What I found was in some ways no different from what I expected: a full stadium, lots of proclamatory T-shirts, a general feeling of exuberance. However, a few things caught me by surprise.
Ick. First, there was the stadium food. I had noticed and wondered why the only guys who brought knapsacks were the ones who had been to PK events before. The answer, of course, was that they were able to enjoy fine dining in comparison to my diet of bratwurst and Twizzlers®.
Normal Men. Secondly, while there were more than a few glassy-eyed, raise-your-hands-and-shout-Hallelujah types there, the vast majority of men were not what you'd think of as religious fanatics. They were normal men of all ages, shapes, sizes and races (or at least as much racial diversity as one can expect in Omaha). I was a bit struck by the lack of Asian representation, though I work in Ames which has quite an Asian population.
Authenticity. The speakers focused on the basics of the Christian faith, reaching across denominational boundaries. Christ died for you. You are redeemed. Therefore, dedicate (or rededicate) your life. The feeling I had not really expected (though I had suspected it) was the feeling of authenticity on the part of the men who attended. These were real men who have committed themselves to leading a godly life. I heard there were about 13,000 men there. That's a lot of men. Looking across the packed auditorium from our hastily claimed seats in the nosebleed section, the sheer numbers were impressive -- not for their own sake, but for what they represented. These men are everywhere: in the park, in your workplace, in the store. These are the men who accept responsibility and encourage each other to keep on giving.
Women. I was surprised to see men with their wives and men with their daughters sitting in the stadium. I had read media coverage of PK events and thought women were barred at the door, by Neanderthals with clubs, perhaps. Such was not the case.
There were a handful of protesters from the National Organization for Women outside the stadium. On Saturday, August 8, the Omaha World-Herald ran a story entitled "Arena Echoes with Sounds of Spirituality" in which a NOW representative said that PK's promise of racial reconciliation ran hollow. "They're very specific in their terms, saying reconciliation instead of equality," she said. First of all, I couldn't help wondering why they didn't just come inside the stadium and see for themselves what was being said. And secondly, one of the speakers said the very thing NOW claimed that PK didn't say in his presentation on reconciliation. I saw and heard nothing during my time there that supported any notion of inequality, racial, sexual or otherwise, though I was constantly on the lookout for that since one of my reasons for coming was to find out where PK stood on these issues.
Frankly, what I expected was chest-pounding, whooping males shouting their superiority as red-faced, bug-eyed speakers urged them to dominate their wives, take back America from foreigners and gays, and vote Republican. The only one of these that I saw was the whooping. Speakers and men that I talked to focused on a renewed relationship with God, honoring commitments, supporting and loving wives and girlfriends, breaking free of addictions and encouraging one another in this process. There was no focus on domination or even politics.
I was even more surprised by overt references to Abraham Kuyper and neocalvinism by a speaker during the event, given my educational background. (See here for a discussion of neocalvinism.)In my opinion, the kind of men who attend PK events are the kind of men society needs to keep functioning. Are they perfect? Of course not. But they're trying. They're not walking away from responsibility (they all even picked up their own trash!). They reject selfishness in a culture where selfishness rules. Will they take back America? I guess a better question is: will the practical things that they stand for (honesty, integrity, faithfulness, equality) take back America? I hope so. After all, what's the alternative?
John K. VanDyk
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