After the retirement of its founder James Meeks, fellow South Side pastor Charlie Dates will become senior pastor of one of Chicago’s biggest megachurches, Salem Baptist Church, returning to the ministry that shaped him as a kid and succeeding one of his greatest mentors in the faith.

The passion for proclaiming was evident in the Reverend Dr. Charlie E. Dates at a very early age. As a young man he exercised his gifting at school, in church, and in the community gaining distinction for his capacity as an effective orator. He preached his first sermon at age 17 and hasn’t looked back. He served in campus ministry while a college student at Illinois, as an apprentice pastor under the leadership of Reverend Dr. K. Edward Copeland at New Zion Baptist Church of Rockford, Illinois, and in pastoral ministry at Salem Baptist Church of Chicago with Pastor James Meeks.

In 2011, at the age of 30, Dr. Charlie E. Dates became the youngest Senior Pastor called to serve the historic Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago. Under his compassionate leadership, Progressive is enjoying comprehensive growth.

Dr. Dates is a contributing author to Letters To A Birmingham Jail, and Say It: Celebrating Expository Preaching in the African American Tradition. His first single authored book on Christianity and Social Justice is forthcoming. Additionally, Dr. Dates serves as an Affiliate Professor of the Baylor University George W. Truett Theological Seminary; Affiliate Professor of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School; and is called upon for conferences, summits, retreats, board memberships, and as a guest in pulpits.

In this interview, Dr Dates speaks  about the history of the two congregations and his call to lead Salem Baptist.

What specifically attracted you about this role at Salem Baptist?

Part of what I’m learning and discerning about God’s direction for one’s life is to pay close attention to the bend of one’s spiritual biography. How has God moved and worked in one’s life? So for me, what attracted me was God. It seems to me that God has been up to this, directing this well before I could tell.

Could you describe your relationship with Meeks? How has he influenced you?

I think part of this is connected to what attracted me to Salem Baptist. It is the work of that church, but it’s also Reverend Meeks, the pastor of that church. We have—I think—a very Paul and Timothy kind of relationship. I want to be clear though, I’m not saying I’m the only Timothy he has, in the same way that Paul had others. Neither am I saying that he’s the only significant influence in my life. But I do sense and feel that a lot of the progress that I’ve been able to make in the pastorate is connected in some way to his tutelage, his leadership, and his spiritual fathering, so to speak.

What lessons or advice has he already passed along about leading Salem Baptist?

That Salem is a loving church ready to work. When I came to Progressive, it took me a while to actually get my feet under me because of some of the history and nature of the church, and it required a lot of patience and long-suffering initially. 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. She’s ready to work. That’s not always the case when you assume a pastorate.

How do Salem Baptist and Progressive Baptist compare, and what makes you a fit for both congregations at this moment?

I would rather not compare them, only because I wouldn’t want to say the wrong thing and have someone read it and judge my intent. What I will say is that Progressive and Salem demonstrate the spectrum of Black churches in Chicago. On one hand, Progressive is what I would call progressively traditional, and Salem is traditionally progressive.

Progressive is a church of five generations. Progressive was once, decades ago, the kind of leading force of churches on the South Side. Around the country, people run into me and tell me, “Oh I got baptized at that church,” or “Oh, I remember Sunday school at that church.” Its legend and its lore is huge. But—and this is no secret—for years it stayed in the vein of its history. It took a while for it to reimagine and revitalize and become relevant again. But the bones are good.

Salem has not lost its relevance, Salem has not lost its edge, while maintaining a very high view of Scripture and its very Christo-centric approach to ministry. Its evangelism, its benevolence, its disciple-making have all been very Christo-centric and rooted in the Scriptures. It’s been anchored in the community. Progressive got insulated at one point. It’s no longer that way—we are very much in the community now—but that’s the way it was.

After 11 years at Progressive and watching more than 1,000 people join that church in that time, it’s fair to say that I carry the DNA of both churches. It’s fair to say that I understand the dynamics of congregational leadership and development in both churches. I’m not saying that I’m perfect, forever, for both churches. I’m just saying that at the juncture we’re in and being a son of the soil of Chicago and a son of Salem, and now having pastored Progressive, I just think I have a unique understanding and relational dynamic with both churches.

How do you use that significance, and history of these two churches in the city, to drive the future?

Every church that lives in the past is already anchoring itself in the graveyard of history. I think history, much like the end of Romans, is meant to teach us what God can do. To correct us from repeating errors and to inspire and to encourage us to pursue God’s great promise. If I can help these churches recognize God’s hand in their past as a kind of indication of God, of what God wants to do in the future, then I think I can hand it off to the next generation in good fashion.

If, however, I fail to get the churches to see that our history serves our present and inspires our future, then I’m in trouble. On one hand, the legacy has to continue. We’ve got to be able to have our 12 stones from our “Chicago Jordan River,” with a keen eye on the hills and mountains of Jericho and the other cities in Canaan.

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