By clicking Accept All, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Since then, conservative groups have been more vocal about what they see as an embrace of critical race theory and secular thinking by seminaries and denominational leaders, with the newly formed Conservative Baptist Network being among the most vocal opponents. 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. And I dont even go to Progressive, which is less than 15 minutes from my home (closer than my current church home). Comment below and let us know where you're watching fr. A religious liberty newsletter that is a must-read for people of faith. I took President Adam Greenways invitation to return as a statement of good faith, that the seminary wanted to welcome me and many other Black ministers to contribute to its legacy, he wrote. 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. Sign up now ! And thats part of the beauty I think of this story. Perhaps I need to know whats defined as a megachurch? He has a bachelor of arts degree in speech communication and rhetoric from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; a master of divinity degree and a Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. The hard reality of the seminary presidents statement is that Black people will never gain full equality in the Southern Baptist Convention. Pretty sure there were no consequences whatsoever for him over it. I had to tell my church I was wrong. I think the distinction is that I can serve Salem well by loving her through the preaching ministry and pastoral care, and she will follow. No. They are selectively conservative. Ive learned there is an unwritten rule in the SBC: Dont criticize an entity head. In the early discussion around the seminary presidents statement, which released last month, SBC president J. D. Greear recognized some of the issues with such emphasis on critical race theory (CRT) itself. And how have you begun planning to deal with those challenges? Its time for Salem to have younger leadership . Martin L. King Jr. On the eve of the 50th anniversary of his assassination, it was as if they had come to reckon with the ghosts of their past and the theological underpinnings that ignored his ministry. I dont need to be Einstein to understand that with all these jobs he is not truly doing any of them full time. Welcome to the weekly podcast of Progressive Baptist Church with Pastor and Author, Dr. Charlie Dates. He told his trustees to uphold the slaveholder for whom his college is named. We want to see our church grow. We need new opportunities. Progressive Baptist Church, a century-old historically Black congregation, was briefly part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). We need new ideas. If you have legal questions, attorneys will be available to help you at the legal clinic. As I am contemplating leaving my current evangelical church, Progressive is on my list of places Im considering and praying about for a new church home, and a lot of it is due to the Dates family. View Charlie Dates' profile on LinkedIn, the world's largest professional community. Charlie earned an M.Div. What happend to your, well Jesus called the Pharisees wolves and a whole lot other mean words' defense (like when Trump called people sons of b*tches and a**holes)? I am on assignment to lead the church forward in Chicago. Neither am I saying that hes the only significant influence in my life. The resolution clarified the theory could be employed, but only subordinate to Scripture.. How will your role there look different? I will admit to knowing very little about Charlie Dates, but what Gus Chiggins posted is extremely concerning. Perspective by Charlie Dates. None of our denominations, Black or white, are as relevant and biblically prophetic as our present age requires. Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month. Last month, Dates joined the Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast to talk about the need for solid Christian preaching during tough times. 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. How has God moved and worked in ones life? It just isnt where God has me in this season of my life (yet). And the same for Salem, which might still have it. The Social Justice Ministry is here to help through our Gospel Justice Center Legal Clinic. In just our brief 15 minute interaction, he really ministered to me as he correctly sensed I was going through a season of loss that was challenging my faith. He's trained to fight the giants that we're dealing with today. I have, by the grace of God, the DNA of both churches.. Chicago needs the Black church to be her best and brightest self. 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. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. Neither is it a premeditated desire of mine. 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Charlie Dates Current Workplace. To learn more about how you can begin or deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ, visit us at ProgressiveChicago.org . To a visitor entering the Northwest Church of Christ in Chicago, Illinois, on a recent Sunday, the assembly might have sounded like, The Rev. If tons and tons of people love them and how they make them feel thats pretty much a sign that they are doing the *opposite* of the Great Commission. 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. Its evangelism, its benevolence, its disciple-making have all been very Christo-centric and rooted in the Scriptures. 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. What other things do you want to highlight to your current and future congregations and the readers of CT? Butand this is no secretfor years it stayed in the vein of its history. Brian Dr. Charlie Dates is widely invited to preach at churches, conferences and universities throughout the United States. Every church that lives in the past is already anchoring itself in the graveyard of history. He also teaches at Wheaton College and has delivered chapel sermons at various institutions, including The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The first challenge is getting the churches to sense that where God gives a vision, theres always provision. Both of them have produced some stalwart Christian leaders and teachers. What kind of repentance did he show and how has he made amends? Rev. 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. They are ready to send their young students to the very seminaries that are both vestiges of racial animus and also the places where these harmful attitudes are perpetuated. Chicago Pastor James Meeks to Retire, Pass Baton to Rev. Stephanie Martin, a freelance writer and editor in Denver, has spent her entire 30-year journalism career in Christian publishing. 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 I recognize that. Facebook/Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago, Pastor Charlie Dates (R) and Rev. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. 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. No matter what age, PBC Kids offers fun, age-appropriate programming that help your children connect with God. The recent departures caught the attention of Southern Baptist leaders who were disappointed to see them go, particularly fellow African Americans. Calling him "the greatest young preacher in our nation today," Rev. In a video of the announcement, Meeks said after he and his wife fasted and prayed about the succession of the ministry, they felt confident in selecting Dates. The two churches will remain separate, and he plans on preaching two sermons each Sunday. . They do not understand themselves to be beneficiaries of a system that marginalizes people of color.". The theory came up in a controversial resolution that passed at the SBCs 2019 annual meeting, when Greear was elected. Their seminaries have hosted outstanding guest faculty and chapel speakers outside of their norm. Sure, there were more battles to be won before legitimate change would warm the hearts of African American churches like ours, but thats why our movement felt almost prophetic. Get new articles and breaking news delivered to your inbox. Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in Texas. As one Conservative Baptist Network member said, they must constantly repent but can never actually be forgiven., A group of Southern Baptist pastors released a statement Friday voicing their opposition to any movement in the SBC that seeks to distract from racial reconciliation through the gospel and that denies the reality of systemic injustices.. 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. If thats idolatry to youwe can disagree. In 2011, he became the youngest senior pastor at Chicagos Progressive Baptist Church. What challenges do you anticipate with the dynamic of pastoring two congregations? Hope youll give us another try and check out some other articles. Meeks, a former state senator, founded Salem Baptist 38 years ago. The resistance, especially from some of our elderly membership, was swift and sincere. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. Religion News Service reported that Fred Luter, the only black SBC president, signed on in agreement. The church actually changed the face of that community, he says. . I believe now that the time has come for me to yield to a younger person.. Photo courtesy of Charlie Dates. 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. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Its not making me feel good; warm and fuzzy. Dates called him an Uncle Ruckus on twitter, which is a derogatory slur used to describe a black man that embraces the whiteness of society instead of resisting it. If, however, I fail to get the churches to see that our history serves our present and inspires our future, then Im in trouble.