The great state of Tex-afornia

So this morning I got up way too early, just like all the other good youth pastors, and headed to the local schools for See You At The Pole. The movement as a whole is an amazing testament to seeing God work through students to start a prayer movements. Like all good things, it can be corrupted and cracked. While I can only speak of my experiences as a youth pastor in Texas, it seems to me that SYATP is more like the "Puppy who lost his way." Today's SYATP is more about rallies, and bracelets and singing songs than it is about prayer. One of the things I really enjoyed about the movement when I was in high school was the sheer raw power of prayer, nothing more/nothing less.

I was asked to speak at our local school's gathering (yes, messages/sermons are also a given in the movement). I decided to scrimp on my words. Instead of talking for 10-15 minutes I spoke for closer to five. The audience was a little stunned when I ended with a simple call to prayer. I admit that the brevity of my talk stemmed from an overly crowded calendar and a late night watching "Hitchhicker's Guide to the Galaxy", but the aim was clear. Why do we spend more time atlking about prayer or singing about prayer than actually doing it? We feel the need to dress it up like Elliot dressed up E.T. and it ends up looking just as rediculous. SYATP can be the unpolished mega movement it once was only if believers return to the simple strength of uniting in prayer.

posted by Kevin @ 3:29 PM