What could be wrong with Christian men uniting to become more godly? What
could be wrong with men assuming leadership in marriage? What could be wrong
with promoting the virtues of sexual integrity, parental responsibilty and
church devotion?
Well, of course, there is everything right and nothing wrong with becoming
more godly, assuming leadership, sexual integrity, etc . There is a fundamental
problem, however, with the Promise Keepers' approach to the Gospel and to
the way godliness is achieved in the life of a believer. It is an approach
that has attracted Catholics and Mormons as well.
Promise Keepers is committed to reaching across denominational
barriers in an effort to unite men. And they have been successful in doing
that. Promise Keepers supporters and sponsors include Evangelicals, Catholics,
Lutherans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Episcopalians, Charismatics, Catholics,
Mormons and others. These groups have been divided by major doctrinal differences
for many years. But now these differences are being dropped for the sake
of unity. The very fact that both the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches
have officially declared that they find no conflict between PK teaching
and their own doctrines ought to tell you that something is seriously wrong.
This seems to be an ecumenicalism of proportions never experienced since
the Reformation.
There have been single issues, such as abortion, pornography, and prohibition,
that have drawn a spectrum of churches together, but none have reached the
popularity and ecumenicalism of the Promise Keepers. Promise Keepers is
a burgeoning force in American Christianity. With the goal of Point Men
in every church, one cannot ignore its influence. Beneath the emotional
hype, camaraderie, enthusiastic speakers, songs, and cheers, Promise Keepers
champions a psycho-spiritual, ecumenical and political agenda.
Those who get involved with Promise Keepers are trained in a mixture of
humanistic psychology and corrupt Christianity. Men attending a massive
1993 Promise Keepers conference were given complimentary copies of The Masculine
Journey: Understanding the Six Stages of Manhood by psychotherapist Robert
Hicks. In a review of this book, T.A. McMahon notes:
"The book, written to help 'provide directions for a man's life so that he doesn't get lost along the way,' is mainly psychologically biased conjecture centering around six Hebrew words. In chapter after chapter, subjective insights into manhood are offered through quotes by a host of secular authors with a psychological bent, including Carl Jung, inner-healing therapist Leanne Payne, transpersonal psychiatrist/spiritualist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, and Sam Keen, former theologian in residence at Esalen, the New Age/Eastern mystical therapeutic center south of San Francisco.
The Promise Keepers' movement is part of
an ecumenical trend of down-playing doctrine for unity that puts aside essential
theological issues in order to promote a unity which is not biblical unity.
Are false doctrines being addressed? Are the people in these churches challenged
to flee their false religious systems? The answer is "No." Key foundational
issues have been dropped, all for the sake of supposed unity.
The men who are reached through this ministry are not necessarily brought
into sound New Testament churches and grounded in the truth. They are not
being taught to keep themselves pure from apostasy and heresy. They are
not being trained in discerning false gospels from the true. Rather they
will be instructed in unscriptural ecumenism as they are sent back to their
church congregation or parish to become active laymen. They are being taught
that doctrine is not crucial, that to fight for the truth is unspiritual.
They are even being encouraged to accept apostate denominations as genuine
expressions of Christianity. There is so much theological diversity among
those involved with Promise Keepers that no in-depth discussion of Scripture
or what it means to be a Christian could take place without tearing the
movement apart. If one followed the doctrines of some of the groups involved
in this movement, one could not even be a Christian. And if one is not a
Christian, nothing that person does will enable him or her to be godly.
Though we can rejoice that men may get saved and their lives turn around
for the good, yet results in and of themselves do not necessarily mean the
movement has God's approval or that the methods Promise Keepers uses are
right and in conformity to the will of God. Numbers 20 provides a classic
example of this. Moses was commanded by God to strike the rock (Ex. 17:5)
and speak to it (Num. 20:8) and water would come forth miraculously to supply
the needs of the Israelites and their animals. In a fit of rage and frustration
over the rebellious attitudes and complaints of Israel, Moses angrily struck
the rock twice and water came out of the rock in abundance to quench the
thirst of millions of people and animals. God graciously displayed His supernatural
power and performed a miracle in the presence of the entire assembly. Yet,
did God approve of Moses' methods? Did the visible result of water coming
out in abundance demonstrate God's hand of blessing was upon Moses' work?
No, his disobedience was noted and as punishment, he was forbidden to enter
the Promised Land. "The good results that were publicly displayed did not
justify the wrong way in which God's will was carried out" (Axioms of Separation,
p. 14). The same is true about Promise Keepers.
Other Modern Ecumenical Movements
- (ECT) Evangelicals and Catholics Together
- Freemasonry
- The New Age Movement
- Baha'i World Faith
- Pro-Life Movement
