c. 1997 Religion News Service

(Samuel K. Atchison is an ordained minister and has worked as a policy analyst and social worker to the homeless. He currently is a prison chaplain in Trenton, N.J.)

UNDATED _ Like many African-Americans, I have a dim view of anything even remotely connected with the religious right. I have often decried the apparent dissonance between the movement’s biblical views and what appears to be a racist political agenda. And I find it abhorrent that they are often promoted as two sides of the same coin.

Thus, it was with a skeptical eye that I first began to observe the Promise Keepers.

As a husband, father and pastor, I resonated with the group’s central message _ men should love their wives and children, nurturing them in the fear of the Lord. However, as a black man, I kept waiting for the other _ the political _ shoe to drop.

Thankfully, I am still waiting.

To my surprise, the Promise Keepers’ agenda is apparently more concerned with personal integrity than party politics. And the theme of Saturday’s gathering,”Stand in the Gap: A Sacred Assembly of Men,”embodied this thought. “Stand in the Gap”refers to a biblical text in the Old Testament book of Ezekiel (22:30):”I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it.” The text evokes the image of the protective walls that typically surrounded ancient cities. But in this instance the sinfulness of the city’s inhabitants symbolically caused a breach (or gap) in the wall, making it vulnerable to God’s wrath.

God says _ as an act of mercy _ he looked for a godly man to stand in the gap to stay his judgment on the people, but there was no one to be found.

By convening on the National Mall, the Promise Keepers were proclaiming to God and country their intention to stand in the gap for the nation. They seem to realize, as many of us do not, that at the root many of the nation’s problems are spiritual in nature.

Most social service programs, for example, are based on the assumption that people want to change. The purpose of these programs is to improve the quality of life of those who need them. The programs assume clients are willing to learn the habits and patterns necessary to sustain this change.

However, those of us who run these programs know the truth: Many people fail to improve their lot simply because they are not willing to change.

Similarly, legal and political approaches to many social problems assume people can be forced to change. Yet more than 30 years after the passage of the Civil Rights Act, racism remains pervasive, even in the church.

The Promise Keepers, however, have chosen to take first things first. Like the prophets of old, they have repented of their sins as well as for those of the nation. In so doing, they have taken responsibility for the problems in their homes and the resulting social ills.

Some consider the Promise Keepers’ mission quaint but quixotic. I don’t.

The Scriptures affirm that God honors the prayers of those who, in sincerity, repent of their sins.

As for me, I’m happy to admit I was wrong about the Promise Keepers. Humble pie never tasted so good.

MJP END ATCHISON