Rev. James Meeks, the one senior pastor Salem Baptist Church has ever had, will ship final sermon on Sunday earlier than retiring

About 48 hours earlier than he’s set to ship his final Sunday sermon as Salem Baptist Church’s first and solely senior pastor, the Rev. James Meeks pointed at his “favourite image” hung in his workplace at Home of Hope, the church’s worship grounds.

The image reveals a full Home of Hope, which holds 10,000 folks, from the stage to the congregation with virtually everybody carrying white, as is customized on membership Sundays, Meeks stated.

“Each first Sunday in August, all of our members come to membership Sunday, and all people registers once more to turn into members of the church and state their need to be a member for the approaching 12 months,” Meeks defined. “This would be the last item I take down Sunday after I depart.”

The image will go from his church workplace to his house workplace, he stated.

Meeks, 66, is retiring as senior pastor of Salem Baptist Church after nearly half a century in ministry, baptizing 20,000 folks, and 38 years with the church he began from the bottom up.

He introduced his retirement from ministry throughout a Sunday service at Salem Baptist in June practically 38 years after beginning the Pullman church, one of many largest African American church buildings within the state.

He stated now retirement feels “actually actual” versus months in the past when he first made the announcement.

“If you say one thing months forward of time, you continue to have time,” he stated. “You don’t actually course of it. Now the time is right here, and it’s awfully emotional. It’s actually a great time, but it surely’s bittersweet.”

Together with the information of his retirement got here the announcement of his successor, the Rev. Charlie Dates, 42, who has recognized Meeks since earlier than he began fifth grade on the church’s now-closed Salem Christian Academy. Dates has served below Meeks’ management for many years.

Dates’ first sermon as senior pastor of the church shall be Sunday, Jan. 15. He stated he didn’t need to give an excessive amount of of a sneak peek into his first sermon however stated he would use the phrases “stability and safety” to explain it.

So far as moving into Meeks’ footwear, Dates stated he feels “ready” and is “filled with nice anticipation.”

He stated that though there’s a sense of loss over Meeks’ retirement, the church has nonetheless been “very loving and affirming” of him, and he hopes he may also help the church attain even greater below his wing.

“I’ve all the time considered Salem as a mom church, as a ‘glocal’ church, a church with international affect with a very native emphasis,” Dates stated. “A part of my hope is to see Salem strengthen different church buildings, revitalize different church buildings, construct a pipeline of future pastors who can do of their neighborhoods what Salem has accomplished on this neighborhood. I feel a method that may get accomplished is we are going to leverage his (Meeks’) knowledge and expertise mixed with what God has given me.”

Meeks based the Salem Baptist Church of Chicago in 1985 after 5 years of serving because the pastor at Beth Eden Baptist Church. Salem Baptist began out with 193 members earlier than rising to the monolith it’s often known as right this moment.

He gained a state Senate seat as an unbiased in 2002. He later switched to Democrat and held onto the seat earlier than retiring in 2012. He additionally ran for mayor twice, in 2003 and 2011, however dropped out of each races. He was chair of the Illinois Board of Schooling in 2017.

All through his practically 50 years in ministry, Meeks has traveled the world together with his messages of hope and reform, together with round Africa, China, Argentina and Australia.

He authored two books, “How one can Get Out of Debt and Into Reward,” and “Life-Altering Relationships,” which have each acquired important acclaim.

In the course of the church’s New Yr’s Day Sunday service, he baptized his 20,000th particular person, who additionally occurred to be his 6-year-old granddaughter. Meeks has 5 grandchildren and 4 youngsters together with his spouse, Jamell Meeks. He’ll even be christening his fifth grandchild, who’s 2 years outdated, throughout his celebratory retirement service on Sunday.

Meeks plans to remain in Chicago and go to different church buildings across the metropolis whereas additionally giving Salem Baptist time to regulate and “not be in the way in which of its new chief.” He stated he’s trying ahead to many issues post-retirement, like spending extra time together with his household, taking part in golf and serving as chairman of the Hope Heart Basis, the philanthropic department of Salem Baptist.

His final sermon shall be a part of a retirement service celebration at Home of Hope, 752 E. 114th St., on Sunday. Doorways open at 10 a.m., and this system will start at 11 a.m. Meeks stated included within the celebration shall be a “torch-passing ceremony,” the place he’ll bodily go a torch off to Dates and say a prayer for him and his household.

As for his final sermon, Meeks stated he simply completed writing it on Tuesday, and though he didn’t need to give any sneak peeks, he stated it has “loads to do with saying goodbye.”

He stated he plans to be the final particular person to depart the constructing on Sunday and to “shake each hand” of the one who got here to his remaining service.

“I like folks,” he stated. “I like connecting with folks. Individuals have life and points they must cope with, they usually come to the church for assist. They arrive to the pastor for assist, and I’ll miss serving to and being accessible to all of the individuals who need assistance and who should be pointed in the fitting course. That’s laborious to surrender.”

He stated he nonetheless plans to “be someplace serving to folks” in his subsequent chapter, whether or not that be by way of different church buildings or his work with the Hope Heart Basis.

He stated what he’ll miss most is looking at full home from the pulpit, a scene depicted in his favourite image, however he hopes to depart the church with the understanding that the message doesn’t change with the messenger.

“God’s phrase is just not going to alter,” Meeks stated. “The preacher is completely different, however the phrase is identical. It’s the phrase that I’ve been preaching to them, that they’ve utilized to their lives, and it has precipitated their lives to alter. It has precipitated them to develop and to nurture their households. That very same phrase will proceed from the pulpit no matter if I’m right here or not.”

sahmad@chicagotribune.com