Promise Keepers Atlanta

(The following is an article I wrote for the Pickens County Courier and thus not my normal fare for this blog, but I wanted to post it anyway.)

On the first of August, 21 men from Pickens County took off to Atlanta to experience a Promise Keepers weekend. The high energy at Eddie Long’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church was much like a Clemson/Carolina football game! From the opening National Anthem through the final prayers, men were excited to be there. They confronted a great mix of serious life changing issues like pornography addiction and deciding what the measure of a real man is. There was also comedy in the form of George Bush impersonator John Morgan and Comedian Cletho Rodriguez. Speakers, Former NFL player Don Davis, Mike Silva, Josh McDowell, Dr. Richard Blackaby, Bishop Larry Jackson, Coach Bill McCartney and Dan Seaborn brought home challenging messages about how to be real men of integrity and purpose to the six to seven thousand in attendance. The altar call was reminiscent of a Billy Graham crusade in that hundreds of men went forward to ask Jesus Christ to change their lives, but not to the tune of “Just as I Am” but to U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”. There at Promise Keepers Atlanta, many men did find exactly what they were looking for! Like the last verse of the song says:
You broke the bonds
And you loosened the chains
Carried the cross
Of all my shame
All my shame
You know I believe it

Jesus Christ was breaking the bonds of men’s addictions and helping them deal with shameful issues throughout the weekend. Men had a great time just bonding with other men as well. Garry Renner of 5 Point Fellowship in Easley said, “I have decided that this will be an annual event for me!” For more information on Promise Keepers or to watch parts of the Atlanta event, check out their website: http://www.promisekeepers.org/