Losing Home-Field Advantage

Recently, I had the privilege of visiting Lincoln, Nebraska, home of the University of Nebraska and, more famously, the Nebraska Cornhusker football dynasty. Although it's lost a little of its former glory in recent years, the good people of Nebraska take their football as seriously as ever. 

When I was growing up in Oklahoma in the 1970s and 1980s, the rivalry between my beloved Oklahoma Sooners and the Nebraska Cornhuskers was intense. My memory banks are filled with dramatic moments of games played between these rivals at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln. I’m still bitter about Billy Sims’ fumble on the three-yard line in 1978. Lest you think that is meaningless sports trivia, consider the fact that Jim Pillen, who recovered the fumble, is the Governor of Nebraska today.

So when I was in Lincoln, I couldn’t pass up the chance to visit the stadium and football facility. Bravely wearing my Oklahoma t-shirt and OU hat, I walked into the enemy's lair. As I approached the welcome center, I asked the guard, “Can I come in dressed like this?” After giving me an appropriate scowl, he smiled and welcomed me in to see all the championship trophies and Heisman trophies. It’s a friendly rivalry, but I can assure you, anyone who arrives at Memorial Stadium on gameday dressed like I was should expect to be greeted by 85,000 loyal Cornhuskers booing in opposition. 

Those of us who declare our allegiance to Christ in this world should expect no less. We are the visiting team. There was an era when Christians may have felt like we had “home field advantage.” Not everyone in the neighborhood or marketplace claimed allegiance to Christ, but there was a general respect for people of faith. If you identified as a Christian, there was something to be gained in the general population. Those days appear to be coming to an end. 

We are no longer the home team. If you identify as a Christian, it may cost you acceptance from the cool kids, a promotion in the marketplace, or a seat at the decision-making table. 

I’m not sure exactly when we lost home-field advantage, but it seems to have been around the time I showed up. Today, June 17, 2025, is my 58th birthday. I don’t remember anything about the first year of my life, but the documentaries that I’ve watched on 1967-1968 reveal that my arrival was coupled with some rather significant cultural shifts away from God-honoring values. I'm quite sure I don’t have that much influence on culture, but if my 58 years of existence on the planet is the problem, I apologize.

As a follower of Christ, I’ve accepted the fact that I will be playing for the visiting team for the rest of my life. I don’t expect to be cheered for living for Jesus, proclaiming his word, or trying to make a positive change in the culture. I expect to be booed, not cheered by the home team. This world is not my home. I’m just a temporary resident, an alien, an exile. 

• Christians are exiles, living in a world in which we don’t belong. “I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (1 Peter 2:11) 

• As exiles, we are citizens of a another kingdom. “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20)

• As exiles, we have a different King with different kingdom values. “Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.” (Hebrews 13:14)

• As exiles, our king taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)

• As exiles, we know his kingdom will not fully come on earth until our King fully comes again to earth from heaven. On that day, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord. (Revelation 11:15)

Until then, we shouldn’t be surprised when others pretend to be kings. We should expect to be marginalized and even persecuted when we refuse to crown them. Even worse, we should expect our own ambition to be king will daily rival King Jesus’ claim on the throne of our hearts. 

Exiles are good at devising survival strategies when they are booed by the home team. 

One strategy is to hide. This world can be a scary place for exiles. We must resist the temptation to hole up in our homes and churches, isolating ourselves from the threats around us. 

Another strategy is to blend in. When exiles feel the pressure to conform to the world’s values, they can justify little compromises that relieve the pressure. When exiles compromise their convictions, they lose their distinct identity as kingdom citizens. After a while, compromising exiles lose their distinctions and are fully assimilated into the world. 

Other exiles have little patience for exiles who hide or blend. Their strategy is to fight. They declare war on the culture around them. Rather than living as “aliens and strangers”, their philosophy is to attack and destroy the home team by force. 

Jesus’ strategy for exiles is to shine. As exiles, he told us, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16) Exiles on earth are called to shine in such a way that people on the home team desire a better home in heaven. 

So, the next time you hear the boos from the home team, don’t hide, blend, or fight. Shine! Give them a reason to transfer to the team that will win in the end.