On Thursday at Junior W4G, we started a study called “Not a Fan”, based on a book by Kyle Idleman.  Kyle starts out the study by talking about those people who go to a basketball game and watch the game and sit in the stands.  The difference between them and the players is that the fans sit and watch as the game goes on.  If the team is playing well, then the fans will watch and cheer.  If the team starts to play bad and begin to lose, then the fans will stop cheering or possibly even leave in disappointment.  The fans rarely ever become the players.  A follower, on the other hand, is someone who is in the stands every game and is always cheering and supporting the team and never walks away disappointed.  This applies to the life of a fan or follower of Christ too.  So many Christians will attend church, listen to the pastor, do charitable things every now and then, and give their tithe to the church but when something goes wrong in their lives then you might see them giving up on their faith and disappointed in God. These are fans.  Christ defines a follower in Luke 9:23 as someone who “must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it”.  We must be a follower of Christ daily.  He wants relationships with us.  He wants followers, not fans.  Kyle describes the difference between a fan and a follower is like getting a tune-up on a car.  Having faith in Christ should be an overhaul on our lives, not just a tune-up.  We should become better people as we grow in our walk with Christ.  Ephesians 4 says in “regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness”.  Followers love people and forgive those who trespass against them.  Followers defend their faith and stand up for their Savior.  Followers have no conditions for their Lord and will love Him through good and the bad.  Today showed me that since I love Christ, I need to focus on becoming a follower of Him instead of just a fan.