February 2019 | Promise Keepers

Promise Keepers Board: Chad Hennings

February 28, 2019By PK ManagerBoard, News

No one has the resumè that Chad Hennings has.

He’s a simple Iowa farm kid who had the opportunity to attend the U.S. Airforce Academy, fly 45 combat missions over Iraq, won three Super Bowl rings as a defensive lineman for the Dallas Cowboys, founded and leads Wingmen Ministries, and, most importantly, prioritizes being a husband and father.

And, now, Chad Hennings is joining the Board of Directors of Promise Keepers.

No one is more thrilled to have Hennings’ leadership on the board than Ken Harrison, Chairman of Promise Keepers.

“Chad Hennings isn’t just a football legend,” Harrison acknowledged. He’s a true American hero who set aside personal gain and delayed his NFL career to fight for his country as an A-10 pilot. Chad selflessly serves his family, his church, and his community. His heart for men — and the impact men have on their families — compelled him to start Wingmen Ministries. Chad’s experience in creating ‘cultures of excellence’ is just what we need, and his insight into the power of commitment — keeping promises — is exactly who we aspire to be as Promise Keepers,” Harrison insisted.

“In order to attain excellence one must first live a lifestyle of excellence,” Hennings said with conviction. “Excellence isn’t a destination; it’s an identity.”

Hennings has lived this message for most of his life and has taken this message across the world at the invitation of some of the most distinguished executive audiences ranging from American Airlines to Bank of America, General Motors to Citigroup, and a host of U.S. Governmental agencies.

Hennings has also been a philanthropic leader in the Dallas/Fort Worth area as a member of the Board of Directors of Christian Community Action, an organization that provides assistance to at-risk families.

He challenges audiences to dare to be excellent and inspires businesses to create cultures of excellence. “People and organizations don’t do great things to become great; great people and organizations do great things,” Hennings asserted. He credits his post-NFL career success to concepts he espouses on striving to live a lifestyle of excellence.

As founder of Wingmen Ministries, Hennings equips men to be better husbands, better fathers, and more Christ-like examples. Hennings affirms,

“As the men of a church go, so goes the church. And as the church goes, so goes the nation.When a child receives Christ, there is a 3.5 percent chance the rest of the family will follow.
When a mother receives Christ, there is a 17 percent chance the rest of the family will follow.
When a father receives Christ, there is a 90 percent chance the rest of the family will follow.

Now more than ever, men need to know what godly masculinity is, commit to it, model it in their sphere of influence, and band together with like-minded men for support and sharpening. Promise Keepers is all about these things, and I’m honored to join them.”

These days Hennings also serves as COO/Partner at Rubicon Representation, a Texas-based commercial real estate services firm. He also juggles speaking engagements and corporate advisory roles. “One of the things I’ve always been intrigued by has been business, so I’ve kind of been a serial entrepreneur,” Hennings said.

Notably, Hennings has written three books, the latest of which was released in 2015. “Forces of Character” compiles a series of conversations about reaching potential, being a positive influence, and making a difference for others. The book features a diverse group of subjects, ranging from sports figures Roger Staubach, Troy Aikman, Jason Garrett, and Gregg Popovich to a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp, a Space Shuttle commander, and a homelessness expert. Hennings previously authored “It Takes Commitment” and “Rules of Engagement,” which were released in 1996 and 2010, respectively.

Chad and his wife, Tammy, have a son, Chase, and a daughter, Brenna. They currently reside in Flower Mound, Texas.

Men, listen up!

February 14, 2019By PK ManagerUncategorized

I just got done giving a presentation to a large audience when the usual line of people formed to ask questions or give their input to the talk. Then I noticed the desperate face of a desperate man. “I need to talk to you,” he said. I shook more hands and answered more questions and then as the crowd died down, he and I were able to move to a private corner to grab a few minutes uninterrupted. “My wife doesn’t respect me!” he said. “My kids don’t listen to me!” His face was shrouded in anger, the kind of anger that comes from pain. We settled down for a long conversation.

He was a retired Marine, and he looked like one. He was lean and muscular and stared through me as we talked. We went through the usual symptoms of the problem until we got to the root. He just didn’t listen to his family. “Man,” I told him, “if there’s one thing you can offer your wife and kids, it’s to listen. You can’t imagine how important it is to them that you just hear them out. Don’t have a solution to the problem, don’t offer to help, just listen and try to empathize.”

“I try!” he said, “but it’s all just so boring. My daughter goes on and on about who’s dating who. She talks about all her stupid friends. It drives me crazy. I just don’t care. I sit at the dinner table and wait for it all just to be over so I can turn on the TV and unwind.”

“You know,” I said to him, “when I was a newlywed, my wife was traumatized because her jewelry store had been burglarized. She went on and on about it. In those days I was a cop in a brutal area of Los Angeles. I averaged over one gun arrest and two felony arrests every day. I had to buy six watches in one year because they kept getting shattered while fighting with some bad guy in a gutter or tackling some gangster in a parking lot. A jewelry store getting burglarized was nothing in my world.”

“But as I watched her face while she told her story, I realized that she felt violated by the fact that some bad person had broken into her store and taken some of her inventory. I listened intently to her because it was important to her. I don’t know why I had the wisdom to do that, but God gave it to me.”

“Who’s dating who may not matter to you, but it matters a lot to your daughter, and for that reason, you should give her your full attention. She’s developing her expectations of the man she’ll marry based on how her dad treats her — you. Are you teaching her that she’s important and deservesto be listened to? If you’re bored by what matters to her, she’s picking up on it—and she’ll carry that with her for the rest of her life.” “You need to teach her that what is important to her is important to you—simply because it’s important to her.”Everything I just said to you ain’t bad marriage advice either,” I said. “You’re a Marine. I doubt that your wife doesn’t respect you — but I’m betting she doesn’t feel cherished by you. She doesn’t feel cherished because you don’t listen to her.”

I spoke again in that city about six months later, and that same Marine came up to me afterward, he had the same desperate look in his eyes. “How’s it going with your family?” I asked him.

“Well you know,” he said, “I tried to take your advice, but it just doesn’t work. I try to listen but my mind just drifts away.” He settled in for another long conversation where I’d give him advice that he’d ignore. Instead, I stood up and clapped him on the shoulder. “If you want to take up my time again, make sure you know the names of your daughter’s friends next time and her boyfriend if she has one. Tell me all about them.”

I spoke again in that city again about a year later. He wasn’t there. We men understand that our responsibilities are to protect and provide for our families. Often, the most important thing we can provide is to make them feel loved. All too often, men listen for an assignment: we listen for something to do or for a problem to solve. Sometimes, just listening and caring is all they really need. To be a true disciple of Jesus, a person must die to themselves. Part of dying to self is taking a genuine interest in the cares of others. Things that wouldn’t normally interest us become interesting — simply because they matter to someone we love. As you examine your life in Christ, don’t look at the outside — whether you’re following some set of rules. Look on the inside. Do you take a genuine interest in what’s important to others? Do you pray daily for them? Do you authentically wish the best for them? If not, take a deep look into your heart and ask God to help you to see others through the eyes with which He sees them. He will answer that prayer, and the world will begin to look vastly different and more interesting.

This article also appeared in the Christian Post.

Abortion is not politics. It’s murder.

February 8, 2019By PK ManagerUncategorized

Promise Keepers is not political. Politics won’t bring peace and joy to the world. Only the grace and love of Jesus will do that.

Abortion is not politics. It’s murder. What the state of New York did by passing a law that would allow the killing of a baby that could easily live outside the womb is an evil that is unfathomable. A man of God has the responsibility to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Here is what we stand for:

1. Promise Keepers don’t cause unwanted pregnancies because we understand that sex is confined to marriage only.

2. If we sin and cause an unplanned pregnancy outside of marriage, we commit to helping raise that child. We support with our time, our money and our love. There would be substantially fewer women choosing to have abortions if the men who fathered the baby lived up to their responsibilities.

3. We never condemn a woman who is considering an abortion. She needs our support and our help. Perhaps through love and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, she will understand that she carries the greatest gift a person can give another: life.

4. We commit to fighting against any politician who promotes abortion and to supporting leaders who stand for life.

This is not politics. It’s life. We are the men of God and will will defend the defenseless. Are you with us?!?

-Ken Harrison
Chairman and CEO
Promise Keepers

This article also appeared in Charisma News.

Treat life like the Super Bowl, not the preseason

February 4, 2019By PK ManagerCulture, News, Rise of the Servant Kings, Values

This article appeared in ChristianityToday.

How would you complete the following sentence? The goal of my life is ____________.

The goal of football is to score touchdowns. The goal of running a company is to increase profits or stock value. What’s the goal of your life? Matthew 25:14-30 provides the best answer: to hear Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

A man with a goal in life is active because he knows what he’s pursuing. Let’s live lives that the Savior deems “Well done!”

God delights and communicating himself in his ways to every man who is prepared to receive him. God can work in you only to the extent that you are submitted to him. We all have some “self” left in us. Every believer is granted the Holy Spirit the moment he receives Christ (Ephesians 1:13-14). The amount of influence the Spirit has on you depends on the extent of your surrender: the more self, the less God; the less self, the more God.

When I was with the LAPD and arrested someone, sometimes I was present when the jailer fingerprinted the prisoner. He would roll each finger in ink and then roll it onto the page. The jailer needed the finger absolutely yielded to him to get a good print. If there were any smudges, he would have to throw the card out and start over.

Often the prisoner would try to help and would smudge the print. The jailer would get angry and order him to relax every muscle and trust the jailer to do all the work. Some prisoners were unable to simply yield, and the process took a long time compared with those who yielded and completed the process easily.

That’s the picture of how God wants to work with us — life gets better when we relax and let him work through us. He’s patient, willing to work on us throughout our entire lives, teaching us to yield to him. But we have to let him do it. Self wants to help; self wants to get the credit. It chafes at the idea that God will do all and self can do nothing — except yield.

In our efforts to “help,” we have smudged the edges, putting the ugly print of human pride and self-effort where only our Lord should have received the glory. Jesus said that for us to enter the kingdom of heaven, we must be like little children (Matthew 18:3). He meant that our surrender must be one of simple, childlike trust in our Father. He will accept our surrender and fill us with his great power and fellowship.

Too many men today are doing life like it’s a preseason football game. We think that because we’ve received Christ and can’t lose our salvation, there is nothing left but to seek our own pleasures and obey some set of rules that someone somewhere told us. We do the best we can, but it really doesn’t count, does it?

No one likes preseason football. God told us to snatch people from the hands of Satan and bring them into his loving arms. He’s told us to protect and provide for his children and to care for the less fortunate. Life is the playoffs, not the preseason.

And when the game’s over, we’ll get only one shot to hear Jesus say, “Well done, my son!” So let’s do the work that God gave us and, with it, experience the joy and reward of serving our Lord.