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<\/source><\/picture>What happens when “cancel culture” infects the Church?<\/p>\n
Promise Keepers<\/a>, an Evangelical organization founded in 1990 that holds men’s rallies in stadiums nationwide, has seen several scheduled events at churches and other venues canceled in recent months.<\/p>\n As recently as June, Belmont University, a private Christian university in Nashville, canceled <\/a>a Promise Keepers event after the national Christian men’s ministry posted a blog criticizing LGBT pride month. The university accused the organization of “unnecessarily fan[ning] the flames of culture wars.”<\/p>\n The event, which was part of the group’s \u201cDaring Faith\u201d tour, is one of several events that were later canceled by Christian venues, including Hope Church in Cordova, Tennessee, and The Fountain of Praise in Houston.<\/p>\n Despite Promise Keepers\u2019 decades-old legacy challenging Christian men to live out God\u2019s calling, chairman and CEO Ken Harrison says much has changed since the 1990s when the group first launched.\u00a0<\/p>\n While some have cited concerns about offending people with \u201cbiblical truth,\u201d said Harrison, others were less clear in their reasons.<\/p>\n \u201cOne venue was worried that we would offend people by expressing our belief, rooted in Scripture, about gender and sexual identity,\u201d he told The Christian Post via email. \u201cOthers said they didn’t want to draw protesters or simply didn’t give us a reason.\u00a0<\/p>\n Harrison said the cancellations were \u201cdisheartening\u201d given that they came not from secular groups, but overtly Christian ones.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s disheartening to us that churches don’t want to \u2018offend\u2019 people with the truth of the Word, something we’ve come to expect from the culture, but which dismays us coming from Christian institutions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n As part of its mission, Promise Keepers offers guidance to men on how to respond to the current gender-identity crisis in our society.\u00a0<\/p>\n And despite the rash of cancellations, Harrison says he won\u2019t be deterred by Christian cancel culture.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are optimistic our events will be held because other churches and organizations have contacted us after hearing about the cancellations,\u201d he said. \u201cThey’d be happy to host an event that champions helping men grow stronger in their understanding and application of God’s Truth.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Promise Keepers has drawn both praise and criticism for its bold message of biblical masculinity, especially at a time when complementarianism is losing influence among even some of the more conservative Evangelical ministries.<\/p>\n In 2021, a USA Today editor called <\/a>on the Dallas Cowboys organization to bar Promise Keepers from holding a men’s conference at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, over Harrison\u2019s views on men competing in women’s sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n So why does Harrison believe this pushback is happening now?<\/p>\n \u201cThe spirit of the age we live in is fear \u2014 of being criticized, disliked, canceled. As Promise Keepers, we refuse to give into that fear,\u201d he said. \u201cWe choose pursuing and sharing God\u2019s truth over being liked by all \u2014 as if that were even possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe make no apologies for boldly declaring God\u2019s truth to a culture \u2014 and a church \u2014 that needs to hear it.\u201d<\/p>\n Local churches and other ministries who may be interested in hosting a Promise Keepers event can contact the group at (303) 964-7600 or visit their website.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n