God and Mammon

Last fall almost a million Promise Keepers assembled in Washington; this spring they are rallying to pay their bills. The head of the organization, Bill McCartney, has told the staff of 345 that they will not be paid after March 31. This will be very bad news for some of them. The Promise Keepers' 1996 tax returns, which were obtained by TIME, show that the organization's five vice presidents were paid between $78,000 and $100,000 each, while the president, Randy Phillips, earned $132,512; their 1997 salaries were the same or higher. McCartney, who has taken less than $21,000 in compensation, called on 3,000 ministers to donate $1,000 each to his group. If they decline, staff members will soon have to find ways to support themselves while running the organization as volunteers. McCartney will continue with his job as a motivational speaker for a Denver water-bed company.