Bravado and Fear Fill Christian Coalition Collection Plate : Politics: Conference draws cheers for presidential candidates, who sound common theme of righting what’s wrong with America.

WASHINGTON — The Christian Coalition couldn’t seem to decide Saturday, as it closed its largest conference ever, whether to spend its time in the spotlight being supremely confident or scared to death.

On one hand, nearly all of the Republican presidential contenders attended the meeting over the last two days for the express purpose of courting Christian clout. The organization’s role in shaping the 1994 congressional elections--described here as the “seismic shift of ‘94”--was never far from conversation.

But neither was the theme that brought the 4,100 activists together: how to heal what they view as America’s moral crisis.

The coalition’s executive director, Ralph Reed, expressed the gathering’s confident side. “They have names for people who have the courage to bring their views to the public square,” Reed told an audience on its feet with wild applause. “ They call them extremists. We have our own names. We call them senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, state legislators.”

But the fear was never far behind, stemming, said conference-goers and speakers alike, from the threats facing a nation that needs to be saved.

“We have God’s own word on how America can be healed again,” GOP presidential candidate Patrick J. Buchanan said in remarks delivered at the convention’s closing banquet Saturday night.

“In [the Book of] Second Chronicles, the Lord himself tells us: ‘If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.”

“Here’s what I see,” said Tracy Freeny, as he hawked his long-distance phone service, a Christian-owned answer to AT&T.; “Almost anyone can look at our country and see the morals declining. The people see a society that will literally be horrible for their children and grandchildren.”

There was fear and congratulations, threat and success, Christianity and commerce as the capital played host to the self-proclaimed “largest gathering of grass-roots, pro-family activists in America this year.”

At the conference, you could pick a presidential candidate or order a Precious Feet Baby, a life-sized doll of a 12-week-old fetus, four for $6.95 each or 100 for $4.50 each. Christian Coalition golf balls went fast at three for $9. “We the People” ties were $28, brought to you by a company called Ties That Bind, “It’s not just a tie . . . it’s a ministry.”

The conference was staged, said delegate Harold Hopkins, a Messianic Jew from Rochester, N.Y., for “getting the troops geared up, choosing the candidates and challenging our views.”

For Hopkins, who said he came to Christ 20 years ago through the ministry of Pat Robertson’s “700 Club,” the conference exceeded his expectations, particularly on the final count.

Former Pennsylvania Gov. Robert P. Casey, Hopkins said, “brought me to tears with his talk of adoption. And he’s a Democrat.”

While the thousands of religious conservatives drawn here for a weekend of political strategizing were largely white and well-coiffed, they were not all cut from a single piece of ideological cloth.

There was Ann Reilly of Waltham, Mass., who turned to husband Alfred on her right to get an answer for the person on her left: “When they say we’re right-wing radicals, what do we say, honey? Oh, yeah, we say: ‘You’re left-wing secular extremists from the culture of death.’ ”

And then there was Joseph Sharp, a semi-retired commercial artist from the greater Washington area, here “as an observer” with his pediatrician son, Stephen. “I sent [the coalition] a small donation a couple of times to see what they’re up to. . . . This is their ultimate goal: to control the government. They put forth good aims for doing this. But I believe that ultimately it will work against them and their principles.”

There was, however, much agreement at this weekend pep rally of politics and prayer--and it wasn’t hard to notice in a ballroom inhabited by 4,100 pairs of clapping hands. Vow to abolish welfare, and the applause is thunderous. Invoke the sanctity of human life and promise to protect “the pre-born,” and you’ll have to wait for the cheers to subside.

But the GOP candidates’ surest bet for a standing ovation at the weekend’s Road to Victory conference was to say something like:

* “I will eliminate the federal Department of Education,” from Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas.

* “As President, I will close [the Department of Education] down,” from Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas.

* “As a former school board member, I understand the importance of keeping school decisions in the community and the need to protect the independence of private, parochial and home schools. To that end, I support closing the federal Department of Education,” from Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana.

But when it came to the candidates themselves, the applause meter could mislead. Front-runner Dole got less than Gramm, and Rep. Robert K. Dornan of Garden Grove, whose flamboyant speech started late Friday night and ended later, got the warmest reception of all, and he was begged by his audience to speak longer.

“Dornan comes in and literally holds court till 2 a.m. It’s the Christian Coalition tradition,” explained Mike Russell, a spokesman for the group

But he also noted that the membership is not likely to vote for Dornan en masse. A survey of the activists indicated that a quarter are undecided about the presidential contest; the rest would vote for Dole, Gramm and Buchanan in relatively even numbers.

The organization did not come together to anoint a favorite son. It did come together to plot strategy for the 1996 election, to learn about everything from school choice and tax reform to states’ rights and Medicare, to rekindle its fire, solidify its goals, renew its mission.

Remember, the activists were told, to hone your moral outrage. Remember that talking about God in the public conversation called democracy is not only important, “it is required.” And always, always remember whom you serve.

“As we are good Christians, so we are good Americans,” exhorted GOP candidate Alan Keyes, a radio show host. “Politics is where we belong. Politics must be founded on the solid faith of God almighty.”