Fellowship

I think it was Gary Player who famously said, "It is funny, the more I practise, the luckier I get!" None of us, who play sport even vaguely seriously, can doubt that persevering practice results in better performances. Don Bradman used to throw the ball against a door and hit it with a stump - hour after hour. The Brazilian footballers would all have had a ball as their constant childhood companion.

Robin Smith told me that his father got him up at four am for years, to practise for two or three hours before school. Practice and training are indispensable for high level performance - we all know that.

There are three vital training methods used by Christians - bible study, prayer and fellowship, here we will look at fellowship.. The writer to the Hebrews in a well-known passage about persevering in the Christian life (Hebrews 10:19-25), emphasises the importance of this Christian team-work. Verse 24: "Let us consider how we may spur one another on... Let us not give up meeting together...but let us encourage one another."

I remember years ago batting for the MCC with my childhood hero, Colin Cowdrey. I managed to hit a ball for four, through the covers; as we passed in the middle of the pitch Colin said "Well done! - just like Graeme Pollock." Of course, it was not true; the only thing Pollock and I had in common was that we were left-handed, but it made me feel great - and probably play better!

We do not go to church to worship. On the contrary we go to football or rugby or tennis to worship. By giving our talents whole-heartedly in God's service we offer him the praise of our bodies. We live to give God glory. We meet together for encouragement - that comes through the teaching of the word and the contact with our fellow believers.

Sportspeople can become neglectful of Christian fellowship because of our commitments to our team or club. We should be careful to guard this part of our lives. By going to church we are not performing a religious duty which pleases God. No, we are engaging in an act of self-preservation so that when temptation or persecution comes our way we will be found standing firm for Christ.

Andrew Wingfield Digby
Non-Executive Director, Christians in Sport

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