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두란노아버지학교_ Promise Keepers - Ecumenical "Macho-Men" for Christ? 3
두란노아버지학교_ Promise Keepers - Ecumenical "Macho-Men" for Christ? 3 Sadly, attendees at the 1993 Promise Keepers National Men's Conference were encouraged in a post-conference follow-up letter to purchase The Masculine Journey Study Guide and to form Masculine Journey study groups (4/94, The Berean Call). In fact, Promise Keepers media director Steve Chavis says, "All our success here [regarding PK in general] is contingent upon men taking part in small groups when they return home" (2/6/95, Christianity Today, p. 28). [For further details of the psychotherapeutic encounter group format incorporated in the Masculine Journey Study Guide, see Sarah H. Leslie's article in the 1/95, The Christian Conscience: "Promise Keepers: 'Encountering' Guys at Risk," pp. 14-18.] [See the Jul/Aug, Sep/Oct, and Nov/Dec 1994 issues of the PsychoHeresy Awareness Letter for further detailed analysis of Hicks' book and of Promise Keepers' official response to those questioning Promise Keepers' support of Hicks' book. PAL also has available for $3.00 a 44-page booklet titled Promise Keepers and PsychoHeresy, or for $10.00, the 44-page booklet along with a two-tape message set and the previously cited 16-page Special Report from Media Spotlight (PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries, 4137 Primavera Road, Santa Barbara, CA 93110).] - In a seven-page fax received from Promise Keepers (PK) in 10/94, 2/95, 9/95, and again in 4/96, Promise Keepers details its official support for Robert Hicks and The Masculine Journey. (This fax was being sent to anyone who protested PK's use of The Masculine Journey.) PK states that they originally decided to officially sponsor Hicks' book and Study Guide because, in their analysis, "What we discovered was a biblically-centered, frank, and honest account of a man's journey with God. We were convinced that it would help men pursue Jesus Christ ... it would be a tool that challenged men to grow in Christ likeness ..." PK claims that "Dr. Hicks is clearly choosing God's Word to describe maleness." PK acknowledged that humanistic ideas clearly conflict with Christian values and contradict Biblical teaching, "But those are not the values nor the teachings we find in the writings of Dr. Hicks, Dr. James Dobson, Gary Smalley, Dr. John Trent, and Dr. Gary Oliver." Moreover, PK went to great length to rationalize the sexual explicitness in the book, and concluded that the problem with The Masculine Journey is not in its content, but "... in the way that the book is read."[!!] [Gary Smalley, John Trent, James Dobson, Chuck Swindoll, Jack Hayford, Gary Oliver, Robert Hicks, and many others are in the forefront of Promise Keepers speakers and writers. Their seduction by the most ungodly aspects of psychology has seriously tainted their understanding of God's Word and even of the person of Jesus Christ Himself. This, if nothing else, should raise red flags of danger for anyone who might feel attracted to Promise Keepers.] [Note on PK's Promotion of The Masculine Journey: The following is excerpted and/or adapted from the Psychoheresy Awareness Letter, July-August 1996: Shortly after our article "Promise Keepers Still Endorses The Masculine Journey went to press in 3/96, they replaced the seven-page support letter with a brief statement, which said: "Promise Keepers no longer distributes the book The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks, published in 1993 by NavPress." After admitting that Promise Keepers distributed (gave) the book to every man that attended the 1993 conference, the rest of that statement simply talked about Promise Keepers rather than about The Masculine Journey. No warning, apology, or repudiation of the book could be seen. As of 6/17/96, Promise Keepers has begun to supply yet another position statement regarding The Masculine Journey. The current statement says: "Several passages in The Masculine Journey by Robert Hicks (1993, NavPress) could be understood in more than one way. Some of the content of the book has unfortunately lent itself to a wide range of interpretations and responses involving theological issues which Promise Keepers does not feel called to resolve." The statement continues to say that they don't want these unforeseen controversies to detract from the focus of Promise Keepers. After again saying that they no longer distribute the book, they state: "At the same time, we believe Mr. Hicks' core theology is consistent with orthodox evangelical Christianity, and that The Masculine Journey was a forthright attempt on his part to deal with male issues from a biblical context." (Emphasis added.) Sadly, the organization only seems to be trying to avoid further controversy over the book. There is still no hint of warning, apology, or repudiation. Any fair reader of Promise Keepers' present statement on The Masculine Journey would have to conclude that Promise Keepers still supports The Masculine Journey! The fact that leaders of Promise Keepers were involved in the development of the book, identified it as a Promise Keepers book, and gave a copy to every man who attended the 1993 conference reveals the psychological foundations of the movement. Until Promise Keepers makes a definitive statement confessing the error of being involved in the development of the book The Masculine Journey, as well as of promoting and distributing it, they must be held culpable.] [Back to Text] - One thing that sounds so worthwhile is Promise Keepers attempt to stress strong male leadership in the local church. But it seems as if Promise Keepers problem is not so much with female leadership per se as it is with lack of male leadership. In other words: Women are leading more than men; it's better if men lead as much as women -- an "equality of leadership" as one Promise Keepers writer says (Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper, p. 142). What PK clearly seems to be expressing is a desire not for men to take absolute leadership (as the Bible teaches), but to begin to share in the leadership now held by women. If Promise Keepers were to take the Biblical position as stated by the apostle Paul, they would lose some popularity, because they would no longer receive the unbridled endorsement of wives that they now receive. (Women say they want a strong man to follow, but not too strong. Certainly they don't want a man whose strength or determination for God might interfere with the wife's psychological "needs" being met.) Promise Keepers somehow recognizes this, and thus the macho posturing, all the while being very careful not to offend the ladies who really remain in control. Thus, too, the popularity of Gary Smalley and his ilk who emasculate men while claiming great success in achieving marital harmony. Women love Smalley because he focuses men's attention NOT on how to please God, but how to please their wives, i.e., "meet their needs." Smalley even teaches wives how to manipulate their husbands to get what they want. Gary Smalley's books and seminars are probably the most dangerous to true masculinity on the market today, yet Promise Keepers promotes him widely. (Media Spotlight, 11/94 Special Report on Promise Keepers, p. 8.) [The 6/95 Houston PK rally held in the Astrodome serves as a good indication of the behind-the-scenes involvement of women in Promise Keepers. Of the 3,000 volunteers, about two-thirds were women. Prior to the conference, these 2,000 or so women took part in anointing each chair in the Astrodome with oil and then prayed over them. (Reported in the 6/18/95, Houston Chronicle, p. 4G).] - Promise Keepers also has established an inclusivistic, anti-Biblical position on homosexuality. The following was taken from a Promise Keepers' 12/8/93 fax, titled simply, "Promise Keepers Statement": "As to homosexuality, Promise Keepers shares the same historic and biblical stance taken by Evangelicals and Catholics -- that sex is a good gift from God -- to be enjoyed in the context of heterosexual marriage. Promise Keepers also recognizes that homosexuality is a complex and potentially polarizing issue. There is a great debate surrounding its environmental and genetic origins, yet as an organization we believe that homosexuals are men who need the same support, encouragement and healing we are offering to all men. While we have clear convictions regarding the issue of homosexuality, we are sensitive to and have compassion for the men who are struggling with these issues. We, therefore, support their being included and welcomed in all our events." What is so "complex" about the "issue" (read "sin") of homosexuality? God says this perversion is His judgment for the sins of rejecting and rebelling against Him, and He condemns it throughout Scripture (Rom. 1:21-27; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; Jude 7). But then, sin is always a "polarizing issue" to those who live in the flesh rather than by the Spirit. Also, homosexuality is not the result of environment and genetics (cf. Rom. 1:18-32)! Though Promise Keepers acknowledges homosexuality as a sin in some of their literature, by claiming it can be understood only in the confines of humanistic psychology and genetic research, rather than in what God says, they actually promote homosexuality. Promise Keepers spokesman Steve Chavis concurs with the fax statement -- he says that homosexuals "will find a message not of condemnation but of compassion," in PK's ministry (6/27/95, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, p. B10). Rather than including and welcoming the homosexuals, Promise Keepers should be preaching the Gospel of Christ to them, which is repentance for their sin and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. Instead, Promise Keepers is apparently convinced that a person can be content to remain an unrepentant homosexual and still be a genuine child of God. But God's Word is clear -- no unrepentant homosexual will inherent the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9-11). Further, the apostle Paul commands that those who profess Christ and yet openly practice sin should be removed from fellowship (1 Cor. 5:9-11), not "tolerated." [A Promise Keeper can evidently be a committed abortionist also! An interview with Bill McCartney published in the 6/18/95 Houston Chronicle quotes McCartney as saying that a Promise Keeper can be pro-choice because, "That's an individual preference. We would not try to direct or influence that. ... We welcome everyone; no one is excluded."] Robert Hicks, in his book heavily promoted by Promise Keepers, espoused a similar "sensitive" approach to the sin of homosexuality (The Masculine Journey, pp. 133-134). This "tolerant" position on homosexuality is found in many of the materials sponsored by Promise Keepers. While calling for strong male leadership in the churches, Promise Keepers has whimped-out on an "issue" that strikes at the very heart of masculinity, and presents an affront to God by its militant in-your-face challenge to accept sexual perversion or risk being called "unloving" and judgmental (Media Spotlight, 11/94 Special Report on Promise Keepers, p. 6). - Promise Keepers views Jesus as "the non-confrontive encourager." Geoff Gorsuch, in the PK manual Brothers! Calling Men into Vital Relationships, presents a distorted view of Christ. For example, he says, "Jesus didn't view men as losers. He saw them as lost" (p. 49). The Christ of Promise Keepers seems to prefer looking at men in an inoffensive and positive manner -- mankind is not to be thought of in a demeaning term such as "loser," but as individuals who just need a little help to find their way. The truth is that all men are losers and lost. A loser is one who does not triumph. Since no man can by himself overcome sin, much less its penalty, he cannot be said to be just neutrally "lost": He is a loser as well. Apart from God's grace we will all remain desperate losers condemned and under the curse of sin. In man-to-man associations, some are winners and some are losers. But in man-to-God relationships, every man is a loser of the worst sort. Our victory can only come through the Holy Spirit as the merits of Christ's finished work on the cross are applied. (Excerpted and/or adapted from the 4/95 O Timothy, "PROMISE KEEPERS: Should Fundamentalists Get Involved?," pp. 11-12). - Also of great concern is Promise Keepers close association and fellowship with those in the charismatic movement. (This concern arises because the "common experience" gained through charismaticism has typically allowed for the setting aside of doctrinal differences, and has, thereby, more easily facilitated an unbiblical unity, i.e., ecumenism.) As mentioned earlier in this report, not only have charismatics E.V. Hill and Jack Hayford regularly spoken at the Promise Keepers Men's Conferences, but Bill McCartney's local Vineyard Christian Fellowship pastor and ex-convict/ex-drug addict, James Ryle, is on the Board of Directors of Promise Keepers. (He is, also, now a regular speaker at PK meetings, and has left the pastorate for a full time speaking/conference ministry.) Ryle's position of leadership in Promise Keepers is most disconcerting because of his clear association with "signs & wonders," hyper-charismatic, self-proclaimed "prophet" John Wimber, the (now deceased) co-founder of the Vineyard Movement. Ryle, like Wimber, declares himself to be a modern prophet, and thus, claims to have many of the same "revelatory" powers claimed by Wimber. For example, at an 11/90 Vineyard Harvest Conference in Denver, Ryle asserted that God instructed him to reveal to the church that both the Beatles and their music were the result of a special anointing of the Holy Spirit, and that God was looking for others upon whom to place that anointing, supposedly to bring about a worldwide revival through music. Ryle said: "The Lord has appointed me as a lookout and shown me some things that I want to show you ... The Lord spoke to me and said, 'What you saw in the Beatles -- the gifting and the sound that they had -- was from Me. ... It was My purpose to bring forth through music a worldwide revival that would usher in the move of My Spirit in bringing men and women to Christ. ...'" In the same manner, Ryle claimed that God gave him a vision of a Beatles' concert where the audience, instead of screaming the names of the Beatles, were this time "screaming the Name -- Jesus." Such a prophecy, that millions will be saved through a reintroduction of the "anointed music" (and demonic, Hinduistic philosophies) originally "given" through the Beatles, could not possibly have been from the Holy Spirit! Instead, Ryle's statements clearly reveal the Satanic delusions under which he and other so-called modern prophets are "ministering" (Jan-Feb '91, Foundation). One should be leery of any "prophet" who discerns the demonic as anointed. [Ryle preached a similar sermon at his Boulder Valley Vineyard Church on 7/1/90, entitled "Sons of Thunder." In that sermon, Ryle alleges that God is about to anoint Christian musicians with the same "anointing that was originally given to the Beatles." He said God told him in a dream that, "I called those four lads from Liverpool to myself. There was a call from God on their life; they were gifted by My hand; and it was I who anointed them, for I had a purpose, and the purpose was to usher in the charismatic renewal with musical revival around the world." Ryle goes on to say that God told him He lifted the Beatles anointing in 1970 and has held it in His hand since, but that He is about to release it again in the church. (Reported in the 2/96, The Christian Conscience, p. 20.) In other words, Ryle says the Beatles rebelled against God's purpose, so the idea had to be sacked! Apparently God's will was thwarted by the Beatles and God has yet to come up with plan "B"!] More on Ryle's charismaticism -- from a Dreams and Visions Prophetic Conference brochure (8/4/94-8/6/94), announcing James Ryle as a speaker: "After a traumatic childhood, years of neglect in an orphanage, and imprisonment in the Texas State Penitentiary, God filled James Ryle with love, identity, and purpose. He began preaching in 1972, exhibiting a great gift for communicating the Word of God in relevant, revealing, and redemptive ways. James travels extensively in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, advancing the church through prophetic preaching and conference teaching. James is the author of the very popular book The Hippo in the Garden (Creation House:1993). In 1989 it was prophesied that James would be a 'seer' to the body of Christ. That same year, he had a dream where he saw a hippo in the garden. After seeking God for the interpretation, James says the Lord revealed that the hippo represents a new prophetic movement that will sweep the church and impact the world. According to James, the new movement will appear as out-of-place amid the status quo as a hippo walking in an English garden. James has also written an article about dreams and visions in the 8/93 Charisma: 'Hearing God's Voice in Living Color.'" In a 1995 book (with foreword by Bill McCartney), A Dream Come True: A Biblical Look at How God Speaks Through Dreams and Visions, Ryle again adds to God's written Word his own subjective personal revelations, visions, words of prophecy, and dreams. Ryle invites men to begin analyzing their dreams, and concludes the book by inviting the reader to ask the Lord for a vision of Jesus as "God has given each one of us what I call vision hunger -- an appetite for revelation from God, an inner need for visual soul stimulation" (p. 228). As Ryle proclaimed in The Hippo in the Garden, to him "The Bible is not an end in itself, rather, it is the God-given means to an end" (p. 74). What Ryle and others in the Vineyard, and, hence, the Vineyard-spawned Promise Keepers, are teaching is that God's written Word should be viewed through the lens of one's personal, spiritual experiences, dreams, and visions as opposed to rightly asserting that one's personal spiritual experiences ought to be viewed through the lens of God's written Word. (Reported in the 2/96, The Christian Conscience, pp. 21, 26. See also Carl Widrig Jr.'s article in the 5/96, The Christian Conscience, "Is God Saying What James Ryle is Saying," pp. 46-47) - Like James Ryle, Bill McCartney also claims direct revelation for God. On a "PK This Week" radio program (9/28/96), McCartney speaking at the 1995 Oakland PK Conference, in a message titled, "The Power of a Promise Kept," said that God told him, "If men of color don't come to PK, then I'm not coming either." McCartney said that some men sent him mail challenging him that what he said "wasn't scripturally sound -- what right do you have to get up and say this?" McCartney's answer: "But I knew in my heart I had heard that [from God] so I stood by it." Later he says that at the PK Portland meeting: "The Holy Spirit of God came on me like you can't believe and validated me and said, 'Yes, you have been speaking my heart. Keep speaking what I have put on your heart.'" - The Vineyard influence in Promise Keepers is most disconcerting. As mentioned earlier, McCartney, Phillips, and Ryle were all affiliated with Vineyard churches. Paul Cain, one of the original Vineyard "prophets," claims that PK is the fulfillment of a divine dream he received when he was 19 years old (8/30/95 message at Christ Chapel, Florence, AL). The Vineyard movement believes that God is giving new revelation today and that the miraculous signs of the early church should be normative for today. The phenomenon known as "Holy Laughter" revivals began in a Vineyard church in Canada in January of 1994. It became known as the "Toronto Blessing" during South African Evangelist Rodney Howard-Browne's meetings there in October of 1994. When people were "slain in the Spirit," they began to roll on the floor and laugh hysterically, sometimes for hours. (These revivals now even include barking like dogs and making other animal noises as evidence of the working of the Holy Spirit.) A 9/94 Charisma magazine article reports that John Wimber's Vineyard churches in the U.S. had been largely swept up by the strange incidents. Would it be surprising to see this "advanced" (demonic) form of charismania show up in the near future in one of Promise Keepers stadium rallies? Charisma is even now referring to Promise Keepers as the "Boulder Blessing" (5/95, Charisma). (For more on the laughing phenomena, see the 1995 Media Spotlight 16-page Special Report titled "Holy Laughter: Rodney Howard-Browne and the Toronto Blessing.") - I think we can only expect to see more of this evil, ecumenical, hyper-charismatic influence in future Promise Keepers' conferences, materials, etc. For example, Charisma magazine is the official voice of the charismatic movement. (Charisma has supported the work of such leading charismatics as Oral Roberts, Jimmy Swaggart, and Jim and Tammy Bakker. It has endorsed Kenneth Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, and other hyper-charismatics who have denied such fundamental doctrines as the deity of Christ and the Trinity. It has also endorsed the "Holy Laughter" phenomena.) Charisma's founding editor, Stephen Strang (Strang Communications Company), entered into a partnership with Promise Keepers in early 1994 to publish a bimonthly men's magazine titled New Man: For Men of Integrity. (Initial 5/94 premier issue press-run was 225,000, and was distributed free to attendees at the first six 1994 PK conferences; as of 4/97, the publisher reports a paid circulation of over 330,000, more than double that of Christianity Today, the leading "evangelical" magazine in America.) Strang says: "This high-quality magazine will feature practical articles designed to encourage and equip its readers to become godly men. It will be a lively publication for men of the '90s, appealing to their interests, such as sports, hobbies and health. Like Promise Keepers, the magazine will cross ethnic and denominational boundaries to unite men in Jesus Christ -- a magazine for any man who loves Jesus and is born of the Spirit -- charismatic, evangelical, Protestant or Catholic" (4/94, Charisma). The editorial advisory board of New Man includes reconstructionist Wellington Boone and hyper-charismatic Jack Hayford. New Man also publishes articles, advice, and interviews from psychologizers Gary Smalley, Tony Evans, Larry Burkett, Howard Hendricks, Jack Hayford, Bill McCartney, Gary Oliver, Luis Palau, James Dobson, Ken Canfield, and Bill Bright. [In April of 1997, New Man became an independent publication, but remained part of Strang's publishing conglomerate.] - The premier issue of New Man featured a profile on Bill McCartney (pp. 29-37). The story reports that before dawn most days, the "emotionally challenged" McCartney (i.e., "I'm just learning to love and be loved.") and his wife read together a few pages from psychologizer Gary Oliver's book Real Men Have Feelings Too. McCartney would then go to his office overlooking Colorado's Folsom Stadium. Upon arrival, he would make sure to "pray over each chair, 'invoking the Spirit of the Living God' on any fixtures in reach" of anyone who might enter that day. McCartney thinks this charismatic ritual "honors God and invites His Spirit here." McCartney also tells of his consecrating the Colorado football program "to the Lordship of Jesus Christ," and that by God's grace, Colorado then won a national championship! This charismatic nonsense would be humorous were it not for its tragic consequences. [McCartney resigned his $350,000-a-year head football coaching job in January of 1995, in order to spend more time with his family and working with Promise Keepers. It remains a mystery what qualifies this man to lead a men's movement. He readily admits that for decades he failed his wife and family in the worst possible ways. Moreover, to our knowledge, he was "the only major college football coach in America with two illegitimate grandchildren sired by two different players upon his only daughter" (1/96, GQ magazine, p. 111).] - The 12/13/97 World magazine says: "PK founder Bill McCartney has written a disturbing book -- disturbing for what it leaves out." Sold Out, supposedly an autobiography about the ups and downs of his marriage, omits any mention of his adulterous affair, or that his daughter got pregnant twice out of wedlock by two different members of his football team. He did mention though that his wife four years ago was bulimic and suicidal and that he had been an alcoholic [drunkard]. (Source: 1/1/98, Calvary Contender.) - Not to be left out of the "rally crowd," a number of look-alike PK organizations for women have been created (the total attendance at all look-alike events for 1998 were expected to top 600,000, which makes the women's groups larger than PK itself). The women's groups "are a combination of revival meeting and spiritual pep rally ... [having] much in common with secular self-improvement and motivational seminars: Disorders are the order of the day, and victimhood almost always precedes victor" (4/6/98, Christianity Today): (a) "Heritage Keepers" conducted its first conference 8/10/96 in Wichita, Kansas, with 8,000 registration requests for only 3,000 available seats. "Heritage Keepers is designed to teach a woman how to be godly to her family, God, and community," says pastor Bob Beckler, who created it with his wife Lori. Speakers were John Trent, a frequent speaker on the PK circuit and author of How to Handle Your Promise Keeper [does not this title speak volumes about the manipulative focus of PK and why PK receives such overwhelming support from the wives of PK-ers!] along with psychological counselor Marge Caldwell and four-temperaments guru Florence Littauer. (b) Deborah Tyler of Morristown, Tennessee, organized four "Keys for Abundant Living: A Promise Keepers Counterpart" conferences in 1996. Meetings were held in Dallas, Birmingham, Nashville, and Little Rock, each drawing about 1,000 women, with speakers including Anne Graham Lotz, Gloria Gaither, and Luci Swindoll. Conferences were planned for seven Southern cities in 1997. They are part of Tyler's Renaissance Ministries, designed "to provide opportunities for women to be challenged, inspired, and encouraged and to lead each woman to a personal commitment to God's Word as the ultimate authority for successful living." (c) One of the most ambitious undertakings may be that of "Chosen Women: Daughters of the King." This new Pasadena, California-based group (founded by Susan Kimes, in conjunction with Calvary Church in Santa Ana, California, where she has held women's conferences since 1985) had hoped to attract 80,000 women to the Rose Bowl May 16-17, 1997, with speakers such as Ruth Graham, Anne Graham Lotz, Elisabeth Elliot, Bunny Wilson, and Jill Briscoe. Actually, 30,000 attended, which is still the largest women-only stadium rally since the Promise Keepers men's movement began. Women of all ages sang, danced, did the wave, blew bubbles, batted beach balls, prayed, and applauded the all-female slate of speakers. Attendees paid between $56 and $71 in registration fees for the experience (6/16/97, Christianity Today). (d) In 1997, "Women of Faith: Joyful Journey" meetings nationwide drew about 197,000 women at 15 conferences organized by Women of Faith (up from 38,000 in 1996). (For 1998, Women of Faith's leadership was projecting double that total for 29 conferences under the theme "Bring Back the Joy.") They are sponsored by Minirth-Meier New Life Clinics, the Freudian "mental health" clinics in Richardson, Texas ("It was time for the clinics to do something for women in America [to] help them celebrate life and God's grace," says New Life's Stephen Arterburn -- "I really believe that the idea was a gift from God." Arterburn sees Women of Faith as a good patient recruiting tool for psychological counseling: "The clinics always did conferences dealing with problems, and the response was underwhelming." He says they revised the Women of Faith conference focus "to see how many more people we could reach by celebrating what is good about life." "At Women of Faith events, New Life and their Remuda clinics (which specialize in eating disorders) are on hand to provide information about their counseling services."). Several speakers on the Women of Faith circuit are best known as humor writers, including Patsy Clairmont, Barbara Johnson, and Luci Swindoll. Zondervan is producing a Women of Faith Bible and study guides; Integrity Music is planning worship music products; and Campus Crusade's Women Today International will provide follow-up materials. (Reported in the 3/3/97 & 4/6/98 issues of Christianity Today.) (e) Other groups that have sprung up in recent years include "Aspiring Women" of Nashville, Tennessee; "Suitable Helpers" of Wheat Ridge, Colorado; "Promise Reapers" of Houston; "A Promise Kept" of Los Angeles; and "Praise Keepers" of Eldon, Missouri [the latter's co-founder Donna Henley says: "Women's ministries are always bigger than the men. This will be bigger than the men's" [she has proved to be correct] (3/1/97, Calvary Contender)]. (f) A Focus on the Family sponsored one-day event in Nashville on 9/21/97 drew 19,600 women from 47 states and Canada (with a 20,000 wait-list). James Dobson was the only male speaker at the "Renewing the Heart" conference. Five more conferences are scheduled for 1998, at $48 per attendee. - There are also PK off-shoots targeting other groups. One such group is "Young Warriors," a PK program targeting teens. The first program was held in 9/96 in Dallas, and featured a day of rock concerts, speakers, and games. The concerts included Christafari, Sixpence None the Richer, Prayer Chain, The Walter Eugenes, E-Ric, Judah, Audio Adrenaline, and others including local bands. The speakers included Miles McPherson, Jacob Aranza, and local youth pastors. Games included Sumu Wrestling, Velcro Wall, Bungee Run, Just, and more. Tickets were $20. Dallas YOUNG WARRIORS was sponsored by: Z Music Television, World Vision, CCM Magazine, and others. - The music at PK rallies has usually been typical "Christian" Contemporary Music (CCM). Look for rap music to begin to take over. Mike De'Vine, a rapper and former member of the vile rap group "2 Live Crew" (De'Vine says he left the group in 1989 after growing sick of the lifestyle) hooked up with PK to provide "music" at its 1996 stadium rallies (both writing and performing). De'Vine claims to have "turned to Christ and a new rap message, recording five albums on his own label. ... [He] believes he's on the cusp of breaking into the big time, and he's looking to PK as a pulpit." PK is also interested in De'Vine and his rap music to help bolster PK's new youth program. De'Vine says: "That's what the aim is, to blow up positive rap music, man. We're going to bust it up with Promise Keepers. We'll be doing the 2 Live Crew thing all over again -- only this time it will be positive." (Reported in the 1/26/96, Rocky Mountain News, "Ex-2 Live Crew member on a divine mission," pp. 17D & 19D). - Promise Keepers has also gotten into the Study Bible business. PK and Zondervan have entered into a partnership to create a Promise Keepers Study Bible, that will contain notes and guides specifically designed for men who attend PK conferences. This is PK's second such venture with Zondervan, the world's largest Bible publisher. Zondervan produced 200,000 Next Step kits for sale at the 1995 conferences -- a multimedia kit containing a book, a video, and an audio cassette "to help men take the next step in their Christian walk" (7/31/95, Christian News, p. 14). - Theistic evolution is the unbiblical belief that God was involved in the evolutionary process, originally creating lower life forms, then letting them evolve by random chance (or continuing to create various species over millions of years), eventually infusing evolved man with a soul. PK's official magazine at the time, New Man, endorsed theistic evolution and argued that whether or not God used evolution to bring man into existence is of little importance (New Man, Jul-Aug, 1996, p. 54; as reported in the 3/97, The Berean Call). Contrary to PK's belief, the manner in which man came into existence is of critical importance! If the earth is millions or billions of years old, with death thereby occurring prior to Adam's sin, then the Biblical doctrines of sin and salvation are moot? If death and bloodshed preceded Adam's rebellion against God, then what are "the wages of sin" and how did the entrance of sin change things? And if death preceded sin, then death is not the penalty for sin, and Christ's death on the cross accomplished nothing! Since such evolutionary and old-earth thinking is totally incompatible with the work of Christ, should it not be a requirement that a so-called "Christian" ministry believe in literal creationism as taught in the Bible? - To combat the decline in masculine virtue, our humanistic society offers a cure far worse than the disease itself. A rash of neo-pagan books and seminars attempts to get men in touch with their buried masculinity. And thousands of men flock to rustic retreats to don tribal masks and beat drums in hopes of forcing their hidden "wildman" to emerge (4/94, Charisma). But is there really much difference here from the "Christianized" version emerging through McCartney's Promise Keepers meetings (with Promise Keepers' endorsement of Robert Hicks' six stages of manhood), Ed Cole's Christian Men's Network, Ken Canfield's National Center for Fathering, Gene Goetz's Maximum Man conferences, and other such charismatic and psychoheretical attempts at "celebrating Biblical manhood"? (PK is also spawning dozens of other parachurch groups such as Dad's University, Career Impact Ministries, Business Life Management, Men Reaching Men, and Fathers and Brothers.) Even Promise Keepers supporters such as Strang and Charisma magazine appear to have inadvertently recognized the similarity: "At times, July's meeting [1993 National Men's Conference in Boulder] resembled a pep rally with Jesus cheers. 'Hit him! Hit him! Hit him!' men chanted, as pastor E.V. Hill of Los Angeles challenged them to defeat the devil in their lives" (4/94 Charisma). Robert Hicks, when discussing his warrior stage in the previously referred to book, The Masculine Journey, even quotes favorably from Patrick Arnold's book, Wildmen, Warriors and Kings: Masculine Spirituality and the Bible. Arnold's book is not based on Scripture, but on the Jungian collective unconscious, Jungian archetypes, and other aspects of Jungian occult spirituality. Hicks also refers authoritatively to another men's movement author, Jungian psychoanalyst Robert Moore, from a book co-authored by Moore -- King, Warrior, Magician, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine. Many of the speakers at Promise Keepers conferences refer to what is called "the wounded male soul." This woundedness supposedly "springs from the cultural estrangement of boys from their fathers and the emotional repression American culture has deemed necessary for true maleness" (2/6/95, Christianity Today, p. 25). In response, the hidden "wildman/warrior" is resurrected to save the day, but this time in "Christian" garb. At the 10/94 Dallas meeting held in Texas Stadium, the men in attendance raised their hands and sang, "'Face to face, brother to brother, back to back, warrior to warrior,' as the words were flashed on the giant screens overhead" (11/10/94, The Charlotte Observer, p. 11A). Even D. James Kennedy, in a salute to Promise Keepers on his 9/18/94 television show, inadvertently (?) acknowledged that Promise Keepers is a "Christian" alternative to "the secular revolution of men leading them out into the woods and to their tom-toms ..." (In early 1995, Kennedy also taped a radio interview with Robert Hicks, in which Hicks' book The Masculine Journey was treated with great favor.) - Promise Keepers may be a tool for those holding the Manifest Sons of God doctrines to market their beliefs to the rest of the American church. These beliefs, which are foundational to the "laughing phenomenon" associated with Rodney Howard-Browne, are now entering mainstream churches of all denominations via Promise Keepers. (Former Vineyard head (deceased) John Wimber had given his whole-hearted approval to the laughing phenomenon.) The Manifest Sons of God believe that Christ cannot incarnate in a divided body; therefore, it's crucial that the Church be united. Another term for this is "Joel's Army." Promise Keepers has been linked to this army. An article in Jewell van der Merwe's Discernment newsletter states: "In a recent interview in response to a question as to whether the Promise Keepers could be fulfilling the prophecy in Joel of raising an army, [Pastor] James Ryle answered, "Yes. ... 300,000 men have come together so far this year under Promise Keepers. ... Never in history have 300,000 men come together except to go to war. These men are gathered for War." Promise Keepers has incorporated key doctrines of the Manifest Sons of God into their material. The 2/95 issue of Suitable Helpers, a newsletter for women participating in Promise Keepers, expresses that believers can become Christ Incarnate: "Our Lord is calling out a great host of men ready and willing to become 'Christs' in their homes: Promise Keepers. In grand, bold sweeps, God has mustered an army." [Noticing the potential political nature of this men's movement is none other than The New Age Journal, which ran an article favorable to Promise Keepers in its 4/95 edition. The article noted the odd combination of New Age men's movement ideology (Robert Bly's pantheism) combined with the political evangelicalism of Pat Robertson.] Promise Keepers appears to be creating a new "folk" religion. The large mass rallies, the exaltation of emotion over reason, the lack of doctrinal integrity, the taking of oaths (the seven promises), the focus on fatherland and fatherhood, and the ecumenical inclusion of aberrant esoteric doctrines bears a disconcerting similarity to an era which gave rise to one of the most dreadful armies in history. The infiltration of Manifest Sons of God doctrines into Promise Keepers (via Vineyard) combined with New Age ideologies (via Robert Bly and Robert Hicks) appears to create a new American folk theology: pantheism, the idolatry of self, the belief in a divine mandate to take the land, the superiority of a group, and the necessity of group hysteria. (Excerpted and/or adapted from "Promise Keepers: A Militant Unity?," Ed Tarkowski and Sarah Leslie, 4/95, The Christian Conscience, p. 18.) [Is Promise Keepers going to be used to mobilize worldwide support for a bimillennial celebration of Jesus 2000th birthday Jubilee, a celebration already intertwined with the New Age movement? This appears to be the case. There was a favorable review in the Jul/Aug 1995 issue of New Man, of New Ager Jay Gary's book, The Star of 2000. Gary's self-published book advocates such a celebration (Pastor Bill Randles, 8/22/95 open letter to Bill McCartney). (See the recent Spiritual Counterfeits Project article entitled "Sign of the Times: Evangelical and New Agers Together," for a detailed expos� on Jay Gary and New Age friends.)] - Charles Grandison Finney was an early-19th century revivalist in the Northeastern part of the United States, and a kindred spirit of John Wesley. (Wesley was steeped deeply in the writings of Roman Catholic medieval mystics, claimed to have read them avidly, and was instrumental in publishing a great number of these Roman Catholic works. This false mysticism stayed with Wesley all his life. Finney doctrinalized Wesley's "second experience" teaching.) Finney's introduction of new methods for getting converts and the orchestrating of emotion and excitement in huge revival gatherings was clearly based on his heretical understanding of being born-again. Finney writes that he repudiated all the fundamental doctrines of God's sovereignty in salvation, including the vicarious nature of the atonement of Jesus Christ, in the interests of preaching revival. Finney's purpose was solely to convince the human will and produce decisions and commitments. Finney's "new measures" in revivalism left an indelible stamp upon Evangelicalism. Evangelism crusades, revival meetings, the altar call, the "decision" to "accept" Christ, the "prayer of faith," the use of excitement and emotion to facilitate "decisions" for Christ, and the attempt to promote the moral reformation of the culture can all be attributed to the "new measures" introduced by Finney in the 1830s. Many of the modern movements such as Church Growth, Promise Keepers, and the so-called Religious Right find their roots in Finney. Evangelicals cannot escape his influence. The problem with Finney's influence on modern-day evangelicalism is that Finney's methods produce "results." He initiated what was called the "Second Great Awakening." Great revivals were reported in towns and cities throughout the country. Lives were reportedly changed. Moral reformations reportedly occurred. But since Finney did not preach the total corruption of the human nature and rejected the truth of justification by grace through faith alone, the basis for his "results" could not have been the Holy Spirit. Finney's results were exactly as Finney defined them -- a human dynamic. We must, therefore, also question the multitudes who have become "men of integrity" by sharing in the emotion and excitement of Promise Keepers revivals. Is not Promise Keepers also not the work of the Holy Spirit, but rather of emotions, methods, and group dynamics orchestrated to produce decisions, commitments, and modify behavior -- in other words, a human dynamic? By employing Finney's methods, one gains Finney's results ("Assessing the Promise Keepers," 12/25/95, Christian News, pp. 1, 7-8.]. - Promise Keepers is apparently willing to give up the true treasures given by Christ for a feel-good experience with the guys. Promise Keepers and others dedicated to the Christian men's movement are unbiblically preoccupied with man himself and from man's perspective. They are at best doomed to a grace-barren, fleshly form of "godliness." Instead, the emphasis should be focusing on God Himself, getting to know Him and His way through His Word (4/94, The Berean Call, and 9/19/94, Christian News). It is highly unlikely that an organization that waffles on doctrinal integrity will inspire men to truly be men of God. Strength of leadership honors God only when it is in compliance with God's written Word. To ignore doctrinal integrity, as Promise Keepers does, nullifies any other claims to integrity. While claiming to be an instrument to draw men closer to Jesus Christ, Promise Keepers is in reality minding earthly things. Their God may not be their belly (Phil. 3:13-21), but it certainly appears to be their loins (Media Spotlight, Vol. 16 - No. 1, "Promise Keepers Update," pp. 8,10.). If men are to come together as men, they would do well to follow what the Bible says rather than Freudian fables, Jungian myths, and other self-serving, man-made psychologies. And they would do well to gather together in the place where they are meant to grow -- in the local church -- not in huge "techno-tent" rallies with "mob psychology" or in groups using encounter group techniques and undermining important doctrinal distinctives. Indeed, the magnitude and the extent of Promise Keepers' aberrations from orthodoxy warrant a rejection of the entire movement (Promise Keepers &PsychoHeresy, p. 29). - A telltale sign that there is something desperately wrong with the PK movement is the favorable press given to Promise Keepers by the worldly media. Why would the world be promoting Promise Keepers when Jesus said the world would hate us as it hated Him? (Pastor Bill Randles, 8/22/95 open letter to Bill McCartney). One worldly source that has not praised Promise Keepers is Scott Raab, writer-at-large for GQ magazine: "There's nothing new, much less revolutionary, in what Promise Keepers is pushing, which is not really about Jesus Christ at all, but about Satan. After listening to all the speeches and the prayers [at the 9/95 Oakland, California PK conference], after reading their books and magazines, it's abundantly clear that these guys see the Archenemy everywhere, but especially in the mirror. What PK offers men finally is protection -- from themselves" (1/96, GQ magazine, pp. 129-130). - Can two walk together except they be agreed? (Amos 3:3). It must be assumed that those who participate in the PK movement also agree with their kindred in that movement. It must also be assumed that pastors who attend PK rallies embrace the doctrine that God was once a man as do their "Mormon brethren." It must also be assumed that those pastors who send or take their men to PK meetings agree with the Pentecostal "flavor" of those meetings and wouldn't mind if those men came back home from PK speaking in tongues, rolling down the aisles, and recruiting other men to do the same. Any pastor who takes or sends his men to a PK rally is a traitor to the cause of Christ, is an unfaithful shepherd over the flock of God, and has betrayed the trust placed in him by his congregation to protect them against the wolves. (Excerpted and/or adapted from the 1/96 The Wilderness Voice, pp. 6-7). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Note fm Media Spotlight: The 7 Promiscuities (a miscellaneous mixture or mingling of persons or things) of Promise Keepers -- (1) Catholicism; (2) Mormonism; (3) Charismaticism; (4) Psychology; (5) Merchandising; (6) False Doctrine; (7) Blasphemy. Note fm PsychoHeresy Awareness Ministries: Promise Keepers Board Members and Church Affiliation: Readers have asked us the names and church affiliations of the members of the Board of Directors of the Promise Keepers. The following names were supplied to us by Promise Keepers. The church affiliations were established by calling individual board members or secretaries to these men, or by asking one board member the church affiliation of another board member. We believe the following is accurate: [Updated for late-1997 changes.] Dick Blair -- Vail Bible Church, Vail, CO Ron Blue -- head of Ronald Blue & Co., a financial advisory firm Huron Claus -- American Indian (CHIEF--Christian Hope Indian Eskimo Fellowship) Jack Hayford -- Church on the Way (Four Square; Charismatic), Van Nuys, CA Dr. Howard Hendricks -- Northwest Bible Church, Dallas, TX E. Peb Jackson -- First Presbyterian (PCUSA), Colorado Springs, CO Bill McCartney -- Vineyard Christian Fellowship (Charismatic), Longmont, CO Dr. Jesse Miranda -- Faith Tabernacle (Charismatic), El Monte, CA George Morrison -- Faith Bible Chapel (Charismatic), Arvada, CO Dr. Gary Oliver -- Mission Hills Baptist (Baptist General Conference), Denver, CO A. L. Overton -- Greenwood Community Church (Evangelical Presby.), Greenwood Village, CO Hank Peters -- Cherry Hills Community Church (Evangelical Presby.), Cherry Hills Village, CO Bishop Phil Porter -- All Nations Pentecostal Church of God in Christ, Denver, CO (Board chm.) David Roadcup -- Grace Fellowship, Louiseville, CO (Board v.chm.) James Ryle -- Vineyard Christian Fellowship (Charismatic), Longmont, CO Alonzo E. Short, Jr. -- (Affiliation unknown at this time) Michael T. Timmis* -- Roman Catholic Attorney and Businessman, Detroit, Michigan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Note: PK has recently made a significant effort to dissuade observers of its Vineyard connections. James Ryle changed the name of his church to "Vinelife Community Church." At an 8/98 Oregon PK rally, Randy Phillips was identified as a member of Faith Bible Chapel in Denver. Nevertheless, since the Vineyard stigma remains, we have not changed the names of the McCartney-Ryle church affiliations.] [Back to Text] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *4/97 & 8/99 Updates: The 1997 Summer Conference brochure for the Roman Catholic Franciscan University of Steubenville said: "And you won't want to miss Mike Timmis, a highly respected Catholic attorney and businessman, an inspiring evangelist, and a member of Promise Keeper's Board of Directors." In addition, in July 1998, Timmis was named chairman of Prison Fellowship, succeeding Catholic-sympathizer Chuck Colson. *7/97 Update: PK has now changed their Statement of Faith so as to not exclude Catholics! Section five of the Promise Keepers credo previously read: "We believe that man was created in the image of God, but because of sin, was alienated from God. That alienation can be removed only by accepting, through faith alone, God's gift of salvation, which was made possible by Christ's death." Concerned about PK's exclusionary statement in light of PK's courting of Catholics, several Catholic theologians reviewed the statement and presented their objections to Glen Wagner, PK's V.P. of National Ministries. As a result, PK revised section five to read "Only through faith, trusting in Christ alone for salvation, which was made possible by His death and resurrection, can that alienation be removed." This change suits the Roman Catholic Church just fine. Its definition of grace includes sacraments. "Grace," by Rome's definition, means Christ, by His death, has provided salvation to be distributed by the Catholic Church to those sinners who adhere to its sacraments. The New Catholic Catechism states: "The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation" (1129). Paul Edwards, Promise Keepers' vice president for advancement, explained that the statement of faith is a 'dynamic' document, and that Promise Keepers is open to change. (Mike Aquilina, Our Sunday Visitor, July 20, 1997, pp. 10,11). [In the same article, McCartney was quoted as saying that full Catholic participation in PK was his intention from the start.] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper Update: A revised edition of this book (now in paperback) was published in early-1999. Some new material was added from new authors, as well as changes in wording in a few places, most notably being the revision of Jack Hayford's infamous statement that: "Redeeming worship centers on the Lord's Table. Whether your tradition celebrates it as Communion, Eucharist, the Mass, or the Lord's Supper, we are all called to this centerpiece of Christian worship"; the naming all of these has been removed, and, instead, says merely, "whatever your tradition ..." The Tony Evans' chapter was also gone from the revised book (he previously received a lot of heat for his comments on the roles of men and women in marriage), and the Randy Phillips introduction was also gone in exchange for a similar one (plenty of stories) from Bill McCartney. Also a significant change was the suggested reading material at the back of the book -- gone was The Masculine Journey. It is clear that PK is trying to take out of the book things that were particularly controversial. 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 두란노아버지학교_Promise Keepers and Ecumenism |
 두란노아버지학교_ Promise Keepers - Ecumenical "Macho-Men" for Christ? 2 |
