If you need more proof that the Family Research Council’s Values Voter Summit was a public relations disaster, look no further than the FRC’s own prayer team, which is calling on members to pray for improved coverage after journalists focused on the unabashed bigotry of summit speakers Robert Jeffress and Bryan Fischer. Republican infighting was present on and off the stage over the remarks of speakers like Jeffress and Fischer, and now the FRC wants members to pray away all of that negative attention:
The premiere Washington gathering of “social conservatives,” sponsored by FRCAction, FRC and several allied conservative groups, was a spectacular success, but not without controversy. Reporters and pundits from over 400 media outlets were present, many watching critically for controversy to capture ratings. The Texas pastor who introduced Gov. Perry was asked later by reporters if Mormonism is a cult. When he said yes — even though it was in a sidebar conversation with the media — his answer became a dominant story from VVS.
FRC President Tony Perkins offered this perspective: We clearly recognize the fact that Mormon theology includes doctrines that are distinct from Evangelical theology and Catholic theology. At the same time, the goal of the values voter movement is not to build a “National Church.” Our goal is to build a national coalition based on the shared values of respecting human life, strengthening natural marriage, defending religious liberty, promoting personal and fiscal responsibility, and maintaining our national security. When we successfully work together with those who share our values, we are preserving and strengthening our religious liberty, so that we can freely share the truth of the gospel with everyone.
Pray God’s people will be guided by Scripture, common sense and good conscience in exercising their vote. May all Christian leaders take special care to discern their audiences and be “wise as serpents and harmless as doves.” (Mt 10:16; 1 Th 3:1-2; 1 Tim 3:16 ff).
The FRC not only called for prayers against the terrible media coverage over unapologetic anti-Mormon figures like Jeffress and Fischer, but also called for prayers against the Occupy Wall Street protesters and their enablers in “the sycophant liberal media”:
Days of Rage/Occupy Wall Street — The sixties-style tent city protest, which seemed to fizzle after its September 17 launch, now has momentum and is expanding to cities across the nation, including Washington, D.C. Organizers of the movement (e.g. ACORN, labor unions, and other far-left leaders and groups) have been given new life by the sycophant liberal media, Hollywood celebrities and leading Democrats in Washington, including President Obama. Six arrests were made when one hundred demonstrators conducted an illegal demonstration inside a Senate office building.
May God prevent these radical organizers from stirring revolution and distracting voters from the elections and keeping watch on our elected leaders (Num 16:1-14; Is 1:4-6; Pr 12:11-12; Mt 26:41; Eph 4:28; 1 Tim 6:3-10; Heb 13:5-6).
