November 14 1994

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The best way for the movement to retain its credibility is to deliver on its racial-reconciliation pledge.

Promise Keepers has the feel of a movement. Since its quiet start in 1990, the organization founded by University of Colorado football coach Bill McCartney has spread nationwide, packing thousands of men into sports stadiums and calling them to a bold commitment to Jesus Christ.

Promise Keepers' 1993 conference in Boulder, Colorado, attracted 52,000 enthusiastic men and catapulted the movement to national prominence. Last summer's six stadium rallies across the country pushed the number of participants into the hundreds of thousands. Now interdenominational local task forces are setting up shop in scores of cities.

A GOOD GAME PLAN

The genius of Promise Keepers strikes you the moment you scan its list of commitments. "The Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper" is a remarkable manifesto. In simple yet prophetic language, it calls men to flat-out commitment to Jesus Christ and to integrity in every area of life. The document's emphasis on racial and denominational reconciliation is one of its most hopeful elements.

Like every authentic movement, Promise Keepers has tapped into a reservoir of social concern and yearning. Many feel it could help fill North America's moral vacuum as society awakens to the need for male role models, faithful husbands and fathers, and trustworthy community leaders.

Much of the appeal of Promise Keepers traces to the times. Family life and personal responsibility have slipped drastically over the past few decades. Both President Clinton and former Vice President Dan Quayle have called for a recovery of family responsibility. They and many others agree on at least two things: the family is in trouble, ...