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The idea for the Promise Keepers group evolved in March of 1990 while McCartney and friend, Dave Wardell, PhD, were driving to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) banquet in Pueblo, Colorado. Wardell was the Colorado State Director of FCA at the time. During their three hour car ride, the men discussed their faith and the factors that had changed their lives spiritually.
Their conversation centered around the concept of "Christian Discipleship" and how to help men come together and grow spiritually. They envisioned thousands of men gathering in sports stadiums across the United States to worship, pray, and learn together. This vision was seen as "training in godliness and integrity."
On March 20, 1990, Promise Keepers was created. Later that year
in July, seventy-two men began the group with a meeting. The first
conference was held at the University of Colorado at Boulder in
July, 1991. 4,200 men attended. Two years later at the third
conference, the attendance reached 50,000 and filled Folsom
Stadium in Boulder. The following year Promise Keepers filled
stadiums in seven cities with an attendance of almost a quarter of
a million. Over the next four years more than two million men
attended Promise Keeper rallies in fifty rallies in stadiums
across the country. An additional 700,000 were predicted to attend
the "Standing in the Gap" rally on the Washington Mall on October
4, 1997. This rapid growth in attendance at rallies makes Promise
Keepers the fastest growing religious movement in the United
States.
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.
Mission Statement: "Promise Keepers is a Christ-centered ministry dedicated to uniting men through vital relationships to become godly influences in their world."
Vision Statement: "A long-range picture of the potential impact of a faithfully executed mission; a world-wide movement of God among men on their knees in prayer and humility, on their feet in unity."
Seven Promises
A Promise Keeper is committed:
A member's primary devotion in life is to honor Jesus Christ and to change and grow spiritually through worship and prayer. Members must commit to meet in small groups of men several times a month to talk about their beliefs and pray for one another. A member must resist sinful temptations and commit to honoring his wife and family. Promise Keepers must provide help and prayer for the local pastors, as well as encourage and support men of all races, ethnic, and denominational backgrounds as fellow Promise Keepers.
Organization
Promise Keepers facilitates the spread of their message through a dozen or so conferences they hold across the country every year and also in small groups that men take part in. Conferences take place in sports stadiums and participation is restricted solely to men. The two day events are organized in an effort to bring together men from around the nation for worship, prayer, and teaching. Various inspirational speakers give their testimonies and encourage the attendees to keep and help understand why keeping their promise will make a difference in their world.
A Field Ministry whose primary focus is to reach out and spread the word of the Promise Keepers to local churches was created in 1991. Within the National Field Ministries Division of Promise Keepers there are three components: Key Man, Ambassadors, and Task Forces. In an effort to carry out their vision at the grass-roots level, members go to their local churches to "recruit, train, and deploy men."
Ambassador: a volunteer who is a representative to the Key Men. His duties include recruiting Key Men to promote ethnic and racial harmony throughout the group.
Task Force: exists as a liason between the planning and promoting of conferences as well as working closely with Promise Keepers.
The gathering, "Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men," seeks to draw men from across the country and from diverse backgrounds, albeit explicitly Christian backgrounds. This multitude of men will gather in the name of Jesus Christ, "to confess personal and collective sin," and to present themselves "as godly men on their knees in humiliy, then on their feet in unity, reconciled and poised for revival and spiritual awakening." The Sacred Assembly is scheduled to last from noon til sundown .
The name "Stand in the Gap" is taken from Old Testament scripture.
The context of this scripture is a call for righteousness in the presence of a land filled with ungodliness. The goal of the rally, as is the goal of the broader Promise Keeper effort is to encourage revival in America. The organizational leadership also frequently quotes 2 Chronicles 7:14, the thematic scripture of the Washington for Jesus rally of April 29, 1980:
The proximity of the rally to the Million Man March organized by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan has understandably drawn comparisons. Both are all male events, and both enjoined men to repent and assume greater responsibility for leadership of their families. The leadership of Promise Keepers has sought to down play parallels between the two events. Chirstian men who attended the Million Man March are welcome, but an invitation was not extended to Louis Farrakhan specifically or Muslims in general. This is a gathering for Christian men. More particularly, the orientation of the group is evangelical. Liberal or mainline Protestant leadership have generally not been enthusiastic about Promise Keepers; some have been openly critical. Male exclusivity is, understandably, one important source of criticism.
Women and Promise Keepers
Many national groups that promote women's rights have been critical of Promise Keepers for their views on the role of women in the religion and in the home. The National Organization for Women (Now) has been especially critical. Their criticism goes beyond the male exclusivity of the group to a critique that views Promise Keepers as an orchestrated campaign to take back the hard won battles of the feminist movement. Patricia Ireland, President of NOW argues that "when Promise Keepers speak of 'taking back America for Christ,' they also mean to take back the rights of women." NOW leadership views the Promise Keepers as an extension of the conservative Christian Right. "The top leadership behind McCartney," claims an open letter to NOW activists, "reads like a who's who of the political religious right, such as Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson and James Dobson -- people who consider the Republican Party too moderate!" Other organizations have joined in linking Promise Keepers to the Religious Right. Two notable groups, People for the American Way and the American Civil Liberties Union, have been cautious in their criticism. A search of both of these groups' web pages revealed no mention of Promise Keepers.
Promise Keepers claim the Bible enjoins men to be the spiritual head of the home, but they deny that this implies male dominance. This spiritual division of labor, they claim, demands that males assume greater responsibility for the well-being of the family. While women do no participate in Promise Keeper activities, they are encouraged to help with various administrative aspects of the organization. They volunteer their time by selling merchandise, answering questions, passing out literature, and doing other things before and after conferences. Indeed, women are key players both in facilitating and spreading the message of the group. Indeed, many women encourage their husbands to participate. And many have offered testimonials as to how Promise Keepers have positively changed both their marriages and their husbands' lives.
One group of women whose husbands are all Promise Keepers have created a magazine called Adam's Rib. The primary focus of the text is to spread the gospel of Promise Keepers as told from their point of view as women who live with it everyday. Various articles give testimonials and opinions in an effort to bring together women who are married to Promise Keepers to pray together for their husbands.
Suitable Helper's
Another group of women have created a support group known as Suitable Helpers. In 1993, the founder, Cheri Bright, "felt led by the Lord to begin a unique ministry for women." The group holds several conferences throughout the year that bring together other women involved with Promise Keepers through their husbands.
Commercialization and Growth
The budget of Promise Keepers for 1996 was $96.4 million. Tickets to most of the rallies cost $60 and much merchandizing of books, tapes, CDs, T-shirts, caps, pens, etc. occurs at the rallies. Sales of merchandise accounted for $16.4 million in revenues in 1997. Many have criticized the admission tickets and merchandizing as commercialization of religion. Promise Keepers counter that staging a rally in a sports arena is an expensive proposition. Almost three-quarters of their 1996 budget when to paying the costs of rallies, training, and publications. Skeptics question the cost of well-paid musicians and preachers who come to the rallies, in part, to promote sales of their music and books.
Questions have also been raised about the staffing of Promise Keepers. McCartney receives no salary, but he does receive a $4,000 speakers fee when he addresses a rally. Randy T. Phillips, president of Promise Keepers, received a salary of $132,000 in 1996 and organizational salaries in 1996 doubled to more than $20 million. Skeptics question whether this is religion or the commericalization of a religious concept.
Theological Controversies
Evangelical Christians are prone to exclusivity and proclaiming that others have strayed from the biblical foundations of the faith. Not surprisingly, while liberals and feminists criticize Promise Keepers for being theologically, politically and socially conservative, many evangelicals question the biblical authenticity of the movement. The scores of web sites created by local Promise Keepers tends to overshadow the biblical critics, but the critics are present in considerable numbers.
A Word on Searching for Promise Keeper Pages
Searching for information about the Promise Keepers on the World Wide Web can be a frustrating experience. Hundreds of PK pages have been created in conjunction with rallies by local chapters seeking to spread the word, and by individuals just wanting to do their part. And lots of people have apparently learned how to "spam" the titles with key words so that their pages come up again and again with major search engines. On three separate search engines we went 40 items deep without finding the official home page of the Promise Keepers. Sometimes finding a link to the official page can be difficult. On one search engine, the top ten hits (all scoring 100%) were for web sites created for four rallies (three each for Dallas and Oakland, and two each for Indianapolis and Pontiac).
For one who is interested in gaining a broad array of perspectives, locating valuable resources can be trying. With luck, or dogged perserverence, one will eventually find one's way beyond the smothering repetitiveness of sites authored by Promise Keepers to an entirely different genre authored by people who, at best, view the Promise Keepers as seriously misguided, but usually see them as a serious threat to the integrity of The Faith. To these biblical fundamentalists, the Promise Keepers are part of a broader conspiracy that might be likened unto the Sirens of Greek mythology, luring innocent Christians and dashing their faith and salvation against the rocks. For most visitors, these sites will quickly take on the same repetititive character as the multiple sites created by Promise Keeper enthusiasts.
When this site was created in the Spring of 1997 we listed over two dozen links. With the benefit of a second review, it is clear that much of what we had listed added little new information or perspective. Thus, we have reduced the number of links to less than ten. As is the standard format of profile pages on this web site, we begin with the official home page followed by unofficial sites that are sympathetic to the goals of the Promise Keepers. This is followed by a few links that are illustrative of secular and biblically-based critique. There are not doubt useful sites that we have not located. We welcome suggestions for additional sites that will help us create more comprehensive coverage of this increasingly significant religious movement.
Promise Keepers: The Official Homepage
This is the official homepage of the Promise Keepers. It is a professionally constructed page with a vast amount of information about the organization's history, beliefs, and organization. In addition, one will find position statements and comments on many issues on which the group has been criticized. An examination of the information on the organization of the "Stand in the Gap" rally reveals considerable organizational sophistication. Many groups come to the Mall in Washington to present their cause to the nation. No prior rally has so effectively utilized the Internet to organize a gathering.
http://www.promisekeepers.org/
New Man Magazine
New Man is an unofficial, but closely aligned magazine of the Promise Keepers. It offers a different article from the current issue each day. Past issues are indexed and online. This is an excellent site to gain insight about the messages and goals of Promise Keepers.
http://www.newmanmag.com/
The Unofficial Promise Keepers Resource Map
This page is the unofficial page created by Timothy VanFosson, a computer center employee at the University of Iowa and member of Promise Keepers. A significant feature of this site is a map of the U.S. which helps to locate Promise Keepers chapters and activities by states. Van Fosson has also organized links to the official site which can be helpful in locating information. Click on "info" on the front page for an index of materials on this page.
fttp://www.ccad.uiowa.edu/~timv/promise/
Promise Keepers, Pro and Con
Assessment of Promise Keepers by the Ontario Centre for Religious Tolerance. Offers background information about PKs along with other assessments, both positive and negative.
http:www.religioustolerance.org/chr_pr.htmPromise Keepers: An Introduction
The introductory chapter to the PhD dissertation of Michael E. Eidenmuller. A valuable overview and framing of issues. A bibliography at the end of the chapter includes several items not included on profile page. Also of possible interest is a slide presentation that includes photos of Promise Keepers gatherings. http://www.uttyler.edu/meidenmuller/scholarship/dissertation.htmNOW on Promise Keepers
The National Organization for Women views Promise Keepers as another front of the Religious Right and, hence, a serious threat to the feminist movement. They have mobilized a campaign against Promise Keepers that may equal their earlier efforts against Pro-Life groups. This page is a gateway to a number of NOW documents and resources they are generating for this campaign.
http://www.now.org/issues/right/pk.html
The Center for Democratic Studies
This liberal center joins NOW in expressing deep distrust of the motives of Promise Keepers. They publish PK Watch and a video which may be ordered from this site.
http://www.edsresearch.org/
David Cloud's Cloudy View of the Promise Keepers
David Cloud is editor of a web site that goes by the name Way of Life Literature. He also produced a magazine called O Timothy. Both of these ventures are associated with the Bible Baptist Church of Oak Harbor, Washington. Cloud finds fault in the practices and beliefs of many Christians, but the Promise Keepers are near the top of his list of those who have strayed from his view of biblical truth. For a sampling of how some fundamentalist Christians can cut up the beliefs of fellow evangelicals, this is an informative site.
http:www.whidbey.net/~dcloud/Does the Promise Keepers Represent Revival in Today's Church?
The answer is obviously no. This is an example of theological critique that gets pretty nasty. The page consists mostly of links to other critical pages, although the creator of the page has added some content. Link titles such as "Promise Keepers: "A Return to Pegan Rites?," "'Macho Men' for Christ," and "A Phallic Jesus?" give some clues as to the messages of biblical heresies one can expect to find here. With Christian brethren like this, Patricia Ireland may seem like a welcome critic.
http://lonestar.texas.net/~renaldo/pk.htm
Promise Keepers Says Room For Many Opinions in God's KingdomThe page offers a criticism of the Promise Keepers by author David Cloud. It is distributed by Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist News Service. The article gives reasons why the beliefs of the Promise Keepers could be incorrect. Direct Passages are quoted.
http://www2.bitstream.net/~thebible/FBNS439.htmlAmong the Promise Keepers
This is a collection of several articles and comments from The New Republic that appear in condensed form in the Utne Reader. The article includes comparisons between the Stand in the Gap Assembly and the Million Man March. http://www.utne.com/lens/cs/12cspromisekeepers.htmlPromise Keepers: Blessing and Caution
A generally favorable article about PK which appeared in the Dallas/Fort Worth Heritage, a monthly Christian newspaper. A link to the Heritage web page permits access to an archive of articles which have appeared in this magazine.
http://www.fni.com/heritage/may95/promise.html
Promise Keepers: Ecumenical "Macho-Men" for Christ?
A critical article from a theological perspective from the Biblical Discernment Ministries.
http://rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/pk/pk.htm
What Do These Men Really Mean by Unity?
A book review of The Awesome Power of Shared Beliefs by E. Glenn Wagner, A Promise Keeper Vice president. The review appeared in The Christian Conscience. A link provides access to other reviews of Promise Keeper books.
http://www.christianconscience.com/pk/unity.htmPromise Keepers Exposed
Yet another web page that finds fault with the Promise Keepers. This one claims to be "the best literature exposing PKs on the Web."
http://www.geocities.com/hebrews928/pklit.html
Books and Articles by Promise Keepers
- Jansen, Al and Larry K. Weeden, eds. 1994.
- Seven Promises Of A Promise Keeper. Colorado Springs, CO: Focus on the Family.
- McCartney, Bill (with Dave Diles). 1995.
- From Ashes to Glory. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
Scholarly Publications
- Brickner, Bryan T. 1999.
- The Promise Keepers: Politics and Promises. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.
- Claussen, Dane S. ed. 1999.
- Standing in the Promises: Promise Keepers and the Revival of Manhood. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press.
- Claussen, Dane S. ed. 1999.
- The Promise Keepers: Essays in Masculinity and Christianity. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
- Messner, Michael. 1997.
- Politics of Masculinities: Men in Movements. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
- (Contains chapter on Promise Keepers)