MEMBERS OF NEW CHRISTIAN MEN'S GROUP WILL BE IN CITY FOR SEMINAR

Decrying the lack of spiritual conviction among men, an all-male organization plans to reach America's fathers and husbands and convince them to change their lives.

The group is Promise Keepers, comprised of more than 720,000 Christians across the United States. PK saw phenomenal growth in the past five years, beginning with 72 men in 1990.

About 25 Cape Girardeau members meet once a month, but the city will be filled with others during a seminar May 31 and June 1 at Cape Bible Chapel. It is the only spring seminar scheduled for Missouri; the next closest will be in Indianapolis.

Hundreds are expected to attend.

Rodger Rice, a member of Iona Baptist Church, is helping to organize the local event. He gathered area pastors together Wednesday to promote the idea and to encourage attendance from their congregations.

"We are all brothers, and we all love the Lord Jesus Christ," Rice said. "That is what Promise Keepers is about -- loving your brother and helping him."

The PK state manager of Missouri and Arkansas, the Rev. Louis Monroe, traveled from St. Joseph to attend Wednesday's meeting. He said PK attracted him because it killed two giants in the way of spiritual development: racism and denominationism.

Because of PK's visible national conventions and outstanding growth, some critics labeled the group a cult. Monroe said the accusations were ridiculous.

"If anyone looked at our statement of faith, he would know we could not possibly be a cult," he said.

The statement says Promise Keepers believe there is one God in three persons, the Bible is his revelation to man, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are deities, and man was created in God's image but is alienated from him.

PK members must make and then keep seven promises. They pertain to worship, marriage, child-rearing, moral purity, and evangelism.

The men involved are encouraged to make confidants and to share their feelings and problems.

Some said Wednesday that becoming a Promise Keeper had a profound effect on their lives. Greg Beck, a Cape Girardeau resident, said he was more concerned with material things than he was with spiritual growth before attending a PK convention in Indianapolis.

"I knew I had not been the man I should be," Beck said. "I was so caught up in everything going on in the world that I had no idea that my spiritual life was so far behind."

Now Beck serves on the local PK task force and is helping plan the upcoming seminar.

Topics to be discussed over the two-day event include how to build and maintain accountability in relationships, how God expects a man to handle emotions and how a man's past affects him in the present. Pastors, lay leaders and other interested persons are invited.

Cost of the seminar is $35 for pre-registered participants or $45 at the door. For more information or to register call 1-800-349-0588.