After recent criticism, New York Jets Quarterback Tim Tebow has canceled a scheduled appearance at First Baptist Church, Dallas.
Tebow announced the cancellation in a series of tweets Feb. 21.
“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,” Tebow wrote.
First, Dallas, issued a statement in response to Tebow’s cancellation: “The leaders and congregation of First Baptist Church, Dallas, are disappointed that New York Jets’ Quarterback Tim Tebow has announced he will no longer speak at First Baptist Church, Dallas, on April 28 as part of the month-long celebration events surrounding the grand opening of our new $130 million, state-of-the-art campus on Easter Sunday,” the statement read.
According to the statement, Tebow called Robert Jeffress, pastor of First, Dallas, on Feb. 20, “saying that 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.”
The statement continued: “We are saddened that Mr. Tebow felt pressure to back out of his long-planned commitment from numerous New York and national sports and news media who grossly misrepresented past comments made by our pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress, specifically related to issues of homosexuality and AIDS, as well as Judaism.”
Tebow had been criticized by liberal publications for scheduling the April 28 talk at the church, which the Huffington Post news site described as “virulently anti-gay, anti-Semitic.”
Jeffress appeared on a radio show Feb. 21, defending his beliefs against what he said were “false, blatant statements about me.” Jeffress told the morning show of 105.3 The Fan that he and Tebow “had a pleasant conversation on the phone” since then.
(BP)
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