Man Trouble: Broken Promises?

By Richard N. Ostling

The same weekend that Women of Faith members were cheering in Oregon, their male counterparts in Promise Keepers were trying to stage a comeback at the Pontiac Silverdome in Michigan. The originator of the single-sex Christian rally, Promise Keepers created a sensation with its enormous get-together in Washington last October. But that spectacle belied the organization's bleak finances, and P.K. soon announced it was shredding a projected $117 million budget. At the end of March, it laid off its paid staff of 345. At the Washington rally, the head Promise Keeper, Bill McCartney, boldly announced that P.K. would drop the $60 attendance fee, which provided nearly three-quarters of its income, in hopes of bolstering attendance.

The Silverdome was to be the first big test of the new policy. The results were not promising: only about 20,000 men came, out of 40,000 who had preregistered. In Los Angeles a week later, attendance was 2,000 short of registration. In Fresno, Calif., only 23,000 out of 26,000 appeared. The showing at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock was better, with 15,500 out of a hoped-for 15,721. But the stadium can hold 53,500, and it looked empty. Returns from recent events in Florida and Tennessee were mixed.

While a spokesman says finances are "stable," P.K. vice president Dale Schlafer pleaded, "If we continue to go in the hole in the events that we do, the future of Promise Keepers is in jeopardy." McCartney, a former university football coach, refuses to be discouraged. "I've been part of a football program that was on the bottom, and I saw it become one of the top programs. If the right people work together, with the power of the Holy Spirit, if the anointing of God is with you, you can go the distance." He and other organizers vow they will cancel none of the remaining stadium events scheduled through October around the U.S.

An outpouring of gifts from 70,000 fans allowed P.K. to rehire 270 staff members in April. It plans to save money by deploying more unpaid volunteers, reorganizing and trimming its staff yet again, and ceding some programs to like-minded ministries. But the shrunken 1998 budget still requires $48 million. At the moment, the Denver headquarters is receiving $1.7 million a month for basic operations from donations and sales of books and souvenirs. Besides that, P.K. needs nearly $1 million for each of its splashy stadium rallies. The plan is to make them self-supporting through free-will offerings and sales at the stadiums, but as of now that is highly unlikely.

Undeterred, McCartney and his assistants are busily sketching out a 1999 stadium schedule. Their next spectacular is called "1-1-2000," a multisite New Year's Day 2000 celebration by both men and women in all 50 states. Says McCartney: "Let's face it. Morality in this nation is spiraling downward, out of control. Christians are a minority, and we have to stand up and be counted." The problem is, the count at present is dropping.

--By Richard N. Ostling