Whether you’re a fan or not, it’s football season again. A time to watch two teams compete against each other in a physical contest. They go back and forth and sometimes it seems like an unsurmountable task, but in the end your team is victorious. But what if your team practiced day and night and had a huge pep rally and got everyone excited about a guaranteed victory coming and then on game day, right before kickoff, the team left the field and sat down? This was the moment they had been preparing for and instead of facing the challenge, they decided they would rather just wait for the next pep rally rather than get involved and ‘play’ this game even while knowing they would win. The coach would be furious, the crowds would leave and the opposing team could walk up and down the field as much as they desired. At the next pep rally, they would again work themselves into a frenzy about how they were going to get out their and destroy the next team. Then the game arrives and again, sit out the game and wait for the next pep rally. Each time this happens, the pep rally wouldn’t be as exciting and less people would show up because, if the team isn’t going to play the game, why have the pep rally in preparation?

As Christians, we are to have fellowship with each other, commonly done in a traditional church service of some kind or an in-home gathering. (“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25). Many live as though church is the ‘big game’ and the rest of the week is off-season. We go to a service, get pumped up, say ‘I did my required duty’ and then go sit on the sidelines of Christian living, the true battle. However, fellowship is to be the pep rally that helps get you encouraged for the ‘game’ (battle) that is to come (Ephesians 6:10-20). We are to build each other up, challenge each other and praise God as a single body (1 Corinthians 12:12-22). That way, when we get out on the field (your home, job, life in this world), you are built up and ready to go. If we aren’t battling through the week (game day) we will get weak, then there’s less and less interest in attending a ‘pep rally’ for encouragement (or to encourage others) until finally we stop going altogether. Then our faith starts to stagnate as we aren’t being productive Christians anymore and we wonder why we aren’t growing (Fill My Cup).

Maybe you’re already there and/or, for one reason or another, have been skipping out of the ‘pep rally’ altogether. You are choosing to face the battles of the world on your own without the fellowship of other believers. Read the following: “A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services  regularly, stopped going. After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire. Guessing the reason for his pastor’s visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs. After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination. As the one lone ember’s flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and “dead as a doornail.” Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting. Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it. As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, ‘Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday.’” – Author Unknown

Attending the pep rally is essential before a big game as it helps you get prepared. However, attending the pep rally and then bypassing the game is a critical failure. Let us practice hard, encourage harder and get out there and win that game! That way when we reach the end of our Christian journey, we, like Paul, can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8).