Published on February 4, 2024, 1:47 am

In a development that has created ripples within Christian communities, “The After Party” curriculum has recently been released by authors Russell Moore, David French, and Curtis Chang. Intended to educate Christians on how to approach politics without causing division, the curriculum ironically has faced backlash for apparently embracing most anti-Christian progressive ideologies existing today.

One contributor to this “church” curriculum who has received a significant amount of acclaim is Charlie Dates. He is a prominent figure within Evangelicalism and considered one of its most politically charged pastors. Interestingly, his ideologies align greatly with those being propagated by the authors.

Who exactly is Charlie Dates? Known for his pro-socialist stance, he gained prominence in 2018 when he was part of the MLK50 Conference organized jointly by The Gospel Coalition and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. During that conference, renowned Christianity icons like Martin Luther King Jr were venerated as among the greatest historical figures in the faith. Russell Moore, John Piper, and several other leaders within the Southern Baptist and Evangelical space also attended this conference.

Despite his contributions to The Gospel Coalition over the years, Dates decided to part ways with the Southern Baptist Convention. The reason behind his departure? Apparently, it was not progressive enough for him. His grievances were mainly against Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Seminary who asserted that Christianity’s only moral political choice was to support Republican Party. This statement caused an uproar from Dates who pastored an aptly named church called Progressive Baptist Church before leaving it too.

Salem Baptist Church in Chicago marked his next destination where he succeeded retiring pastor James Meeks as the lead pastor. With strong childhood ties to Salem resulting from growing up and schooling in Chicago, this change felt more homely than others might assume.

Interestingly though, there were initial apprehensions about his taking over which led Meeks openly expressing fear during the take-over ceremony about handing over the pulpit to Dates. Nevertheless, Dates proved himself worthy of leading the congregation as he adopted an uber-woke Chicago-style approach that is characteristic of modern day churches.

One of his notable actions as a lead pastor was inviting former Chicago Mayor, Lori Lightfoot who is also known for her pro-abortion stance and being lesbian, to speak at his church. Striking comparisons were made during her speech about how Joshua replaced Moses in the Salem pulpit.

Controversially, Moore, French, Chang and their cohorts are endorsing Dates’ style of leadership as something other Christian leaders should adopt. The contradiction here certainly raises questions on their fight against politicization within religious circles focusing only on refraining Republicans and conservatives from politically engaging.

In reference to today’s developments within the Church from a Christian worldview perspective, such actions demonstrate a clear deviation from traditional paths. Embracing ideologies not typically associated with Christianity highlights potential shifts in power dynamics within religious institutions.

Even more controversial aspects related to today’s church developments offer critical insights into the state of affairs existing within modern-day religious institutions. It seems there’s an increasing inclination towards facilitating ongoing discussions in place of adopting resistive standpoints against issues deemed controversial by trusted news sources relating to real news events in Christianity today.