Concerning Tim Tebow and Public Faith

Unless you have nothing to do with American sports at all, or live under a rock, chances are you’ve heard the name “Tim Tebow” sometime in the past several months. Living in Denver, the home of the Broncos, we probably hear more about him than all y’all. He’s the young quarterback who replaced Kyle Orton this year in the middle of a losing season, and somehow ended up turning things around and taking the Broncos to the playoffs for the first time in years. People in Denver have been buzzing about this guy ever since the Broncos picked him up, and Tebow jerseys were common in the stores and on people’s torsos back when he was still a third string QB. It’s obvious that he’s still getting used to playing pro, and he’s young and inconsistent (as demonstrated by last weekend’s fiasco at the playoffs)–but it’s also obvious that the guy is extremely talented. At any rate, he’s injected a level of hope and enthusiasm into Bronco fans that hasn’t been felt for a long time.

But there’s more to Tebow’s celebrity than just a talent for football. Tebow is an outspoken Christian, and has made his faith very public. The word “Tebowing,” (describing Tim’s kneeling posture on the field) even made it into dictionaries this year. (Really?) And of course, in the hype of recent weeks, people of all shapes and sizes, as well as cats, dogs, and farm animals, had their pictures posted all over the Internet, caught in the act of “Tebowing.”

Tebow’s faith has been a matter of public discussion even before he signed to the Broncos, dating back to his days as a college football star in Florida. I even remember reading an article about him in Charisma magazine once. And while it may be a good thing that he’s gotten people talking about faith as well as football…eh…I have some questions and concerns about the whole thing that I’d like to process here.

The thing is, Tim Tebow really has a squeaky-clean public image to back up his faith–I’ve never heard him say the wrong thing on camera, he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t even date. If he’s not talking about football, he’s talking about his charity work, and how his status as a football star gives him a platform for what he considers to be far more important causes.

The problem is…it’s too perfect. I feel like what I’m looking at in Tebow is the textbook example of the mythical “super-Christian.” Sorry, but nobody’s that perfect.

Now, I don’t mean to suggest that Tebow is being dishonest, or doesn’t have the best of intentions. I actually think very highly of the guy. But let’s put it this way: I do not know Tebow personally, nor would I attempt to presume to know the heart of another, but by his actions and attitudes I see “over-achiever” written all over this guy. (It takes one to know one.) Being the new starting quarterback for a pro football team comes with its own set of pressures, but Tim Tebow has only magnified the pressure upon himself with this uber-spiritual public image. It makes me wonder how long he can hold up, and if he will ever crack under the pressure.

Because Tebow’s public persona is now so identified with Christianity and God, everything the guy says and does comes under a great deal of scrutiny. I can see it all over Facebook. When he’s winning games, jokes about angels on the line of scrimmage are abundant, as though divine intervention has more to do with winning than Tebow’s own talent, let alone the rest of the team. And when the Broncos lose, the mocking is even worse. (One guy congratulated the Patriots, and Satan, for last weekend’s defeat of the Broncos.)

I guess what I’m saying is that at least around these parts, Tebow’s talent as a football player is highly valued, but his public faith makes him a bit of a caricature at times. And I can’t help but wonder if Tebow has just made the stakes too high by over-publicizing his faith. Not only can it backfire, but he’s now got so much to live up to. I’m not talking about being ashamed of one’s faith, nor do I have a problem with being open about it–but when your faith is so associated with your image that people start judging Jesus by your actions, something is a bit unbalanced, and it can even be a recipe for disaster. (Heaven help us all if Tebow ever stumbles.)

I’m not issuing a verdict here–just raising some questions, really. Perhaps it’s because I’ve always had this thought that if I ever became a public figure in some capacity someday, I’d want to know how to handle the issue of my faith. I know the Scriptures that talk about how Jesus would deny us if we deny Him, or the light being hidden under a bushel, etc., etc. I’m not talking about concealing faith, but simply asking questions about the right way to unveil it. When I see guys like Tebow, I’m always trying to process how I would handle faith issues if I were in their shoes.

There was a time in my life when I would have totally exploited any public platform to propagate a Christian agenda–to preach. I see a lot of that in Tim Tebow’s approach, how every time someone sticks a mike in front of him after a win–regardless of the question being asked–Tebow has to begin by thanking His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (Really, Tim? The guy with the mike just wanted to know about that last play.) Like I said, there was a time when I would have done the same kind of thing every time I had a public platform, believing that it was somehow my duty as a Christian to do so. I have since come to recognize that that sort of thing actually turns people off to faith, because when you hijack a microphone that way, people sense a hidden agenda–something that our skeptical culture abhors. So I don’t think that’s the best way to go about it anymore.

Then I think about other public figures who have been public about their faith. People like U2 frontman Bono, for instance. You think about Bono–he hasn’t been completely free of scrutiny. Smoking, drinking, and occasionally cussing, he certainly doesn’t fit the mold of the typical evangelical American Christian. And he certainly has his share of mockers. But I think the respect level for Bono from the non-believing community is greater than that of any other person who professes a public faith in Christ. By his consistent actions of grace and charity, he has acted more like Jesus on any given day than a dozen television preachers I could name. His faith is public, and is not hidden, but somehow you don’t feel preached to. You just have to respect him for living out his faith honestly, even if it isn’t the way you’d live it out.

Here’s where I think I’m going with all this. While I think true faith in Christ must ultimately be a public faith, I also think you have to be sensitive to the culture. The fact is, this culture has been preached to about Jesus until they are blue in the face, and now they are looking for something more from believers: they are looking for Christ-like actions to back up declarations of faith. I think the days of mass-proclaiming the gospel are coming to an end, and I think the days of demonstrating the gospel are at hand. I think the best witness in our culture on behalf of Christ is when someone figures out we are a Christian by our Christlike actions, before we ever utter a word about our faith.

So in this matter, let me say I think Tim Tebow is the real deal. Yes, he spouts his faith after ball games and “Tebows” on the field, but he also does a lot of Christlike things in his time off the field that truly backs up what he says he believes. What I’m saying is that at the end of the day, these off-the-field actions are the things in Tebow’s life that truly make Jesus look good to people–not the Tebowing or mic-jacking.

That’s what I think, anyway.