Where Are They Now?

Published on April 14, 2005

After the Promise Keepers’ stadium-filling, beach ball-bouncing heyday in the 1990s, the evangelical group that urged men to assume their God-given roles as heads of the family and benevolent controllers of wives, dwindled to a fraction of its former glory due to financial problems, staff layoffs and poor organization. But now they’re back, or trying […]

After the Promise Keepers’ stadium-filling, beach ball-bouncing heyday in the 1990s, the evangelical group that urged men to assume their God-given roles as heads of the family and benevolent controllers of wives, dwindled to a fraction of its former glory due to financial problems, staff layoffs and poor organization. But now they’re back, or trying to be, with a 2005 Promise Keepers Revival themed, “The Awakening — An Unpredictable Adventure.” But 15 years down the road, Promise Keepers will surely run into a lot more competition than they were used to: from megachurch motorcycle small groups to the Wild At Heart movement, there are currently plenty of bids for men’s Christian passion; and as for PK’s political incentives — they plan to discuss abortion and racism — evangelicaldom probably has those covered too. And, to top it all off, PK says its conferences will be “deeper and franker” than ever before, and may leave attendees feeling bad about themselves instead of surfing a Jesus high. But if you need more of a male headship fix than a Braveheart sword can deliver, you’ll have 20 opportunities to catch the Keepers this summer.

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