Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

RELIGION:

Tebow talks Bible verses, ministering and Tebowing

Tebow10

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow laughs with Senior Pastor Kevin Odor, as seen on a television monitor, during his appearance at the evening service at Canyon Ridge Christian Church Saturday, March 3, 2012, in Las Vegas.

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Thousands of people went to Canyon Ridge Christian Church to hear Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow.

Tebow in Las Vegas

From left, Paula Dominguez, Ruth Butindaro and Marie Adams Tebow with their coveted photograph of Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow after attending his appearance during the evening church service at Canyon Ridge Christian Church Saturday, March 3, 2012, in Las Vegas. Launch slideshow »

Canyon Ridge Christian Church

Denver Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow went deep Saturday night, inspiring thousands of church worshipers who came to hear him tell football stories and how his experiences have made him an inspirational Christian man in the National Football League.

Tebow spent about 45 minutes talking with Kevin Odor, senior pastor of Canyon Ridge Christian Church, in an interview that tied in to several Bible verses.

In the first of two Saturday services, more than 4,000 people — hundreds of them wearing Tebow’s No. 15 Broncos jersey — crammed into Canyon Ridge’s cavernous auditorium. Odor said before the interview that 1,000 more were logged on to the church’s website, watching a live streamed broadcast of the service.

Tebow will appear at the church at Lone Mountain Road and Jones Boulevard Sunday at 9 and 11:30 a.m. It’s the only church appearance of seven Tebow is making during the football off-season in which he’s addressing more than one service.

Tebow talked about the trend of printing Bible chapters and verses on the eye paint players use to minimize glare, ministering to death row inmates, his mother’s controversial television advertisement during last year’s Super Bowl broadcast and the phenomenon of people “Tebowing” — dropping to a knee in prayer — in his presentation.

“I’m pretty sure I’m not the first athlete to get on a knee and pray,” said Tebow, who was as casually dressed as the congregation in jeans and a sweater over a striped shirt. “It’s funny, I’ve been doing this same exact routine for the last seven years and for some reason this was the first year that people started talking about it.”

Tebow said in warm-ups before a game, he would do a few final stretches before finding a corner of the end zone, drop to a knee in prayer and do several jumps before sprinting up the sideline. Sometimes, he does the same thing after scoring a touchdown, but other times he’ll look and point skyward or “jump into my linemen’s arms.”

Why does he do it?

“There’s all this excitement in a game, whether it’s playing the NFL or college, with all the hype. You’re going to do good, you’re going to do bad and all the eyes are watching you and for me, it’s to be able to take a moment to block out everything else and just get on a knee and thank the Lord.

“One of the reasons I get on a knee is because that’s a form of humbling yourself. I want to humble myself before the Lord and say thank you for this opportunity. Thank you for letting me play the game I love. Whether I’m good or bad, whether I’m the hero or the goat, whether I score four touchdowns or throw four interceptions, that will still be the same person, honoring the Lord.”

While playing college football at the University of Florida, Tebow saw an opportunity to evangelize by printing the chapter and verse of Bible passages on eye paint that would be seen by thousands of television viewers.

He chose Philippians 4:13 because “there’s not a better verse for an athlete.”

But when Florida met the University of Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship game, Tebow contemplated changing passages — to John 3:16.

“I knew I was going to go with John 3:16,” he said. “I told Coach (Urban) Meyer, and he said, ‘What?! That’s a good point, Tim, but Philippians 4:13 is what got us here.’”

He agreed not to change — until the national championship game against Ohio State. After that game, Tebow was having dinner with his parents and Meyer when the coach’s publicist called him to tell him that after Tebow wore the scripture verse, 94 million people did a Google search for John 3:16.

“My first thought was how do 94 million people not know what John 3:16 is?” Tebow said.

He said he chose that verse because it presents the essence of what Christianity is.

“It’s a verse that changed my life when I was a little boy,” he said. “It’s the essence of what I believe and that’s why I wanted to wear it, because it’s an amazing verse that has the power to change people’s lives.”

In 2010, the NCAA banned messages in eye paint.

Tebow also talked of seeking divine help to say the right words in every situation and how his teammates would occasionally tease him about not cursing on the field.

“Some of my linemen would come up to me and say, ‘What is that thing that stops the water in the middle of the river?’ and I said, ‘Dam?’ and they would laugh and say, ‘We got Tim to curse.’

Tebow also recognized his mother, Pamela, who attended the service and is speaking Sunday at Shadow Hills Baptist Church.

Tebow and his mother appeared in a pro-life television ad funded by Focus on the Family. Tebow explained that had it not been for a decision his mother made, he wouldn’t have been born. His mother suffered a life-threatening infection when pregnant with him and living in the Philippines. Doctors recommended an abortion, but she opted against it.

“The doctors thought I was a tumor and when I was growing up, my family called me Tim the Tumor,” he said.

An honorarium being presented for Tebow’s appearance is going to his foundation, which is building a hospital in the Philippines.

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