NEWS ADVANCE: Promise Keepers set to gather for”sacred assembly”in D.C.

c. 1997 Religion News Service WASHINGTON _ Promise Keepers, the evangelical men’s movement that began as a football coach’s dream, breaks into the national limelight Oct. 4 when hundreds of thousands of Christian men are expected to gather for a gigantic prayer meeting in Washington, D.C. Coming by planes, trains and buses, men from an […]

c. 1997 Religion News Service

WASHINGTON _ Promise Keepers, the evangelical men’s movement that began as a football coach’s dream, breaks into the national limelight Oct. 4 when hundreds of thousands of Christian men are expected to gather for a gigantic prayer meeting in Washington, D.C.

Coming by planes, trains and buses, men from an array of denominations are expected on the National Mall for”Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men,”a six-hour event to focus on personal spiritual renewal and”to inspire unity and reawakening in the church.” The huge stretch of lawn that is usually used for Frisbee-throwing, fireworks-watching and museum-hopping as well as political demonstrations, will become, again, a symbolic gathering place for Americans. In the past, crowds have assembled there to hear speeches about dreams of civil rights and unity among African-American men, but this time it will be about prayer and repentance.”We see this gathering on the fourth as a time of great spiritual significance,”said Promise Keepers founder and former university of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney.


As organizers plan the event _ for which they will not predict or estimate a turnout _ they reiterate that Promise Keepers is all about relationships _ between men and their wives and among small groups of Christian men who spiritually are accountable to one another.

But Promise Keepers’ views about other relations _ gender, racial and denominational _ have drawn both praise and criticism since the group began seven years ago.

Gender expert Mary Stewart Van Leeuwen praises the movement for moving men away from”unalloyed individualism,”but questions their exclusion of women from podiums and publications.”They seem to think that they can promote an ideal notion of gender reconciliation by not having any women on the podium (or) as writers for their materials,”said Van Leeuwen, resident scholar at the Center for Christian Women in Leadership at Eastern College in St. Davids, Pa.”This seems a little odd to me.” Bishop Phillip Porter, Promise Keepers’ board chairman, said his organization is keeping specific with its mission to men.”We realize our role … is to minister to men and let the men minister to their wives and families,”Porter said.”If we continue to do those things we’ll always be clear in our direction and … the job that God has mandated for us to do.” Sociology professor James Mathisen, predicts that Stand in the Gap will be an important test of the movement’s goals for race relations. Men have been urged to come to the Washington gathering with a man of another race or another denomination.”It’s closer to a make-or-break, maybe not for the future of the total movement, but at least whether or not they have any potential to penetrate beyond white evangelicalism,”said Mathisen, who teaches at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Ill.

McCartney, who anticipates an”incredible demonstration”of diversity at the gathering, acknowledges that Promise Keepers erred by not making racial reconciliation a top priority from the very start.”If you don’t have your brothers of color there at the beginning, it’s like then you’re inviting them to come fill up a quota and many have felt like it has worked out that way.” Mathisen said Promise Keepers also has”more and more critics … from within what would seem to be their logical constituency of conservative Protestants.”Some question whether their desire to reach men from a variety of denominations has made them”too soft”or”not exact on theology,”he said.

The Rev. Dale Schlafer, director of Stand in the Gap, said Promise Keepers espouse”classic orthodox Christianity.””You can’t believe any less than that and call yourself Christian,”he said.”If a person says they’re born again of the spirit of God, then I’m stuck with them.” During the six-hour rally, from noon to 6 p.m., the throng of men will be guided by more than 40 speakers who will lead in worship and prayer. Their short messages will be connected by times of prayer on specific topics, such as racism, infidelity and pride. The free event will include an offering.

The assembly is viewed by its organizers as a modern-day gathering similar to ones recorded in Old Testament times of crisis. But what appears on the surface to be a gigantic camp meeting is drawing questions from critics outside the movement who wonder if it is more than it seems.

Groups like the National Organization for Women and Equal Partners in Faith _ a year-old multiracial, faith-based group _ wonder if there is an underlying political motivation for the massive meeting that may have to do with opposing women’s equality and homosexuality.”I think we’re one of the early ones to sort of sound the alert,”said Mandy Carter, program director for Equal Partners in Faith, which includes mainline Protestant, Unitarian and Jewish endorsers.”Why not sound it now rather than five years from now when it’s too late?” Paul Edwards, Promise Keepers’ vice president for ministry advancement, said politics is not the way of his organization.”We do not have a political agenda in part because we do not believe that the political realm is a sufficient medium for change,”he said.


But Nancy Eiesland, an assistant professor of sociology of religion, said even if the critics are wrong about Promise Keepers having political aims, their line of thinking is understandable.”Why not do a march on Akron?”asked Eiesland, who teaches at Candler School of Theology of Emory University in Atlanta.”If it’s not political, why do a March on Washington? … At the very least, they’re giving some mixed messages.” Promise Keepers began in 1990, after McCartney expressed to a friend his longing to see stadiums filled with men recommitting themselves to their families and their faith. Since then, organization officials estimate that the movement has attracted more than 2.6 million men to 61 stadium conferences across the country.

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Although much of the ministry of Promise Keepers has been national, its officials are interested in influencing the international scene.”I believe strongly that God’s going to use us globally,”McCartney told reporters a few weeks before the event.”I believe it’s God’s heart to do something extraordinary here and I believe Oct. 4 is going to springboard it.” But the organization may need renewed commitments of involvement from American men after the Washington event. There has been a dramatic drop in attendance at its rallies across the country. In 1996, there were 1.2 million at stadium events, but so far this year, there have been a little more than half that number.

First, McCartney attributes the drop-off to men choosing instead to attend Stand in the Gap. Second, he said, there’s the”been there, done that”attitude.

The drop in attendance has caused a shortfall in this year’s projected $100 million budget and a precipitous drop in staff _ from 520 to 368 during this summer.”When the numbers aren’t there in registration receipts, you still have to balance the books and focus on your mission,”said Promise Keepers spokesman Steve Chavis.”We’ve had to do both.”

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