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Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper
This best selling book has been completely revised and expanded with new author insights and stories on each of the Promise Keeper's seven promises. Men will find practical ways to deepen their Christian walk with encouraging chapters from Bill Bright, James Dobson, Gary Smalley and Luis Palau and many others.
290 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 5, 1999
19 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Jack W. Hayford
315 books51 followersJack Williams Hayford (born June 25, 1934) is an American author, Pentecostal minister, and Chancellor Emeritus of The King's University (formerly The King's College and Seminary). He is a former senior pastor of The Church On The Way in Van Nuys, California and was the fourth President of the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel. He is widely known for his past involvement in the Promise Keepers movement and for being a prolific author and songwriter, with over 600 hymns and choruses in his catalog. He is the author of the popular 1978 hymn "Majesty", which is rated as one of the top 100 contemporary hymns and performed and sung in churches worldwide.
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January 30, 2023
THE ORIGINAL BOOK OF THE PROMISE KEEPERS MOVEMENT
William “Bill” McCartney is a former American football player who was head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder (1982–1994), and became the founder of the Promise Keepers men’s ministry.
He wrote in the Foreword to this 1999 book, “when men gather in Jesus’ name, look each other squarely in the eyes, and declare what can be expected of them… there’s an unleashing of God’s Sprit… that enables us to become Promise Keepers, men who are willing to contend for God’s truth… There’s a lot to chew on in this book: seven areas of commitment, each of them big and potentially life-changing… We’re in a war, man, whether we acknowledge it or not. The enemy is real, and he doesn’t like to see men of God take a stand for Jesus Christ and contest his lies… You and I serve royalty, and we have a costly responsibility.”
The Seven Promises are presented throughout the book. Promise 1: 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. (Pg. 1) Promise 2: 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. (Pg. 29) Promise 3: A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity. (Pg. 55) Promise 4: A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values. (Pg. 87) Promise 5: A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources. (Pg. 123) Promise 6: A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barrier to demonstrate the power of biblical unity. (Pg. 149) Promise 7: A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment… and the Great Commission. (Pg. 201)
Jack Hayford outlines five principles for worship: “1. Redeeming Worship… centers on the Lord’s Table… 2. Faith-filled Worship… calls for action…3. Delivering Worship… is that which frees a man from bondage, liberates his family to its greatest possibilities, and opens the way to the future… 4. Purifying Worship… comes from a man’s WAITING in the presence of God… 5. Empowering Worship… emerges from that quest for God that receptively opens to the fullness of His Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 5-9)
Joseph Stowell asks, “What drives your life?... Is it for pleasure? Prosperity? … Rather than men driven by instincts; God calls us to be men formed by the inspired Word of God. Promise Keepers are Word keepers.” (Pg. 20)
Howard Hendricks suggests, “I am convinced there are three compelling reasons you must become involved in a ministry of mentoring. First, you need to be involved in mentoring because of the severe shortage of leaders…. Second, we need mentoring because of the perceived need for mentors. There’s a severe deficiency in our culture… The first is the absence of fathers …. Third, we need mentoring because of the rape of existing leadership… Young people desperately need older people, and older period seriously need younger people who are going to carry on in the next generation.” (Pg. 32-35)
Gary Oliver recommends, “Determine where the line is, and then stay a safe distance behind it… The problem is that each of us had blind spots, weaknesses, and deeply entrenched habits that can sabotage our best intentions…” (Pg. 69)
John Maxwell advises, “We want our kids to be pure... And if it’s gonna happen for our kids, it’s got to start with us. It’s got to start with ME. I’ve got to take responsibility---I’m the dad, I’m to be the spiritual leader, the model for holiness. Some of you know you have already blown it. You’ve been unfaithful and failed your family. But this is where the grace of Jesus Christ comes in. Go to your knees…” (Pg. 82)
James Dobson explains, “Every form of mass communication seemed mobilized to spread the ‘me first’ philosophy during the seventies and early eighties… It all sounded so noble at the time. It was called ‘The discovery of personhood,’ and it offered an intoxicating appeal to our selfish lusts. But when this insidious philosophy had wormed its way into our system of values, it began to rot us from within…” (Pg. 115)
Bill McCartney states, “What will happen if Promise Keepers begin to reach out across racial and denominational lines? One strong possibility is the outbreak of revival in America. You see, I believe racism and denominational divisions have done more than just about anything to hamper the church’s witness to the world. So many people of color… have been totally turned off to the God we proclaim by our obvious lack of love. Even nonbelieving white people know that Christians are supposed to love and that far too often we fail to do so. That’s why I’m certain that revival can’t take place until the church grows far more united in obedience to God’s command.” (Pg. 155)
Rodney L. Cooper notes, “In American society, dominated by the Anglo-American majority, most members of minority races feel and often have been treated as though they have been raised in a closed family system. They believe the world is hostile and unsociable, a competitive place full of prejudice and discrimination. They believe that most people can’t be trusted, and they act according to this closed-system viewpoint. In addition, most minority men have grown up in families dominated by a closed system. Thus, both society and their families of origin have given them a restricted and negative view of their world.” (Pg. 168)
Luis Palau suggests, “Just because someone says he is a Christian doesn’t mean he’s right… let’s remember the gospel isn’t just for ‘nice’ people. When God calls us to become Promise Keepers, He is not calling us to shun those whose values, beliefs, and actions are diametrically opposed to ours..” (Pg. 221)
He concludes, “in the United States, we evangelical men have acquired a reputation as harsh, unloving, bitter people, with no sensitivity or compassion for those who have failed. We’re known for what we’re against, not what we’re for. If we Promise Keepers will stand and, with pride in Jesus Christ, proclaims His gospel in all its purity, I think, we’ll find many willing to be converted to true Christianity.” (Pg. 225)
This book will be of great interest to anyone studying the Promise Keepers movement.
William “Bill” McCartney is a former American football player who was head coach at the University of Colorado Boulder (1982–1994), and became the founder of the Promise Keepers men’s ministry.
He wrote in the Foreword to this 1999 book, “when men gather in Jesus’ name, look each other squarely in the eyes, and declare what can be expected of them… there’s an unleashing of God’s Sprit… that enables us to become Promise Keepers, men who are willing to contend for God’s truth… There’s a lot to chew on in this book: seven areas of commitment, each of them big and potentially life-changing… We’re in a war, man, whether we acknowledge it or not. The enemy is real, and he doesn’t like to see men of God take a stand for Jesus Christ and contest his lies… You and I serve royalty, and we have a costly responsibility.”
The Seven Promises are presented throughout the book. Promise 1: 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. (Pg. 1) Promise 2: 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. (Pg. 29) Promise 3: A Promise Keeper is committed to practicing spiritual, moral, ethical, and sexual purity. (Pg. 55) Promise 4: A Promise Keeper is committed to building strong marriages and families through love, protection, and biblical values. (Pg. 87) Promise 5: A Promise Keeper is committed to supporting the mission of his church by honoring and praying for his pastor, and by actively giving his time and resources. (Pg. 123) Promise 6: A Promise Keeper is committed to reaching beyond any racial and denominational barrier to demonstrate the power of biblical unity. (Pg. 149) Promise 7: A Promise Keeper is committed to influencing his world, being obedient to the Great Commandment… and the Great Commission. (Pg. 201)
Jack Hayford outlines five principles for worship: “1. Redeeming Worship… centers on the Lord’s Table… 2. Faith-filled Worship… calls for action…3. Delivering Worship… is that which frees a man from bondage, liberates his family to its greatest possibilities, and opens the way to the future… 4. Purifying Worship… comes from a man’s WAITING in the presence of God… 5. Empowering Worship… emerges from that quest for God that receptively opens to the fullness of His Holy Spirit.” (Pg. 5-9)
Joseph Stowell asks, “What drives your life?... Is it for pleasure? Prosperity? … Rather than men driven by instincts; God calls us to be men formed by the inspired Word of God. Promise Keepers are Word keepers.” (Pg. 20)
Howard Hendricks suggests, “I am convinced there are three compelling reasons you must become involved in a ministry of mentoring. First, you need to be involved in mentoring because of the severe shortage of leaders…. Second, we need mentoring because of the perceived need for mentors. There’s a severe deficiency in our culture… The first is the absence of fathers …. Third, we need mentoring because of the rape of existing leadership… Young people desperately need older people, and older period seriously need younger people who are going to carry on in the next generation.” (Pg. 32-35)
Gary Oliver recommends, “Determine where the line is, and then stay a safe distance behind it… The problem is that each of us had blind spots, weaknesses, and deeply entrenched habits that can sabotage our best intentions…” (Pg. 69)
John Maxwell advises, “We want our kids to be pure... And if it’s gonna happen for our kids, it’s got to start with us. It’s got to start with ME. I’ve got to take responsibility---I’m the dad, I’m to be the spiritual leader, the model for holiness. Some of you know you have already blown it. You’ve been unfaithful and failed your family. But this is where the grace of Jesus Christ comes in. Go to your knees…” (Pg. 82)
James Dobson explains, “Every form of mass communication seemed mobilized to spread the ‘me first’ philosophy during the seventies and early eighties… It all sounded so noble at the time. It was called ‘The discovery of personhood,’ and it offered an intoxicating appeal to our selfish lusts. But when this insidious philosophy had wormed its way into our system of values, it began to rot us from within…” (Pg. 115)
Bill McCartney states, “What will happen if Promise Keepers begin to reach out across racial and denominational lines? One strong possibility is the outbreak of revival in America. You see, I believe racism and denominational divisions have done more than just about anything to hamper the church’s witness to the world. So many people of color… have been totally turned off to the God we proclaim by our obvious lack of love. Even nonbelieving white people know that Christians are supposed to love and that far too often we fail to do so. That’s why I’m certain that revival can’t take place until the church grows far more united in obedience to God’s command.” (Pg. 155)
Rodney L. Cooper notes, “In American society, dominated by the Anglo-American majority, most members of minority races feel and often have been treated as though they have been raised in a closed family system. They believe the world is hostile and unsociable, a competitive place full of prejudice and discrimination. They believe that most people can’t be trusted, and they act according to this closed-system viewpoint. In addition, most minority men have grown up in families dominated by a closed system. Thus, both society and their families of origin have given them a restricted and negative view of their world.” (Pg. 168)
Luis Palau suggests, “Just because someone says he is a Christian doesn’t mean he’s right… let’s remember the gospel isn’t just for ‘nice’ people. When God calls us to become Promise Keepers, He is not calling us to shun those whose values, beliefs, and actions are diametrically opposed to ours..” (Pg. 221)
He concludes, “in the United States, we evangelical men have acquired a reputation as harsh, unloving, bitter people, with no sensitivity or compassion for those who have failed. We’re known for what we’re against, not what we’re for. If we Promise Keepers will stand and, with pride in Jesus Christ, proclaims His gospel in all its purity, I think, we’ll find many willing to be converted to true Christianity.” (Pg. 225)
This book will be of great interest to anyone studying the Promise Keepers movement.
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