Promises to Keep

June 17, 1996
Although Harrison intermittently reaches for ecumenism by incorporating selections from St. Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, John Wesley, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Joseph Girzone and other notables from diverse Christian traditions, his result is far narrower. The meditational guidance chosen to amplify the thematic prefaces to each section and the Bible verses cited for each day exemplify the evangelical thrust of the burgeoning "Promise Keepers" movement, an interracial fellowship of believers that celebrates a "manly" brand of muscular Christianity. Predominant here are testimonials (leavened with hymn stanzas, poems and comic-strip panels) by PK founder and former University of Colorado head football coach Bill McCartney, PK president Randy Phillips, various sports stars, business achievers, ministers and evangelists, political figures and others, each of whom is identified in a useful biographical appendix.

July 1, 1996
Journalist and former bookseller Harrison gathers the testimonies of men struggling to understand and live out their Chistian spiritual identities into a year-long daily devotional book designed to guide other Christian men in their spiritual paths. Excerpts from writers as diverse as Tom Landry and Max Lucado prepare and instruct men to follow God's ways as models for leading lives of fidelity and integrity. Each testimony is accompanied by a verse of scripture, which sets the context for the devotional meditation. Harrison's judicious collection avoids the spiritual cheerleading so characteristic of the Christian men's movement called Promise Keepers and focuses instead on balance and depth in spiritual life. For most libraries.