See also:  The Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper 

By Curt Lovelace
October 2000

More than 7,000 men crowded into the Worcester Centrum for two days on a beautiful summer weekend at the end of August to deal with issues such as fidelity, anger, abuse, racism, neglect, fear, and faith. 

Men came from all over New England to attend this conference. There were Roman Catholics and Baptists, Presbyterians and Methodists, Episcopalians and Pentecostals. 

Edward Cruz, a young man from Springfield and a member of Mount Calvary Church, had attended a similar rally in Hartford last year. This year he volunteered to serve on the security team. He told Massachusetts News, "I'll never miss another Promise Keepers event now. It's just great to be around all these men who want to be more Godly and pray about their families."

Paul Krasinkewicz attends the St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church in Pepperell. He was also a volunteer at this event. He greeted thousands of men with the phrase, "Welcome to Promise Keepers, God bless you," as he answered their logistical questions. Asked why he came to the rally, his only answer was, "Praise the Lord."

Charlie McGrath of Spencer, a member of the Holden Chapel, said that he needed to be there. "I get complacent in my daily life. I need to get refreshed," he said. 

Aim To Stand Firm
Meanwhile, in the arena, men were being taught, "Fathers need to take a stand by being loving, warm and affectionate" with their families. Jim Burns, a youth minister from San Juan Capistrano, California, told the crowd, "I'm a lousy husband and a lousy father when I'm too tired and too busy." He said that in order to be a better husband and father, we may need to make less money this year. "We may need to drive an older car, but we can drive it to that drama event where a child is involved," he added.

Joe White, a camp director from Missouri and a former assistant football coach at Texas A&M University used drama to tell his story. Playing the role of a Roman worker who built crucifixes, White told the Gospel story, concluding, "If he [Christ] is alive on Sunday morning, you mark my words, this story will never be forgotten."

White carried a 14-foot pine log into the arena and chopped a place for the cross piece while telling his story. He huffed and puffed as he talked about the work of Jesus Christ. When he grew winded, he revealed that he was a little anemic. He had been diagnosed with leukemia two weeks earlier. Facing his own mortality, he told the now-hushed men in the crowd, "My girlfriend, my wife, my homecoming queen and I are going to cross the finish line together. I'm going to keep washing the dishes and putting roses on her pillow every night." He closed his presentation with a challenge. He told the Promise Keepers to, "Stand for your love for God. Stand for your love for your wife with everything. It's your last line of defense."

Fathers and their sons was a subject that was high on the agenda at this, the second major Promise Keepers conference in New England. Jim Burns said in the average American man's lifetime he spends cumulatively 12 years working, but only 11 days (six minutes per day) in close communication with his children. "Your primary responsibility is to bless your children by putting spiritual deposits in their lives," Burns said. As a result, your children will walk securely."

To both young and old men, Burns said sons must pledge a lifelong commitment to a relationship with their dads.

In a message titled, "Confronting Fatherlessness - Mentors Going the Distance," the Jews for Jesus-Chicago director, Jhan Moskowitz, pointed to the popular song by Ever Clear, "Father of Mine." With as many as 40 percent of American children not having the full time presence of a father, Moskowitz said, Christian men "must do something to restore that image of 'father.' Where are we when it comes to being there for the poor and the fatherless?"

When it was over, many of the men who came to the Promise Keepers conference had new purpose. Keith Ruenheck of Harvard said that he had to get home, so he could tell his wife, "I'll always be there for you."

NOW Pickets Outside Arena
Not everyone agrees with the goals of the organization. Outside the Centrum, a thin line of about a dozen protestors from NOW carried signs and chanted in opposition to the 7,000 men at the event. Andi Mullin, President of the Boston chapter of NOW, told Massachusetts News that she wants people to know the real purposes of Promise Keepers.

Those purposes, Mullin said, include pushing America "back to traditional gender roles, with men in control." The leadership of Promise Keepers, she said, has a political agenda. She explained, "They want to create a theocracy, not a democracy. They intend to eliminate women's rights and gay rights and make their political agenda of the radical right mainstream."

While the radical-feminist protestors picketed, men from the conference came out to talk with them and to pray for them. But the leaders of NOW told picketers not to engage any of the Promise Keepers in conversation.

1.  A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.

2.  A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.

3.  A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.

4.  A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values.

5.  A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources.

6.  A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

7. A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).