Whether Tim Tebow was taking the high road or simply the expedient one, the controversial Texas preacher who Tebow canceled on fired back during his latest sermon.
Robert Jeffress, the pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, used his pulpit to bully Tebow (though not by name) Sunday for canceling an appearance.
“I am grateful for men of God like these who are willing to stand up and act like men rather than wimping out when it gets a little controversial and an inconvenient thing to stand for the truth,” Jeffress said, via USA Today. “God bless men like that.
“There are some people who would say ‘God’s given me a different ministry. God has called me to go preach about the love of God. I’m not called to preach about sin and controversial things. I’ve been called to preach about the love of God. And they’re sincere when they say that. But they are sincerely wrong. The fact is you cannot talk about the love of God. The love of God has no meaning whatsoever unless you understand the judgment of God that all of us deserve.”
Jeffress has made a name for himself (and built quite a big building for $130 million) with his out-there stances against Mormons, Muslims, Jews, Catholics and homosexuals — essentially everyone who is not a straight Protestant.
Tebow, whether he’d say so or not, didn’t want to attach his name to one even more polarizing than his own.
While I’d argue that Tebow could have done more good by going to a place where hate has been preached and offering a message of grace and inclusion than by simply turning the other cheek, he at least tried to do it politely.
And now, Jeffress is plain-and-simple baiting Tebow for his own promotion and self-congratulation, which doesn’t strike one as a terribly Christ-like way to behave.