Nuggets from Occult Invasion

And PK has filled stadiums with unprecedented numbers of men meeting to cheer for Jesus. (More than 1 million men attended its 22 regional rallies in 1996—and nearly 3 million had done so by the end of 1997.) There is a danger of emotionalism in such a movement. The comments of Pastor Travers van der Merwe, one of more than 82,000 men who attended the 1995 Promise Keepers gathering in Detroit’s Silverdome, are significant:

“It was a finely orchestrated brainwashing extravaganza geared to mesmerize your emotions. Using music, videos, and loud and fast motivational speakers, the crowd was taken on an emotional ride. At one point, the speaker said, ‘Welcome to Woodstock, right here…. There’s a lot of testosterone here…!’ By attending Promiser Keepers, my emotions were worked into a high state but I was not fed the Word of God. I had not drawn closer to God or His Word. The appeal was to draw night to Promise Keepers. I had my emotions stimulated but my heart and mind were not spoken to. Everyone I talked with afterward said ‘it was great.’ But when I asked them what they got out of it they were speechless. It was symbolism over substance.”