An overwhelming number of evangelical males, who had gathered from throughout the nation to worship, sing, and renew their vows to their families, confronted Randy Phillips as he faced away from the United States Capitol.
On a fall Saturday in 1997, the largest gathering ever took place at Promise Keepers, a rapidly expanding conservative Christian men’s ministry that some suspected of being a clandestine political operation. “Why are we even in this place?” Hundreds of thousands of men were asked by Mr. Phillips, who was the president of the group at the time. Is it to show how powerful we are politically? No. Is to exhibit male strength? No. Is it to reclaim our country by forcing our religious beliefs on everyone else? No.” The audience applauded wildly.
At a different time for evangelicals, with less clear answers to such challenges, a smaller contingent of Promise Keepers converged in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this past weekend. Under the leadership of a youthful new chief executive, the organization is embracing party politics after previously avoiding them, and it is preparing men to fight against secular society, which speakers have depicted as inherently antagonistic, in addition to their own spiritual shortcomings.
During the two-day gathering, which attracted approximately 2,000 men, right-wing activist Charlie Kirk stated, “They want American men to be weak, put into corners, afraid of your own shadow.” “This nation can and will be saved if men, especially Christian men, begin to recommit to the truths of the promises of the Bible.”
Later in his address, Mr. Kirk attacked pandemic lockdowns and poked fun at the idea of preferred pronouns. Joining other speakers at the Daring Faith conference, he voiced concerns about the increasing number of transgender people, the possibility of males being fired for publicly expressing their beliefs, and rejected the idea of “toxic masculinity.”
Conservative media stars who rose to prominence during Trump’s presidency have aspirations beyond politics, as shown by the presence of prominent conservatives like Mr. Kirk at the conference. “Counter falsehoods and illuminate the inextricable link between faith and God-given liberty,” was the stated mission of TPUSA Faith, which Mr. Kirk established in 2021 with the hope of influencing pastors and other Christians. One of the conference speakers who is linked with TPUSA Faith is activist and preacher John K. Amanchukwu, who slammed Democrats as “a bunch of punks and perverts.”
Allen Jackson, a preacher from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, stated, “If you’re not planning to vote, repent,” but he refrained from actually telling the men how to cast their ballots. On a panel discussing Christians and political engagement, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford and Governor Kevin Stitt were among the other speakers.
Though they have been a solid voting bloc for Republicans since the 1980s, evangelical Christians have traditionally shied away from preaching overtly political messages in religious settings. This has begun to change, though, as Mr. Kirk and other prominent conservatives at the conference have defined political participation as a pastoral duty. Despite general losses in church attendance, some pastors have witnessed a surge in their congregations after leaning into sermons on controversial subjects like abortion and gender issues.
According to Joe Kennedy, a former high school football coach who prevailed in a Supreme Court case over prayer on the field in 2022, “The pulpit is a perfect place to have these conversations” following his presence onstage.
An ex-college football coach started Promise Keepers in the ’90s, and it quickly became one of the biggest and most powerful evangelical ministries in America. At revival-style gatherings held in stadiums around the nation, men made seven vows, two of which were to obey God and to be faithful to their wives. After the 1997 event, its profile plummeted, and it became largely a relic of the Clinton era, though it has held several smaller gatherings throughout the years.
The organization is currently attempting a comeback in the Trump administration. The group’s prior focus on fighting racism and fostering relationships across racial lines has been diminished, according to new thinking.
“To be honest, that’s what caused Promise Keepers to start falling apart,” said Shane Winnings, the new CEO of the organization and a former police officer turned evangelist, in an interview conducted prior to the launch. He went on to say that Christians shouldn’t be racist, but that “we’re not going to become the next social justice movement.”
The leaders of the original Promise Keepers may find the difference between the two periods startling.
Mr. Kirk would not have been permitted to speak at a Promise Keepers event in the 1990s, according to Mark DeMoss, who was its spokesman and was on its board during that time. “It’s not the same Promise Keepers as the Promise Keepers of the ’90s,” DeMoss said.
When asked about the purpose of launching Promise Keepers, Mr. DeMoss clarified that it was to assist men in their marriages and families, not to influence presidential or congressional elections. “Republican marriages and Democratic marriages are two sides of the same coin.”
Church groups from nearby states, small groups of friends, and fathers and sons were among the all-male attendees at the Tulsa event. To make the men’s facilities stand out, the signs for the women’s restrooms were covered with paper. On Saturday, the men had lunch at local eateries and shared stories about their families, hardships, and aspirations.
Attending the event with his son, who is 16 years old, was 34-year-old Kevin Richard. Working as a production operator on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is a difficult job for Mr. Richard spiritually. He says the environment is full of “vulgar and derogatory” language and that he doesn’t have many fellow Christians to lean on for support.
Mr. Richard eagerly anticipated a session that would feature Mr. Kirk, whose debate abilities Mr. Richard liked, and Joshua Broome, a former (and repentant) porn actor who would speak on a panel discussing masculinity.
“I try and lean towards that,” Mr. Richard added, “anything that can help us become men who are bold in our faith.”
On venues like Promise Keepers’, a number of speakers proved how deeply conservative Christianity and politics had intertwined. The fiery speech that Jim Caviezel gave on Saturday was reminiscent of Ronald Reagan’s 1964 “Time for Choosing” speech, with some adaptations to include references to sex trafficking and abortion. Caviezel is well-known for his vocal support of former president Donald J. Trump and his flirtation with the QAnon conspiracy. “America for Jesus!” was shouted out by a number of male audience members at one point.
In their pursuit of a “big tent” philosophy, the group’s founding members welcomed people of all faiths and political persuasions. There should be “no religious or political bias” at gatherings, they hoped, so that “all men would be welcome, all — A, L, L.” In a recent interview, Mr. Phillips—the organization’s previous president—said. In Texas, he is now the leader of a different men’s ministry.
“They wanted as many men as possible to come through the gates and participate in this movement,” stated Kristin Kobes Du Mez, a historian who has written about evangelicalism and masculinity, particularly the Promise Keepers movement of the 1990s. “They purposefully refrained from taking any sort of partisan political stance in the outset.”
Some of the group’s most outspoken detractors in the ’90s pointed out that it opposed abortion and had the backing of prominent figures on the Christian right, like as James Dobson. A resolution was passed at the time by the National Organization for Women, which described the group as “the greatest danger to women’s rights.” The organization had sent delegates to the National Mall to personally protest the gathering.
According to the present leadership, the organization needs to change in order to stay in business when faced with competition from other men’s ministries, influencers on masculinity, and Christian conferences that feature monster trucks and other amusements.
“I don’t think we’re successful until we’re relevant again,” said Ken Harrison, the outgoing chairman of Promise Keepers. “Without a younger face that gets our culture, I don’t see us being relevant.”
On Friday, while waiting for the conference to start, Ron Hulstein and Warren Miller, both 79 years old, began talking and exchanging stories about what had drawn them to the gathering. “He doesn’t back down” was Mr. Miller’s favorite thing about Mr. Kirk, but Mr. Hulstein was unaware of him.
In the late 1990s, Mr. Hulstein attended multiple Promise Keepers events, where he formed friendships that would last a lifetime. These friendships led to his frequent gatherings with a group of men who worship and serve together. That, he claimed, was the most significant outcome of the Promise Keepers.
Both guys felt the group had lost ground over the years. The group as a whole is maturing, Mr. Hulstein remarked.
“Yes,” Mr. Miller said. The time will come when you must step aside and let the younger men to lead.