The Courier Electronic Edition

I won't see you at the pole


Back in my days at Findlay High School, I was part of a prayer group.We met every Tuesday morning at the flag pole in front (before that snazzy asphalt parking lot was added), dropped our backpacks (you could carry them around school back then) and prayed.

We held hands, took turns and prayed together. There were no flyers or announcements about it and we wrapped up just as the buses pulled into the lots, and headed to class without saying much about it.

I also remember how proud and how devout we thought we were. We reported to our youth groups and approving pastors what we were doing. Righteous Christian soldiers, standing true against the secular onslaught and so on.

Except we were so busy "defending" God we didn't realize that we were defying His instructions.

On Sept. 27 at 7 a.m. Christian youth and youth workers will repeat our mistake at the 16th annual "See You at the Pole" (SYATP) event. Students will meet at their school flagpole to pray for their school, friends, teachers, government and their nation, according to the official SYATP Web site.

Since its inception in 1990, hundreds of thousands of students have gathered on this one day in front of their school at the flag pole to pray. Participants are supposed to "pray for students who want to participate but are afraid to take a stand on their campus and for God to be glorified through SYATP on your campus."

The idea is pretty seductive. Stand tall and proud, glorify God. Be a cultural martyr for the Christian cause.

Most of these students are well-intentioned and they do want to tell people all about this amazing guy in their lives. I understand the urge and have succumbed to it many times.

Of course Christians want to pray for the people in their lives. To a Christian, that's the best and sometimes only way to help. This is not a vicious or mean-spirited thing at its heart. It comes from a good place and, for many people, it's from their heart.

But Jesus is pretty clear about where we're meant to pray and it isn't in a crowded courtyard huddled around a pole with the press perched nearby.

Check out Matthew 6:5-6, "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."

Events like SYATP have become a big show for a lot of people to pat themselves on the back for "being bold" and "taking a stand for Christ" without actually changing their lives.

"See You at the Pole"-type events are all about being "seen," whether it's by secular humanists, those heathens in the liberal media, the sleepy-eyed teens rolling into school in the wee hours of the morning, or even fellow Christians.

Being seen is why Christian radio stations have been pimping this event for weeks to "let your school know where you stand" and "take a stand for Jesus." It's why youth pastors want photo ops and church folk want to get "something positive about kids today" in the newspaper.

It's just another the empty gesture on the part of the contemporary American church that comes close but misses the path that Jesus laid out for us. Events like SYATP are chocolate chip cookie dough of the spiritual diet -- delicious and appealing, but ultimately unfulfilling, and not particularly nutritious.

Like cross-covered T-shirts, ties, lanyards, socks, jewelry, Bible covers and key chains, and Thomas Kinkade and Bible-verse-adorned everything else, Christians consume it all with a voracious sweet tooth.

We need less spiritual sugar in our diet and more fruit of the spirit.

You want a better way to "take a stand for Christ?"

Get involved with people who would never darken the doors of a church. Don't invite them to church or to a small group meeting. Don't tell them you're praying for them. Don't act saintly or perfect or pretend you are any less messed up than they are. Invite them to hang out and watch TV or get some coffee.

Other ways:

Tip your waitress extra after church on Sunday.

Feed the hungry.

Welcome the stranger.

Clothe the naked.

Care for the sick.

Visit the disenfranchised.

I don't know where you'll be Wednesday morning, but I won't see you at the pole.

Contact staff writer Mariah Mercer at:

(419) 427-8494

mariahmercer@thecourier.com