05 August 2011

By Cindy Mallette | ResonateNews.com

As Texas Gov. Rick Perry sought to establish a day of prayer, fasting and seeking God’s will for the United States, called The Response, one of the first groups he turned to for help in organizing and promoting the event was the American Family Association.

Though The Response in Houston on Saturday is heavily billed as a nonpartisan, nonpolitical event, eschewing sermons, lectures and high profile keynote speakers, the AFA is no stranger to mixing the two worlds of politics and Christianity. The organization was founded to be a watchdog for protecting the Christian faith in America, and encourages its members to take action on a host of public policy issues. A description of “activism” items on the AFA website, www.afa.net, includes a long list of social and fiscal action alerts, from boycotts to petitions to cut government spending. Attempts by ResonateNews.com to speak with representatives of AFA have been met with difficulty. A spokeswoman for the organization said only that AFA considers the event to be a prayer meeting, and because of that, it prefers the attention to be on the prayer aspect and not on AFA itself. She also acknowledged that AFA has been hesitant to talk to news media, considering negative coverage the organization has received regarding The Response. AFA Founder Don Wildmon granted an interview to The New York Times regarding The Response, but he — and most of AFA’s leaders — have mostly stayed mum. Most of the major media outlets covering the event have characterized the sponsoring organizations and ministries as “fringe.”

But the organization boasts more than two million subscribers to its online publications and has received a coveted four-star rating from Charity Navigator for having above-board financial practices. The monthly AFA Journal has 180,000 subscribers, and the organization owns and operates 200 radio stations across the U.S. Their family-oriented, Christ-centered message reaches millions of Americans each week.

Yet, out of the thousands of published articles and hundreds of thousands of broadcast recordings, some media outlets appear to be focusing on the comments of one American Family Radio broadcaster in suggesting that the organization — and by association the Gov. Perry — are fringe. AFA’s Director of Issues Analysis Bryan Fischer put forward a theory that Adolph Hitler was gay. AFA did not respond to requests for comment on the matter as of this article's posting.

AFA is insisting such comments are irrelevant to its role in organizing The Response, which to date has 8,000 people officially registered and many thousands more anticipated to attend. Churches across Texas plan to bus members in for the seven-hour-long prayer and worship event.

On the AFA website, a reason is given for the need of such a gathering similar to The Response.

“We believe that America is in a state of crisis. Not just politically, financially or morally, but because we are a nation that has not honored God in our successes or humbly called on Him in our struggles. According to the Bible, the answer to a nation in such crisis is to gather in humility and repentance and ask God to intervene. The Response will be a historic gathering of people from across the nation to pray and fast for America.”

ResonateNews.com Editor Patrick Butler contributed to this report.

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