They both, in that regard, have a history of absolutely incredible pastors. These have been disciple-making churches with an emphasis on Christian education. My relationship with him is dynamic. Dates teaches at several universities and seminaries, including Wheaton College, and is popular on the speaking circuit. On one hand, the legacy has to continue. James Meeks faltered for just a moment at the end. @progressivechicago | @charliedates |. . 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. And while Progressive is a large congregation (around 1000 members), it doesnt come close to Salem (which has about 10,000). To a visitor entering the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, on a recent Sunday, the assembly might have sounded like, The Rev. Dateswho spoke at several national SBC events before and after deciding to affiliate with the denominationwrote that the statement was a final straw.. Photo courtesy of Progressive Baptist Church. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Charlie Dates serves as the senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church and teaches at Moody Bible Institute as an adjunct professor. If you have legal questions, attorneys will be available to help you at the legal clinic. Its time for Salem to move forward, he told his congregants. I left that conference feeling hopeful. To start, Dates will keep his current post as senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church, a 15-minute drive from the House of Hope arena where Salem Baptist meets. Your daily news briefing from the editors of CT: After Chaos and Crisis, Beth Moore Still Finds Refuge in the Church, Christian Conservationists Sue to Protect Ghana Forest, I Was the Proverbial, Drug-Fueled Rock and Roller, Everything Everywhere All at Once and the Beautiful Mystery of Gods Silence. 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. And while we are kind of watching this great falling away, we dont have to merely watch it. Dr. Charlie Dates is widely invited to preach at churches, conferences and universities throughout the United States. In addition, the 41-year-old also served under Meeks as primary preaching assistant, pastor of adult ministries, and director of church operations at Salem Baptist before becoming senior pastor at Progressive Baptist Church in 2011. These churches are a gift. He teaches preaching at Wheaton College and serves as an Affiliate Professor of the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary and as Affiliate . And God has blessed us with our own son as the churchs next pastor. What specifically attracted you about this role at Salem Baptist? Who will pay for the SBCs abuse reforms over the long term? Yeah thats in bad form. Both of them have produced some stalwart Christian leaders and teachers. Dates response to the controversy was that its not racist because its between black people. Walk-ins are welcome but appointments are preferred. Shouldnt a competent, strong, wise pastor stir and challenge his flock, make their complacency seem uncomfortable? (I cant imagine having NEVER met your pastor one-on-one). Christian Rocker Posts Stunning Response to Recent Apostasy of Christian Leaders, Chicago Radio Host & a Former Bodyguard Say James MacDonald Asked Them to Arrange Murders, James MacDonald Took Millions from Harvest & Now Demands Broadcast Ministry, Mancow Airs Shocking Comments By James MacDonald: My Response. What I do sense is that theres still work to be done and vision to accomplish at Progressive at the same time that I begin my assignment at Salem. The mega church concept is already troublesome. He teaches preaching at Wheaton College and serves as an Affiliate Professor of the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary and as Affiliate Professor of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Great! Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago | Chicago IL Thats the old SBC. But some have grown frustrated with their position in a denomination that remains largely white (African Americans make up just 6 percent of Southern Baptists, according to Pew Research Center). Ive seen healthy and unhealthy churches of all sizes. The theory came up in a controversial resolution that passed at the SBCs 2019 annual meeting, when Greear was elected. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. In all that, he can never be criticized within his ranks. Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, under the leadership of Charlie E. Dates, is a. True authentic faith is going to be limited to a tiny remnant in the last days; the separation of wheat and tares is being done as we speak. 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. Through his passion for learning, living, and teaching the Gospel, Dr. Charlie serves as an Affiliate Professor at Baylor University- George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Wheaton College. Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post. 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. They are selectively conservative. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. 99% of these megachurch icons and celebrities were nowhere near as righteous as Smith to start with, and only continue to deteriorate from that starting point, with time and fame. But Pastor Dates said, I know you probably dont like me right now, I can tell from how youre reacting to what Im saying; but Im not here to get you to like me. 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. Services Progressive Baptist Church SUNDAYS AT PROGRESSIVE We'd love for you to join us at our Sunday Services! September 3, 2021 at 1:54 p.m. EDT. Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month. Im here to speak the truth in love to you to keep you from going down a path that may seem comforting to you now, but it will ensnare you.. It was the first time to my knowledge that white evangelicals had celebrated in concert the life, memory and work of the Rev. Not able to make? Thats their choice. Theres a danger when the person idolized has a position of power and authority, particularly in a religious sense. That was the last straw for Dates, he wrote in a column for Religion News Service. Blessed to serve in the city in which he was born, Reverend Dr. Charlie E. Dates is Chicago through and through. No. James Meeks, founder and longtime senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church on the citys far South Side. We are not merging the two churches and Salem is not absorbing Progressive, Dates said. Salem has its own kind of DNA, Progressive her own . 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. The resistance, especially from some of our elderly membership, was swift and sincere. We want to walk with you and your family in every step of the way. If Charlie Dates indeed used a racial slur (just last year), that does call into fitness his ability to do any of the above. This shaped his approach to preaching and his thoughts about the transformative role the Black church plays in bringing about the flourishing of a people.Dr. When we make one man or woman our everything, bad things are bound to happen. We haveI thinka very Paul and Timothy kind of relationship. "We want to see our church be vibrant. Preachers and teachers are there to instruct and shape us much like secular, academic teachers/professors. It's time for Salem to have younger leadership. He holds a PhD in Historical Theology from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. When did those who have yet to hire multiple Black or brown faculty at their seminaries assume ethical authority on the subject of systemic injustice? It seems to me that God has been up to this, directing this well before I could tell. I have to lead through my leaders. The pastor of Progressive at the time, his name was Reverend T. Brown, he was such a dynamic leader in the city that he was able to tell [former Chicago mayor] Richard J. Daley, No. And live to tell about it. @progressivechicago | @charliedates |. . If you sense the malaise around Christian denominations, then you already yearn for a new vision and a new standard. So we decided to cooperate and join our church to the SBC in what is known as a dual affiliation. To them, a belief in a high view of Scripture must mean an adaptation of Republican politics and, with it, the dismissal of critical race theory and intersectionality because of a fear of liberalism. That said, our church has just as high a view (if not higher) of Scripture as any SBC church, but theirs is an inconsistent epistemology. Photo courtesy of Progressive Baptist Church. She loves the Word and words, is a binge reader and grammar nut, and is fanatic (as her family can attest) about Jeopardy! I think thats a blessing, especially when I see a lot of superficial relationships between pastors and their flock. No One Knows. Neither am I saying that hes the only significant influence in my life. Its been anchored in the community. Please click here to learn how. 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. But what is liberal in the history of American Christianity? Dr. Charlie Edward Dates is Senior Pastor at Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago, IL. I like my pastor; I dont love him. Pastor Dates challenged me in how I was handling my grief, noted my verbal and body language pointed to some unrighteous anger and unforgiveness that I needed to confront in order to move forward in a Godly manner, gave me scriptures to pray and meditate on, and concluded by praying with me and having his wife Kirstie follow up with me. Hi. Its the same approach that created President Donald Trump, that makes sure that no Republican leader will challenge him publicly. Gleannings aggregates what others are reporting. He served three terms as an Illinois state senator, was chairman of the state board of education, and ran in Chicagos 2011 mayoral race. That Salem is a loving church ready to work. In a video message to Progressive, Dates said the two churches will stay distinct, though hell pastor them both. EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Shamed, Excommunicated Mother for Refusing to Take Back Child Abuser, Days-long Revival Sweeping Asbury University in Kentucky, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthur Covered Up Pastors Sexual Abuse, Witnesses Say, EXCLUSIVE: John MacArthurs Church Supported Convicted Child Abuser & Pedophile, Records Show, Dante Bowe Posts, Then Removes, Apology for Behavior Causing Split with Maverick City Music, Matt Chandler Steps Aside After Admitting Inappropriate Online Relationship, John MacArthur Pulls Out of Ligonier Conference, Pastor Resigns From Houston Megachurch After Admitting Affair, Televangelist Creflo Dollar Renounces Past Teachings on Tithing, But Questions Persist. It took a while for it to reimagine and revitalize and become relevant again. He is a contributing author to Letters To A Birmingham Jail and Say It: Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition, and is currently working on his first single-authored book on Christianity and Social Justice. Dates also is an affiliate professor at Baylor Universitys George W. Truett Theological Seminary in Texas and at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Illinois, according to his bio. Would a right-wing famous pastor like Voddie Baucham or Rob Jeffress be able to get away with using racial slurs??? One of the benefits at Progressive is that the operations of the church and systems and structures of the church, the day-to-day operations, are free to move independent of me. He also told him hes still willfully acting like hes a slave because he rejects CRT. He told his trustees to uphold the slaveholder for whom his college is named. 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. Our seminaries, many of them are in decline. And I think we can develop a platform, a pipeline to invite those who feel that burden of call to grow them and to release them to do that," he added. That is a concerning statement. Progressive Service Time 9:30am 3658 S Wentworth Ave, Chicago Coming Up. Dates to speak at your next event, please complete the Speaker Request form. 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. In op-eds announcing their decisions to leave, Charlie Dates of Chicagos Progressive Baptist Church and Ralph D. West of Houstons The Church Without Walls both criticized SBC seminary presidents declaration that critical race theory was incompatible with the denominations statement of faith. That would just be weird. I imagine they provide cover for the SBC leadership to further alienate Black and brown Christians who do not ascribe to their heritage of dangerous conservatism. How do Salem Baptist and Progressive Baptist compare, and what makes you a fit for both congregations at this moment? Dr. Keep in touch with Julie and get updates in your inbox! Thanks for the extra info here. This was why I felt it safe to forge an alliance. 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 . And, yes, nothing good ever comes out of megachurches and rock-star pastors. Were living in a time where so many young people are walking away from the church and where church attendance numbers are in the dumps. Sign up now ! Who thinks a half a pastor can shepherd a full church adequately?. But you seem determined to dismiss or belittle it in some sort of attempt to insult the Dates and me. He opposed the legalization of gay marriage,called for a boycott over funding disparities at Chicago Public Schools, and once served as spiritual adviser to disgraced R&B singer R. Kelly. Meeks, who is now 65 and served three terms as a state senator, told his congregation that he will preach his final sermon on Jan. 8, 2023, just five days before the church's 38th anniversary. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". Progressive Baptist Church, a century-old historically Black congregation, was briefly part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Its fair to say that I understand the dynamics of congregational leadership and development in both churches. "The Kingdom work is never to stop with one generation. Dates holds a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Communication & Rhetoric from the University of Illinois - Champaign, Urbana, where he met his wife, Kirstie, who not only changed his life, but also elevated his approach to living. So Im not in a position to speak on that. And how have you begun planning to deal with those challenges? Logos of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries. They do not understand themselves to be beneficiaries of a system that marginalizes people of color.". I returned to our Progressive Baptist Church in Chicago with a bit of sophomoric optimism. Galatians 5: 13-14 | Pastor David Swanson, Pastor Charlie Dates | Progressive Chicago. So for me, what attracted me was God. I had to tell my church I was wrong. and Ph.D. at Trinity Evangelical Divinity . 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. With teary eyes, I just told them I hope that they accept my recommendation when that time comes. Thats the good ol boys club. I would caution ANYONE who makes ANYONE their everytying including a spouse or child. SBC events and church planting have grown more diverse over the past decade as leaders made a concerted effort to feature and invest in non-Anglo pastors. The Roys Report seeks to foster thoughtful and respectful dialogue. Ive learned there is an unwritten rule in the SBC: Dont criticize an entity head. The young people I met that week shocked me with the warmth and enthusiasm with which they embraced the subject matter. Atlanta pastor John Onwuchekwa left the SBC over the summer due to concerns over its approach to racial issues. Have you ever dreamed of owning a home, but don't know where to begin? And if you think it feels good, warm and fuzzy to be confronted about your sin when youre in the middle of grief, you are VERY mistaken. Are there things at Progressive you will have to step away from? Wow, I never knew this, did TRR ever do an expose of this incident? None of our denominations, Black or white, are as relevant and biblically prophetic as our present age requires. Photo courtesy of Charlie Dates. He announced in June that he will give his last sermon on January 8, 2023. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. I want to say it is an honor to even be considered, let alone asked, to succeed the Reverend James T. Meeks. But there is nothing wrong with loving those who I do have personal relationships with, and have really left an impact on my faith, family, and heart.. Charlie earned an M.Div. For questions or to reach his office, please email booking@progressivechicago.org. That is absolutely a legitimate human need but I just dont see it as within the job description of a servant-leader of men in the Epistles. Hmm. Its evangelism, its benevolence, its disciple-making have all been very Christo-centric and rooted in the Scriptures. But it would be foolish to assume its humanly possible to do this in and of myself. I also understand how a personal relationship strengthens that love; that is the importance of us having relationships in the body of Christ. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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.