NFL star calls off April appearance at First Baptist Church of Dallas, following weeklong media firestorm over senior pastor’s anti-gay views
CALLING AN AUDIBLE | New York Jets quarterback Tim Tebow said he decided not to come to First Baptist Church of Dallas due to ‘new information that has been brought to my attention.’ (Associated Press)
NFL star Tim Tebow’s decision Thursday to cancel an April appearance at First Baptist Church of Dallas was a setback for the church’s anti-gay senior pastor, LGBT advocates said.
The Rev. Robert Jeffress, who has made a name for himself by degrading the LGBT community and other groups, has spent the past several years overseeing a $130 million expansion of the megachurch in downtown Dallas. The revamped 500,000-square-foot building has been under construction for two years, but its 11,000-plus members will finally celebrate its completion in April.
To help celebrate the church’s expansion, Tebow was scheduled to speak about his faith on April 28 as a final guest in a monthlong celebration series.
News of Tebow’s appearance sparked an outcry from members of the LGBT community nationwide after he agreed to speak to a congregation with such a fervent anti-gay leader.
Tebow announced on his Twitter Thursday, Feb. 21, that he canceled his appearance to share a “message of hope and Christ’s unconditional love” because of “new information that has been brought to my attention.”
Tebow called Jeffress on Wednesday to cancel because “for personal and professional reasons he needed to avoid controversy at this time but would like to come to First Baptist Dallas to speak at a future date,” according to a statement from First Baptist.
The Rev. Steve Sprinkle, an openly gay professor at Brite Divinity School, said Jeffress has gained attention for his outrageous sermons and interpretations of the Bible, which fuels the appeal of the megachurch.
He said the attention on Jeffress’ anti-gay sermons certainly influenced Tebow in his decision to cancel his visit and would continue to be a factor in considering any future visits.
“My assumption is that Mr. Tebow and his people decided it was in his best interest to not be associated with this congregation and this pastor,” he said. “It’s a blow to Jeffress.”
Sprinkle said instead of inviting someone like Tebow — who has never voiced his views on LGBT issues — the community should invite someone like Baltimore Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who is vocal about his support for marriage equality.
“There are other athletes respected just as much as Tim Tebow if not more because they’ve risked their reputations to come out for marriage equality because they believe gay people should have the same rights,” Sprinkle said.
Jeffress has vehemently spoken out against homosexuality in the past. Word of his 2008 sermon entitled, “Gay Is Not OK,” ignited a protest with more than 100 people in attendance on the November morning he gave the sermon.
Jeffress has recently toned down his focus on condemning gay people, admitting that he thought it was genetic and people couldn’t pray away the gay. He told The Associated Press in January that instead of honing in on the issue of sexuality specifically, he now preaches on the sinful nature of gay sex in the “bigger context of God’s plan for sex between one man and one woman in a lifetime relationship called marriage.”
But as recently as last July, Jeffress was preaching anti-gay rhetoric from the pulpit, declaring that “homosexuality is perverse” and it “represents a degradation of a person’s mind.”
Laura McFerrin organized the 2008 protest after seeing the church marquee about the sermon. She said that while she has now focused on national equality issues, her view of Jeffress is “pretty much the same” as it was back then regarding his continued anti-gay rhetoric. “I have no problem with that church. I have a problem with that sermon and ones like it that say gay is not OK,” she said. “I felt bad for the children.”
McFerrin works in downtown Dallas and has watched the construction on the megachurch. She said the church is “overtaking downtown Dallas” and that the church would likely continue to thrive under Jeffress because of his influence and ability to draw attention for his outrageous sermons.
First Baptist didn’t respond to a request to interview Jeffress, but it did release a statement about Tebow’s scheduled appearance, saying media reports have “grossly misrepresented past comments.”
“Jeffress leads First Baptist under the mandates of Scripture and teaches its members to share God’s truth at all costs, even when it requires going against the mainstream, popular views,” the statement reads in part. “We are saddened that this truth can no longer be communicated without being reported as ‘hate speech.’”
Tebow is known for being controversial for how openly he expresses and shares his faith, but he’s also been controversial for avoiding LGBT issues.
He drew backlash from the LGBT community in 2010 when he appeared in a pro-life Super Bowl ad for anti-gay group Focus on the Family.
After a petition campaign in December 2011 urging Tebow’s team the Denver Broncos to make an “It Gets Better” video, the team responded that it supported acceptance but was not going to make a video.
In fact, Tebow hasn’t voiced his opinion on any gay issue. His publicist interrupted during a Washington Post interview in June 2011 when he was asked about same-sex marriage. The publicist said it was off-topic.
Meanwhile rumors that Tebow is gay have continued to spread as people wonder if his abstinence until marriage pledge and religious beliefs are a shield to hide his sexuality. A kiss between Tebow and former Denver Bronco teammate Demaryius Thomas on the field after a game in 2011 didn’t help those rumors.
Hudson Taylor, founder of Athlete Ally that encourages athletes to support LGBT athletes, said Tebow’s Dallas appearance affected how he is viewed and he applauded the cancellation.
“Regardless of his reasoning, his absence serves as a reminder that the discrimination of gay and lesbian athletes and individuals has no place in sports or society,” Taylor said. “I hope Tim will take this opportunity to speak out for respect and acceptance of all people, regardless of a person’s sexual orientation.”
Taylor said he respects Tebow’s devotion to his religion, adding that if he attended the anti-gay church it would’ve been an “implicit endorsement of a world view that’s very discriminatory.”
After such a media frenzy surrounding Tebow’s Dallas visit, Taylor said he hoped Tebow would have followed through with his planned visit and used the opportunity to bring all members of the community together, especially when homophobia is so common among major league sports.
“While silence and complacency on this issue is troubling and something we should hold him to answering, the more Tim Tebow speaks and shares his message with the world, the more opportunity he has to denounce discrimination of any kind,” he said.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition February 22, 2013.