Some Unhealthy Ways to Think About Tim Tebow

Some Facebook posts I've read, especially this last weekend, have shown me that there are some really unhealthy ways to think about the Tim Tebow craze currently sweeping the nation, particularly the way Christians think about him. I recently ran across a blog post by Nathan Busenitz that I resonated with. In it he gives five reasons he likes Tebow and five concerns he has. I wanted to highlight the concerns because I believe they are spot on.

Five Concerns I Have about Tebow-Mania

1. The Perception That God Gives Tebow Special Help to Win. The media has turned Tebow-Mania into the NFL’s version of the Prosperity Gospel—making it sound as if spiritual blessing and divine favor come in the form of touchdown passes, division titles, and postseason play. Tebow-Mania has turned Denver’s QB into “God’s Quarterback,” and the Broncos into Heaven’s favorite team. (They are, after all, a mile closer to Heaven in Denver.)

But what about the players on the other side of the ball — the ones who lose the game, including Christians on the other team? Is God not helping them? What about other professing Christian quarterbacks in the NFL (such as Colt McCoy, Sam Bradford, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rogers)? Some of them have had success on the field this year, others not so much. Maybe most importantly, what about the games that the Broncos have lost with Tebow under center? Was God’s power insufficient in those contests? Obviously not.

Because of Tebow’s unexpected success, non-Christians have understandably taken notice. But, like the unbelieving crowds in Jesus’ day, their superficial interest in spiritual things will fade as soon as the “miracles” cease. The reality is that crediting God for specific touchdown scores and football wins can actually become an obstacle for the gospel when a team starts to lose. (It can also lead to taking well-known Bible verses out of context.)

Insofar as Tebow-Mania is responsible for this misperception, I think it is doing more harm than good.

2. The Perception That Tebow’s Statistics Have Supernatural Significance. This last week, I have repeatedly cringed to see the hoopla made about Tebow’s 316 passing yards — as if it were a divine pointer to John 3:16. Don’t get me wrong, John 3:16 is a marvelous verse. The more attention that is drawn to it, the better.

But, fellow Christian, please don’t apply the mystical techniques of misguided numerologists (like the Bible code folks) to Tim Tebow’s stats column. It is bad hermeneutics on every level.

As ESPN’s D. J. Gallo sarcastically quipped:

Yes, even a coincidental stat has become evidence of Tebow’s heavenly favor. And 316 yards is specifically a reference to John 3:16, of course, not any of the 3:16s in the other 66 books of the Bible, such as Leviticus 3:16. … Nope. Totally John 3:16.

Gallo was trying to be funny. But in all seriousness, he made a valid point.

3. The Perception That “Tebowing” Is a Good Thing. I think it’s wonderful that Tebow is committed to public prayer. But I cringe over the fact that his iconic prayer position is now the object of mockery and scorn from the watching world.

At best, “tebowing” has become Denver’s version of Pittsburgh’s “terrible towel” or Green Bay’s cheese-wedge-hats. At worst, it has spawned a blasphemous cult following on the part of fans who are more interested in imitating a celebrity-quarterback’s prayer posture than they are in actually addressing God in heartfelt petition. That may sound harsh, but I personally think the “Tebowing” craze is an absolute travesty that turns prayer into a joke and greatly dishonors the Lord.

Having said that, is it Tim’s fault that non-Christians mock his prayer position? No.

But could he do more to put a stop to it? I think he could.

Even something as simple as temporarily using a different prayer posture before games (like standing or sitting) would probably put an end to what’s quickly become a sacrilegious fad.

4. The Perception That Christianity Needs Celebrities to Be Relevant. When it comes to Tebow-Mania, I wonder if evangelicalism is once again falling into the trap of “celebrity Christianity.” It feels great to have an evangelical Christian at the height of athletic popularity in our nation. It feels even better when he wins; because — in some small way — it feels as though evangelicalism is winning through him.

Epidemic in the American evangelical psyche is the idea that celebrity status is essential to reaching our society for the sake of the kingdom. We can be tempted to think that the more superstars we have on our side (whether from sports or politics or Hollywood), the better equipped we will be to advance God’s work — as though cultural popularity were the key to effective gospel proclamation.

Again, I don’t lay the blame for this celebrity-mindset at Tim Tebow’s feet. His celebrity status has been thrust upon him by the media. Moreover, I applaud his desire to use the platform he’s been given to exalt Christ.

However, insofar as Tebow-Mania contributes to evangelicalism’s infatuation with the cult of celebrity or the myth of influence, I do not believe it is helpful.

5. The Perception That Christianity Consists of Clichés. Walk into just about any Christian bookstore and you’ll quickly see that popular American evangelicalism loves clichés: pithy little slogans of feel-good spirituality. They are printed on t-shirts, bumper stickers, and motivational posters. They litter the pages of bestselling Christian books and are permanently etched into trinkets like key-chains and money clips. The roadside marquis of the average evangelical church contains new editions of these short little sayings every week — from messages like “Need a Faith Lift?” to “C H _ _ C H. What’s Missing? U R.”

I fear Tebow-Mania highlights this sappy side of mainstream evangelicalism more than it showcases the arresting truth of the biblical gospel. When discussing the Tebow phenomenon, media outlets often talk about faith in a cheesy “just-believe-in-yourself-and-make-your-dreams-come-true” kind of way. Numerous pundits have suggested that the Broncos’ sudden success should be made into a movie. One article joked that, if it were a screen play, the Tebow story would be too sentimental even for Disney.

True Masculinity

...act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. - 1 Corinthians 16:13

In case you missed it, this picture was from the Final Four semi-final between Duke and West Virginia that took place just over a week ago. It's Bob Huggins consoling Da'Sean Butler who had just hit the floor, writhing in pain from an injury to his knee. It was also Butler's senior season and he wanted desperately to help take his team to the championship game. If you haven't seen the video, I encourage you to check it out here.

I wanted to post this because it has replayed in my mind a lot this last week. It is such a beautiful picture of what true masculinity is, and it's not something we see often. Detached is an adjective that seem to describe most men today. But Bob Huggins was surely not detached. He engaged De'Sean Butler and didn't care what he looked like in front of millions of other people.

By wiping away his tears and speaking words of truth softly in his hear, he loved his young player well. I hope to represent this type of masculinity to those I encounter. And I know I can do so because Christ accomplished this for me and is the One engaging me tenderly with strength and love. And He has given me not a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.

Let Another Praise You

Voddie Baucham recently wrote a blog post contrasting the recent speeches made by David Robinson and Michael Jordan as they were both inducted into the hall of fame. I had briefly heard of the contrast shortly after the event, but until now had not read much of what was said by either man. I thought Voddie did a good job at highlighting what was said by each player and revealing the sad state of anyone who is in constant need of attention and praise from others in order to justify himself.

He said at one point while listening to Jordan, Proverbs 27:2 came to his mind: “Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips.” Here's one paragrah from the post, but I'd encourage you to read the whole thing:

"There was a stark difference between the two acceptance speeches. As I listened to the two speeches, all I could think of was the old commercial catchphrase, 'Like Mike... If I could be like Mike.' Unfortunately, in this instance, Mike was the last person anyone should aspire to be like. This was definitely not a Michael Jordan highlight. Jordan’s Speech was self-centered, indulgent, arrogant, and at times embarrassing. In contrast, David Robinson rose to the occasion and made a brief, inspiring, encouraging speech (see his speech here) that made his family, his team, and his friends proud."

(HT:Tim Challies)

Basketball provides little bits of glory

Brett McCracken has some good thoughts on the reason why March Madness is so captivating. Here's the conclusion of his post:

"You know the moment in a basketball game when your team is down by a dozen or so points, but makes a run and brings it to within two? And then the crowd rises to its feet, loudly cheering, and the team gets a new bounce in its step, hitting a long three to take the lead? That moment, with the deafening noise and dispirited opponents losing control—is a moment when you can touch the glory, where you glimpse—dare I say it—the divine. You get goosebumps, you slap a stranger’s hand, and you raise your voice to the rafters for the glory to continue.

In these moments I envision God smiling at us humans and thinking, they are feeling it in small doses. Unfortunately, many of us leave these sporting “highs” without thinking that maybe they point to something greater that surrounds us. What if sport really is a gift from God? What if the blessings of sport are only a fraction of what is available to us? I think it probably saddens God when the good things in life—sports, natural beauty, art, etc—are cheapened and seen only as ends unto themselves; not as the signposts to a greater grace that exists in the world.

And so we should not cheapen basketball by writing off its “trivial” place in the grand scheme of things. Instead we should realize that the small wonders and momentary blessings matter in life. Why? Because the existence of rays of light implies a vast sun, and if we ever want to comprehend something that vivid, we should start by taking the light in small doses, wherever we can find it. "

Larry Munson, UGA announcer from 1966-2008

There's already been a bunch of articles relaying to everyone the sad news that Larry Munson, the voice of the Dawgs, has retired. As I was reading over a few of them over on ESPN, I found myself getting goose bumps reading through some of the plays he called. He had a voice and a vocabulary that really brought the game alive. Here are three of my favorites.

This call came in 1980, UGA's championship season. We were playing Tennessee.

"We hand it off to Herschel. There's a hole. Five, 10, 12. He's running over people. Oh, you Herschel Walker! My God almighty! He ran right through two men. Herschel ran right over two men. They had him dead away inside the 9. Herschel Walker went 16 yards. He drove right over orange shirts just driving and running with those big thighs. My God, a freshman!"

This also came in 1980, as we were trailing Florida in Jacksonville, 21-20 in the 4th quarter.

"Florida in a stand-up five, they may or may not blitz. Belue third down on the 8. In trouble, he got a block behind him. Going to throw on the run, complete on the 25 to the 30. Lindsay Scott 35, 40. Lindsay Scott, 45, 50, 45, 40. Run Lindsay! 25, 20, 15, 10, 5 Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! Lindsay Scott! ... Well, I can't believe it. 92 yards and Lindsay really got in a foot race. I broke my chair. I came right through a chair. A metal steel chair with about a five-inch cushion. I broke it. The booth came apart. The stadium. ... Well the stadium fell down. Now they do have to renovate this place. They'll have to rebuild it now. This is incredible. You know this game has always been called the World's Greatest Cocktail Party. Do you know what's gonna happen here tonight? And up at Saint Simons and Jekyll Island and all those places where all those Dog people have got those condominiums for four days? Man, is there going to be some property destroyed tonight! 26-21, Dogs on top! We were gone. I gave up, you did too. We were out of it and gone. Miracle!"

The following call came back in 2001. It's probably become Munson's most famous call. I remember it very clearly. I was a sophomore and over at a friend's apartment. We had the TV on but muted, and Larry was bringing us the action. We were on the road at Tennessee and trailing by 4 in the 4th quarter. Tennessee scored and left us with about 50 seconds and one timeout. After going the length of the field, we only had time for one more play:

"Ten seconds. We're on their 6. Michael Johnson turned around asked the bench something. And now, Greene makes him line up on the right in the slot. We have three receivers. Tennessee playing what amounts to a 4-4. Fake and there's somebody. Touchdown! My God, a touchdown! We threw it to [fullback Verron] Haynes. We just stuffed them with five seconds left! My God almighty, did you see what he did? David Greene just straightened up and we snuck the fullback over! Haynes is keeping the ball! Haynes has come running all the way across to the bench. We just dumped it over, 26-24. We just stepped on their face with a hobnailed boot and broke their nose. We just crushed their faces!"

Also, check out Marisa's blog for a great video montage that is played before each home game that has Munson narrating.

UGA's bowl game

Though the opportunity to play an undefeated Hawaii in a BCS bowl is exciting, most UGA fans are disapointed we didn't get a shot at the title. Here's an article I found from Bert's blog that does a good job of showing some of the inconsistencies of keeping the Bulldogs out of the title game. And even though I grew up a loyal LSU fan being from Louisiana, my alma mater ties still leave my somewhat disappointed.

Here's a teaser:

Georgia got jumped without losing a game or even playing one. LSU was hoisted above the Bulldogs on the dubious strength of a seven-point victory in a game it was favored to win by 7 1/2 points. Georgia was No. 4 in the BCS standings last week — LSU was No. 7 — and two of the top three teams lost. Simple math should have put the Bulldogs in the title game. Turns out the BCS flunked math as well as logic.