Reformed Reflections

Although Bill McCartney is the founder of PK, the president is Randy Philipps, who has a large staff to handle the thousands of daily phone calls and the large volume of mail. PK has been endorsed by, among others, Campus Crusade's Bill Bright and Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family. Dobson promotes PK on his radio broadcasts.

This new all men's movement experienced phenomenal growth. The first rally in Boulder, Colorado, drew 4,200 men. In 1995, 720,000 men attended 13 rallies, and PK groups were formed across the continent. In Canada, PK was established officially in the same year and received charitable status from Revenue Canada. Men are being encouraged by their wives and friends to get involved. Diane Roblin Lee and a small group of women in Port Perry, Ontario, formed a PR support group, "Promise Partners International (PPI)". In an open letter to PK they wrote:

PK calls for the reins of leadership in church and home to be returned to men. The participants at the rallies vow to be better leaders in home, church, and workplace by pledging to uphold seven specific promises. PK challenges men to live with integrity and according to Biblical values, to keep their promises, to honour their commitment to God, their families and other men, to repent of their work-aholicism and addiction to sports, and to renounce pornography. Men must win back their families and their cultures by rising above circumstances through the grace and power of God. Dr. Tony Evans, a featured PK speaker and chaplain of Dallas Mavericks basketball team, charged men:

Take your role back – not by acting tough or strutting around claiming, "I'm the man around here," but by being the man God warts you to be. Do that, and your wife and children will follow your leadership gladly.

Why does PK receive such an enthusiastic reception? The movement indicates that many men are searching for their identity as male. It provides answers for them in a time of rapid cultural change, great confusion, and moral relativism. Many men have lost their sense of purpose and significance. Yet they do want to take responsibility for their families, and be good husbands and caring fathers. In our modern society, the role of father is short changed. In television comedies the father is often perceived as a buffoon. Fatherhood, as a social role for men, has been diminished.

What has happened to fathers in our society? One man said: "He has split from his role. Most fathers are gone." Another said: "They are disappearing. He is under siege right now." In his book Fatherless American, Confronting Our Most Urgent Social Problem, David Blankenhorn points to the devastating consequences of fatherlessness.

As fatherlessness spreads in our society, so does our acceptance and even endorsement of the trend. For as our society abandons the fatherhood idea, we do not simply become "more aware" of children growing up without fathers. We also become "accepting of that." In a culture of fatherlessness, fatherhood becomes irrelevant.

I see the PK movement as a Christian reaction to the modern diminishing of fatherhood and the impact of feminism. Feminism has pervaded society. It has had a negative effect on family relationships. It has changed the workplace and gender roles. Dr. Tony Evans claims that the present "national crisis" in the Unites States is a direct result of the "feminization of the American male." Mary Kassian, an executive member of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, remarked:

She is right. Feminism has left man with the message that women are victims of male

lust for power. Extreme feminist ideology is out to destroy the marriage bond, promote pro-choice abortion and safe sex. It indulges in male bashing as the only acceptable form of discrimination. It doesn't believe it strange that women should meet in gender exclusive forums such as the UN Conference on Women in Beijing, 1995. But the same feminists oppose an all male bonding PK movement and its rallies.

Feminism also had a negative impact on the church. Even many churches that stress male leadership have ministries that are more geared toward women than men. Many men have turned their back on the church because they see it as something mainly for women and children. Dr. Evans notes that the pulpit may be filled by a man, but the rest of the church program is largely run by women. This gives boys a feminized picture of what it means to be male. He comments that this leads to what he calls "sissified" men who have relinquished their leadership in the home, at church, and at school. And he adds:

A feminized society and church did create the conditions for the rise and rapid growth of PK. The movement urges men to take their rightful place as leaders.

The PK movement also points to the failure of the church of Christ to act as a communion of saints. PK teaches that every man must have an older man to whom he is held accountable. This concept of mentoring is based on passages such "Love one another" (John 13:34); "Encourage one another" (Hebrews 10:24,25).