PROMISE KEEPERS PROMISES BIG CROWD

Cape Girardeau plant manager David Blanchard sings the praises of Promise Keepers. So does Jackson veterinarian Dr. Charles Cox.

They are among hundreds of area men who are expected to attend the Promise Keepers rally Friday and Saturday at the Trans World Dome in St. Louis.

Over 50,000 men are slated to attend the rally, most of them paying $60 a ticket.

The rally marks the first such stadium event in St. Louis since the Christian men's group was founded in 1990.

Today, the Denver-based nondenominational group holds rallies at stadiums across the nation.

It employs 452 people at 35 regional offices. It operates on an annual budget of $117 million.

Church groups from across the Midwest have organized bus caravans to attend the St. Louis rally.

Blanchard, a member of Grace United Methodist Church, attended the Promise Keepers rally at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis last year that drew about 55,000 men.

He said the rallies offer a chance for spiritual renewal.

"I feel like I need to get my batteries recharged," he said. "I can't think of a better way to do it than in that kind of an environment."

The St. Louis rally will be the fourth such event for Richard Kinsey of Grace United Methodist Church. He attended his first one in Indianapolis in 1994.

It is inspiring when 50,000 men are gathered together in praise of God, he said.

Promise Keepers sets men's priorities straight, Kinsey said. It focuses on God, church and family.

Kinsey said Promise Keepers isn't a male chauvinistic organization as some in the public have portrayed it. "It is a men's organization, but it stresses the importance of serving your family, especially your wife," he said.

He said the group encourages men to honor their wives and be good fathers. It also works to break down racial barriers.

Veterinarian Cox agrees that the group isn't chauvinistic.

"It encourages a man to love and respect his wife as Christ teaches us to do," he said.

Cox, who attends First Baptist Church in Jackson, said society teaches men not to be emotional.

Men, he said, wouldn't be as open and honest in a co-ed setting.

Cox said Promise Keepers promotes integrity and good moral values in men.

The world needs such an organization, he said. "My opinion is that a lot of the world's problems are caused by a loss of moral value and a loss of God's influence on the daily life of a person."

Close to 70 men from Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau plan to travel to St. Louis for the two-day event.

The group includes the Rev. Mark Anderson, the church pastor.

Promise Keepers attracts men who want to be good husbands and fathers, he said.

The organization isn't trying to make men dictators in their homes, he said. Instead, it's an attempt to help men serve their wives and children, Anderson said.

"The true definition of a leader is one who serves," he said.

Promise Keepers helps men focus on the real priorities in life, Anderson said. "It personally has helped me as a pastor to keep me focused," said Anderson, who has attended two rallies since 1995.

Promise Keepers doesn't compete with churches, but instead encourages men to be active members of their congregations, he said.

About 40 men from La Croix United Methodist Church in Cape Girardeau plan to attend the St. Louis rally.

The group includes the church's pastor, the Rev. Ron Watts, who has attended previous Promise Keepers rallies.

"There is nothing more energizing than singing with 50,000 or more voices in a big stadium. It is a really uplifting experience," he said.

Watts said, "It has got all the energy of a sporting event, yet it is a spiritual event too."

The huge crowds help, he said. "I think we men like the numbers and the enthusiasm and the energy."

Watts said, "I really think it is a movement of God that has really resonated with the hearts of men who are interested in keeping the promise to God, families and churches," he said.

Watts said he expects the St. Louis rally will attract at least a couple hundred men from various churches in the Cape Girardeau area.

SEVEN PROMISES

1. A Promise Keeper is committed to honor Jesus Christ through worship, prayer and obedience to God's word through the power of the Holy Spirit.

2. A Promise keeper is committed to pursue vital relationships with a few other men, understanding that he needs brothers to help him keep his promises.

3. A Promise Keeper is committed to practice spiritual, moral, ethical and sexual purity.

4. A Promise Keeper is committed to build strong marriages and families through love, protection and biblical values.

5. A Promise Keeper is committed to support the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor and by actively giving his time and resources.

6. a Promise Keeper is committed to reach beyond any racial and denominational barriers to demonstrate the power of biblical unity.

7. A Promise Keeper is committed to influence his world, being obecient to the Great Commandment (Mark 12:30-31) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).