Posted on 01/20/2025 4:19:53 AM PST by Morgana
Promise Keeper’s founder Bill McCartney passed away peacefully in his sleep last Friday after a long battle with dementia. He was 84.
McCartney was a highly successful former University of Colorado coach who founded the Promise Keepers in 1990, an evangelical parachurch ministry revolving around 7 promises designed to guide men toward living with integrity in a community with one another.
A Promise Keeper is committed to honoring Jesus Christ through worship, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word in the power of the Holy Spirit.
A Promise Keeper is committed to pursuing vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.
A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity.
A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values.
A Promise Keeper understands that Jesus calls him to be His hands and feet, serving others with integrity. He purposely lifts up the leadership of the church and his nation in prayer.
A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial, denominational, generational, and cultural barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.
A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
At their peak in 1997, the Promise Keepers led an open-air gathering of nearly 800,000 people at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
They have since seen a decline of their influence and prominence, cutting their staff from nearly 350 to 30, and their operating budget has fallen from a peak of $30 million to $2 million now.
A statement from his family reads:
Our father surrendered his life to Jesus at 33 years old setting a trajectory for our family and many others. We share his faith in Jesus and truly believe our Dad has been reunited in Heaven with his beloved bride and our Mother, Lynne Marie.
Coach Mac touched countless lives with his unwavering faith, boundless compassion, and enduring legacy as a leader, mentor, and advocate for family, community, and faith. As a trailblazer and visionary, his impact was felt both on and off the field, and his spirit will forever remain in the hearts of those he inspired.
While we mourn his loss, we also celebrate the extraordinary life he lived and the love he shared with everyone around him. We are grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support during this time and ask for privacy as we navigate this difficult moment.
Details about memorial services will be shared in the coming days. Coach Mac deeply believed that investing in the local church was the most impactful way to transform a community. In honor of his legacy, and in lieu of flowers, we invite you to consider making a donation—beyond your regular tithes and offerings—to a local church in Bill’s name.
With love and gratitude, The McCartney Family
I was always told Promise Keepers was good in the old says No?
He died Jan 10
A friend and I went to the one in Denver around 1998 or so. It was excellent, more than a “bro-fest“, it centered on men accepting their charge as the spiritual heads of their households. I think it became for a lot of men an end in itself, which is never good for a ministry.
I heard it was good in the beginning but changed, and the change was not for the better.
pttt
You’re always a “glass half-empty” kind of guy.
Full disclosure, I didn’t keep up with its status after we went to that conference. As with many Christian movements (the” Walk to Emmaus” is one example), people became “promise keeper junkies”, rather than taking what they learned back to their own homes and congregations and implementing it.
If the “half full glass” has heresy in it, I’ll pass.
I remember the left’s reaction to their get-togethers. Just couldn’t leave it alone. Filled stadiums. Nothing but positive upbeat chants and speeches. A football coach and leader of young men.
At the time minority football coaches were few. At the time my suggestion was to have all the head coaches resign and thereby open the ranks to minorities. The MSM couldn’t handle it because the promise keepers reached their heyday during the administration of a POTUS who had a problem keeping his.
Ok, what is a “parachurch”?
All the head coaches could resign their positions and join them.
It was good back in the old days. I took my nephew to one of them and it helped change his life.
He was a good man in Glory now.
The prefix "para" in common English usage means "next to" or "alongside of". Not a church itself, a "parachurch" ministry is one that isn't connected or under the administration a a particular denomination or congregation. It is an independent ministry.
I accepted Jesus as my savior at a Promise Keepers Conference in Providence, Rhode Island in July, 2001. Thank you Jesus and and thank you, Coach.
Thank you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.