Whatever happened to sola fide?

Last October I sat in the Memphis Liberty Bowl a Promise Keepers skeptic. Having come to examine the phenomenon firsthand, I thumbed through my program booklet with a critical eye. Printed on a page titled "Core Values" was the PK statement of faith, summed up in five solidly evangelical points. In spite of PK's charismatic flavor, I was basically impressed.

I wanted to be impressed. Although the teaching seemed theologically homogenized, I was looking for things to affirm.

I left Memphis ambivalent, because PK is parachurch and ecumenical, and one of its primary stated goals is "visible unity." I knew this kind of unity could be achieved only when those involved agreed to leave doctrinal distinctives at home. But I knew that these problems are not unique to PK, and I saw no "new" issues of concern.