The "Christian" Attack on Tim Tebow

Kopp Disclosure

(John 3:19-21)

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    Quoting myself from I Just Wanna Ride (FTW):

        Bikers like to say, "People ask why we ride motorcycles.

        For those who have experienced the ride, no explanation

        is necessary.  For those who have not really ridden, no

        explanation is possible."

        A mentor put it this way, "My biggest struggle is not with

        people who don't believe in Jesus.  I don't expect anything

        from them.  My biggest struggle is with people who say

        they believe in Jesus but don't act like they believe in

        Jesus."

        I'll paraphrase: "My biggest struggle is not with people

        who aren't bikers.  I don't expect them to understand.

        My biggest struggle is with people who say they are

        bikers but don't act like bikers."

        Posers.

    That's a preface for increasing concerns about the "Christian" attack on Tim Tebow.

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    I have appreciated brothers/sisters who have quoted Matthew 6:5-6 to express their concern/criticism/outrage/horror/disdain/displeasure/whatever for TT's faith so akin to Matthew 5:13-16; 10:32-33; Romans 1:16-17; 10:9ff.; Titus 1:16; and countless/innumerable/overwhelming/staggering contextual texts about expressing who we are as His.

    Here's a basic hermeneutical principle.

    Text in context.

    Geez.

    But, O.K., take a look at Matthew 6:5-6.

    Yeah, look it up.

    O.K., Jesus is concerned about people who parade around like posers to pretend something/Someone not in their hearts.

    Is that what TT is doing?

    Golly.

    Do you really think TT is parading around?

    I don't.

    Is he the poser?

    Nah.

    I may be wrong; because I don't know his heart as well as his "Christian" critics.

    Here's some stuff that makes me think TT is more authentic to Jesus than those attacking him from, uh, their, uh, faith/perspective/weltanschauung.

    TT is a lot more humble than me or most clergy or "churchy" people that I've ever met.

    Kathie tells me that she's hoping her daughter will someday date someone like TT rather than...

    TT is a far more attractive witness to Biblical Christianity than...

    TT doesn't flaunt his faith like some who flaunt their extra-Biblical-I-know-that's-what-Jesus-said-but-I-think crap.

    The media zooms in on him in his closet while he's sitting on the back bench.

    Yeah, he's bowing his head.

    Yeah, his lips are moving.

    C'mon!

    Is that parading around?

    Yeah, sometimes he drops to his knees after a touchdown or when he's leaving the field; but I haven't seen him rolling around and spitting and jumping up and down like a Pentecostal in heat.

    Again, the media is zooming in on him.

    Is that parading around?

    Please, brothers/sisters, lay off this young brother who is bringing more glory to Jesus than I have in my entire life and ministry and I dare say than...

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    I am so saddened by the picking apart of a brother who is one of the humblest witnesses in my experience.

    Matthew 23.

    Certainly, he's not pure and perfect in every way.

    Who is?

    Jesus!

    But He's God; so He doesn't count.

    Why not spend more energy/emotion on exposing secularism in America or dark religions getting a pass from the media and mainline denominations because they're afraid of 'em and don't fear the God of the Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament enough to take 'em on or fat cats in politics and on Wall Street who wink at the poor while buying/financing bombs to drop in the desert or bullies in schoolyards or posers in pews/pulpits who talk about the love of Jesus while they hate each other in a Christian kinda way over their anal theologies/polities/proprieties/blah/blah/blah or...?

    Surely, I have no doubts about the authenticity of many brothers/sisters, even Anonymous, when it comes to their concerns; but ya'll better be careful lest the bad guys use your critique of TT not to advance the Kingdom.

    Ya'll kinda reminding me of what Newt's doin' to the GOP these days.

    And ya'll better be careful about picking on someone who just may be a tad tighter with you know who than...

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    I think of Tony.

    He led a retreat for our officers before preaching on Sunday.

    BTW, our special music that Sunday was Phil Keaggy.

    Cool.

    It was a long time ago when there were even more posers in pews/pulpits than today.

    That's back when I was an important high steeple poser power of a preacher.

    Anyway, Tony was talking and dropped a four-letter word.

    You could see jaws drop; but Tony kept going.

    Later, he said this, "I know some of you were offended by me using a four-letter word; but I want you to know how I offended I am by the fact that you're offended by me using a four-letter word but you're not that offended by people going to hell without Jesus, people starving because rich countries like ours don't really give a damn about them, people getting butchered by savages in power, and churches like yours where people expose their lukewarm relationship with Jesus by treating each other like ___ when they..."

    Whoa.

    Keep that in mind when you read the book quoted earlier.

    Keep that in mind as you expose yourself for good, bad, or ugly when it comes to TT.

    Keep that in mind when you crawl into the pulpit or parade around the church or gossip at the cafe about how Jesus invites, welcomes, includes, forgives, and the like while you remain irascible, irregular, and irreconcilable.

    Keep that in mind when, like me, you forget your logs because you're so arrogant about your "Christianity" with its speck-inspecting license.

    No.

    Give me a church of TTs and I believe Jesus will be nodding approval rather shaking his head in disgust; or as the old artist said in Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, "If Jesus were to come back today and see what's being done in His name, He'd never stop throwing up."

    Simply, if you are authentic and not a poser, you know TT is on your/our/His side.

    So save your bullets/BS for the bad guys.

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Blessings and Love!