Commentary; Posted: 9/7/05
Promise Keepers in St. Paul this week
By Rev. John C. Blackford,
Religion Columnist
Fifteen years ago, Bill McCartney, head football coach at the University of Colorado, and a friend, on their way to a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting, discussed the idea of filling a football stadium with Christian men. Later in 1990, 72 men began to fast and pray about the possibility of thousands of men coming together for the purpose of Christian discipleship. In July, four months after the idea was conceived, 4,200 men gathered for the first Promise Keepers Convention, which was held at the University basketball arena. When Promise Keepers marked its tenth anniversary five years ago, it had reached more than 3.5 million men through 98 stadium and arena conferences, and since then many more have attended in a growing number of places.
This week, Promise Keepers is coming to the Xcel Center in St. Paul. Thousands of men will share in fellowship for inspiration, and strengthening meaningful relationships with their families and each other. They are from all denominational, ethnic and cultural backgrounds, seeking to make a difference for Jesus Christ. A large number of men from this area will take part in the Friday and Saturday sessions.
ìPromise Keepers is dedicated to igniting and uniting men to be passionate followers of Jesus Christ through the effective communication of the 7 Promisesî is its stated mission. These Promises are based on Scripture and involve specific Bible passages. They are as follows:
1 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to Godís Word in the power of the Holy Spirit;
2 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with other men, understanding he needs brothers to help him keep the promises;
3 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity;
4 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values;
5 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church, honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources;
6 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity;
7 ó A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30,31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19,20.)
Clergy conferences are held (see fifth Promise) and one in 1996 in Atlantaís Georgia Dome was attended by 39,000 clergy. Promise Keepers has a growing international ministry that has reached every continent. It depends greatly on thousands of men and women who volunteer in their communities, where the organization is holding conferences. On average, each requires more than 800 local volunteers, about half of whom are women. A military discount is offered to active duty personnel of any branch of the Armed Forces.
Twenty-one conferences have been scheduled for this year. Whether in Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, Orlando, Houston, Long Island, San Jose, Nassau (Bahamas) or the other cities, the conference theme will be ìThe Awakening ó An Unpredictable Adventure.î Hundreds of thousands of men will be stirred to live and share the seven Promises, and the St. Paul Xcel Center will be an inspiring place for many Upper Midwest men.
Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605