Promise Keepers, a Christian “men’s ministry” founded by former Colorado football coach Bill McCartney, is celebrating its 25th year. The group’s current militarized language and imagery matches the increasingly violent rhetoric of resistance and revolution from the far right. It may also reflect the background of current PK President Dr. Raleigh Washington, described as a “20-year U.S. Army veteran.”
The group, which filled stadiums and attracted criticism for its patriarchal message in its 1990s heyday, has a smaller profile today. This year it is holding several gatherings, starting with one in Stockton, California, back in May, with other events following in Dallas in August; Pittsburgh in September (rescheduled from June); Rochester, Minnesota, in October; and Redmond, Washington, in November.
The Promise Keepers website promotes the events with a headline: “BATTLE LINES: No Compromise!”
Today’s culture nurtures a popular misconception that tolerance is the only reasonable worldview. Unfortunately, this spirit of compromise on key moral and biblical issues has permeated both our culture and the church. Divorce and co-habitation rates continue to rise. Same-sex marriage is now accepted and abortion is still legal in our nation. Scripture is quite clear how we are to respond whenever the foundations of the Christian faith are under attack: our duty is to contend for the faith, without compromise.
In 1 John 1:5 John wrote, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” This is a very definitive statement. God is light. There are no shades of grey with God. He is Light and in Him, there is no darkness. What is light? It’s truth, and there is no compromising God’s Truth. There is no middle ground.
Considering the current times, as Promise Keepers, we must boldly and courageously stand for truth. We must defend biblical marriage, champion the life of the unborn and protect religious liberty. We cannot stand back and allow moral relativism, cultural decadence, spiritual apathy and ecclesiastical indifference to hinder us any longer. We must draw our battle lines without compromise.
The website declares, “Everything that Promise Keepers does centers on this central truth – obedience to the Word of God.” The website also encourages people to join the “One Message” movement, a project of Promise Keepers that is working to bring about the “greatest revival the world has ever known” – in fact, they say, it’s already under way:
The greatest revival the world has ever known – a revival prophesied by the Apostle Paul and affirmed by men like Jonathan Edwards and C. H. Spurgeon – has begun. And each of us has the amazing privilege of being a part of it.
This revival began 65 years ago, when the State of Israel – a nation that ceased to exist 2,000 years earlier – was reborn in a day. Since then, the Jewish people have been turning by thousands to recognize Yeshua (Jesus’ Hebrew name) as their long-awaited Messiah.
