Tim Tebow has always made religion an important part of his personality and that came back to hurt him last week after he cancelled an appearance at a controversial Dallas church after a media outcry, but that has not stopped the quarterback from appearing at another church, as he is planning to do in his hometown of Jacksonville.
According to WOKV.com, Tebow is scheduled to appear at Celebration Church in Jacksonville to help kick off their night service on Saturday, March 23rd at 5:30pm and he will also be appearing on Sunday, March 24th at 9:30am and 11:30am. Tebow is speaking ahead of an event that his organization is planning at the church, which is a special needs Easter egg hunt on Saturday, March 23rd from 10am - 1pm.
Details have not been released about what Tebow will say at the church, but it comes just a short time after the quarterback decided to cancel an appearance at the controversial First Baptist Church in Dallas. Tebow was scheduled to speak at the church in April and he decided to cancel the appearance due to the media firestorm involving senior pastor Robert Jeffress, who has made controversial comments about other religions, including Jews, Muslims and Mormons.
The pastor responded to Tebow in his Sunday sermon last week, saying that he "wimped" out of his appearance after things became too controversial. The speech was posted on YouTube under the heading "Dr. Jeffress Responds to Tebow Controversy."
The pastor said to his church: "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," said Jeffress, who received a standing ovation before he spoke. "God bless men like that."
Tebow was originally planning to speak at a dedication of the church's new $130 million building. He wrote his explanation on Twitter:
"While I was looking forward to sharing a message of hope and Christ's unconditional love with the faithful members of the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas in April, 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. Thank you for all of your love and support. God Bless!"
Tebow has been one of the most controversial players in the NFL due to his religious beliefs and he has had attention this offseason as the New York Jets have attempted to trade him to another team. The Jets barely used him on offense last season, as he was on the field for just 73 plays and gained only 102 rushing yards and less than 50 passing yards.
When Tebow was with the Denver Broncos he led the team to the playoffs and an upset postseason win against the Pittsburgh Steelers after throwing a touchdown pass on the first play of overtime. The magical run for Tebow ended in Denver after the team decided to sign Peyton Manning and traded the quarterback to the Jets.
Tebow was expected to work with Mark Sanchez as a change of pace quarterback and a Wildcat option, but the Jets instead used him mostly as a punt protector and a decoy. The team shopped him to other NFL franchises at the scouting combine and could trade him soon if they find a taker.
The best options for the Jets appear to be the Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals and the Oakland Raiders, all teams that have some question marks at the position.
