011, at age 30, Rev. I think history, much like the end of Romans, is meant to teach us what God can do. We need new ideas. As CT reported in August, there werent signs of a trend of majority-black churches leaving in the most recent denomination report from 2018, though the rates of growth year-over-year had slowed after shooting up in the early 2000s. In 2006, he began serving as the primary . He holds a PhD in Historical Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. No. After the neighborhood went dry, Walmart opened a store. Progressive was once, decades ago, the kind of leading force of churches on the South Side. Pastor Charlie Dates of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago lamented, "This is a very tiring conversation, not simply because of the events of recent weeks, but because this has been a 401-year . Dateswho spoke at several national SBC events before and after deciding to affiliate with the denominationwrote that the statement was a final straw.. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Charlie Dates is set to succeed Rev. There is a young man in our midst who is an exceptional preacher, Pastor Meeks told congregants Sunday, calling Charlie Dates both called and qualified., He came out of our church, says Meeks, and its time for young people to step up and be given a chance.. My response to the above is that that kind of filling of your personal needs, i.e. Galatians 5: 13-14 | Pastor David Swanson, Pastor Charlie Dates | Progressive Chicago. View Charlie Dates' profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. He was also on staff at Salem Baptist for five years as Meeks preaching assistant before becoming Progressives youngest-ever senior pastor at age 30. If that is YOUR definition of ministering to someone (because that is the language I used, and you jumped to that conclusion), YOU need to revisit it. To be clear, the SBC has some longstanding, credible Black pastors in its tribe, and I dont mean the kind who are tokens or assimilators. fellowship and personal friendship, could have been met by a holy man of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or any other world religionor by a secular counselor or self-help advocate. 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But it would be foolish to assume its humanly possible to do this in and of myself. No One Knows. If you have legal questions, attorneys will be available to help you at the legal clinic. He's trained to fight the giants that we're dealing with today. Here it was, I thought, further proof that the old SBC was fading. Its evangelism, its benevolence, its disciple-making have all been very Christo-centric and rooted in the Scriptures. Progressive Baptist Church (map) Google Calendar ICS Join us in the sanctuary from 4pmCT -6pmCT as we meet and greet political candidates running to be the mayor of our great city this upcoming Spring. Give a gift of $30 or more to The Roys Report this month, and you will receive Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse by Dr. Lisa Oakley and Justin Humphreys. Meeks serves on the Moody Bible Institute Trustee Board, and Dates has worked as an adjunct professor there. I see the Pauline example in the Gospel of teachers/leaders being figures that we seek and respect for guidance and direction and boundaries, and not necessarily the same functions that friends and family (in or outside of the church) perform. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Come stop by the north lobby to have your picture and/or video taken on March 19th and the 26th directly following service, As our church family continues to grow, we want to welcome our new members home. On one hand, the legacy has to continue. I returned to our Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago with a bit of sophomoric optimism. So we decided to cooperate and join our church to the SBC in what is known as a dual affiliation. Charlie Dates is the senior pastor of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago and serves on the board of TCP. Hi. Not because of a sermon I heard from a distance or book that I read.. Great! I am on assignment to lead the church forward in Chicago. Hope youll give us another try and check out some other articles. And while we are kind of watching this great falling away, we dont have to merely watch it. Now we have 2 churches thinking only one particular man can lead them. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our. I want to be clear though, Im not saying Im the only Timothy he has, in the same way that Paul had others. After 11 years at Progressive and watching more than 1,000 people join that church in that time, its fair to say that I carry the DNA of both churches. Theres a danger when the person idolized has a position of power and authority, particularly in a religious sense. In 2011, at age 30, he became the youngest Senior Pastor in Progressive's rich 99-year history. . Charlie has also led Progressive in being a very put faith into action church here in the Chicago Black community. The theory came up in a controversial resolution that passed at the SBCs 2019 annual meeting, when Greear was elected. "Charlie is called, and I believe all ministry starts with a calling," Meeks said. James Meeks announced Sunday that Pastor Charlie Dates of Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago will succeed him as leader of the 10,000-member Salem Baptist Church of Chicago when he steps out of the role in January 2023. A religious liberty newsletter that is a must-read for people of faith. Meeks, who plans to stay involved with Hope of House, Salems philanthropic organization, is one of the latest longtime U.S. church leaders to step down. On March 27-28, Dates will give a sermon and lecture at Samford University for the Department of Biblical and Religious Studies annual Dotson M. Nelson Lecture. "I sense God performing a work of His Spirit that connects Salem to churches that need revitalization. You talked a bit about both churches significance to Chicago. "We can multiply that in evangelism, in discipleship, in educating our kids in reducing violence, shutting down liquor stores and opening up new opportunities to help rescue families and that's the church being the church.". Weve already started the conversation that, at some point, the goal is to raise up leaders to do more work. I cant speak for them. Wow, I never knew this, did TRR ever do an expose of this incident? Get the most recent headlines and stories from Christianity Today delivered to your inbox daily. . What other things do you want to highlight to your current and future congregations and the readers of CT? She loves the Word and words, is a binge reader and grammar nut, and is fanatic (as her family can attest) about Jeopardy! When I came back home to Southwestern, I even encouraged other ministers to do the same. I go where God leads me not Charlie Dates. Charlie Dates serves as the senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church and teaches at Moody Bible Institute as an adjunct professor. And Im not sure how bringing up holy men of other faiths comes into it I was at a Christian event seeking Biblically-rooted ministry, and thats what Pastor Dates and his wife provided. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. I am more of a vision-casting, preaching, pastoral care pastor. We need new ideas. Neither is it a premeditated desire of mine. Adoring sounds like its crossed the line into idolatrysomething a lot of these guys at bare minimum do nothing to discourage, and a few outright seek. Shes ready to work. Warren announced his intention to retire last year after over 40 years of ministry and began the search for "the next-generation pastor.". Brian He announced Sunday hell preach his last sermon to the 10,000-member church on January 8, 2023. The young people I met that week shocked me with the warmth and enthusiasm with which they embraced the subject matter. Its one thing to adore someone you dont have any personal relationship with. What is liberalism to the conservative Southern Baptists? Hmm. He also teaches at Wheaton College and has delivered chapel sermons at various institutions, including The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. And God has blessed us with our own son as the churchs next pastor. Meeks and his wife say they don't want to stand in the next generation's way. What I will say is that Progressive and Salem demonstrate the spectrum of Black churches in Chicago. Chicago needs the Black church to be her best and brightest self. Chuck Smith himself, who started out as every kind of salt and light, found himself tempted by the limelight as he got bigger and bigger, and we saw more and more of his flaws as time went on. Return to homepage. For the second time in two days, a prominent Black pastor has publicly quit the Southern Baptist Convention over its seminary presidents' campaign against Critical Race Theory. Rev. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Photo courtesy of Progressive Baptist Church. He is a contributing author to the 2014 book Letters To A Birmingham Jail, and the 2019 book, Say It: Celebrating Expository Preaching in The African American Tradition. You know, at one point, Progressive had the strongest and largest Christian discipleship ministry in the city. 53 min; FEB 8, 2023 "Can't Turn . That is a concerning statement. For questions or to reach his office, please email booking@progressivechicago.org. His decision came two days after West made a similar argument in a Baptist Standard op-ed. We need new opportunities. Over the summer, Dates discussed with CT his frustration with the lack of diversity among SBCs recently appointed entity heads, all of whom are white men, and the inconsistent support for racial justice causes. I just only pray he does not become spread too thin by leading two large churches. Not because of a sermon I heard from a distance or book that I read. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. Its time for a young generation to come forward with new challenges facing us.. What I benefit from is far greater than just a tip from him here or there; its more of a model of a life lived. If I idolized him, dont you think Id have followed him to his church YEARS ago when I first me him? None of that is contingent upon Biblical Christianity (indeed, you say its not because of a sermon or book, meaning theology I assume). What lessons or advice has he already passed along about leading Salem Baptist? I dont need to be Einstein to understand that with all these jobs he is not truly doing any of them full time. When Albert Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, said the only politically moral option for Christians was the Republican Party, I asked other SBC leaders, good Christian men, to challenge him. They are good men who are sending a big message to the SBC, said Marshal Ausberry. Vance Pitman resigned in December from Hope Church in Las Vegas to lead the SBCs national church-planting organization. Woke Wars infiltrate Christian colleges, prof under fire for racial justice unit, Southern Baptists oust Rick Warrens Saddleback Church for naming a female pastor, Professor Joeckel on why his contract, teachings on racial justice are under review, Copyright 2020, Religion News Service. Logos of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries. A graduate of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and adjunct at Baylor Universitys Truett Theological Seminary, West said he planned to withdraw from his current doctoral studies at Southwestern and will not associate with the SBC any longer. I dont know why; perhaps thats an attitude YOU need to pray about. Who thinks a half a pastor can shepherd a full church adequately? The mega church concept is already troublesome. And I have loved various pastors like family; some have ministered to my family for DECADES, and have baptized, married, counseled, and even eulogized GENERATIONS of my family. Also, while there are many people in the comment section who rightfully call him to repent over it, there are plenty of others, including names such as Lecrae and Kyle J Howard, who tweeted their approval of his use of the slur. Progressive was around WAY before Charlie Dates; it was not founded or based on his teachings alone. Its the same approach that created President Donald Trump, that makes sure that no Republican leader will challenge him publicly. Just goes to show that even in this day and age, after all thats happened, megachurches still value butts in the seats and the almighty dollar over holding celebrity pastors accountable for their actions and character. So it is Biblical for a leader to have a large flock. RELATED: Southern Baptist seminary presidents nix critical race theory. As for me and the Progressive Baptist Church, I keep hearing the words of Harriet Tubman: We out.. Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago | Chicago IL Its kind of like a kid learning a language; when youre immersed in the language, no one has to tell you what words mean and what signals mean.. And Progressive only has one location. Standing in the pulpit on Sunday at the House of, Feet splashed in puddles on a rainy Sunday afternoon as almost 1,000 people came together in Smyrna, a small town in Middle. I want to say it is an honor to even be considered, let alone asked, to succeed the Reverend James T. Meeks. Its important to highlight that this is not conventional. There is a HUGE problem with adoring a pastorany pastor, even a truly great one. But I do sense and feel that a lot of the progress that Ive been able to make in the pastorate is connected in some way to his tutelage, his leadership, and his spiritual fathering, so to speak. In his response, current SBC president Greear asked that fellow members of the denomination consider their concerns and suggested that there are things we can learn from worldly philosophies like critical race theory., Last week, prior to West and Datess announcements, Ausberry, who serves as SBC first vice president and head of the denominations National African American Fellowship, responded to the seminary presidents statement by saying that systemic racism exists and there are theories and constructs that help us to see and discover otherwise undetected, systemic racism in institutions and in ourselves., Especially for those of us who have experienced the brunt of systemic racism in our daily lives, our seminary presidents are good men and they had good intent, Ausberry said in an interview with Baptist Press, but the optics of six Anglo brothers meeting to discuss racism and other related issues without having ethnic representation in the room in 2020, at worst it looks like paternalism, at best insensitivity. My acknowledgement of this is not a statement of submission, but an act of defiance. In accepting the role, Dates said he sees Salem Baptist Church of Chicago as a global church. Cancel culture is wrong but shouldnt we have heard something about it at least? 3658 SOUTH WENTWORTH AVENUE, CHICAGO, IL, 60609, 773-268-6048 | INFO@PROGRESSIVECHICAGO.ORG. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. @progressivechicago | @charliedates |. He was elected in March by an overwhelming majority, the largest vote received by any pastor in Progressive's rich history. Dr. Charlie Dates is widely invited to preach at churches, conferences and universities throughout the United States.