Tim Tebow is one of the most polarizing athletes in sports and he was embroiled in a bit of controversy this past week when news came out that he was planning to attend the opening of a church in downtown Dallas that is run by a controversial "hate" pastor named Robert Jeffress.
After some outrage from the media and people who felt that it was inappropriate for Tebow to visit a church where the pastor has made derogatory and controversial remarks about other religions and homosexuals, the quarterback called off the plans.
Jeffress responded about the move on Thursday, speaking to the website the Daily Beast about the quarterback and the church.
"He said that because of professional and personal reasons he needed to stay away from controversy right now, so he would not be able to come," Jeffress told The Daily Beast on Thursday afternoon. "But he also voiced that he would like to come at some future date in our church."
The pastor said Tebow called him on Wednesday night and said he would have to cancel his appearance at the opening of a new $115 million facility for the First Baptist Church, which has 11,000 members. Tebow was called out in many media headlines, including in the Daily News, which said Tebow was going on a "hate date" with the church. The Huffington Post also added that he would be appearing at a "virulently anti-gay, anti-Semitic church."
The pastor said that after Tebow spoke to him, he texted him and said that he was "going to reconsider his decision to cancel and would be in contact with me further today. He wanted to talk to me further about it, which I said, 'Great.'"
Later on Thursday though, Tebow put out some tweets that said: "due to new information that has been brought to my attention, I have decided to cancel my..." "upcoming appearance. I will continue to use the platform God has blessed me with to bring Faith, Hope and Love to all those needing a brighter day."
Jeffress is convinced Tebow's cancellation had nothing to do with the church's ideals, but that the controversy made him change his mind.
"Tim is a member of a Southern Baptist Church, the First Baptist Church of Jacksonsville, Fla., that believes exactly what we believe about those issues, and Tim affirmed that that is what their church believes," Jeffress said. "So I think Tim was probably speaking the truth when he said it wasn't the belief of our church-it was the controversy surrounding his appearance."
Jeffress is convinced that his church is not a so-called "hate church", but a respectful Christian church.
"What I do find interesting and amazing is that a church like ours-that teaches that salvation is through faith in Christ alone and that sex should be between a man and a woman in a marriage relationship-that somehow that is considered to be hate speech. The fact is that what we teach at our church is in keeping with the historic doctrine of Christianity over the last 2,000 years," he said.
Tebow is known for his strong religious background and he has been seen praying on the field during games, which morphed into the popular move called "Tebowing".
