Progressive Baptist Church — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Dr. Charlie Edward Dates (Senior Pastor; dual role with Salem Baptist Chicago)

Founded 1919

Denomination National Baptist / dually aligned

Service Times Sunday mornings (see website)

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website www.pbcchicago.org

Pastor Credentials PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Dates is a Wheaton-trained, theologically conservative preacher — green on classical Christology.

Strong

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Dates affirms biblical authority; preaches expository-adjacent — likely green.

Strong

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

No distinct men's discipleship framework found.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Dates affirms Protestant gospel — green.

Strong

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Not verified; NBCUSA permits women ordination so likely egalitarian — verify.

Egalitarian — women pastors endorsed and installed; left SBC over this issue.

Disqualifier

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Dates leads two churches simultaneously — yellow.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Dates known for strong textual preaching — likely green.

Strong

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Great Commission framing.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

Prominently engaged in race/justice discourse (public break with SBC over CRT); MOOP audience may read as DEI-adjacent — yellow/red.

Caution

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Left SBC (2020) over CRT dispute; retains historically Black Baptist affiliation (likely NBCUSA). Dates himself is theologically conservative on core doctrines (Trinitarian, inerrantist, sola fide) but aligns with racial-justice discourse — yellow for denominational ambiguity post-departure.

Caution

Assessment

Progressive Baptist Church under Charlie Dates pulled out of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2024 specifically because the SBC reaffirmed that the office of pastor/elder is reserved for qualified men. Dates has since become one of the most visible Black pastors advocating for women in the pulpit and for a liberationist reading of Scripture that fuses racial-justice activism with the gospel. The church is historically rooted and has a real pulpit tradition, but the explicit rejection of complementarianism and the embrace of social-justice-gospel categories put it outside Moop's theological frame.

#progressive-baptist#charlie-dates#ex-sbc#egalitarian#social-justice-gospel#woke#black-baptist

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Charlie Dates is theologically conservative but left SBC over CRT. Note: 'Progressive' in name refers to historic Black Baptist 'Progressive National Baptist' tradition, NOT LGBTQ+-affirming progressive theology. Dates himself is NOT known as affirming. The 'prog-' ID prefix may over-flag — gender/affirming dimensions require verification, not assumption.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source progressivechicago.org/pastor
[2] Live source religionnews.com/2020/12/18/we-out-charlie-dates-on-why-h…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.