MODERN PROMISE KEEPERS
From the Promise Keeper's Website: Changes are taking place. Colorado Springs Men's Conference moved the date to September 25-26 at World Arena, 8,900 capacity which is expected to fill up. "The state- of- the- art World Arena will be a great location for the 1998 'Live a Legacy' conference in Colorado," said Tom Fort son, chief operating officer of Promise Keepers. "This logistical adjustment also takes into account weather considerations...
For the first time in Promise Keepers eight year history, registration... is free. Based on the theme, "Live a Legacy: Make a Difference in Your Lifetime", the conference sessions will challenge and equip men to live effective Christian lives that impact their family, church, friends, and community... Two hundred thousand men have already taken part in Promise Keepers 1998 "Live a Legacy" conferences around the nation...
I HEARD SOMEWHERE THAT PK BELIEVES THAT THE MUSIC OF THE BEATLES WAS ANOINTED BY GOD. IS THIS TRUE?
In 1990, Pastor James Ryle, a PK board member spoke at a conference and gave a message entitled, The Sons of Thunder containing three main points: 1) God wants the entire world to be evangelized (John 3:16); 2) God wants us to become all things to all men, that by all means men might be saved (1 Cor. 9:22); and 3) God provides gifts to all of us through which we can reach out to the lost. Pastor Ryle went on to elaborate on the third point, stating that all gifts are a blessing from God, doctors are gifted with healing, teachers with the ability to communicate information, judges with wisdom, and musicians with music, etc.
Pastor Ryle's message focused on the power of the gift of music. He stated that music is a universal language and it speaks to the heart of men like no other medium. All musicians have received the gift of music from God, whether they are Christians or not.
Pastor Ryle used the Beatles as a stellar example of the power of music. These musicians influenced an entire generation and people followed them into drugs, sex, and eastern mysticism. Pastor Ryle asked his audience to imagine the tremendous influence that the Beatles could have had if they had been Christians, if they had used their gift to glorify God and to impact His kingdom. In fact, this message has led numerous musicians (including some prominent secular names) to write to Pastor Ryle saying things like, "...at last I know why I was born with the gift of music."
In his reference to the Beatles’ gift of music, Ryle referred to that gift as an anointing; indicating only that the gift was from God. Pastor Ryle regrets that his comment was misunderstood by believers who thought that he was endorsing the message and lifestyle of the Beatles. He only intended to convey his under standing of the power of music and that it is a gift from God. Pastor Ryle did not mean to imply that he believed that the Beatles were used by God only that their gift was from God and it could have been used for the glory of God. (Taken from the PK Website for research purposes.) (Taken from New Zealand Website, http:// crash. ihug .co.nz/~revival)BACK