It sure seems like a great time to be an evangelical Christian these days—at least in the entertainment business. Let's see, there's Justin Bieber, Tim Tebow, and Craig Funston. Or as some wag sitting in the brave solitude of his lonely office would say, a singer, a zinger, and a stinger.
Oh well, two out of three isn't too bad at all.
Bieber, the Canadian-born son of a single mom, has taken the teenybopper world by storm. Not quite sure what his appeal is, but it certainly isn't his voice or his hair—but I'm not envious. Now in recent weeks he has come out even louder than ever with his claim to faith, and he actually has a Jesus tatoo to prove it. Not quite sure if I agree on his take on going to church, either, but, then again, who am I but a lowly writer (or would that be a “stinger”?).
Then, if you follow football, you surely must know about Tim Tebow (that's Tebow, as in “tea-boe.” But the way he prays in the end zone after each touchdown, maybe it should be Tebow, as in rhyming with “cow”). He has emerged as the second coming of John Elway in Denver, but appears to be more interested in the second coming of Jesus.
It's not too often you read of an NFL quarterback that has retained his his manners and his morals. My, we've been so accustomed to the roguish behaviour of the Jim McMahons, the Joe Namaths, and Steve McNairs, that his take on life is beyond refreshing.
You might say that it has gone from ideal to unreal to surreal.
He just doesn't fit the mould of any football player—in fact, he doesn't fit the mould of any professional athlete, in my opinion: Son of evangelical missionary parents, loves hanging with his siblings, and was homeschooled. I like him already, and I've never met him.
If there is one proven way to corrupt anyone, it is through fame. We're not wired to handle the excessive adoration and adulation of others. I don't suppose we know the half of what goes in the barrooms and bedrooms of professional athletes as they blitz around the country. There are probably broken hearts and vows all around America as a result of their wanton promiscuity.
Meanwhile, back to Bieber and Tebow. I link them because of their profession of the Christian faith, but there are some token differences. Schooling choices would be one of them. Also, one appears to have had to pull himself up by his bootstraps in a home with an absent father and a dedicated mother; the other had both a mother and father, albeit they were active in mission work. Both are making their mark in the States, even though both have come from foreign countries—Canada and the Philippines, respectively.
What I find so refreshing about Tim—can I actually call him “Tim,” even though we haven't been formally introduced?--is his clear-cut testimony regarding his faith. Anyone who prays in front of millions of viewers each week and wears “John 3:16” on his sun screen obviously takes his faith seriously.
I can't imagine Justin prancing and dancing around the stage, then bowing down after yet another encore, thanking Jesus for all the screaming groupies.
My take on faith is that it should permeate every aspect of life—and if it can't, then quit what you must, but not the faith. Practical faith is not just on Sunday, or just on the pulpit. Sometime soon we should discuss whether professing followers of Jesus—tattoo or no tattoo-- should be rhythm and blues singers, twisting and shouting in front of hundreds (possibly thousands) of hysterically-charged girls.
If life were a you've-got-talent show, I'd vote for Tim Tebow. He strikes me as the real deal, especially when it comes to representing his faith. I'm just hoping he can hang in there and not be corrupted through temptation, or through the desperate media vultures, dredging up some imagined past vice.
Just a suggestion to the NFL powers-that-be: Perhaps if the Broncos make it all the way to the Stupor, er, Super Bowl, maybe they could add Bieber to the half-time show. I can see it now: He sings one of the Monkees' most famous songs (“I'm a Belieber”), then meets Brother Tim in the end zone for a brief prayer meeting.
Either way, we'll just leave it to Bieber to come through.
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