July 17, 2025 • 47 mins
This year, the U.S. will see a record 4.18 million people turn 65. As more look toward retirement, how can you prepare for the changes, whether soon or years from now? On the next Equipped, guest host Roy Patterson welcomes James Meeks. He was megachurch pastor in Chicago until his retirement a couple years ago and he'll reflect on lessons he's learned and talk about the legacy he left behind.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:20):
Welcome to equipped with Chris Brooks I'm Roy Patterson. Yeah
I'm sitting in for my brother today. Chris Brooks is
one of the smartest, holiest, nicest people that I know.
He's a family man. And he's committed himself to not
only preach the word, but to live it out and
to make sure that his family is doing well. His
(00:41):
daughter has gone through a health crisis, but Chris has
stood by that young lady's side, as well as his wife, Jody,
and the whole family. And so we're grateful. Hey, I'm
glad that you're here today because it's going to be
a special, special time of inspiration. I've got one of
my favorite people on the planet with me today, and
you're absolutely going to enjoy him. The phone lines will
(01:04):
be open throughout this hour. The number is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675.
Ryan Mcconahay Mcconaughy is at the board and controlling all
the signals and all the technological stuff. Tricia McMillan is
our producer today, and Rihanna is doing a great job
(01:25):
answering the phone. And so I'm thrilled that you are here.
Our guest today is the Reverend Doctor James Meeks. He
is the pastor emeritus at the Salem Baptist Church. He
founded that church many, many decades ago. He is a preacher.
He is a teacher. He is an author. And he's
(01:49):
also he is also the president and CEO of the
Hope Center Foundation in Chicago. I've heard him preach a
number of times. Been inspired, been blessed. I've heard him
sing a number of times, and yeah, I've been inspired
and blessed to be the best singer that I can be.
Pastor Meeks, how are you? I trust that you are
(02:14):
doing well. We'll have him in just a second. I
think my last comment about his singing.
S2 (02:19):
Yes. It threw it threw me all the way off.
But thank you so much for having me. Uh, to
all of your listeners, God be with you all today.
I pray that this is a special day in the
lives of all of us. And then for the team
that's there with you and especially Chris and his family,
we're praying for them. And so I'm just delighted to
(02:42):
be with you.
S1 (02:44):
Pastor. How old were you when you first started preaching?
S2 (02:48):
I was 17 years old when I preached my first sermon. Uh, however,
I have been preaching, uh, I guess since about the
age of ten. I buried every pet that I ever had.
S1 (03:01):
Oh, my cat dog.
S2 (03:03):
I would do their funerals in the backyard of my house,
and I was always the preacher at the funeral, and
I preached all those animals funerals. So I think it's
been in me since I was about 8 or 9
years old.
S1 (03:18):
All right. Was there something significant about the call of
God on your life? Was it a special moment? How
did you know this is the path that God wants
me to take?
S2 (03:29):
You know, there was never a time that I wanted
to be anything other than a pastor from a from
about the fourth grade on. That's all I wanted to do.
I guess from watching my pastor, Pastor Gordon Humphrey, at
the Shiloh Baptist Church, and I was grown up in
the church. That was my community, that was my life.
(03:49):
And I always knew it, that that's what God wanted
me to do. However, the time came when I was
a high in high school. I played high school basketball
for three years, and in the fourth year, in the
fourth year, I was finally going to start on the
varsity basketball team, and I won the part of Purlie
(04:10):
Victory as a preacher in the high school production, and
I had to make a choice because the high school
production rehearsed the same time the basketball team did. And
I couldn't do both. And I knew in my heart
of hearts I was going to be a preacher. And
so I quit basketball in order to be the preacher
(04:30):
in the school play. And I knew then that it
wouldn't be long. And shortly after that, a few months later,
I announced my call to preach.
S3 (04:40):
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.
S1 (04:41):
For many people, when they think of pastors they think
of preachers. They do think of a microphone, they think
of a pulpit, they think of a congregation, they think
of sermons, they think of leadership, etc.. When I think
of Pastor James T Meeks, I think of someone who
not only does those things, but your heart for people
in community is is really, really big. It's not just
(05:05):
I want to affect these people who are in front
of me inside these four walls. but that person that's
on the corner, that person that's at the grocery store.
ET cetera. ET cetera. How did that all start for you?
S2 (05:18):
It started for me the day I became a Christian, because, uh,
the day that I really knew that I was accepting
Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I could clearly
hear this voice saying to me, are you willing to
love everybody regardless, regardless of their color, their condition in life,
(05:41):
their position in life? I was about 13 years old
and I was at a church retreat and I said, God,
I want to follow you. And God said to me,
are you willing to love people unconditionally, no matter what
their station in life is? Are you willing to accept
this call of love? Of love for people? And I
(06:02):
said yes. And the moment I said yes. Tears just
streamed down my face. My my heart immediately changed, and
I knew that Christianity was about the love of people.
And then, you know, God so loved the world that
he gave. And so when I accepted the call to love,
(06:22):
I accepted the call of Christ.
S1 (06:25):
It's interesting because Jesus calls us to be different, our
lives to be transformed and to live out the kind
of faith that causes the world to either say, yeah,
I want that, or for the world to hate us.
And so in your case, where there's some bumps in
the road when you decided to follow Jesus.
S2 (06:44):
You know, I immediately experienced the difference from some of
my friends. Uh, I, uh, I remember a person who
worked in a grocery store, in a store, and they
had stolen some candy from a store, and they came
out and they wanted to give it to all of
us guys that were just standing around. I couldn't accept it.
(07:08):
I wouldn't accept it. I knew that it was stolen,
and I knew. And that's where my friend started recognizing.
Wait a minute. You know, it's something about this guy,
that he is not a dishonest person. But I knew
it wasn't right. And so I was not going to
err on the side just for candy, you know, of
doing something. I still have a friend who remembers that
(07:30):
to this day. And do you remember? You remember when
you made us give back? I made them give it back.
I made him give it back. And they said, you
remember when you made us give that candy back? We
knew then it was something different about you.
S3 (07:44):
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.
S1 (07:45):
All right. So you start a church called Salem. Um
what prompted you to do that.
S2 (07:51):
I was faster than another church. Uh I had pastored
that church for five years. At the end of the
five years, I was supposed to have a five year
contract and, uh, just say that, uh, the church didn't
want to continue, that they wanted me to have a
year to year contract. And I just felt that, you know,
(08:15):
to be on a contract was probably not good or not. Right.
And so we parted our ways. I mean, you know,
there's no need in the body of Christ falling out
about different stuff. And that's the day I started Salem
and I pastored Salem for 38 years.
S1 (08:31):
Wow.
S2 (08:32):
So with with the other church and with Salem, I
was a senior pastor for 43 years. I started when
I was 23, I guess 23 years old. And I
passed it for 43 years.
S3 (08:44):
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
S1 (08:46):
I am fascinated by that, because pastoring isn't the easiest
job in the world. You're dealing with personalities, you're dealing
with different initiatives, etc. and so I'm fascinated in what
kept you going when it came to pastoring, especially in
a great metropolis like Chicago.
S2 (09:07):
Seeing the changed lives of individuals. Uh, you know, the
the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of it. It's
the power of God unto salvation. And preaching week to week,
seeing different people. I knew two sisters in our church.
I didn't know they were sisters at the time, but
they had not spoken to each other in five years.
S3 (09:31):
Wow.
S2 (09:31):
And but they both would come to our Wednesday night
Bible class, and I was talking about forgiveness or something
one night, and and they came up to me, explained
that they were sisters, explained that they hadn't spoken to
each other in those five years or whatever. Reconciled. When
I saw stuff like that happening, people visiting our church
(09:52):
and I'm asking, okay, well, what brought you to Salem?
My coworker, my coworker is a changed woman. Uh, every
since you've been at this church, my coworker Worker has
been coming to church talking about God never came, never
came to work talking about God or scriptures or anything holy.
And brothers and sisters who would come to say, my
(10:14):
sister was the meanest person in our family. She started
coming to this church hearing, and we just wanted to
come and see the guy who was preaching to find
out what this is all about. When I saw that
the gospel had the power to literally change lives and
behaviors and families, uh, it inspired me and it inspires
(10:37):
me now to keep going on introducing people to the
love of Jesus Christ.
S1 (10:42):
We've got to we've got Doctor James T Meeks on
the line today, and we just love his ministry, the
hand of God on his life. I remember going to
his church and I could barely get in. There was
a line around the block, literally. And I'm convinced that
there was something special about that ministry continues to be
(11:02):
about that ministry. I want you to stick around. We're
going to talk about how God has used him and
what God is doing in his life right now. Love
for you to call (877) 548-3675. I'm Roy Patterson sitting in
for Chris Brooks on equipped.
S4 (11:27):
Do you wrestle with sexual shame or unmet longings? Do
you wonder if God cares about your wounds and desires?
Would you love a more intimate, honest relationship with him?
Then you need to read Surrender Sexuality by Doctor Julie Slattery.
She'll help you take your deepest needs to a loving
Savior who meets you without shame or condemnation. Ask for
(11:50):
your copy of Surrender Sexuality when you support equip this month.
Simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip equipped? Radios.
S1 (12:12):
Equipped with Chris Brooks and Roy Patterson. Thanks so much
for allowing me to sit in and to fellowship with
you today. Our guest today is a prolific preacher, author, teacher. Uh,
I just admire who he is and how God has
used him to lead many, many souls to Christ. Pastor
(12:34):
James Meeks, um, you started Salem Baptist Church. Was there
a special significance to the name?
S2 (12:41):
Yes, the name Salem means peace. And, uh, I chose
that name because I wanted the church to be a
place where people could come in from out of chaos
and confusion, hear the gospel of peace, and then have
peace in their lives. And so I chose that name
(13:03):
because it. It always means peace. And, um, you know
what a joyful life. If you could live it at
peace with God. And, you know, once we become his children,
we are not at enmity with him, says the Bible.
We are at peace with him. And then to figure
out how to have peace in your heart, your mind
(13:24):
and your life. That's the greatest thing in the world.
S1 (13:28):
I love that. So what about your wife? How does
she feel about being married to a pastor?
S2 (13:35):
My wife married me. She did not marry necessarily a pastor. Um, actually,
I was a pastor when she married me, but we
started dating. We started dating when I was 17 and
she was 16. And so I became pastor at 23.
So we dated all through my senior year of high
school and then through my four years and through her
(13:58):
four years of college. And so when I was called
to pastor shortly after college, you know, we had already
been together for six years.
S3 (14:07):
Hmm.
S1 (14:07):
Okay. So how has she helped you in ministry and
in stability?
S2 (14:13):
Oh my God. I mean, I don't have the time.
People don't want to be bored with this. Long story.
S1 (14:20):
Share with us, please.
S2 (14:21):
There. There is no way that she has not helped
me to have that stability in your life. Of the
person who was going to be with you and who
is with you through trial, error, mistakes, things that you've
done on purpose that were wrong. And to have somebody
in your corner that was standing there fighting with you.
(14:44):
There was many a days that I would come home
from church, from work, which is church troubled, and I
couldn't find no peace. And she was my stability. So
to have that, to have that person in your corner
when you're sick, when you're well, well, one time I
was in the hospital, they didn't know what was wrong
with me. I was in the hospital for 21 days.
S1 (15:08):
Wow.
S2 (15:08):
And I had a breathing disorder and they could not
figure it out for nothing in the world. I walked
into that hospital on a Sunday. 21 days later, I
walked out. She walked in with me and she never left.
We had small children at home. She never left that
hospital until I left.
S3 (15:30):
Mhm.
S2 (15:30):
She was there every day. Every night. She talked to
every doctor, every nurse. And you know that. That's commitment.
That's love. And, uh, she has been my ride or die.
And the Bible says he defended the wife findeth a
good thing. I think I found a great thing in
my wife.
S3 (15:48):
Amen.
S1 (15:49):
Amen to that. All right, so the church, I would
presume it starts small, and then it starts to grow
and to grow and to grow. What do you think
caused that?
S2 (16:00):
The word. The word and and and because a lot
of people say, you know, I'm, I'm preaching the word
or our church is the word, we don't see that
kind of growth. I don't, I don't I can't explain
how God gifted me with the ability to take a
complicated subject like the Bible. The Bible is a complicated book. Yeah,
(16:24):
there are different things going on at different times, different
promises for different people. But to be able to take
that book and explain it in bite sized pieces, in
a humorous, common sense way, that people can get it
and they say, okay, I get it. I understand what
(16:44):
you're saying, and I can apply what God is saying
and I can apply that to my life. Uh, I
think that that that was it. It's just the simplicity
of the gospel, and to be able to do it
in a simple way so that people can understand it.
Everybody on the face of the Earth, I believe, really
wants to understand the Bible and the way of God
(17:08):
and the will of God. Who is it that can
put it in a way that you could get it? Uh,
is the church that's going to be filled?
S1 (17:17):
Got it. All right, so I remember you sending people
out and being on the street corners, and I think
they were praying or something like that. Talk about that.
S2 (17:29):
So, um, I believe that what's happening in most New
Testament churches is that we are doing fantastic work. I mean,
it's just great work. But the Bible says, let your
light so shine so that men can see your good works.
It dawns on me one day that nobody could see
what we're doing unless we go out there and do
(17:51):
it amongst them. famous story was told about a church
that was on fire. And, uh, 3:00 in the morning
the church was burning up. The man from across the
street came over to watch the fire. The pastor said, Mr. Jones,
I've never seen you on this side of the street.
And Mr. Jones said, pastor, the church has never been
(18:13):
on fire before. Uh. On the day, on the day
of Pentecost, they spilled out into the streets.
S3 (18:23):
Yeah, yeah.
S2 (18:23):
And and that's where people saw them. That's where people
confronted them. It was on the street. So every year
in the month of June and July, we would take
our Bible study and we would go out on the
corners and we would just simply pray for people. We
would ask them, is there any I mean, we blanketed
every corner in our zip code. And we would ask
(18:47):
people simply, is there anything that we can pray for? And, uh. What?
Anything in your life, anything that. That's simple. And we
pray for people. And then I looked up and noticed
how many people were coming and joining and becoming a
part of our church, and we asked them, well, who
brought you? Well, we met you guys on the corner.
I met the guy who was at the Salvation Army. He, uh,
(19:11):
he was second in command at the Salvation Army. And
he came up to me and said, Pastor Meeks, I
can't wait to tell you. He said, I you guys
prayed for me five years ago on a corner in Roseland, and, uh,
you sent me to a rehab center. I got sober,
and now I've been working with these people ever since,
(19:31):
and he. He worked up to second in command. So
there's so many testimonies. We have people in our choir
who tell us they met us on the corner, and
people who were in the prostitution and gang banging. And
so here's my here's my appeal to all churches. You
got to get outside of the four walls of the church. Roy,
(19:52):
we gave a Bible to every home in our zip code.
We knocked on every door in our zip code and
presented homeowners with Bibles. And I remember when we started
the Bible project, the lady came up. She was really
excited and she said, I really want to help. And
I'm trying to figure out, okay, now what? What can
she do? She said, I'm the postmaster of this district.
S3 (20:14):
Oh my goodness.
S2 (20:16):
I have the walk sheets, the routes. I know exactly
how to plan this thing out. If you make one step,
God will make two.
S3 (20:24):
He'll do it.
S2 (20:25):
And. Yeah, but too many of us are inside of
the church. And we have something called a doctor block,
where we used to adopt 50 blocks, where we would
just go door to door and ask people, is there
anything we can provide for you? We had a walk
sheet of stuff that we were providing for people. We
would bring it back the next week. People have to
(20:46):
see us outside of the church because there are people
who will never come in unless we go out and
the whole Great Commission is go. Everything, everything that has
to do with the gospel starts with God. God starts
with God. The Great Commission says go. So why is
it that we stay.
S3 (21:05):
When.
S2 (21:05):
Everything that's related to us says go?
S3 (21:08):
Hmm.
S1 (21:09):
Well that's powerful. It really, really is. All right, so
this is the other thing I love about you and
that I have loved about that ministry. It's not just
preaching the word. It's not just, um, singing the songs,
but at a certain point, you decided enough of this
drinking and stuff happening in our community. I'm going to
(21:30):
find a way to dry up this area. Uh, talk
about that and how how you brought that to pass.
S2 (21:37):
We had 21 liquor stores in a 19 block radius.
S3 (21:41):
Ridiculous.
S2 (21:42):
So? So that means that there were 2 to 3
on sunblock on every on every other block. And, uh,
we had panhandling and public urination. That was not a
grocery store in my area. There was there was not
a pizza place in the area that would deliver pizza.
There was no sit down restaurants, but there was all liquor.
(22:07):
And so I asked, you know, one of our lawyers,
let's find a way that we can curb some of this.
Found out in Chicago they had a little loan ordinance
called Vote Dry. And if we got 10% of the
people in the community to sign a petition saying that
they don't want the liquor stores there, and if we.
(22:27):
And then on Election Day, they had to put it
on the ballot. And, uh, we encourage people to go
out and vote the community dry. And we did it.
That was in 1999. And guess what? That community is
still dry.
S3 (22:41):
Wow.
S2 (22:42):
And and guess what? Now we have grocery stores. Now
we have pizza places. We have a pizza place that
the Hope center, uh, is, uh, we're building right now
that's coming to our area. Now, now we have deliveries
that will deliver to our area. The night, two nights
after we voted the community draft, the police knocked on
(23:04):
my door, my front door of my house, and I, uh,
came to the door. I said, officers, is there anything wrong?
They said, no, there's nothing wrong. As a matter of fact,
the reason we stopped by here is because it's so
quiet out there. We don't have anything to do. And
we and we just thought we'd come by and chat
it up with you and tell you thank you.
S3 (23:25):
Mhm. Mhm.
S2 (23:26):
And, and it was the members of the church that
got out, got those signatures, got out, knocked on people's doors,
encourage them to vote the community draft, the church can
do a whole lot or we can change the fabric
of community if we just get out of the four
walls of the church.
S1 (23:45):
Our number is 87754836758775483675. We're talking with Pastor James Meeks
about the things that God has done in his life
through his life. And we'll be talking about retirement and
what he's doing now. You give us a call, you
got a question, you got a testimony of what God
(24:06):
can do in a life that's surrendered. We love to
talk to you. You just want to say hey to
Pastor Meeks. The number is (877) 548-3675. Hey, pastor, we've got
to go in about. Oh, about a minute. I'm curious
about that scripture. Let your light shine so that men
can see your good works and glorify the father. Is
(24:28):
it possible? And we'll probably have to talk some more
about this after the break. Is it possible to preach
the gospel and to do good works that affect community?
S2 (24:38):
Uh, yes it is. I mean, you know, Salem is
a prime example of it. But again, the danger is
let your light shine so that men can see your
good works, but the glory does not go to the church.
S3 (24:50):
Amen.
S2 (24:51):
The glory. The glory goes to God. And we have
to be concerned with and for the glory of God.
I think motive. Motive is the key to all things.
David said, they now the man who killed Goliath was
promised a big bounty. But that is not why David
killed Goliath. Not for Saul's wife. Not so that his
(25:12):
taxes could be paid for the rest of his life.
David went to Goliath and said, I'm going to take
your head off so that all the earth may know
that there's a God in Israel. And so the motive
of the church has to be the glory of God.
S3 (25:26):
Mhm.
S1 (25:27):
I agree with that wholeheartedly. Hey, we're talking with Pastor
James Meeks. He's pastor emeritus of the Salem Baptist Church
and president of the Hope Foundation Center, and grateful for
him and what he brings to the Hope Center Foundation
in Chicago. Grateful for what he does and what he brings.
I'd love to hear from you. Drop me. Drop. Make
(25:50):
a call. Call me. The number is (877) 548-3675. Want you
to keep it locked right where it is. I'm Roy
Patterson sitting in for Chris Brooks right here on equipped.
(26:17):
Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks I'm Roy Patterson.
Thanks so much for being with me. I really do
appreciate you. Thank you so much for taking out the
time to listen and to participate in this program. It
really is the day that the Lord has made, and
you and I have a right to rejoice and to
be glad in it. I got a question. Do you
(26:39):
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She'll help you see that God wants you to be free,
(27:02):
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It's a great book, and we will send it to
you with our thanks, with your gift of any size.
Simply go to equipped radio.org equipped radio.org, or you can
call 86444144. That's 888644 4144. Hey, we've got Pastor James
(27:31):
Meeks on the line right now, and, uh, I want
to continue talking with him. I'd love for you to
give us a call. 87754836758775483675. Maybe you have a question
or a comment about being used of God. Or maybe
you have a question or a comment about walking into
(27:53):
the new season of retirement. And he can he can
give you some tremendous insight on that. All right. So, pastor,
we were talking about letting your light shine so that
men can see your good works and glorify your father
in heaven. You've done a lot of stuff within the
city of Chicago and nationally. Uh, what was it like
(28:14):
to get involved in political waters, especially serving in the Senate?
S2 (28:20):
You know, um, people ask me that all the time.
And I just saw, uh, being in the Senate and
being in politics as an extension of ministry. Um, the
Bible says in Romans chapter 13 that government officials are
the deacon of God. God thought of government, and government
(28:40):
is for the good of the people. It is only
when government officials take office for the good of themselves
that ruins the whole thing. But government is for the
good of the people. And so if our church was
feeding hungry people, and we were, and we were giving
away clothes and we were doing the things that Matthew
(29:02):
chapter 25 said, when I was hungry, you fed me not.
It is better to do all of that on the
state's budget than it is to do it with tithes
and offerings.
S3 (29:16):
Hmm.
S2 (29:16):
Yeah. We should take tithes and offerings, and we can
do a lot with it. But we can do a
lot more with taxpayer dollars because that's what government is for.
That's who's paying the taxes, the people. And so a
part of my assignment in politics was to try to
see if I could bring God into the political circle.
(29:38):
So I didn't run as a Democrat. I didn't run
as a Republican. I ran as an independent. I actually
ran as a believer, as a Christian. And I tried
to get Christians to put faith in government through God. And, uh,
I had a chance to bring all the Democratic governors
to church. I brought all the Republican governors to church.
(30:01):
Most of the people who were in the Senate while
I was there, they came to our church for some
reason or another, but they all visited because on the
floor I was really never, uh, when I mean, on
the floor, I mean on the Senate floor. I was
never really Senator Meeks. I was always Reverend Meeks.
S3 (30:22):
Hmm.
S2 (30:22):
That's what everybody called me. That's what everybody knew me as.
They knew me as that when I came. And they
knew me as that when I left. And that was
very important to me to still have the same, uh,
respect and reputation that I had going in that I
did coming out.
S1 (30:42):
You know, it's so interesting. It's easier to be a
critic than it is to be a participant. And we
can say all day long, we need our government to
do this, that and the other. And I don't know
what their problem is or why they don't do more
about the things that are happening in our world. But
I saw you dive into the deep end and, uh,
what's your word to those who are thinking we need change,
(31:05):
but they don't know how to bring that change about?
S2 (31:08):
Romans chapter 13 says, the powers that be talking about
elected officials are ordained of God. Well, if it's all
right and the Bible says we have to obey the power, well,
if it's all right, and if it's godly to obey
the power, it's also godly to be the power.
S3 (31:27):
Mhm.
S2 (31:28):
Why should I have to obey the power to to
respect God and God in Scripture, and I can't be
the power. And it's also inconceivable for us to keep
thinking that non-Christian people are going to do Christian things.
And so we have to run for those offices. We
(31:50):
have to bring God into the public square. We have
to bring God ideas and godlike behavior into the public square.
Nobody else can do it but us. And so I
saw that. And as I have a chance now, the
coach of the ministers who run for who were successful
(32:11):
in being in office, I have a chance to tell
them that that that office is for the glory of God.
And I think that anybody who sits on the sidelines anywhere,
even at church, and criticize what's going on at the church.
Bring your ideas to the pastor.
S3 (32:28):
Amen.
S2 (32:29):
Email to the church, to the pastor saying, this is
what we should be doing, and I am willing to
lead this to be a part of this. Uh, if
we can do this, it takes all of us.
S3 (32:43):
It really does.
S2 (32:44):
It takes the critics. It takes the critics, too. We
need everybody.
S1 (32:48):
Yeah, we really do. We need everybody involved. Hey, let's
go to the phones right now. We've got Whitney calling
from New York. Whitney, please go with your question or comment.
S5 (32:56):
Hi. Um, I don't have a question, but I do
have a request from the past to the pastor.
S1 (33:03):
Please.
S5 (33:05):
Um, my request is I. Some of us wants to
be bold like the pastor is, and we cannot find
that boldness in us. So I am asking if the
pastor would please pray for us so we can have
(33:26):
a little bit of his gift so we can stand
on the corner so we can stand up like a
light in. To shine in this dark world. If he
doesn't mind, please.
S2 (33:39):
Well, Whitney, let me say to you that if you
are a member of a church, you should ask your pastor,
is it alright that I give away Bibles in the
name of our church? And so, just like I said,
we gave away Bibles to everybody. You don't have to
give away 30,000 like we did. You could give away
three by three Bibles and go to three neighbors homes
(34:05):
right around the church and say, our church, Saint Mark.
Whatever the name of the church is, we want to
give you this Bible in Jesus name. You can knock
on three doors. You can give away three Bibles, and
it's any time you get extra money to buy another Bible,
you can do that and give away another Bible. It
won't be long until you by yourself would have given
(34:27):
a Bible away to every home on your block just
by yourself. In the name of the church, it'll catch on.
Other people will want to do it. Other people will
want to get involved. But you don't have to wait
on the church to do anything. You can do it
by yourself. But I pray for you. I pray for
(34:48):
everybody who's listening that we would become individual disciples and
we would do a little something by ourselves. You would
be surprised how it catches on.
S1 (34:59):
That sounds good. Pastor, will you pray for Whitney and
others who want that to happen in their lives?
S2 (35:05):
God, we love you and we lift you. And today
could be the beginning of something that breaks out all
over this country, where individual believers who are listening just
go and give a Bible to a neighbor. Just go
and give a gift to a neighbor in your name.
Let something happen now and do it. Because Whitney asked
(35:27):
ask in Jesus name. Amen.
S1 (35:30):
Amen. Hey, we're talking with Pastor James T Meeks. Uh,
God has used this man to see some great and
mighty things happen, not only in Chicago, but throughout the nation.
You'd like to talk to him? Here's the number to
call (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. I'm Roy Patterson. I'm sitting in
(35:53):
for Chris Brooks. What a joy it is to be
with you. And I too am praying that God would
use you in some great and mighty ways. Stick around
more with Pastor James Meeks coming up right after this.
S4 (36:16):
In today's rapidly changing culture, Christians need solid biblical guidance
more than ever. That's our mission here at Equip to
provide biblical wisdom for life's toughest Of his questions. When
you step in as an equipper, you're not. Just giving
your monthly support helps to offer clarity and hope to
a confused and anxious culture, and you'll get exclusive resources
(36:37):
and updates from us all year long. Join our team
of monthly supporters today! Call 888644 4144 or visit Equip Radio.com.
S1 (36:56):
Welcome back to equip. I'm Roy Patterson sitting in for
Chris Brooks. I want to thank you so much for
listening and also praying for us. We want this program
to go throughout the nations impacting lives, causing men, women,
boys and girls to know Christ and to serve him fervently.
(37:17):
Thank you also for your financial support. You are an
equipper and that's what the Bible calls us to be.
So your gift of any size will allow us to
go further to be stronger. We love to send you
a book as well. Send you a gift to thank
you for your participation with us. The book is called
(37:39):
Surrendered Sexuality, Surrendered Sexuality. It's written by Doctor Julie Slattery.
It's an incredible book. It's very timely, very important. Love
to send that to you. All you've got to do
is give this number a call (888) 644-4144. That's 888644 4144.
(37:59):
Or go online to equipped radio.com. Hey, let's go to
Sarah from Chicago. Sarah, go ahead with your question or
comment for Pastor Meeks.
S6 (38:09):
Hi Pastor Meeks. I am so grateful to hear you.
I joined Salem in May of 2000 after having an accident.
I had been a member at Saint John's Church Baptist
church from 1973 to 2000 when I joined Salem. I
(38:30):
have continued to grow more spiritually since I have been
at Salem. We I have been able to go out
and minister to other people and to help people on
corner prayer and everything that Pastor Meeks has done. And
I'm so grateful and so thankful to be a Salem.
S3 (38:50):
Amen.
S1 (38:51):
Amen.
S2 (38:51):
Well, God bless you, Sarah. It's been a joy to
have you as a member of Salem. And thank you
for your call today. And thank you that other people
got a chance to hear you say that you've grown spiritually,
because I believe that that's the purpose of the local
church to help individuals grow spiritually, know Christ, and to
(39:12):
trust him.
S1 (39:14):
I love that. Thanks again. Sarah. Hey, let's go to
Mark in Glenwood. Mark, please go ahead.
S7 (39:22):
Uh, how you doing? Uh, good. I just wanted to
tell Pastor Meeks, uh, admiring from a distance. I, you know,
seen some of his, uh, you know, news on the
news on TV and some of the things that he's done.
He's always up to something good, it seems.
S3 (39:38):
Amen.
S7 (39:38):
And, uh, it's just to praise God for the whole
story he told about, you know, being from 17 years
old on and being with his wife for all that time.
That's that's amazing. That stuff just doesn't happen. And praise God.
I mean, it's really it's really inspiring to to hear that.
(39:59):
And I hope that some young people somewhere are, uh,
you know, getting, uh, getting that idea in them, you know, that, uh,
maybe the Holy Spirit can work with them and, you know, lead, uh,
you know, your successors, you know, and, uh, so we
can keep this going. I'm, uh, born and bred Chicagoan. I,
(40:20):
you know, I love our city. Even though it's a mess.
And I just, you know, I'd rather fix it than
leave it. I know you feel the same way. I
think I've heard you say it in almost those words. Um, and, uh,
just thank you so much for everything you've done, and
God bless you. Thank you.
S2 (40:38):
Thank you. Mark. God bless you. And you are right.
Together we can fix it. Uh, apart we can't. If
we leave it, we can't fix it. So let's fix
it in Jesus name. So God bless you.
S1 (40:53):
I love it. Hey, let's go to Isabella from Mississippi. Isabella,
please go ahead.
S8 (40:59):
Hey! Praise the Lord, everybody.
S3 (41:01):
Amen.
S8 (41:02):
Sitting here just enjoying, uh, the pastor. And I'm just
excited about it. And this is a burden of mine,
and I'm just going to. I was telling Rihanna on
the phone, I'm going to just say this and then
just pray for our young people. I know I've worked
in our church for over 20 years, grew up there
(41:24):
and kind of an outreach person, do a lot of things.
I love it, but let me tell you what there
is a has been a falling away. Um, our young
people from the church, fewer young people are attending today.
And I think one of the reasons that there is
very little outreach. My my son and all of them
(41:46):
grew up in the church and he won't attend. My
grandchildren not attending. And, uh, Mar, that's just for you.
And so what is it, uh, that we could do
as the church to reach out? Especially we've had children
who have been there who are no longer there. Uh,
(42:07):
and the other part about that is this is my
second part is, uh, what can we do? Or you
suggest that the church, while politics is what it is.
What can we do as a church so that every
Sunday we come to worship? Somebody's got to get up
(42:27):
and say something about, you know, what went on in
on Pennsylvania Avenue? Blah, blah, blah. I don't come for that.
And so, uh, I do believe now in God's providence and, uh,
I'm a strong believer in this, uh, he has control
over everything, whether I want who's in office I don't want.
(42:49):
But I do believe that God is in control of everything.
So what? First of all, I'm really interested in our
young people. And, uh, what can you do? What do
you suggest, uh, that we can do as a church
to reach our younger people? Okay, I'm waiting on it.
I'm going to write it down.
S2 (43:11):
Alright, I got it. The church. Roy has the platform.
Our young people more.
S3 (43:17):
Mm.
S2 (43:18):
Uh, when I say platform, when young people come to church,
they need to see other young people on the praise team.
They need to hear young people making announcements. They need
to hear young people speaking or doing discernment. Uh, we
cannot platform everybody who's 65 and over and then expect
(43:38):
to draw young people. Young people have have to see
themselves when they come to church. They have to say, oh,
there's a there's a role for me. This is a
young person leading this. This is a young person running that.
So let's assume that in our church in Mississippi, they
have five young people. They need to quickly put all
five of them in some leadership position, some position, some
(44:01):
position where they are getting up and they are speaking
to the church. I say to churches all the time,
you have to have young people on the church staff.
Young people have to be in the in the meetings,
young people, because you don't get any young ideas when
there are no young people there. The only thing you
can get is old ideas when it's only old people there.
(44:23):
And so we have to start letting people, letting young
people lead. You got to have a youth day where
youth do everything. They're the deacons, they're the ushers, they're
the choir. They do everything. But we have to have
days where we platform young people.
S1 (44:38):
That makes a lot of sense to me. Hey, pastor,
I know that you have retired from Salem. Uh, doctor
Charlie Datz has taken over doing a great job. He's
known you since he was a little kid. Went to
the school that you started. Any advice for those who
are looking at retirement or involved in retirement?
S2 (44:56):
Let me say that there are different seasons in our lives.
There's a season for education where we go and become educated.
Then there's a season where we do our work. I
believe 40 years is about a long time. David was king,
40 years, Solomon was king 40 years, and then Moses
led Israel 40 years. Then there's a seat. Now, if
(45:19):
you don't die in that time, uh, then there's a
season after that where you get a chance to shepherd
those who come along after you. I am grateful that
God led me to give up the church. Big church,
huge church. Great success. Uh, nobody walks away from that. However,
(45:40):
God showed me. How do you give young people a chance?
And then how are you there to continue to help them? Uh,
if I had died, Charlie wouldn't have anybody to call.
S3 (45:52):
And.
S2 (45:52):
Say, hey, what do I do about this or about that?
But now I'm alive. He could call me every week.
He'd call me anytime he wants to. Their younger preachers
who are starting out, who are coming along, who need
coaching and their churches, just like she asked that question,
how do we get young people involved? Well, that's how
we did it at Salem, I was only able to
(46:14):
give her an answer based on something that we've done.
So the older you are in life, the more you travel,
the ministry or in anything, the easier it is to
coach other people who are coming along behind you. So
that's what I'm doing now. That's the phase of life
I'm in. Learn to enjoy your years of coaching. I
(46:36):
say the older people learn to enjoy the season that
you're in and where we are now. Because nobody but
God brought us to this point.
S1 (46:44):
Pastor Meeks, I'm so honored that you would be with
us today. Thank you for what you've done and what
God is continuing to do in your life. Hey, I'm
Roy Patterson sitting in for Chris Brooks. Thanks so much
for being with us. Equipped is a production of the
Moody Radio Network under the umbrella of the Moody Bible Institute.
I love you, I thank God for you. Until next time,
(47:04):
walk in grace and peace.
Welcome to equipped with Chris Brooks I'm Roy Patterson. Yeah
I'm sitting in for my brother today. Chris Brooks is
one of the smartest, holiest, nicest people that I know.
He's a family man. And he's committed himself to not
only preach the word, but to live it out and
to make sure that his family is doing well. His
(00:41):
daughter has gone through a health crisis, but Chris has
stood by that young lady's side, as well as his wife, Jody,
and the whole family. And so we're grateful. Hey, I'm
glad that you're here today because it's going to be
a special, special time of inspiration. I've got one of
my favorite people on the planet with me today, and
you're absolutely going to enjoy him. The phone lines will
(01:04):
be open throughout this hour. The number is (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675.
Ryan Mcconahay Mcconaughy is at the board and controlling all
the signals and all the technological stuff. Tricia McMillan is
our producer today, and Rihanna is doing a great job
(01:25):
answering the phone. And so I'm thrilled that you are here.
Our guest today is the Reverend Doctor James Meeks. He
is the pastor emeritus at the Salem Baptist Church. He
founded that church many, many decades ago. He is a preacher.
He is a teacher. He is an author. And he's
(01:49):
also he is also the president and CEO of the
Hope Center Foundation in Chicago. I've heard him preach a
number of times. Been inspired, been blessed. I've heard him
sing a number of times, and yeah, I've been inspired
and blessed to be the best singer that I can be.
Pastor Meeks, how are you? I trust that you are
(02:14):
doing well. We'll have him in just a second. I
think my last comment about his singing.
S2 (02:19):
Yes. It threw it threw me all the way off.
But thank you so much for having me. Uh, to
all of your listeners, God be with you all today.
I pray that this is a special day in the
lives of all of us. And then for the team
that's there with you and especially Chris and his family,
we're praying for them. And so I'm just delighted to
(02:42):
be with you.
S1 (02:44):
Pastor. How old were you when you first started preaching?
S2 (02:48):
I was 17 years old when I preached my first sermon. Uh, however,
I have been preaching, uh, I guess since about the
age of ten. I buried every pet that I ever had.
S1 (03:01):
Oh, my cat dog.
S2 (03:03):
I would do their funerals in the backyard of my house,
and I was always the preacher at the funeral, and
I preached all those animals funerals. So I think it's
been in me since I was about 8 or 9
years old.
S1 (03:18):
All right. Was there something significant about the call of
God on your life? Was it a special moment? How
did you know this is the path that God wants
me to take?
S2 (03:29):
You know, there was never a time that I wanted
to be anything other than a pastor from a from
about the fourth grade on. That's all I wanted to do.
I guess from watching my pastor, Pastor Gordon Humphrey, at
the Shiloh Baptist Church, and I was grown up in
the church. That was my community, that was my life.
(03:49):
And I always knew it, that that's what God wanted
me to do. However, the time came when I was
a high in high school. I played high school basketball
for three years, and in the fourth year, in the
fourth year, I was finally going to start on the
varsity basketball team, and I won the part of Purlie
(04:10):
Victory as a preacher in the high school production, and
I had to make a choice because the high school
production rehearsed the same time the basketball team did. And
I couldn't do both. And I knew in my heart
of hearts I was going to be a preacher. And
so I quit basketball in order to be the preacher
(04:30):
in the school play. And I knew then that it
wouldn't be long. And shortly after that, a few months later,
I announced my call to preach.
S3 (04:40):
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.
S1 (04:41):
For many people, when they think of pastors they think
of preachers. They do think of a microphone, they think
of a pulpit, they think of a congregation, they think
of sermons, they think of leadership, etc.. When I think
of Pastor James T Meeks, I think of someone who
not only does those things, but your heart for people
in community is is really, really big. It's not just
(05:05):
I want to affect these people who are in front
of me inside these four walls. but that person that's
on the corner, that person that's at the grocery store.
ET cetera. ET cetera. How did that all start for you?
S2 (05:18):
It started for me the day I became a Christian, because, uh,
the day that I really knew that I was accepting
Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, I could clearly
hear this voice saying to me, are you willing to
love everybody regardless, regardless of their color, their condition in life,
(05:41):
their position in life? I was about 13 years old
and I was at a church retreat and I said, God,
I want to follow you. And God said to me,
are you willing to love people unconditionally, no matter what
their station in life is? Are you willing to accept
this call of love? Of love for people? And I
(06:02):
said yes. And the moment I said yes. Tears just
streamed down my face. My my heart immediately changed, and
I knew that Christianity was about the love of people.
And then, you know, God so loved the world that
he gave. And so when I accepted the call to love,
(06:22):
I accepted the call of Christ.
S1 (06:25):
It's interesting because Jesus calls us to be different, our
lives to be transformed and to live out the kind
of faith that causes the world to either say, yeah,
I want that, or for the world to hate us.
And so in your case, where there's some bumps in
the road when you decided to follow Jesus.
S2 (06:44):
You know, I immediately experienced the difference from some of
my friends. Uh, I, uh, I remember a person who
worked in a grocery store, in a store, and they
had stolen some candy from a store, and they came
out and they wanted to give it to all of
us guys that were just standing around. I couldn't accept it.
(07:08):
I wouldn't accept it. I knew that it was stolen,
and I knew. And that's where my friend started recognizing.
Wait a minute. You know, it's something about this guy,
that he is not a dishonest person. But I knew
it wasn't right. And so I was not going to
err on the side just for candy, you know, of
doing something. I still have a friend who remembers that
(07:30):
to this day. And do you remember? You remember when
you made us give back? I made them give it back.
I made him give it back. And they said, you
remember when you made us give that candy back? We
knew then it was something different about you.
S3 (07:44):
Mhm. Mhm. Mhm.
S1 (07:45):
All right. So you start a church called Salem. Um
what prompted you to do that.
S2 (07:51):
I was faster than another church. Uh I had pastored
that church for five years. At the end of the
five years, I was supposed to have a five year
contract and, uh, just say that, uh, the church didn't
want to continue, that they wanted me to have a
year to year contract. And I just felt that, you know,
(08:15):
to be on a contract was probably not good or not. Right.
And so we parted our ways. I mean, you know,
there's no need in the body of Christ falling out
about different stuff. And that's the day I started Salem
and I pastored Salem for 38 years.
S1 (08:31):
Wow.
S2 (08:32):
So with with the other church and with Salem, I
was a senior pastor for 43 years. I started when
I was 23, I guess 23 years old. And I
passed it for 43 years.
S3 (08:44):
Hmm. Hmm. Hmm.
S1 (08:46):
I am fascinated by that, because pastoring isn't the easiest
job in the world. You're dealing with personalities, you're dealing
with different initiatives, etc. and so I'm fascinated in what
kept you going when it came to pastoring, especially in
a great metropolis like Chicago.
S2 (09:07):
Seeing the changed lives of individuals. Uh, you know, the
the gospel. Paul said, I'm not ashamed of it. It's
the power of God unto salvation. And preaching week to week,
seeing different people. I knew two sisters in our church.
I didn't know they were sisters at the time, but
they had not spoken to each other in five years.
S3 (09:31):
Wow.
S2 (09:31):
And but they both would come to our Wednesday night
Bible class, and I was talking about forgiveness or something
one night, and and they came up to me, explained
that they were sisters, explained that they hadn't spoken to
each other in those five years or whatever. Reconciled. When
I saw stuff like that happening, people visiting our church
(09:52):
and I'm asking, okay, well, what brought you to Salem?
My coworker, my coworker is a changed woman. Uh, every
since you've been at this church, my coworker Worker has
been coming to church talking about God never came, never
came to work talking about God or scriptures or anything holy.
And brothers and sisters who would come to say, my
(10:14):
sister was the meanest person in our family. She started
coming to this church hearing, and we just wanted to
come and see the guy who was preaching to find
out what this is all about. When I saw that
the gospel had the power to literally change lives and
behaviors and families, uh, it inspired me and it inspires
(10:37):
me now to keep going on introducing people to the
love of Jesus Christ.
S1 (10:42):
We've got to we've got Doctor James T Meeks on
the line today, and we just love his ministry, the
hand of God on his life. I remember going to
his church and I could barely get in. There was
a line around the block, literally. And I'm convinced that
there was something special about that ministry continues to be
(11:02):
about that ministry. I want you to stick around. We're
going to talk about how God has used him and
what God is doing in his life right now. Love
for you to call (877) 548-3675. I'm Roy Patterson sitting in
for Chris Brooks on equipped.
S4 (11:27):
Do you wrestle with sexual shame or unmet longings? Do
you wonder if God cares about your wounds and desires?
Would you love a more intimate, honest relationship with him?
Then you need to read Surrender Sexuality by Doctor Julie Slattery.
She'll help you take your deepest needs to a loving
Savior who meets you without shame or condemnation. Ask for
(11:50):
your copy of Surrender Sexuality when you support equip this month.
Simply call 888644 4144 or visit Equip equipped? Radios.
S1 (12:12):
Equipped with Chris Brooks and Roy Patterson. Thanks so much
for allowing me to sit in and to fellowship with
you today. Our guest today is a prolific preacher, author, teacher. Uh,
I just admire who he is and how God has
used him to lead many, many souls to Christ. Pastor
(12:34):
James Meeks, um, you started Salem Baptist Church. Was there
a special significance to the name?
S2 (12:41):
Yes, the name Salem means peace. And, uh, I chose
that name because I wanted the church to be a
place where people could come in from out of chaos
and confusion, hear the gospel of peace, and then have
peace in their lives. And so I chose that name
(13:03):
because it. It always means peace. And, um, you know
what a joyful life. If you could live it at
peace with God. And, you know, once we become his children,
we are not at enmity with him, says the Bible.
We are at peace with him. And then to figure
out how to have peace in your heart, your mind
(13:24):
and your life. That's the greatest thing in the world.
S1 (13:28):
I love that. So what about your wife? How does
she feel about being married to a pastor?
S2 (13:35):
My wife married me. She did not marry necessarily a pastor. Um, actually,
I was a pastor when she married me, but we
started dating. We started dating when I was 17 and
she was 16. And so I became pastor at 23.
So we dated all through my senior year of high
school and then through my four years and through her
(13:58):
four years of college. And so when I was called
to pastor shortly after college, you know, we had already
been together for six years.
S3 (14:07):
Hmm.
S1 (14:07):
Okay. So how has she helped you in ministry and
in stability?
S2 (14:13):
Oh my God. I mean, I don't have the time.
People don't want to be bored with this. Long story.
S1 (14:20):
Share with us, please.
S2 (14:21):
There. There is no way that she has not helped
me to have that stability in your life. Of the
person who was going to be with you and who
is with you through trial, error, mistakes, things that you've
done on purpose that were wrong. And to have somebody
in your corner that was standing there fighting with you.
(14:44):
There was many a days that I would come home
from church, from work, which is church troubled, and I
couldn't find no peace. And she was my stability. So
to have that, to have that person in your corner
when you're sick, when you're well, well, one time I
was in the hospital, they didn't know what was wrong
with me. I was in the hospital for 21 days.
S1 (15:08):
Wow.
S2 (15:08):
And I had a breathing disorder and they could not
figure it out for nothing in the world. I walked
into that hospital on a Sunday. 21 days later, I
walked out. She walked in with me and she never left.
We had small children at home. She never left that
hospital until I left.
S3 (15:30):
Mhm.
S2 (15:30):
She was there every day. Every night. She talked to
every doctor, every nurse. And you know that. That's commitment.
That's love. And, uh, she has been my ride or die.
And the Bible says he defended the wife findeth a
good thing. I think I found a great thing in
my wife.
S3 (15:48):
Amen.
S1 (15:49):
Amen to that. All right, so the church, I would
presume it starts small, and then it starts to grow
and to grow and to grow. What do you think
caused that?
S2 (16:00):
The word. The word and and and because a lot
of people say, you know, I'm, I'm preaching the word
or our church is the word, we don't see that
kind of growth. I don't, I don't I can't explain
how God gifted me with the ability to take a
complicated subject like the Bible. The Bible is a complicated book. Yeah,
(16:24):
there are different things going on at different times, different
promises for different people. But to be able to take
that book and explain it in bite sized pieces, in
a humorous, common sense way, that people can get it
and they say, okay, I get it. I understand what
(16:44):
you're saying, and I can apply what God is saying
and I can apply that to my life. Uh, I
think that that that was it. It's just the simplicity
of the gospel, and to be able to do it
in a simple way so that people can understand it.
Everybody on the face of the Earth, I believe, really
wants to understand the Bible and the way of God
(17:08):
and the will of God. Who is it that can
put it in a way that you could get it? Uh,
is the church that's going to be filled?
S1 (17:17):
Got it. All right, so I remember you sending people
out and being on the street corners, and I think
they were praying or something like that. Talk about that.
S2 (17:29):
So, um, I believe that what's happening in most New
Testament churches is that we are doing fantastic work. I mean,
it's just great work. But the Bible says, let your
light so shine so that men can see your good works.
It dawns on me one day that nobody could see
what we're doing unless we go out there and do
(17:51):
it amongst them. famous story was told about a church
that was on fire. And, uh, 3:00 in the morning
the church was burning up. The man from across the
street came over to watch the fire. The pastor said, Mr. Jones,
I've never seen you on this side of the street.
And Mr. Jones said, pastor, the church has never been
(18:13):
on fire before. Uh. On the day, on the day
of Pentecost, they spilled out into the streets.
S3 (18:23):
Yeah, yeah.
S2 (18:23):
And and that's where people saw them. That's where people
confronted them. It was on the street. So every year
in the month of June and July, we would take
our Bible study and we would go out on the
corners and we would just simply pray for people. We
would ask them, is there any I mean, we blanketed
every corner in our zip code. And we would ask
(18:47):
people simply, is there anything that we can pray for? And, uh. What?
Anything in your life, anything that. That's simple. And we
pray for people. And then I looked up and noticed
how many people were coming and joining and becoming a
part of our church, and we asked them, well, who
brought you? Well, we met you guys on the corner.
I met the guy who was at the Salvation Army. He, uh,
(19:11):
he was second in command at the Salvation Army. And
he came up to me and said, Pastor Meeks, I
can't wait to tell you. He said, I you guys
prayed for me five years ago on a corner in Roseland, and, uh,
you sent me to a rehab center. I got sober,
and now I've been working with these people ever since,
(19:31):
and he. He worked up to second in command. So
there's so many testimonies. We have people in our choir
who tell us they met us on the corner, and
people who were in the prostitution and gang banging. And
so here's my here's my appeal to all churches. You
got to get outside of the four walls of the church. Roy,
(19:52):
we gave a Bible to every home in our zip code.
We knocked on every door in our zip code and
presented homeowners with Bibles. And I remember when we started
the Bible project, the lady came up. She was really
excited and she said, I really want to help. And
I'm trying to figure out, okay, now what? What can
she do? She said, I'm the postmaster of this district.
S3 (20:14):
Oh my goodness.
S2 (20:16):
I have the walk sheets, the routes. I know exactly
how to plan this thing out. If you make one step,
God will make two.
S3 (20:24):
He'll do it.
S2 (20:25):
And. Yeah, but too many of us are inside of
the church. And we have something called a doctor block,
where we used to adopt 50 blocks, where we would
just go door to door and ask people, is there
anything we can provide for you? We had a walk
sheet of stuff that we were providing for people. We
would bring it back the next week. People have to
(20:46):
see us outside of the church because there are people
who will never come in unless we go out and
the whole Great Commission is go. Everything, everything that has
to do with the gospel starts with God. God starts
with God. The Great Commission says go. So why is
it that we stay.
S3 (21:05):
When.
S2 (21:05):
Everything that's related to us says go?
S3 (21:08):
Hmm.
S1 (21:09):
Well that's powerful. It really, really is. All right, so
this is the other thing I love about you and
that I have loved about that ministry. It's not just
preaching the word. It's not just, um, singing the songs,
but at a certain point, you decided enough of this
drinking and stuff happening in our community. I'm going to
(21:30):
find a way to dry up this area. Uh, talk
about that and how how you brought that to pass.
S2 (21:37):
We had 21 liquor stores in a 19 block radius.
S3 (21:41):
Ridiculous.
S2 (21:42):
So? So that means that there were 2 to 3
on sunblock on every on every other block. And, uh,
we had panhandling and public urination. That was not a
grocery store in my area. There was there was not
a pizza place in the area that would deliver pizza.
There was no sit down restaurants, but there was all liquor.
(22:07):
And so I asked, you know, one of our lawyers,
let's find a way that we can curb some of this.
Found out in Chicago they had a little loan ordinance
called Vote Dry. And if we got 10% of the
people in the community to sign a petition saying that
they don't want the liquor stores there, and if we.
(22:27):
And then on Election Day, they had to put it
on the ballot. And, uh, we encourage people to go
out and vote the community dry. And we did it.
That was in 1999. And guess what? That community is
still dry.
S3 (22:41):
Wow.
S2 (22:42):
And and guess what? Now we have grocery stores. Now
we have pizza places. We have a pizza place that
the Hope center, uh, is, uh, we're building right now
that's coming to our area. Now, now we have deliveries
that will deliver to our area. The night, two nights
after we voted the community draft, the police knocked on
(23:04):
my door, my front door of my house, and I, uh,
came to the door. I said, officers, is there anything wrong?
They said, no, there's nothing wrong. As a matter of fact,
the reason we stopped by here is because it's so
quiet out there. We don't have anything to do. And
we and we just thought we'd come by and chat
it up with you and tell you thank you.
S3 (23:25):
Mhm. Mhm.
S2 (23:26):
And, and it was the members of the church that
got out, got those signatures, got out, knocked on people's doors,
encourage them to vote the community draft, the church can
do a whole lot or we can change the fabric
of community if we just get out of the four
walls of the church.
S1 (23:45):
Our number is 87754836758775483675. We're talking with Pastor James Meeks
about the things that God has done in his life
through his life. And we'll be talking about retirement and
what he's doing now. You give us a call, you
got a question, you got a testimony of what God
(24:06):
can do in a life that's surrendered. We love to
talk to you. You just want to say hey to
Pastor Meeks. The number is (877) 548-3675. Hey, pastor, we've got
to go in about. Oh, about a minute. I'm curious
about that scripture. Let your light shine so that men
can see your good works and glorify the father. Is
(24:28):
it possible? And we'll probably have to talk some more
about this after the break. Is it possible to preach
the gospel and to do good works that affect community?
S2 (24:38):
Uh, yes it is. I mean, you know, Salem is
a prime example of it. But again, the danger is
let your light shine so that men can see your
good works, but the glory does not go to the church.
S3 (24:50):
Amen.
S2 (24:51):
The glory. The glory goes to God. And we have
to be concerned with and for the glory of God.
I think motive. Motive is the key to all things.
David said, they now the man who killed Goliath was
promised a big bounty. But that is not why David
killed Goliath. Not for Saul's wife. Not so that his
(25:12):
taxes could be paid for the rest of his life.
David went to Goliath and said, I'm going to take
your head off so that all the earth may know
that there's a God in Israel. And so the motive
of the church has to be the glory of God.
S3 (25:26):
Mhm.
S1 (25:27):
I agree with that wholeheartedly. Hey, we're talking with Pastor
James Meeks. He's pastor emeritus of the Salem Baptist Church
and president of the Hope Foundation Center, and grateful for
him and what he brings to the Hope Center Foundation
in Chicago. Grateful for what he does and what he brings.
I'd love to hear from you. Drop me. Drop. Make
(25:50):
a call. Call me. The number is (877) 548-3675. Want you
to keep it locked right where it is. I'm Roy
Patterson sitting in for Chris Brooks right here on equipped.
(26:17):
Welcome back to equipped with Chris Brooks I'm Roy Patterson.
Thanks so much for being with me. I really do
appreciate you. Thank you so much for taking out the
time to listen and to participate in this program. It
really is the day that the Lord has made, and
you and I have a right to rejoice and to
be glad in it. I got a question. Do you
(26:39):
have questions about your sexuality that no one seems to address,
whether it's sexual sin, whether it's the issue of gender confusion,
or maybe it's an issue inside your marriage. Listen. Surrendered
Sexuality by Doctor Julie Slattery has insights that you need.
She'll help you see that God wants you to be free,
(27:02):
that he wants you to have peace, and he wants
you to have the freedom that only he can provide.
It's a great book, and we will send it to
you with our thanks, with your gift of any size.
Simply go to equipped radio.org equipped radio.org, or you can
call 86444144. That's 888644 4144. Hey, we've got Pastor James
(27:31):
Meeks on the line right now, and, uh, I want
to continue talking with him. I'd love for you to
give us a call. 87754836758775483675. Maybe you have a question
or a comment about being used of God. Or maybe
you have a question or a comment about walking into
(27:53):
the new season of retirement. And he can he can
give you some tremendous insight on that. All right. So, pastor,
we were talking about letting your light shine so that
men can see your good works and glorify your father
in heaven. You've done a lot of stuff within the
city of Chicago and nationally. Uh, what was it like
(28:14):
to get involved in political waters, especially serving in the Senate?
S2 (28:20):
You know, um, people ask me that all the time.
And I just saw, uh, being in the Senate and
being in politics as an extension of ministry. Um, the
Bible says in Romans chapter 13 that government officials are
the deacon of God. God thought of government, and government
(28:40):
is for the good of the people. It is only
when government officials take office for the good of themselves
that ruins the whole thing. But government is for the
good of the people. And so if our church was
feeding hungry people, and we were, and we were giving
away clothes and we were doing the things that Matthew
(29:02):
chapter 25 said, when I was hungry, you fed me not.
It is better to do all of that on the
state's budget than it is to do it with tithes
and offerings.
S3 (29:16):
Hmm.
S2 (29:16):
Yeah. We should take tithes and offerings, and we can
do a lot with it. But we can do a
lot more with taxpayer dollars because that's what government is for.
That's who's paying the taxes, the people. And so a
part of my assignment in politics was to try to
see if I could bring God into the political circle.
(29:38):
So I didn't run as a Democrat. I didn't run
as a Republican. I ran as an independent. I actually
ran as a believer, as a Christian. And I tried
to get Christians to put faith in government through God. And, uh,
I had a chance to bring all the Democratic governors
to church. I brought all the Republican governors to church.
(30:01):
Most of the people who were in the Senate while
I was there, they came to our church for some
reason or another, but they all visited because on the
floor I was really never, uh, when I mean, on
the floor, I mean on the Senate floor. I was
never really Senator Meeks. I was always Reverend Meeks.
S3 (30:22):
Hmm.
S2 (30:22):
That's what everybody called me. That's what everybody knew me as.
They knew me as that when I came. And they
knew me as that when I left. And that was
very important to me to still have the same, uh,
respect and reputation that I had going in that I
did coming out.
S1 (30:42):
You know, it's so interesting. It's easier to be a
critic than it is to be a participant. And we
can say all day long, we need our government to
do this, that and the other. And I don't know
what their problem is or why they don't do more
about the things that are happening in our world. But
I saw you dive into the deep end and, uh,
what's your word to those who are thinking we need change,
(31:05):
but they don't know how to bring that change about?
S2 (31:08):
Romans chapter 13 says, the powers that be talking about
elected officials are ordained of God. Well, if it's all
right and the Bible says we have to obey the power, well,
if it's all right, and if it's godly to obey
the power, it's also godly to be the power.
S3 (31:27):
Mhm.
S2 (31:28):
Why should I have to obey the power to to
respect God and God in Scripture, and I can't be
the power. And it's also inconceivable for us to keep
thinking that non-Christian people are going to do Christian things.
And so we have to run for those offices. We
(31:50):
have to bring God into the public square. We have
to bring God ideas and godlike behavior into the public square.
Nobody else can do it but us. And so I
saw that. And as I have a chance now, the
coach of the ministers who run for who were successful
(32:11):
in being in office, I have a chance to tell
them that that that office is for the glory of God.
And I think that anybody who sits on the sidelines anywhere,
even at church, and criticize what's going on at the church.
Bring your ideas to the pastor.
S3 (32:28):
Amen.
S2 (32:29):
Email to the church, to the pastor saying, this is
what we should be doing, and I am willing to
lead this to be a part of this. Uh, if
we can do this, it takes all of us.
S3 (32:43):
It really does.
S2 (32:44):
It takes the critics. It takes the critics, too. We
need everybody.
S1 (32:48):
Yeah, we really do. We need everybody involved. Hey, let's
go to the phones right now. We've got Whitney calling
from New York. Whitney, please go with your question or comment.
S5 (32:56):
Hi. Um, I don't have a question, but I do
have a request from the past to the pastor.
S1 (33:03):
Please.
S5 (33:05):
Um, my request is I. Some of us wants to
be bold like the pastor is, and we cannot find
that boldness in us. So I am asking if the
pastor would please pray for us so we can have
(33:26):
a little bit of his gift so we can stand
on the corner so we can stand up like a
light in. To shine in this dark world. If he
doesn't mind, please.
S2 (33:39):
Well, Whitney, let me say to you that if you
are a member of a church, you should ask your pastor,
is it alright that I give away Bibles in the
name of our church? And so, just like I said,
we gave away Bibles to everybody. You don't have to
give away 30,000 like we did. You could give away
three by three Bibles and go to three neighbors homes
(34:05):
right around the church and say, our church, Saint Mark.
Whatever the name of the church is, we want to
give you this Bible in Jesus name. You can knock
on three doors. You can give away three Bibles, and
it's any time you get extra money to buy another Bible,
you can do that and give away another Bible. It
won't be long until you by yourself would have given
(34:27):
a Bible away to every home on your block just
by yourself. In the name of the church, it'll catch on.
Other people will want to do it. Other people will
want to get involved. But you don't have to wait
on the church to do anything. You can do it
by yourself. But I pray for you. I pray for
(34:48):
everybody who's listening that we would become individual disciples and
we would do a little something by ourselves. You would
be surprised how it catches on.
S1 (34:59):
That sounds good. Pastor, will you pray for Whitney and
others who want that to happen in their lives?
S2 (35:05):
God, we love you and we lift you. And today
could be the beginning of something that breaks out all
over this country, where individual believers who are listening just
go and give a Bible to a neighbor. Just go
and give a gift to a neighbor in your name.
Let something happen now and do it. Because Whitney asked
(35:27):
ask in Jesus name. Amen.
S1 (35:30):
Amen. Hey, we're talking with Pastor James T Meeks. Uh,
God has used this man to see some great and
mighty things happen, not only in Chicago, but throughout the nation.
You'd like to talk to him? Here's the number to
call (877) 548-3675. That's (877) 548-3675. I'm Roy Patterson. I'm sitting in
(35:53):
for Chris Brooks. What a joy it is to be
with you. And I too am praying that God would
use you in some great and mighty ways. Stick around
more with Pastor James Meeks coming up right after this.
S4 (36:16):
In today's rapidly changing culture, Christians need solid biblical guidance
more than ever. That's our mission here at Equip to
provide biblical wisdom for life's toughest Of his questions. When
you step in as an equipper, you're not. Just giving
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(36:37):
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S1 (36:56):
Welcome back to equip. I'm Roy Patterson sitting in for
Chris Brooks. I want to thank you so much for
listening and also praying for us. We want this program
to go throughout the nations impacting lives, causing men, women,
boys and girls to know Christ and to serve him fervently.
(37:17):
Thank you also for your financial support. You are an
equipper and that's what the Bible calls us to be.
So your gift of any size will allow us to
go further to be stronger. We love to send you
a book as well. Send you a gift to thank
you for your participation with us. The book is called
(37:39):
Surrendered Sexuality, Surrendered Sexuality. It's written by Doctor Julie Slattery.
It's an incredible book. It's very timely, very important. Love
to send that to you. All you've got to do
is give this number a call (888) 644-4144. That's 888644 4144.
(37:59):
Or go online to equipped radio.com. Hey, let's go to
Sarah from Chicago. Sarah, go ahead with your question or
comment for Pastor Meeks.
S6 (38:09):
Hi Pastor Meeks. I am so grateful to hear you.
I joined Salem in May of 2000 after having an accident.
I had been a member at Saint John's Church Baptist
church from 1973 to 2000 when I joined Salem. I
(38:30):
have continued to grow more spiritually since I have been
at Salem. We I have been able to go out
and minister to other people and to help people on
corner prayer and everything that Pastor Meeks has done. And
I'm so grateful and so thankful to be a Salem.
S3 (38:50):
Amen.
S1 (38:51):
Amen.
S2 (38:51):
Well, God bless you, Sarah. It's been a joy to
have you as a member of Salem. And thank you
for your call today. And thank you that other people
got a chance to hear you say that you've grown spiritually,
because I believe that that's the purpose of the local
church to help individuals grow spiritually, know Christ, and to
(39:12):
trust him.
S1 (39:14):
I love that. Thanks again. Sarah. Hey, let's go to
Mark in Glenwood. Mark, please go ahead.
S7 (39:22):
Uh, how you doing? Uh, good. I just wanted to
tell Pastor Meeks, uh, admiring from a distance. I, you know,
seen some of his, uh, you know, news on the
news on TV and some of the things that he's done.
He's always up to something good, it seems.
S3 (39:38):
Amen.
S7 (39:38):
And, uh, it's just to praise God for the whole
story he told about, you know, being from 17 years
old on and being with his wife for all that time.
That's that's amazing. That stuff just doesn't happen. And praise God.
I mean, it's really it's really inspiring to to hear that.
(39:59):
And I hope that some young people somewhere are, uh,
you know, getting, uh, getting that idea in them, you know, that, uh,
maybe the Holy Spirit can work with them and, you know, lead, uh,
you know, your successors, you know, and, uh, so we
can keep this going. I'm, uh, born and bred Chicagoan. I,
(40:20):
you know, I love our city. Even though it's a mess.
And I just, you know, I'd rather fix it than
leave it. I know you feel the same way. I
think I've heard you say it in almost those words. Um, and, uh,
just thank you so much for everything you've done, and
God bless you. Thank you.
S2 (40:38):
Thank you. Mark. God bless you. And you are right.
Together we can fix it. Uh, apart we can't. If
we leave it, we can't fix it. So let's fix
it in Jesus name. So God bless you.
S1 (40:53):
I love it. Hey, let's go to Isabella from Mississippi. Isabella,
please go ahead.
S8 (40:59):
Hey! Praise the Lord, everybody.
S3 (41:01):
Amen.
S8 (41:02):
Sitting here just enjoying, uh, the pastor. And I'm just
excited about it. And this is a burden of mine,
and I'm just going to. I was telling Rihanna on
the phone, I'm going to just say this and then
just pray for our young people. I know I've worked
in our church for over 20 years, grew up there
(41:24):
and kind of an outreach person, do a lot of things.
I love it, but let me tell you what there
is a has been a falling away. Um, our young
people from the church, fewer young people are attending today.
And I think one of the reasons that there is
very little outreach. My my son and all of them
(41:46):
grew up in the church and he won't attend. My
grandchildren not attending. And, uh, Mar, that's just for you.
And so what is it, uh, that we could do
as the church to reach out? Especially we've had children
who have been there who are no longer there. Uh,
(42:07):
and the other part about that is this is my
second part is, uh, what can we do? Or you
suggest that the church, while politics is what it is.
What can we do as a church so that every
Sunday we come to worship? Somebody's got to get up
(42:27):
and say something about, you know, what went on in
on Pennsylvania Avenue? Blah, blah, blah. I don't come for that.
And so, uh, I do believe now in God's providence and, uh,
I'm a strong believer in this, uh, he has control
over everything, whether I want who's in office I don't want.
(42:49):
But I do believe that God is in control of everything.
So what? First of all, I'm really interested in our
young people. And, uh, what can you do? What do
you suggest, uh, that we can do as a church
to reach our younger people? Okay, I'm waiting on it.
I'm going to write it down.
S2 (43:11):
Alright, I got it. The church. Roy has the platform.
Our young people more.
S3 (43:17):
Mm.
S2 (43:18):
Uh, when I say platform, when young people come to church,
they need to see other young people on the praise team.
They need to hear young people making announcements. They need
to hear young people speaking or doing discernment. Uh, we
cannot platform everybody who's 65 and over and then expect
(43:38):
to draw young people. Young people have have to see
themselves when they come to church. They have to say, oh,
there's a there's a role for me. This is a
young person leading this. This is a young person running that.
So let's assume that in our church in Mississippi, they
have five young people. They need to quickly put all
five of them in some leadership position, some position, some
(44:01):
position where they are getting up and they are speaking
to the church. I say to churches all the time,
you have to have young people on the church staff.
Young people have to be in the in the meetings,
young people, because you don't get any young ideas when
there are no young people there. The only thing you
can get is old ideas when it's only old people there.
(44:23):
And so we have to start letting people, letting young
people lead. You got to have a youth day where
youth do everything. They're the deacons, they're the ushers, they're
the choir. They do everything. But we have to have
days where we platform young people.
S1 (44:38):
That makes a lot of sense to me. Hey, pastor,
I know that you have retired from Salem. Uh, doctor
Charlie Datz has taken over doing a great job. He's
known you since he was a little kid. Went to
the school that you started. Any advice for those who
are looking at retirement or involved in retirement?
S2 (44:56):
Let me say that there are different seasons in our lives.
There's a season for education where we go and become educated.
Then there's a season where we do our work. I
believe 40 years is about a long time. David was king,
40 years, Solomon was king 40 years, and then Moses
led Israel 40 years. Then there's a seat. Now, if
(45:19):
you don't die in that time, uh, then there's a
season after that where you get a chance to shepherd
those who come along after you. I am grateful that
God led me to give up the church. Big church,
huge church. Great success. Uh, nobody walks away from that. However,
(45:40):
God showed me. How do you give young people a chance?
And then how are you there to continue to help them? Uh,
if I had died, Charlie wouldn't have anybody to call.
S3 (45:52):
And.
S2 (45:52):
Say, hey, what do I do about this or about that?
But now I'm alive. He could call me every week.
He'd call me anytime he wants to. Their younger preachers
who are starting out, who are coming along, who need
coaching and their churches, just like she asked that question,
how do we get young people involved? Well, that's how
we did it at Salem, I was only able to
(46:14):
give her an answer based on something that we've done.
So the older you are in life, the more you travel,
the ministry or in anything, the easier it is to
coach other people who are coming along behind you. So
that's what I'm doing now. That's the phase of life
I'm in. Learn to enjoy your years of coaching. I
(46:36):
say the older people learn to enjoy the season that
you're in and where we are now. Because nobody but
God brought us to this point.
S1 (46:44):
Pastor Meeks, I'm so honored that you would be with
us today. Thank you for what you've done and what
God is continuing to do in your life. Hey, I'm
Roy Patterson sitting in for Chris Brooks. Thanks so much
for being with us. Equipped is a production of the
Moody Radio Network under the umbrella of the Moody Bible Institute.
I love you, I thank God for you. Until next time,
(47:04):
walk in grace and peace.
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