The Dollop with Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds - 441 - The Promise Keepers

Episode Date: August 4, 2020

Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds examine Bill McCartney and The Promise KeepersSourcesTour DatesRedBubble Merch

When you're staying at an Airbnb you might be like me wondering could my place be an Airbnb and if it could what could it earn? You could be sitting on an Airbnb and not even know it. That in-law sweet guest house where your parents stay only part-time Airbnb it and make some money the rest of the year whether you could use a little extra money to cover some bills or for something a little more fun your home might be worth more than you think find out how much at Airbnb.ca slash host okay hit record good work dude we're really close thank you thank you yes you're listening to the dollop this is a

bilingual American history podcast for each week I Dave Anthony read a story from American history to my guy I know. Gareth Reynolds who has no idea what the topic is going to be about. Is that it? Yeah that's the intro it's pretty straightforward. You're not gonna no flare? No I've not really been the big flare guy in my part I've kind of let you go crazy and then I just think it's important to get across what the show is and you're the one who's like hey I'll add a bunch of stuff make it long. Make it long? Yeah make it long yeah you're the one who's always taking these episodes off track. Is that what? I just wanted to

be a story you keep jumping in with all your bullshit. So you think if people were to describe the podcast they would say Gareth is the funny one and Dave makes it long? I wow I wasn't even gonna say that but hearing it now yes yes yeah yeah. Wow. People aren't here for the story. People want to hear a guy go crazy. Yeah yeah they just want to hear crazy noises and some guy pretend like he's a baker talking to a shoe like that's what they're here for. That's the show that's the shit you could literally just be like hey be a baker who fucks a shoe that's a show you just they're the one who's like hey we need to learn about

this important person this person did a lot here's a story about a really important person. Wow. I mean if we're gonna air the grievances let's air them. The show is too long and too story oriented. Your impression of me is first of all spot-on. It has to be like I'm listening to yourself in a mirror. Yeah it's pretty crazy. Yeah I think we should talk about it our next therapy session with Roger. Sure I'm down to that yeah yeah that sounds great. Because he might I mean he might find this a little aggressive. I mean Lord knows why not make our sessions longer too awesome. Wow. Idiot and called it quote his jam

pads. Jam pads. I'm the fucking hippo guy. Dave okay. My name's Gary. My name's Gary. Wait. Is it for fun? And this is not going to come to Tigglypock. Okay. This is like an up five part coefficient. My room's a flame. Now hit him with a puppy. You both present sick arguments. Actually partner. No I see that my friend. I do say this podcast is bilingual podcast because it is because you can listen to a Spanish version of the dollop on wherever podcasts are found. It is a top 10 comedy podcast in Mexico. It is hosted by Edward Espinosa and Jose Padilla. So what we do you can get a totally different version of the same story and that's fun. If you

if you if you can hear it in another language you don't need to speak it you just need to hear it yeah in another language. It's worth listening to to learn Spanish. Yeah I would say that's the best way to learn Spanish. I gotta be honest. Yep. Happy COVID. I don't know if I got a chance. Oh wish you that. Happy COVID to you sir. Thank you. Aren't we all enjoying it. Yeah. I got a little heat from some people online because I pushed everybody to protest and then I said I would not go to Portland if I didn't have a kid. Yeah so COVID is actually out there and I don't want to fly because all these people are like

you're a hypocrite. I'm like I gave people an example of a different ways that they can protest which I think is really important because some people don't want to go on the streets. I have been on the streets during protests these protests so in my own home area but I am not going to get on a plane to bring COVID to Portland or whatever would happen. Well they won't let you on because you're one of those big anti-maskers. I am an anti-masker so you know I only think we should be wearing hockey masks. That's good. You know how people who won't wear masks there you see yeah there were two people they had to turn

the plane around. Oh yeah they turned the plane around. They should just do the thing where they just drop those masks from above. You'll put those on. Yeah make them do that. If you drop those during a flight people will put those on. I have a totally different solution. No flying. Staple guns. Staple guns is good. That's good. You should be able to staple gun a mask on anybody who doesn't want to wear a mask. That's good. Just hold them down staple it on there and then then they have to you know then they can fly the flight or whatever or just walk into a store. Staple guns are we've had them forever. I think the Romans came up

with them. They did. Yeah that's how they built the Coliseum. It's a history podcast. Oh is it? Never mind then. Well that's you know that's what they say. August 22nd 1940 year of our Lord Jesus Christ. All men. All men? Normally. What did that? What? Wait what does that mean? Well it means that we're gonna deal with a problem and it's probably gonna be all men. All men. William Paul McCartney known as Bill. Sorry William Paul McCartney? William Paul McCartney he was born he was called William Paul McCartney but it's not the same Paul McCartney just the middle I should have just left out Paul. Sir William Paul McCartney? It's already

started. Yeah. Yesterday. Is that the one? It's not. All my troubles seem so far. That one? No. Although I feel like they were probably born right around the same time. Well that's weird. This guy's name is this guy was known as Bill. Bang bang Maxwell Silverhammer came. Is that the guy? Down his head. Yeah I mean if we're talking about is that Paul McCartney? A levelet diamo. You really forgot who Paul McCartney is. Oh that's the guy? That's what you're talking about? When I'm 64 boom boom that guy? Oh Paul McCartney's first name is James. Whoa. That's interesting. Okay. But he was born two years that he was born two years after this guy. Okay. This is the

original. Okay. He was born in Riverview, Michigan. He was brought up in a devout Roman Catholic home. He said that within minutes of meeting his father you would know he was Irish Catholic. Okay. So that either means strong accent, anger problem, or drinking problem, or all three. Or he just came would just come right out and be like that's nice to meet ya. No abortions. Right. Okay. That's just how he ruled. Yeah maybe. Yeah. How he hold it. That's right. You would know. Oh sorry this is more of this. You would know his father immediately was an Irish Catholic Democrat and a Marine. So he must have just told people because how else would

you know that? Yeah. He just had to have been horrible. God is watching all of us. Drop and give me 10. A woman's right to choose. Bill was good at football and went on to play at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri. Okay. Would make sense that University of Missouri would be in Columbia, Missouri. Does make a lot of sense. Just because if it was in another state that would be weird. Strange. Mm-hmm. So a senior year after his last season was over he and a friend had dates and they went to a frat party. There were a lot of other Mizzou football players there. His date on this evening was Lindy Tossick. Okay.

Lindy quote, I didn't often date football players they seem to be too much into themselves but Bill was different. He was such a well-mannered gentleman. He had a tender way about him and a love for family and God that drew me. And he was always talking about the music he had inside of his head. What that's the wrong? And how someday he would let it out finally. That's a different guy. So like any college girl she was really into a guy who was into family and God. Sure. At the party Bill got really drunk. Okay. So so far we're very on brand. Football player frat party hammered. Yeah. So he overhears Lindy joking and quote she

casually used the Lord's name in vain. Hmm. Okay. Now this drunk person. Yeah. If that's me I'm throwing a chair through a window. Yeah for sure. Jesus fucking Christ. What did you say? That's right. So Bill became enraged. Okay. Bill quote, using God's name in vain at all much less around my teammates for heaven's sake was like committing the unpardonable sin. Never mind that I was obnoxiously ignoring my own drunken stupor. To her shock I turned mean and braided her for her careless blasphemy. But he said for heaven's sake. What's the line on blasphemy? It's not the same. It's close. You say God damn it or

something like that. I just don't. It's not the same as saying. To me it is. But to me it is. I know. But you're also not religious. I'm very religious. So like any great this is just a classic college moment when you go out to a party and a frat party and start arguing about blasphemy. Yeah. No we all know. I mean certainly I think a lot of times at frat parties they're all about the rules. That's right. So Lindy was speechless and really embarrassed. She said she was sorry. Bill refused to accept her apology. Not okay. You just can't take something like that back. You've already pierced the Lord's flesh with your

Satan tongue. That's right. He made Lindy and his friend and his date leave the party. Come on. We're out of here. We're done. The party's over. What's the point? What is the point of staying at the party right now? She Lindy has completely ruined the party because she decided that she hates God. God I'm doing one keg standard that we're getting the fuck out of here. We all got into his car which he'd borrowed. Glad he's driving by the way. This guy. You guys you got to recognize what the Lord's plan is. Now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna drive hammered. They drove across the town to campus to the all-girls Stevens College

and then and then that's where on campus is where he crashed into a parked police car. Oh Jesus Christ. So what does he say when that happens? He goes God you work in mysterious ways. No one was hurt but Bill was arrested. He lost his scholarships and with just one semester of school to go to get his degree so then he finished college quote financially destitute. Would this not shake your belief in the Lord looking out for you when you try to defend someone you try to defend his great name against blasphemers and then he has you get arrested? Yes, no I gotta say it's not this is not a great look for God. Yeah

so far. Way to pay it back. That's right. Now a year later he's out he's got his degree. He got a Bachelor of Arts in Education and they stayed together. Oh oh wow so he saw through it. Yeah and they got married in 1962. Is there something you'd like to say to the man upstairs Lindy before we start? Just god damn it that's it. What? I just I just keep thinking that at some point you're gonna get really mad and fuck me like really hard. Don't say the f-word. Serious like just fuck me. I'm sorry I'm not comfortable with this direction. I told you the wedding night was not an appropriate time it's merely for procreation.

God damn it. This is bad stuff but god damn it. I'm not aroused if that's what you're trying to do. Jesus was a bad boy. If you'll excuse me I'm gonna go punch a cop. Wow okay so once he had his degree he got a assistant football coaching job at Holy Redeemer High School in Detroit. So I feel like that's probably a religious school. Yeah maybe and maybe like a reforming school too. Yeah this is the great redeemer. So anyway his brother Tom was the head coach. That's probably how he got the job. Sure. Bill was also the head basketball coach so he's double sporting as they call it in the business. Yeah right. Bill moved up

and on to a couple of different jobs and after a while he was hired as the assistant football coach at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. So that's a big job for people who don't know. Michigan really really big college football school up until COVID hit and half the team died because they need to make money to fund the rest of the school. Anyway that's just the American system of academics. Which makes a lot of sense by the way. I'm not gonna I don't want to jump down your throat Dave but find one flaw besides what you pointed out. I think you'll find every single University system in

the world has the funding set up through college football. Yeah which is why the Toastitos Bowl is so exciting and the Fiesta Bowl. That's right. And the Chick-fil-A Bowl. That's right. These are things are good. During this time they had four kids so they're cranking them out three sons and a daughter. They're both Roman Catholics but people usually don't associate. At least I didn't for a long time Catholics with things sort of hardcore. You just think of it as being born in Christians but Catholics are pretty hardcore also. Yeah I would say. The whole group that funded like Kavanaugh was a Roman Catholic group. So

anyway. They're good people. They're good people. So he at this point becomes inspired by a Protestant evangelical group. The Campus Crusade for Christ Group. Which we were both in in college. They got more and more into the group and then as a couple they accepted Christ in 1974. What? It became born in Christians. Oh so they jumped ship from Rome from Catholicism to Christianity. Yeah. Evangelical. Okay well. Yeah. So he was just like you know what babe I'm thinking of taking religion seriously finally. She's like you made us leave a frat party. Yeah I know. I feel like it's time to take it up a notch. These

evangelicals seem pretty strict which I like. You only bang me through a sheet in a hole and a hole in a sheet. Both. Yeah the first one was weird but that's what they do. The sheet in a hole. That's what the holy ghost is. Yeah. In June 1982 Bill became the head coach of the University of Colorado Buffalo's. Sure. Okay. Running buffs. Hmm. Feels like that's not their name. The family moved to Boulder. The team had a couple of losing seasons but then they started winning in 1984. Okay. And they kept winning. He was also very successful off the field getting awards from Christian organizations for his

excellent Christianity. Sure. That's great. Yeah that's great when you're winning awards for how this guy believes the bullshit harder than most of the people in this room. I do. I do. I yelled at my wife at a frat party about how she was blaspheming. Well good work Bill. And he's gonna play some original songs he's written today. You guys know what a didgeridoo is. No. All right. That'll be the end of that. So he made his players have mandatory pregame prayer meetings. It's just what you want to do when you're firing yourself up before a game. All right we're gonna go out there kick their asses. Now let's talk about the

bubble. I mean just imagine just a dude who just wants to play football. But the truth is that they have so many religion is so present in sports and what happens is it actually becomes like a conversion factory in some sports. You have if you have like a quarter like I remember one season John Kitton had turned like literally like 20 of the Detroit Lions Christian. He was there for like three years and they were like John stop. He was like do you mind if I use the Gatorade to give this man a baptism. The ACL sued to stop them because it's a public it's a public college. Right. Okay. Right. Right. And

Frank was also accused of favoring Christian players. Frank is his brother. Yep. Wait what I said Frank. Yeah. Oh you mean Bill. Okay. I was like what. Yeah that's a weird that was a weird mistake. So the ACLU they actually had a meeting and they had to come up with the rules and like he had to agree to not you know ran the Christianity down people's throughout so hard. Right. I wish that I wish the ACLU would step in in every situation where that was happening. Yeah that'd be great. At some point the campus became upset at some point when Bill held a pro-life rally on campus in 1989. Oh my god. So the kids were like walking

to school and he's like literally he's that kind of you but I mean I think we've all experienced this experiences in the U.S. is when when you're walking to campus and there's just the guy on campus screaming about the Lord and you're going out so he was like doing that as the football coach which is not a great luck. Yeah. That same year and again it's all about you know anti-abortion pro-life stuff that same year as daughter Christie who was 20 became pregnant by quote a notorious campus playboy and the star Colorado football player Saul and niece. So wait sorry. So he the pro-life the pro-life crusader his daughter

is now pregnant by his quarterback. Yeah. Should call a sneak. Saul was very upset that she got pregnant and immediately stopped dating her. Okay. Sure. So just to be clear so this is just to validate that he is a football player. That's right. He told her not to get he told her to get an abortion and not to tell her parents he's like don't tell your fucking dad because he's the quarter he's the coach. Dad can I talk to you. Hold on let me just finish my rally. We will save the babies. We will save the babies at all costs. At all costs. What's going on baby. We will save the babies. We will save the babies.

At all costs. At all costs. Yeah go. Yeah we will save the babies. Can you stop screaming for a second. Yeah. Yeah. Of course just the Lord is trying to Lord has me out here today fired up trying to save all the babies because listen to me baby. Hold on. Before you say anything let me tell you something the Lord has given me a mission to make sure that every baby is saved because you have these god dang left liberals who who insist that it is a choice. The Lord have put a seed inside of thee and it hath been watered there for thou must have thy child. Okay so what what you're talking about there. We will save the babies.

We go ahead what's up. So the seed thing. Yeah. Just I just might get to it really quick. Yeah. Yeah. Thal your great great quarterback. Will you shake this sign while you say this just because I don't want to let momentum drop here. There's a little baby quarterback at me. All right quarter a little quarterback in me. Perfect. He put okay cream pies. Yeah the Boston thing. Yeah. Your mother and I actually had one of those one time. I remember we were at a cafe. We stopped at a cafe. I had decaf. Okay. Well that's great baby. So we got a backup quarterback. Good. All right. We will save the babies. We out. South came in me. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. I we

fucked. My daughter. My daughter must be killed by my little Lord have taken my life. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Of course I'm pro life baby. So what we have here I'm sorry for that little freak out. What we have here is a miracle. Yeah yeah. And let's and this is ever get a chance or you are mom to fuck Sal. It's pretty great. It's pretty great. It's not it wasn't just that one time baby all over like all over like all over. Locker room and like he's really good at fucking. So anyway I think Jesus made him that way. Yeah. Like as good as he is at football he's better at just really just hitting it. You know what I mean. Can. Hit it. Okay. School. I find a chemistry

we will save the babies. Now being being raised by her parents. Christie was anti abortion. Right. Sure. So and then she went and told her parents and they were surprised. Sure. But at the same time at the same time they did support her. Okay. Have the baby. Bill blamed himself for his daughter's pregnancy. Of course he was not there to stop it. Normal normal man would do. Yep. He spent more time with her as a he said had he spent more time with her as a dad quote she would have been more secure with who she was and would not have given herself outside marriage. Which is so true because it's so true. The reason why a woman would have sex is purely purely based upon rationales like that. It's that

she she was seeking some sort of demonic touch. Nothing more. This is a childhood issue. And by the way all women out there who have had sex you were raised improperly and need the Lord. What were you thinking. Now and by the way if men do it awesome great stuff. Yeah that's right. Now. Okay. So Sal was from a very conservative Samoan family who were like you have to marry Christy and raise the kids together. This is why so many marriages end up great. Yeah. Absolutely. But Sal was like he went to Bill and he said look I'm not going to marry her. That's not going to happen. I'm calling an audible. Well no Bill and so Bill said look this is this will not affect your position on the team. This will

not change. Which is how great is that. Like the best football player on the team you're not going to punish because he fucked your daughter. Well that it makes it makes sense. But for the wrong reasons. Like yeah I know he should not be. Yeah. So Bill and Lindy they accept Sal's decision. And then Lindy wrote Sal a letter saying that the mate that Christy chooses should treasure her and they should love each other. And if they if they they don't they shouldn't get married. Right. Okay. So he was like awesome. Yes. That's for sure. Yeah. And she's but she said look but Bill and Lindy we'd be there for both of them but both of us will be there for you crazy kids with your horrible sex baby. Right.

She asked Sal to she said can you be Christy's friend and support her during what is a very scary and difficult time. And Sal said. Well they ended up staying close to Sal. The Bill and Lindy ended up staying close to Sal during the pregnancy of their daughter. Yeah but also he is the quarterback so it's this crazy messed up weird. Right. So in early 1989 Sal started having stomach pains and they weren't going away. Wait a minute is he the pregnant one. He's pregnant. The Lord. The Lord. The Lord has transferred the seed to the quarterback. That's right. Now what he had was inoperable stomach cancer. Oh glad I got the joke. Very different. So everyone's devastated. And then when Christy went into labor in April

Sal was there. He held the baby. He was named Timothy Chase McCartney. Everyone called him TC. Sal spent a lot of time with TC while he was going through chemotherapy and then he died in September 1989 at the age of 21. So in the weeks before his death while he was you know dying Bill encouraged Sal to accept Jesus. It's always really weird to me that that is an option with all with all the like work you put into making people accept and all the fear and the fire and the brimstone and the hell and all this stuff. The fact that you're allowed like a cram session at the end. Yeah. Like the idea that like I could be about to die and someone's like do you accept God and I could be like yeah and that's

as good as like the years and years of biblical study and devotion to a church and showing up for service and then just some jag off like me is just sort of like yeah okay I'm buying it and then you're like all right he'll accept you. My grandmother was 97 when she died and my my uncle converted her and I'm just like dude. Yeah. She's fucking 97. She knew. Now you're just working on her fears. That's all you're doing. It's like remaking a car without a motor. You're like I'm going to give it I'm going to give this thing a real shine. It's like it doesn't drive. Yeah but okay so did he accept the Lord. Yeah he did. He did. Okay. Of course he did. So during all this bill is still having amazing success

with football and as a Christian both. Sure. Killing it with both. Right. On and off the cross. But his marriage is not going well. Well he can't get divorced. That's not allowed. That's right. And Lindy was becoming more and more depressed as her kids grew up and started moving out of the house and football is keeping Bill away all the time. Bill's also drinking a lot. He's just fucking hitting it. So is this this religion thing right. No it's good. And then Bill also had an explosive temper on and off the football field whether he's drunk or not. He's just. So it's a good Christian. Sounds like a good Christian. Yeah sounds like she has a good life. So yeah. What do you think is depressing her. Any ideas.

I don't know. Okay. I can't really put anything on it. And then on top of all this Bill never really took a personal interest in his kids. He would pray for them and encourage them to grow spiritually but he didn't really spend any time connecting with him. He was just like. Well they already have a father. He's in the sky. That's right. And then he was also oblivious to how bad Lindy was doing. Okay. So it seems like Christianity for him really gave him an insight into people's feelings. So over the years he got a ton of awards for football. He's a really good football coach. And then in March of 1990 Bill and his friend Dave Wardell were driving from Boulder to Pueblo for a Fellowship of Christian Athletes Banquet.

Sure. It's worth the drive. Our great banquets. The best. And then on this drive Bill said he was struck by a vision of stadiums filled with men who were willing to become deeply committed Christians. Like you have. Like that's just something that happens. Sure. Like Joel Osteen. That's right. Wardell quote he jumped in the car and said let's pray. Oh that if you if you ever want to get thrown out of my car the second you get in faster. The two men prayed for over three hours. What I mean. What a great time. Three hours just praying with your bro. That's just how you command silence. If you don't want to talk you just like hey mind if we pray for the first few hours this road trip. I assume they

were doing a talky prayer. I don't think they were in silence. So what just like a yes and a prayer. Yes. And of course bless the oceans and my friend Gus. Yes. Yes. And of course please bless the clouds the trees and and Lindy. May she find inner peace. Yes. And may you also bless these taquitos. I feel like you and I are right now really giving up how much we are not Christians. What about what I just did tells you that I am not a man of the cloth and church. OK. So so the group that that Bill had a vision of he starts putting into motion and he named them the promise keepers. Oh boy. The goal of the group was to retake male responsibility and reestablish male leadership. The idea that in this country

we need to reestablish like we don't need to reestablish we need to reevaluate. We need to reestablish man. Not enough people know that men are part of society. It's not clear. The first promise keepers gathering was in July 1990. Seventy two men met at Boulder Valley Christian Church. And then they started planning events. And the big event like he said he wanted this to be a big stadium. So the really the big event would be the next July. That's what they're shooting for. Promise keepers was incorporated as a nonprofit. Sure. In 1991 Colorado beat Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl and became national champions. OK. Obviously God had a finger on that scale. Yeah. So now Bill's big shit right. He signs a 15 year

contract with Colorado for 400 400 K year plus bonuses. And on top of a really awesome year of football the first large promise keepers event was held at the University of Colorado's event center on July in July 1991. Forty two hundred men. Oh my God. Right out of the gate. Forty two hundred. Wow. Yeah. Now again I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that he's if word gets out that there's a Christian meeting. That's one thing. But if word gets out that there's a Christian meeting being led by the national champion for sure coach. Dude. Yeah. Yes. If they were like Matt Lafleur speaking I'd be like I like God. You know. Hey Matt how are you. Great season. Thank you. We're here about Jesus. He's awesome

too but really good play calling without question. So in 1992 Bill used campus facilities to talk about his support for Amendment two of the Colorado State's Constitution. Amendment two was to disallow sexual orientation to be recognized as a protected class. So they're taking away right gay rights. Boy Colorado really for as liberal as it is seems to be where a lot of the court cases about that come. Yeah. I mean it's swung the other way in recent years but it was also it was approved that year but then it was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court but Bill was mostly focused on the promise keepers even they pushed up like that on the

side. Yeah that's still crazy. So Bill thought leadership was needed because many American men had quote forsaken their Christian values. They were forcing a moral and spiritual crisis and had to quote shape up or go to hell. So those are the obvious options. Yep get it together or go to that place in the ground. That's right. The lack of male leadership was causing poverty drug abuse illegitimate children and juvenile delinquency. What woman was president at this time? Can you tell me who she was? I feel like you're not hearing what Bill is saying. The promise keepers believe that men and women had to worship separately. So that's a progressive step forward. Yeah no for sure. Yeah well

that's something Mike Pence hears and he's like not far enough. So your wife has to pray away from you? Yeah no church services are all separate men and women totally separate. Sure yeah. Boy the Lord isn't the Lord weird. He said men needed to reclaim their manhood and take spiritual leadership over their wives. Good which I'm sure the wives are like oh good I'm glad that that came up at the meeting. That's right. I don't control you enough Barbara. I've let you be yourself for too long. Well so he's framing it not as domination but to serve the women. Oh interesting. He suggested the following script for promise keeper to use quote this is what he says a promise keeper should say quote honey I've made a terrible

mistake I've given you my role. I gave up leading this family and I forced you to take my place. I must now reclaim that role. That is the I mean I have I mean talk about throwing a flag on the play like I'm out of them to throw but the like the idea that like your children are grown now and you'd be like honey I let you be in charge I let you do all the work for all 18 years too much now that the kids are gone I'm in charge. This is really awesome. If the kids are here I drive them to practice but they're not so I'll probably just drink a little bit more and I don't want you to say shit about it I'm in charge. Good meeting with the prayer promise keepers. I'm picking what's on TV. That's right. I don't

like you eating lasagna. You're not going to eat that anymore. That's my meal and we're going to eat them separately. You'll eat in the bedroom and I'll have the downstairs. All right baby look I want to have sex but we can't do it in the same room. We're going to do it separately. Don't worry. I pounded a heaven hole in the wall. That way you could still have my member but it's not directly connected to my flesh. It's not a sin. It's just like you found a worm. Jesus Christ. Found a worm is the worst thing I've ever heard. So promise keepers also required members to be accountable to each other for their attitudes and behavior. They had rules and promises they had to follow. So then it's

just picking up steam. The first promise keepers stadium event was held at Folsom Field in 1992. 22,000 men. Oh my God. Somehow mostly white attended. Bill then realized after seeing all these white guys that there were racial divides in Christianity. Okay. And he started calling 10 a.m. on Sunday's quote the county's most segregated hour of the week. It's a little you can keep going but just let's say some good white guy stuff there. There's nothing more amazing than white people's lack of understanding of what the black churches mean. Hey do you know little you should be loud. Working with focus on the family's James Dobson. He lectured and met with quote ethnic pastors. So now he's trying to reach out. That's a good way

to do it. These are the ethnic pastors. Good Bill. Good. Really good. James I would like to meet blacks. Where's the black pastor. That's what I'm after. But still the message of the promise keepers is spreading and spreading. Men are just super into it. And the message is really that men have sort of lost their role with household and religion and they need to kind of reestablish. Well it's it's framed as it's framed as like we said not to dominate but to serve but at the same time they're doing that I'm taking over everything. Yeah that's like yeah it's really it's subversive. Yeah. Yeah so the next year Folsom Field another event 50,000 men. God damn it. What. In 1993 his daughter Christie had another son.

The father was again one of Bill's players. Wow. So Christie's I think I didn't go to Christie and apparently some some leftist paper wrote a pretty brutal article about her but I don't like she's not the bad guy here. Yeah. Like she's just a girl who likes football players like for her. Yes. Yes of course. Yeah. It's only highlighted because her father's a fucking lunatic. Yeah. His wife's depression is now completely severe like. So he's really like he's just going out at these stadiums and just pining for what he should be doing. Like for the not that he should be doing but like for the existence that he would say in his perfect Christian household he has but he doesn't. His wife is depressed doesn't like

him. His daughter is pregnant again and he I mean like for the religious man he's like and yet he goes out in these sold out stadiums and he's like we got to take the power back. Women are listening to the man. It's like yeah no shit dude. Well they say they're doing all this to be free to be men but also they're doing it for their wives. Meanwhile his wife is experiencing severe depression. I mean she she loses 80 pounds in a year because she's not eating and she's no longer talking to her friends on the phone or seeing them at all like she's just totally isolated. He's like we're doing this for the women like it's just such a crazy juxtaposition. All right baby I got another event today. Hey whatever

you're doing keep doing it. Woohoo. No I'm sad as fuck. So Bill takes stock and says quote having invested her all in our marriage and family for 30 years she had come to a horrifying conclusion our lives together had been a waste. So this is what he said Linney's depression was the toxic fallout of the vast legacy of my chronic insensitivity and neglect toward her. Interesting okay. Okay so he you know some ownership it sounds like right. I mean I gotta say it's it's the best of men realize there's something wrong with their marriage when their wife stops eating loses 80 pounds and hasn't talked to her friends in a year. That's when the that's when the best of men are like oh is there something

wrong. Hey honey they seem well I don't want to sound out of line but they seem a little different than before. No no no hear me out it's just that we don't talk you don't see anybody you hate me you don't pray you've lost 80 pounds and everything seems to bother you and I'm just wondering as a man what am I doing wrong and how can I fix it. Clearly comes down to something I'm doing for your own personality is formless shapeless impossible. So what do I need to do. Well this is really the one thing about I think all religions is that this woman needs a mental health doctor yes yeah she needs an actual person and and then this is just all fucking bullshit around it but yeah really that's I mean this this

is getting bitten by a snake and saying the Lord will take care of the venom. Yeah I mean it's really yeah this is what he does though he retires from coaching in nineteen this dude is all about big swings. He's at the top of his game. Dude he signed a 15 if you signed a coach to a 15 year contract I mean they just signed Patrick Mahomes the best player in the NFL to a 10 year contract and that's unheard of 15 year contract is crazy in football. No it's totally crazy. He's 54 which is for football coaches like you're in your prime yeah and he says he's doing it to spend more time with his family. The promise keepers is also fucking taking off. They're now in this year seven events in different

cities all together 270,000 men. Wow. So it's just getting bigger and bigger and then the next year 1995 13 cities 600,000 men. Fucking hey good lord. So it starts getting a little bit of attention because it's becoming this big movement. This female reporter for Miss Magazine Donna Mikowitz. I see this going really well. Poses as a 16 year old boy and goes to a promise keepers event. This is fantastic. Right the best. This is how you get a story. So she wrote that promise keepers were anti-gay, anti-abortion but did have some doctrines that feminists would appreciate. Okay interesting. And some couples were reporting promise keepers turned men away from abusing their wives. Okay so yeah I mean that's good but it's just

such a low bar. Yeah. He finally stopped hitting me is not okay. Yeah. Like Larry and Sissy from Houston 14 years of marriage. She says they have a miserable marriage. They're arguing one time and he physically attacks her. He gets arrested and then his pastor took him to a promise keepers meeting. Afterwards Larry was so romantic and attentive that it was sometimes quote unnerving. What kind of fucking dickhead needs to go to a goddamn stadium speech to know to not be like honey I realized I shouldn't hit you. Yeah it's so weird. Wow I guess I never thought about it like that. Sissy quote once he came home and apologized for treating me so badly over the years and said he wanted to wash my feet. I let him

but I really thought he had lost it. What kind of fucking apology like let me wash those feet. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around that. Well I think I mean it must honest to God it's one of two things. It's either there is some sort of either it's something he hurt like Bill was like that's right you gotta take her hand and say that you love her. Wash your feet every once in a while and that like clicked for him or there is like some biblical reference that he's like that's what she needs or she just had like gross feet. It's possible she never washed her feet. Yeah it's possible she had yeah she might have been one of those barefoot people. Look I don't know how the mind of

a guy who abuses his wife or girlfriend is but I think based on what I've you know picked up over the years that they do it and then they feel really bad and then they do it again and it's like a cycle. So I just wonder if this feeds into the cycle of abuse over now he can wash her feet and then feel better about the fact that he level the playing field only to unlevel it again right. Yeah so another woman said the Promise Keepers had improved her marriage quote how does it oppress women if a decision needs to be made and it's the husband who initiates the discussion takes responsibility for including everyone in the decision making process and takes ownership of the result. The women who criticize Promise

Keepers are dishonoring other women who see being a homemaker and mother as important. So she's literally saying how does it oppress women if a man totally takes charge and all she has to do is cook and clean and take care of the kids. Look you just got to cook clean and let them wash your feet a few times a week. Yeah yeah well also imagine like imagine like halfway through your marriage with someone someone being like everything's got to change you're just like this is going to be crazy. This is not good. It's not what I want sort of but not really. So Bill explained quote it's typically misunderstood what it means to go home and be the leader. Leadership is servanthood for the guy to be the leader

means he out serves his wife. It's just the talk is just also or well it's not a partnership it's like it's like using doublespeak to try to figure out a way to get back to man in charge woman not in charge. Well yeah and yeah right it's like you reestablished like I've been telling you what to do too much. So now listen to me and I'll tell you how to be weighed upon. I'll be so good to you. It's like yeah. Yeah so Randall Bommer who is a religion professor said that promise keepers were similar to a Christian movement at the turn of the last century. The muscular Christianity movement. Excuse me. So it's like it's like being men it's like mainly man Christianity. Wow. But the huge meetings

were fun. At a promise keepers event in Anaheim Joe Fernandez said quote it's like a fiesta like a party for God. A God fiesta. Yeah. A God fearing fiesta. 25 year old lifeguard Robert Evans said quote it's not something you see every day it's radical. Here I have been dragging the women out of the water when they've been drowning but what I should be doing is empowering them to follow my lifeguard way and save themselves. Remember he's saying it's radical in the way that it was said in 1995 like the way Cheetos was radical like it's like marketing radical. This was radical. It's like years after is actually a cool thing to say what all the companies were using it right. So promise keepers became a machine

at events speaker spoke vendors sold stylish faded promise keeper polo shirts get your stupid bullshit here stupid bullshit hats T shirts during breaks. Guys ate hot dogs and drank coax like they were at a stadium while others quote young men stripped to the waist smeared themselves with sunscreen and swatted beach balls. So this is all very this is at a stadium. Yeah. So at a stadium half of the dudes just go off and have coax and dogs and the other half lube themselves up and white sunblock and just start like like what is like I'd be like hey what's the schedule of today. Is there a scary it seems a lot of full a full of breaks is what it seems like hit the ball back hurry. Oh my God that

hit my nips here. Let me put some more sunblock on you. There you go. So in 1996 and 1997 there were 40 promise keeper conferences around 1.5 million men attended. Wow. God 40 percent of the men come now complain about the event because of the constant theme of racial unity. So he's just so all these white dudes are coming and then they keep hearing Bill talk about how they need to be more racially inclusive and they're just getting mad. It's just crazy on every level in his book. I don't like this stuff about becoming friends with non whites. Anything else resonates with me. No I'm here for the Christianity. That's why we got to put all this white sunblock on these guys. Whiten them up.

So he writes a book sold out and in it he wrote quote every day I continue to cry out that by the year 2000 racism within the church will have been eradicated. Oh fuck. Good prediction. Promise keepers go to New York and they hold an event at Shea Stadium. More like pray stadium. Welcome everybody. 35000 men. Oh my god. Frank Rich of the New York Times. There had to be one or two guys who were standing there for a while. We're like hey is there not a met game today. I just saw a bunch of people I just assumed my son and I just assumed the game was on. So it's just like he's been praying and yelling for Jesus quote during a marathon rally of a sermonizing singing and praying and men also repeatedly sobbed and hugged

each other or more joyously slapped high fives while repeating the chant. Thank god I'm a man. Ouch that hurt. Thank god I'm a man. There's just this is like ripe of catch phrases that should not be uttered in this country. Thank god I'm a man. Give me five. I'm a man. We are man. Yes. The 1996 version of Dude's Rock. Yeah. Mike Bernardo of Connecticut said quote it's an awesome uplift. I felt so incredibly comfortable and free. I can finally be a man comfortably in America. You know how hard it is to be a man in America. Can't be a man walk around. Everybody looks at you funny. They're just like oh there's that guy who demands everything. Nobody recognizes us for what we are. The guys who are demanding everything. So Mike said that

before the rally he felt he had to keep his intense religious beliefs to himself. So before the rally he was what we needed. That's right. And now he's like now I can tell it. Now I can talk to strangers about it finally. God I love Christ so much. I want to high five other dudes. That's how much. God I'm a man. Come on somebody hit it. Frank of Queens quote there's this whole macho thing out there. This idea that being a Christian is being a sissy. Frank's saying one of the there. It's like you're not doing your job. You're finding like yeah. Frank saying saying in one of the choirs and wore a t-shirt that said quote real men sing real loud. Boy I just want to point out that I don't know what in the fuck is happening. Okay that's good because I'm

also sort of like not sure. It feels a bit like a rudderless ship. I mean they're all having this fucking crisis of what it's like to be a man. But they're saying that because they're Christian men they're sort of being stuffed in a box and they go don't get to be real men. But that's like but what are you talking about. That's never that literally never happened in America. That's just not a fucking thing. Yeah it's never it's never it's never been a thing. So instead they've just like organized an event of masculine bumper stickers. So back to the writer. Frank Rich saw them as wanting to overcome macho inhibitions and get close to God. And yet he wrote quote but an army promise keepers most certainly is its preachers sound more like generals and hard

charging motivational cheerleaders than clergy. Every music queue crowd maneuver and sales pitch for promise keeper paraphernalia is integrated into the show with a split second precision that suggests a Radio City religious pageant stage by George Pab. So it's so it's I mean it's going down the natural progression of now it's becoming a little bit more about money and I mean yeah they they clearly brought in somebody who knows how to market and knows live events. Right now it's got a wrestling field to it. Now it's a pageant to show is being put on. Right. Women's groups like now started sounding the alarm about the promise keepers. In 1997 Bill wondered why he was the one called by God to lead the promise keepers quote.

It's absurd that I'm the one I've made so many mistakes. I love coaching but this is so much greater and by greater really great because revenues were now eighty seven million dollars. Wow. Yeah. So there you go. Yeah. A report on promise promise keepers event in Oklahoma quote dozens of men are weeping openly in the pews a more than slightly disconcerting site middle age guys sobbing and hugging and professing love for one another. I love you so much. I'm so glad that we could come to this event together because before this I didn't know that I could be a man but now I get to go home and let Christy know that I've misled her the whole marriage and I'm going to wash the shit out of her feet and let her know when I want my dinner

because I'm letting myself be in charge finally through the eyes of her into the soul of God. Oh my God. Hot dogs. Oh shit. What don't they have here. I'm going to take your shirt off. Here comes a beach ball. Hey guys I'm going to take a piss and guess which bathroom I'm going in. The one that says man. That one's locked. I'll use the family one. The point remains to continue the quote. They admit having broken promises they beg for forgiveness for insensitivity for infidelity for abandoning their children for racial hatred for sins as petty as reading pornography to transgressions as heinous as abusing their wives and they swear to be promise keepers. So it's a way it's kind of go ahead. Just male guilt like they they're shitty fucking

if that's what you are your shitty dude. It's making you and instead of instead of handling it the right way which is in your relationship you go and ask forgiveness from other shitty dudes. Dave what Dave I lay out two options for you. You're an asshole. You're a prick. You've been a prick forever. You probably don't like yourself all that stuff. So you can either go into some sort of deep dive into yourself and your childhood find out you know through therapy and other means like that. What makes you tick why you're like that why you know whatever your father influence however the or you can go spend three hours at a stadium with a bunch of dudes to tell you it's OK with a bunch of guys who are like that's nothing. I ran over mine with a lawnmower.

I've got to go rub her feet. But you know what's awesome. You're a man. Yeah. By the way I don't want to freak anyone out but there is a non white man here and that is a man is making me feel very uncomfortable. Promise keeper David Barnwell an organizer in Detroit said quote when a man sees a stadium full of other men crying he figures it's all right to cry to with women here he might not do that. Right. Yes. Because they can't know exactly. They can't know they can't know because then now now hear me out because then you're then because tears are for the woman. So then the woman sees the woman you being womanly and doesn't know what to do which is why I get so mad and drink so much. And really all I need to do is go there tonight and say Kathy I'm in charge. I'm fucking back.

This is my marriage. I'm a man. And then I'll show her this cool bumper sticker that I got. And then she'll love me again and then it'll be fine because I'm forever changed. I put in the hard work. I drove to a stadium. I paid for parking. I went inside. I gave up half of my Sunday to fix myself and I'm fixed. This sticks. Yeah. You're good now. This is good. I'm fine. It's like the difference between taking your car to the shop or driving by a wizard. I just wonder is that true. Is it isn't it harder to cry in front of other men than it is women. Well also the idea that men don't cry in stadiums. Have you ever watched the championship in front of all genders. Yeah. I didn't think of that. Oh god. It's so good.

At that Detroit event the speaker asked men who had committed sexual impurities to come forward. At first no one did. But before long and then a stampede thousands of men and then a thousand were crushed to death at the front in front of the podium on their knees crying and accepting Jesus as their savior. I've done so many bad things. I've done things all to magazines to women to the sir. I jump in. I love to ask. I love it. I eat like it's pancakes at a Denny's. I can't get enough of it. I will forgo every other part of the body just to get my mouth right on that ass. And I love it. I love it. And no I'm not done yet. I have found asked to eat in so many different places that it would be an embarrassment. I'm glad this is a safe place. I love but I like

to eat it. And I love it. I love ass eating. It's the only thing that now that we're in a safe place I'll be honest. The only thing that can get this cock hard because we're all men and there's no women around judging us. So I get the only thing that can get my dick hard is that if I eat an ass then once I'm done eat the ass the dick ain't hard anymore. But I'll tell you what now that I've learned this I'm going to go home tonight and have a conversation with my wife and let her know that I'm done trying to eat her ass. From now on I will take my semi flaccid penis and try to put it inside her by any means necessary. Sure it might be like trying to open a car door with a piece of cooked spaghetti but the point is I've learned my lesson. The lordeth magical. Sure ass is magical

too but I'm going to look somewhere else now. Instead of looking down the butt for healing I'm looking to the clouds where the lordeth live. He is mysterious and he half fixed me. Are those hot dogs? We're going to take a break. I guess throw some beach balls out. That was not what we were expecting. I feel 80 pounds lighter. I feel bad. I feel real bad. Yeah I feel bad too. I feel real bad. I don't think we feel the same. The only one thing that cures me when I feel like this but I'm not going to go to that well but normally if I'm down like this the only thing that will help me out is a slab of buttock. But there was a more male aggressiveness to this. It seemed what Bill had done was to combine sports and Christ. Which is a dangerous

combination. Yes it is in the precise cadence of the chant. Defense, defense. Thousands of men were now in stadiums yelling Jesus, Jesus. Like they were using the same sports and just translating it. Ads appeared on scoreboards for a Christian book titled Go the Distance. Which read quote, this book will help you cross the finish confident you've run a good race. A t-shirt for sale read Lord's Gym, his pain, our gain. So it's just right. Yes it's crazy. It's like yeah they don't go together. They only go together as far as we've had them go together. Which is where you're like hey he influences the sport not he is the sport. But it feels like these are a bunch of dudes who feel like they're lame for liking Jesus. So they're trying to figure out a way to make it seem mainly

for them. For some and then for others it's just a way to scapegoat your sins for lack of a better term. Yeah for sure. On October 4th 1997, the Promise Keepers held their most known event yet. It was called Stand the Gap, a Sacred Assembly of Men in Washington DC on the National Mall. There were 44 guest speakers, 11 Jumbotrons, 1500 portable toilets, 130 stage lights, 24 generators, 210 phone lines, and 1 million free bibles. Wow. That's crazy. But now leading up to this stand in the gap now, if people don't know what that is, National Association of Women. It would be great if it was Na. It started a campaign against the Promise Keepers. Patricia Ireland was the now president and she said the Promise Keepers were about taking control

and putting making women take the back seat. And she said she was going to rip the mask off the Promise Keepers. She accused them of being a stealth male chauvinist movement with the secret political agenda of repealing women's rights. I mean, which even if that was not the intended mission statement, it is like, yeah, it's clearly, I mean, they're speaking to something. Ireland saw a dangerous movement, a new wave of the religious right with serious inherent dangers. She said they had a cult-like aspect and were, quote, very warlock. Sorry. Very warlike. Also very warlock. What's the matter now? Afraid we'll turn you into Na? She said they communicated in Orwellian double-speak. She also saw it as

authoritarians spreading male supremacy in our families with the goal of repealing women's rights. She believed they were as great a threat as George Wallace, abortion clinic bombers, and the Taliban. Well, they're certainly speaking to something, and it also is probably easier after something like this if you fuck up to feel like it's not only maybe less your fault, but it's easier to solve just by praying. Yeah. Yeah. And I think she's right about that. I think that when you combine sports and religion, I think you are getting this weird authoritarian thing. Total. And there's definitely a male supremacy of the family thing happening, but it's also what we brought up earlier. There is this weird Orwellian thing going on with how they're talking about this shit. Yeah.

It doesn't jive with what they're fucking doing. Right. Yeah. So the promise keepers were like, that's not true. They held a press conference where conservative women came forward and said they supported the promise keepers and called now's attack radical feminism. Between 600 and 800,000 men attended stand in the gap. It was still mostly all white guys. During the rally, a dozen topless women called themselves the lesbian Avengers, and they walked through the crowd taunting the man for promoting patriarchy. Cover your eyes. Cover them. That's great. At the end, the promise keepers called it a huge success. Tony Santiago of Queen, Tony Santiago of Queen said he made a pledge to be more helpful to his wife by doing all the dishes and all the

laundry. Quote, I felt they had to do more than just make love to her whenever and buy her dinner. Cure the holy fuck. Well, he sounds like a real catch, obviously. I don't know what the problem is. I gave her a potato and fucked her. It's just so amazing. What it does too is when you it really does when you're like, I'm going to cook dinner and do the dishes more like those are physical things you can do. There's no emotional change there whatsoever. But you feel like you're doing more than you were. So you can probably justify having similar or adjacent behavior because now you do the dishes and you help out around the house, you know, like so you can still be a dickhole because you've learned something, but you've learned nothing. Yeah, I mean, you're

coming from a baseline of absolutely fucking nothing. You used to fuck her once in a while and buy her dinner once a month like Jesus Christ, dude. Congratulations. What a great guy. Yeah, so the idea is that he, yeah, he just is not, that's the idea that that's adequate that you're like, I gave her food and put it in her. What is her deal lately? So to encourage participation in the promise keepers, stop charging fees for tenants. Now, I don't understand this. So there's a couple of things going on here that it's 1998, revenue is going down a bit. And I think someone made a really bad business decision, but they decided to start stop charging. They're getting like 35 to 55 bucks a pop

for these stadium gigs. Huge. Yeah. And there's something else going on. That's that from like 1994, it was a steady build of press and media attention. And then after the big stop the gap thing, it just kind of, everyone just kind of stopped paying attention to them. Like it wasn't, like it was like this big thing. And then everyone reported on them, right? The New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR. And then everyone just kind of went, okay, we did that. And they moved on. And so, so a tenant starts plummeting. But the main reason is because they're not getting press anymore. So no one's, if you have an organization like the Christian church, you're, or the, sorry, the Catholic church, you're everywhere. You drive down

streets, you see the church, like it's all, it's all in companies. But if you're not an organization like that, if you just do events in stadiums, then, then there's no thing, there's no actual well-established organization. So when the media stops, there's no place, right? You're just kind of not there. Right. So they go deeply into debt. So Bill goes and meets with 3000 pastors and lay people to decide on a plan to keep the organization afloat. At an event in St. Petersburg, Florida, he said, quote, I believe that every church that names the name of Jesus is supposed to give the promise keepers a thousand dollars. What? This is now, I mean, he, this, isn't this what always happens with this shit? Someone starts off and they're just like, no, no, then, and then eventually

you are just like, I deserve money from God. He owes me that prick. Also, you just made $87 million. What in the fuck did you do with it? I mean, what did you do with it? And now you're saying every church should give you a thousand dollars because of the work you're doing? I mean, if that works, it's quite a business model. This was his idea to raise 300 million that the promise keepers needed to employ all of their 345 staff at their headquarters and keep everything running. And in February, the staff learned their jobs would not be funded after March 31st if no money was raised. The Lord hath for logy. Bill stops taking a salary. Now, for some reason, all the churches that name the name of Jesus did not give a thousand dollars

each to the promise keepers. At the end of March, all 345 staff members were let go. Now, this is like, this is like one of the biggest, like they went, they just had an event with like 600, 800,000 people. And now you're on March in the next year, and it's just falling apart. That's an astounding collapse. Like Juicero. Later that year, donations came in, and promise keepers hired 180 staff for headquarters to eliminate their debt and to have a cash reserve. So they went out and probably asked their own members. They probably e-mail list or whatever. And, you know, they then schedule, and this is 1998, so they schedule a Y2K march. And now it was going to be the sequel to Stand in the Gap. It would have promise keepers

heading to every state capital building in all 50 states at midnight on January 1st, 2000. Perfect. That's really bringing Jesus to the, yeah. That's it. Now, that's when the capital is open. That's right. Now, one problem with that turned out to be the Y2K bug, which everybody was freaking out about. Don't tell me it stole their thunder or something. When I think back to the 2000s, I think promise keepers. Well, they were, because their thing was exactly at midnight, which is exactly what everybody was saying, the Y2K bug was going to destroy everything. And obviously, people were freaking

out about that. So they said they canceled it because of that, but a lot of people thought that they canceled it because they were about to be embarrassed by low turnout. Right. Okay. And then promise keepers just kind of vanished for a few years. Attendance hugely down. They had 62,000 in Minneapolis at the Metrodome in 1995, but in 2001, 16,000 people at the Target Center. By 2000, their annual budget had gone from 117 million down to 34 billion. 34 million. Wow. It's 34 million. Sorry. Yeah, that would be up. We're having a bad year. We're billionaires. Not giving up in the early 2000s, the promise keepers started an online community.

Finally. Bill had a three minute radio broadcast called Fourth and Goal. Perfect. Three minutes, just the right amount of time to get your message across. I really think he was just doing the shit that he was doing early on as a coach preaching to the kids. I don't think it's any... I think that it's just all the same speak. I mean, that might be wrong, but... And that was carried by 500 radio stations. They also offered an internet service provider with internet accountability software. Are you sure you want to jack off, Todd? Yeah. Don't you want to get your internet through the promise keepers?

Oh, just every website. What? Yahoo. Are you sure you want to go to Yahoo? No, I guess not. It was called I Promise, E-Y-E Promise. Oh, better. Yeah, because otherwise it's Apple. The new I Promise from Apple. In 2001, the promise keepers branched into youth ministry with a group called Passage. It focused on young men and called them the next warriors for Christ. Your tagline was, quote, this ain't your daddy's promise keepers. You, by the way, it is... Wow. That is... Oh, that is tough. I'm just saying it's your daddy's promise keepers. Yeah? Well, I'm still

against it. I will beat the living shit out of this group. Am I being clear? They launched an 18-city conference series aimed at adolescent boys called Turn the Tide, Living Out an Extreme Faith. This was a nod to the extreme sports. It was a very popular phrase at the time. So this is their extreme faith. Whoa. Oh my God, look. It's time to get rad. He's praying off of that cliff. So the tour was touted as an in-your-face experience. That's right. Religion has never been aggressive. Now we're going to finally do that. Then Promise Keepers International was launched. They hosted summits to unite evangelical

Christian men around the world. Events were translated into seven languages and featured world music. Promise Keepers International was established in nine countries, including Canada, Germany, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, and the UK. So they're just grasping at straws. They're just trying to find a way to keep this thing going. They're trying to franchise any way they can. Yeah. And then in October 2003, Bill stepped down as leader. Okay. He said he was going to care for Lindy, who now had a severe respiratory illness. My guess is I'm sure Lindy's going to be really happy to have him around a little bit more. Yeah. Oh, for sure. Thomas Fortson, Jr. became the new president and CEO. He said American

society was on a moral decline and called Christian men to gain more influence over society, saying, quote, we are calling Christian men to change society by living under biblical authority and teaching others to do the same. Who the fuck wants to live under biblical authority? Are you kidding me? It's just so Taliban-y. What do you want? You want to go back to the fucking mandals? It's absurd. Yeah, it's crazy. So during this time away from Promise Keepers, Bill founded a ministry for Jews called the road to Jerusalem. He believed Jesus called for Gentiles and Jews to unite and heal divisions. And when that happened, quote, the world will then experience

its final harvest of souls. But I'm sorry, who is pushing for this event? Oh, a lot of people do you come up with a least like a less terrible name? The harvest of the souls. And what is that? That's where we kill everybody. Yeah, this kind of shit is creepy. So the Promise Keepers keep trying to redefine what they are looking for a bigger impact with not a lot of spending models for events were changed from what makes a man to unite and ignite. They're just so desperate. Smaller local events called Promise Keeper Adventure were held at churches and they continued to try to use internet and satellite to bring Promise Keepers to more men at a lower cost,

but nothing was working. Sure. Forson did not meet his own goals and he resigned. Promise Keepers had Bill, who was now 68, come back to lead. And in 2009, Promise Keepers held one stadium event in Folsom Field in Boulder. It was the first Promise Keepers event that invited women to attend. Oh, well, finally. So this ought to fix everything. Yeah, right on time. They're their whole mission, their whole thing. Yeah, I mean, they're so desperate for business. They're like, well, let's invite let's just if everything's gone, let's just let's make money. But that means we can't openly weep. That's right. There will be no openly weeping because of the

women. Promise Keepers even began reaching out to Jews. Hey, our bad. Listen. Do you want to join? God's cool with you now. Please bring your monies. It's just so insane. The Promise Keepers held a Promise Keepers. Sorry, Promise Keepers annual charity report outlined why they were including women quote, approximately 50% of American households are led by single moms. Yeah, I just don't know what they're doing any longer. No, they just they can't get anyone interested. Turns out that women are sometimes without a man some of our studies are finding.

What? Also in the charity report, they said they were targeting African Americans quote, because 39% of abortions in America are by African American women. They were targeting Native American communities because of a high suicide rates. And they went after young adults because only 4% had a Biblically based faith in Jesus. I definitely think when I when I was an adolescent, that's what I was after all the changes you're going through. You just want someone to come over and be like, hey, you need to read the Bible. Yeah. So with all this going on and reach out to all these different groups, they now called the men's only groups men's classics. This is it. This is like quite a downfall. The men's it sounds it sounds like when a

shop goes out of business. That's so great. They held a half a dozen events each year in cities all over the US. And then Bill stepped down again in 2015. Jesus Christ. Dr. Raleigh Washington took over. He was a black guy who had joined in 1988. But three years later, he was out and Ken Harrison took over. Bill's wife, Lindy died in 2013 at the age of 70 from emphysema. They've been married for 50 years. Although sounds really terrible, like a really, really fucking terrible marriage from their first date onward. Yeah, first time isn't good. That year, Bill was inducted into the college football hall of fame. In 2016, Bill was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. During a 2017 interview, he was asked about

the 1991 national championship game against Notre Dame. Quote, I know we won. You know, I don't remember who we played. But even with his memory loss, he cited Bible passages that give him hope. And quote, I believe there's a way out of this. His grandson. Okay. What? It's just, I would love for you to read him this story and see what he thought. Oh my God. Yeah. Bill's grandson, TC McCartney, went on to play football LSU where he later coached. He went on to coach at the University of Colorado and is now the QB coach for the Denver Broncos. Oh, wow. Bill's other grandson, Derek McCartney, went on to play at the University of Colorado. Today, Promise Keepers is said to be ushering in a new era with a modernized approach.

Improving follow up with men after events. The follow up takes the form of fire teams, which are quote, small groups of men in each church connected by a smartphone app. Promise Keepers launched women's groups, Esther calling and Hannah's initiative. Esther calling supports the mission of Promise Keepers and the men of Promise Keepers. So they've created a wing of their male generated male support group. They finally want to speak to women. So they're like, this is a group just for the ladies to talk about how great we, the men are. And remember, their whole thing at the start was how they were going to serve women. And now, and now they've started a group. This whole purpose is to you serve us support them. Hannah's initiative.

Women would form prayer pods and pray aloud for issues like encouraging men to take spiritual leadership in their homes and for men to rise up as Servant Kings. So what, like two women showed up and like, what is this? Oh, that's dog shit. Is there anything that talks about the feelings of the woman? Yes. Yes, we went over that. Yes, you feel like the man needs to do more for you. Yes, that's your feeling. You feel like you need to be more dependent on your man. Okay, so talk about that stuff. And there'll be no talk of anything about you people. This is about men. Don't fuck with God. So it's still, it's still going on. Still is going on. Yeah, I wrote, I actually wrote this before the pandemic. And for some reason, I just thought

when it's a pandemic, I was like, this doesn't seem like the right one. But, but at the time, they had scheduled a stadium event Dallas, Texas, AT&T Stadium July 31st through August 1st, 2020. Wow. So it just happened. And I, I was part of me wanted to go to it. Of course. Because I've always wanted to go to a Promise Keepers event, because it just sounds so fucking crazy. Yeah. But then I was gonna fucking do it online, because then they decided to do it online. And I forgot about it. Oh, Dave, I just, I just, I, because I just read it was like, they held it. I was like, Oh my God, it was the first stadium event in 20 years they were going to do. I think they still did it at the stadium. But then they just, then they just did like zoom or something

of the, of the guys talking. They kept saying they were going to get 80,000 men. But with the online event, I went to Twitter to look at a post. They, the official Promise Keepers Twitter account has like just over 5,000 followers. And their tweet for the Promise Keepers event only got 11 retweets. So it's not sounding, it feels like it's peaked. Sources. A lot of this is by T Malcom. And that a lot of this is from our articles are on also in God football in the game of his life. P hope the patriarch is on track or research at Promise Keeper just a big crowd. J Woodward, E Gamerman, and these are just all the authors of the articles. Yeah. So there's a huge list of, of that. A lot of New York Times,

a lot of Washington Post outside the lines on ESPN. So there's just a bunch of sources you can go check out on our sources page. Well, let's hope, I mean, I've wanted the pandemic to go away for a while, but let's hope that it goes away soon as soon as possible because we can get the Promise Keepers back up and running. I know, right? I mean, I really, I think I might, I think I might have, because I really wanted to go. I think, but I also think if I'd gone, it would have been like me and like 40 dudes. Like, I'd be like, so Dave, walk us through your history. Be like, I'm a goof. I think you're the weirdest. Dave, you've quite a following on Twitter. Why didn't you retweet our thing? Oh, God. You know, Dave, go through your tweets right now. I'm seeing a lot of things

that are incongruent with the beliefs of the Promise Keepers. It would just be so fun to watch dudes crying and hugging and high fiving and, you know, the whole, all the fun. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And being like, my wife's feet are so dirty. She needs, I gotta go baptize my wife's feet again. Well, it's quite a country we've got here, isn't it? Also, I think that, I just want to say, I think there's definitely a through line from these stadiums of dudes to Trump. I was going to say, yeah, it's true. It's like, it almost seems like to what you were saying, yeah, that like the message is less important as much as the event and feeling like you're part of

something, which I think speaks a lot to that, you know, that base in a way, you know? Yeah. Yeah. I want to thank April Garrity for doing research on this. Thank you, April. Thank you, April. Thank you, April. All right, Dave. Well, good shit. Another beautiful chapter in this perfect democracy. Yeah. Well, goodbye, everybody.