The Family Research Council wants its members to organize town hall meetings opposing health care reform in their local churches … just like the Founding Fathers did [PDF]:
In 1787, when the Constitutional Convention decided not to reform the weak Articles of Confederation but rather assemble a new constitution, they faced a tremendous challenge in gaining the support of the citizens of this young nation. The process lasted for months and included numerous public “townhall” type meetings. Many of these meetings were held in churches, moderated by prominent pastors.
No one thought the church an odd setting for discussing the fundamental issues of government. The church had been, from days of the earliest settlements in the New World, the focal point of education, debate and action about the most pressing moral and political matters of the day.
Today must be no different. The leaders God has raised up for His people have to be ready to proclaim “the whole counsel of God” concerning the Bible’s clear instructions about the sacredness of human life, from conception (“You knit me in my mother’s womb” – Ps. 139:13) to natural death (“precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints” – Ps. 116:15).
This is more urgent than perhaps ever before, because under the proposed health insurance scheme being advanced by President Obama and his allies in Congress, Americans would be compelled to:
Pay for abortion on demand by financing insurance companies that pay for abortion services.
Fund the leading provider of abortion in the nation, Planned Parenthood.
Foot the bill for government panels that would foster the notion that self-termination (i.e., suicide) is a sound moral and financial option for the elderly.
Pay for abortifacient contraceptives.
…
We are calling on pastors and Christian leaders nationwide to hold forums in your churches where these matters can be discussed and exposed. And it’s to that end that we are sending you the material in this package – so that you can create your own townhall meeting, just as our founding pastors did more than two centuries ago, to inform and activate the people in your pews and communities.
Here is a sample “Town Hall Meeting Agenda” that FRC provides [PDF]:
7:00 PM Welcome from meeting moderator – Church Pastor
7:02 PM Opening Prayer – Local Pastor
7:04 PM Pledge – Local Veteran
7:05 PM Overview of meeting – Church Pastor
7:10 PM Health care presentation – Congressman/Senator
7:25 PM Physician’s perspective – Local physician
7:30 PM Family Policy Council Representative or Other pro-family organization
7:35 PM A Biblical perspective – Church Pastor
7:45 PM Public Q&A of Program participants
8:25 PM Action Steps – Moderator
8:30 PM Closing Prayer – Local Pastor
