The Promise Keepers’ Bill McCartney can’t go home again

Promises, promises.

Bill McCartney, the former coach of the University of Colorado football team – back when they were good – and co-founder of the Promise Keepers missionary men’s group, has returned to the controversial nonprofit organization as chairman and CEO.

The Denver-based organization was known in the 1990s for filling stadiums around the country with crying, Christ-centered men.

As was reported on Wednesday, McCartney left Promise Keepers in 2003 to attend to his ill wife, Lyndi. But the organization, founded in 1990, has struggled since, and so McCartney, 68, is back, with his wife’s support, according to news stories. (Of course, what Promise Keeper wife wouldn’t support her husband?)

But times have changed for the organization. For one thing, Promise Keepers no longer operates out of its headquarters at 4045 Pecos Street. No, the organization sold that building to Catholic Charities, which has had financial difficulties of its own (including recent layoffs and the elimination of a couple of programs) and decided to consolidate its various offices in the building more than a year ago.

Catholic Charities spokesman Randy Weinert says there was plenty of Buffs memorabilia in the building when the two faith-based groups were negotiating the sale. What Weinert really wanted, though, was the recording studio, which Promise Keepers used to make its promotional CDs and DVDs. Unfortunately,Promise Keepers wasn’t feeling that charitable towards Catholic Charities. “They took it with them,” Weinert says.

Promise Keepers is now located in a smaller office at 5600 South Quebec Street in Greenwood Village, while Catholic Charities has 200 people working out of Pecos Street. – Jonathan Shikes