"Stand up and slap high-five with 16 guys and say, "Thank god you're a male!" - Ed Cole speaking to 45,000 men in a Texas Stadium near Dallas.
"The demise of our community and culture is the fault of sissified men who have been overly influenced by women." - Tony Evans
PK was big business in its heyday! When in 1995 Promise Keepers held stadium rallies all over North America $38 million were taken in just from registration. In addition PK made money from donations, book sales, magazine subscriptions, music, teaching CDS, and from clothing and trinkets with the PK logo. In 1996 PK had an annual budget of $115 million. Just how much of this went to line the pockets of organizers would be anyone’s guess.
Promise Keepers was founded in 1990 by Bill McCartney, the head coach of the University of Colorado football team. His goal was to create a "nondenominational," Para - church (outside the church) to celebrate “Biblical manhood” and to motivate men to be “Christ-like and masculine”. The leaders of PK came from the charismatic Vineyard churches and the members at large from virtually every denomination; Catholics, Protestants, and even Mormons.
Promise Keepers grew with unprecedented force. By 1996 over one million men attended twenty-two stadium rallies. They held pastors' conferences, leadership-training seminars, published books, study guides, and videos. By 1996 they had a permanent staff of three hundred and sixty, and a budget of $120 million - cha-CHING!
A bit of background:
“Wake Up Calls” are PK mini-conferences to build momentum for large conferences, and to encourage men to get together in charismatic style.
“Task – Force” is made up of "Ambassador" and “Key Men”. They meet for prayer and Bible study. The purpose of these gatherings is to share information and plan strategy for large conferences.
“Key Men” are PK’s promoters in the local church who then report to the “Ambassador” who reports to the task-forces.
"The demise of our community and culture is the fault of sissified men who have been overly influenced by women." - Tony Evans
PK was big business in its heyday! When in 1995 Promise Keepers held stadium rallies all over North America $38 million were taken in just from registration. In addition PK made money from donations, book sales, magazine subscriptions, music, teaching CDS, and from clothing and trinkets with the PK logo. In 1996 PK had an annual budget of $115 million. Just how much of this went to line the pockets of organizers would be anyone’s guess.
Promise Keepers was founded in 1990 by Bill McCartney, the head coach of the University of Colorado football team. His goal was to create a "nondenominational," Para - church (outside the church) to celebrate “Biblical manhood” and to motivate men to be “Christ-like and masculine”. The leaders of PK came from the charismatic Vineyard churches and the members at large from virtually every denomination; Catholics, Protestants, and even Mormons.
Promise Keepers grew with unprecedented force. By 1996 over one million men attended twenty-two stadium rallies. They held pastors' conferences, leadership-training seminars, published books, study guides, and videos. By 1996 they had a permanent staff of three hundred and sixty, and a budget of $120 million - cha-CHING!
A bit of background:
“Wake Up Calls” are PK mini-conferences to build momentum for large conferences, and to encourage men to get together in charismatic style.
“Task – Force” is made up of "Ambassador" and “Key Men”. They meet for prayer and Bible study. The purpose of these gatherings is to share information and plan strategy for large conferences.
“Key Men” are PK’s promoters in the local church who then report to the “Ambassador” who reports to the task-forces.
"Our culture has presented many initiation rites, or passages to manhood, that are associated with the phallus [penis]. Which ones have you experienced? Do you have a story to share with other men about one such event?" Under the debilitating "phallus" experiences potty training, bed-wetting, pubic hair development, pornography, first date, wedding night, and conceiving one's first child is listed. Promise Keepers Study Guide, Section Three, "Exploring the Issues with Other Men" page 33
Problems with PK’s "Meet Jesus"
• We have inherited sin, "diseased spiritual DNA"; sin is not our fault, so blame Adam.
• No mention of hell, just "eternal separation from God." (Jesus spoke of eternal flames)
• Catholics, Protestants, Mormons, and Jehovah's Witnesses can relate to "Meet Jesus". Yet the "salvation prayer" starts off as "Father, I've come home." What kind of doctrine IS that?
• Every man is accountable to some other man; in one’s finances, sexual life, and relationship to God through mentoring. "It is impossible for men to fulfill the commands of Scripture without being in significant relationship with other men." Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper (pp. 55, 61)
• Taking oaths.
• Worship is exclusively Charismatic.
• Loud "Christian rock" music, chants for Jesus.
Yet the March 95 issue of The Tidings, the official publication of the L.A. Archdiocese, put out the following assessment: “Promise Keepers' Promises Spiritual Renewal for Men”
In the New Covenant 4/95 there was an article titled "Bands of Brothers”. According to the article the PK’s focus is on male bonding and on restoring men's identities as members of a warrior class.
The Saint Joseph's Covenant Keepers is a Catholic organization based on the Promise Keepers formula. Charismatic Catholics seem to flock to every Protestant movement or they invent a copycat movement on their own.
But the birth of this Catholic organization does not mean that Catholics got off from the PK bandwagon. At the Catholic Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio 640 Catholic men attended an official PK Leadership Seminar July of 1995 with a mass by Fr Michael Scanlan.
PK received endorsement from the National Conference of Catholic Bishops as well:
"Although the movement is perceived to be largely Protestant, [Bill] McCartney said during a news conference in the Buffalo Christian Center that PROMISE KEEPERS HAS THE APPROVAL OF THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF CATHOLIC BISHOPS, USES SOME CATHOLIC SPEAKERS AND WELCOMES CATHOLIC MEN, INCLUDING PRIESTS. ... The bishops' position, contained in a 1996 position paper prepared by its Committee on Marriage and Family, indicates that Catholics may participate in Promise Keepers events. The conferences, the paper suggests, may 'be filling a spiritual and pastoral vacuum' in the lives of some Catholic men and challenged church leaders to develop programs to meet those needs. Bishop Henry J. Mansell of the Buffalo Catholic Diocese said Friday that 'Catholics are free to attend the Promise Keepers conference.' ... 'It is his hope that after the conference there will be follow up experiences in their home parishes,' said Monsignor David M. Lee, diocesan director of communications." 5/17/97 Buffalo News (New York)
Well of course they are free to attend PK. But to put it in writing… is a type of endorsement.
Promise Keepers 2005
PROMISE KEEPERS WOOS CATHOLICS
by Jim Kirksey, Denver Post Staff Writer
March 3, 1998
Bill McCartney and his Promise Keepers were embraced by the Denver Catholic Archdiocese Monday night at a gathering of more than 250 men, and a handful of women, at the John Paul II Center in south Denver.
In his first address to a group of Catholic men, McCartney - former football coach at the University of Colorado and founder of the Denver-based evangelical Christian men's organization - told the gathering that one of the great things about sports is that if you love sports, it doesn't make any difference what denomination you are, "they'll let you in."
"It has become clear to me what God has in mind" for Promise Keepers, McCartney said.
The answer, he said, was found in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they are the sons of God." A peace-maker is one who brings warring factions together, he said.
The reason there isn't a Catholic men's group filling stadiums around the country "is because God wants us together," he suggested.
Archbishop Charles Chaput, who embraced McCartney as he came off the stage, had said in an interview before McCartney's talk that he viewed Promise Keepers as another evangelical movement trying to bring people closer to Christ, and it should be encouraged.
Chaput said he wouldn't put out an appeal for Catholic parishes to answer Promise Keepers' call for every church in the country to contribute $1,000 toward its operation, in light of its decision to stop charging men to attend its conferences.
"But I wouldn't discourage it," the archbishop said.
He said he will let individual pastors decide. It might be appropriate for a parish with several Promise Keepers members to make such a contribution, he said.
In his talk, McCartney said Promise Keepers has set Jan. l, 2000, as the date for "men of God...across the United States to stand up for Jesus Christ."
He said he envisions 650,000 men in every state capitol gathering at the same time.
Christopher West, director of the archdiocesan office of marriage and family life, said the archdiocese had expected a turnout of about 100, and was overwhelmed by the response.
In his first address to a group of Catholic men, McCartney - former football coach at the University of Colorado and founder of the Denver-based evangelical Christian men's organization - told the gathering that one of the great things about sports is that if you love sports, it doesn't make any difference what denomination you are, "they'll let you in."
"It has become clear to me what God has in mind" for Promise Keepers, McCartney said.
The answer, he said, was found in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peacekeepers, for they are the sons of God." A peace-maker is one who brings warring factions together, he said.
The reason there isn't a Catholic men's group filling stadiums around the country "is because God wants us together," he suggested.
Archbishop Charles Chaput, who embraced McCartney as he came off the stage, had said in an interview before McCartney's talk that he viewed Promise Keepers as another evangelical movement trying to bring people closer to Christ, and it should be encouraged.
Chaput said he wouldn't put out an appeal for Catholic parishes to answer Promise Keepers' call for every church in the country to contribute $1,000 toward its operation, in light of its decision to stop charging men to attend its conferences.
"But I wouldn't discourage it," the archbishop said.
He said he will let individual pastors decide. It might be appropriate for a parish with several Promise Keepers members to make such a contribution, he said.
In his talk, McCartney said Promise Keepers has set Jan. l, 2000, as the date for "men of God...across the United States to stand up for Jesus Christ."
He said he envisions 650,000 men in every state capitol gathering at the same time.
Christopher West, director of the archdiocesan office of marriage and family life, said the archdiocese had expected a turnout of about 100, and was overwhelmed by the response.
