Sold Out: Becoming Man Enough to Make a Difference, by Bill McCartney with David Halbrook (Word Publishing, 1997, 370 pp.; $19.99, hardcover). Used with permission.

The first-ever Promise Keepers conference was held in Boulder, Colorado, on July 31, 1991. Toward the end of that program, as I casually gazed out on the crowd, my eye caught something. The crowd was almost entirely white. I knew the Holy Spirit was prompting me. As we were about to close in prayer, I walked back up on the stage with a simple word of caution. "Men," I said, "next year at Folsom Stadium we expect a sellout. But I believe that if we fail to gather a fair representation of all God's people, God will not join us."

The elated crowd left on a wave of exhilaration that would only be multiplied in years to come. But my last remarks on the racial issue had clearly hit a raw nerve, igniting a minor firestorm of hate mail and caustic letters, chastising me: "How dare you imply God won't be there." Others stated angrily, "God did not state in Scripture, 'Go ye therefore and 'eradicate racism.' He said, 'Go preach the gospel to all nations.' " Many quoted the Scripture where Jesus says, "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them" (Matt. 18:20) to debunk my exhortation. And I understood their point. But what it really gave me was a first glimpse of the seething giant of racism lurking within the Christian church.

I never backed off my original statement. As I have since learned, Matthew 18:20 probes deeper into the heart and character of his church than most want to believe. God requires more than mere proximity, numbers, and verbal assent. God knows whether or not his children are truly joined in wholehearted purity and oneness of ...