Tim Tebow 'Tebowing'

When a noun becomes a verb, it has reached a level of transcendence in the vernacular of the culture.

Go and Xerox a memo. Facebook me. Just Google it.

Tim Tebow has now reached that rarified air that few nouns reach. His name has now become a verb. “Tebowing” is now the word that people use to strike a pose in the prayer position above. It is most often used derisively of the Broncos QB. (“Tebowing” has a website dedicated to it. It has become a mild internet phenomenon, a la ‘planking’) But his name has now transcended the football culture.

The fact that Tebow has transcended the NFL is clear. He’s been written about in the Wall Street Journal, the NY Times, and countless other news outlets. And I’m not talking about their Sports sections. In fact, in the perhaps the most telling evidence of his transcendence, a woman in my church just ‘facebooked’: Out of curiosity I googled Tim Tebow cause everyone has been talking about him lately. Woah, I gotta start watching some football!

Even if you’re not a football fan, you’ve probably already heard about Tim Tebow and wondered what the big deal is about him. You’ve probably heard 2 things.

1 – All he does is win. The Broncos were 1-4, in last place and were headed to a dismal season under QB Kyle Orton. But once Tebow took over as the QB, Denver has gone 7-1 and has propelled themselves to 1st place. But more than that, it’s the way that Tebow has done it. He’s won in come-from-behind fashion late in the 4th quarter. And usually he’s done it after looking very mediocre as a QB for 3 quarters. Thus, the 4th quarter in a close game in Denver has become known as “Tebow Time”.

2 – All he does is talk about Jesus. This is the other thing that he’s known for. Every interview he does, he first thanks his ‘Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” Seriously. Every time. There are plenty of Christian athletes playing. Every once in a while you will see a circle after an NFL game with dozens of players praying in a circle. This circle happens after every game. But we rarely see it. And none of those players have ever been known for their faith. Tim Tebow is known for his faith. 

There’s been quite a reaction to him and his outspokenness of his faith. Some respect him for his character and leadership, but want to hear less about his faith. Some have flat-out mocked him for his faith*. And it’s the mean-spirited, mocking backlash that I find the most troubling. It’s one thing to think he throws a wounded duck for a pass. But to mock, root against, or even hate him for his faith is another altogether.

* Although, to be fair, most of the criticism in football circles has been around his throwing skills as a Quarterback, or lack thereof.

I think the reaction to him has shown that as a culture, we are in many ways, unable to have a civil conversation about God and faith. At face value, all Tebow does is thank Jesus. If an athlete started every interview by saying, “First of all, I’d like to thank my mom and dad,” no one would make a big deal out of it. Or if they thanked their high-school football coach or his wife, no one would care. In fact, I think people would admire that. 

But, mention God—or worse, JESUS!— and suddenly, there’s a backlash. He’s not proselytizing. He’s not saying “You’re going to hell” All he’s doing is acknowledging the one to whom he’s thankful. And here’s the thing, I’m convinced that if he thanked “Yahweh” or “allah” no one would think twice about it.

I’m not quite sure why that is. I’m not naive that Christians haven’t always been the best examples in society historically or currently. However, it does remind me of a certain Bible passage that may be pertinent.

“See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.”

~ Romans 9:33, quoting Isaiah 8:14 

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

Jerry Sandusky

Monster. Pedophile. Deviant.

These are the words that are used to describe Jerry Sandusky after allegations of his sexually lewd behavior surfaced. Truly, this story, if corroborated, is troubling on so many levels.

And first let me say, that my heart and prayers go out to all of the children, their parents, their future wives and their future kids.

If the allegations are true (even Penn State’s acting president called them ‘victims’ not ‘alleged victims’) then the hatred and vitriol that Sandusky faces seems justified. Perhaps the monikers of ‘monster, pedophile & deviant’ are deserved.

[Disclaimer: In my following comments, I do not mean to trivialize the gravity of these allegations. However, I do want to make a broader point that applies to us all.]

However, we tend to demonize and villainize those that have (what we perceive to be) egregious sins. And preying on a under-privileged minor seems to be near the top bottom of that scale. But I think that tendency seems to belie a veiled comfort that we have in allowing us to focus on the sins of others and not on my own sins. “I am not a pedophile, so I must be far better than Jerry Sandusky,” we tell ourselves subconsciously.

By focusing on others, we fall prey to what I call “comparative righteousness”. We are holy, because so many other people are much more sinful than I. But, this subtle line of thinking ignores the Biblical teaching of the depravity of sin.

“There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”  ~ Romans 3:10-12

The truth of the matter is that we all deal with the problem of sin. And just because our sins are not as reprehensible as someone else’s, that does not exonerate us from the punishment deserved for our own sins.

Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong. ~ Habakkuk 1:3

So, as the truth unfolds at Penn State—and I imagine that the worst is yet to surface—and you feel disgust and outrage over the atrocities perpetrated on those poor children…

…remember that God sees our sins with disgust and outrage as well. Reflect on what God must have needed to overcome in order to love us and die for us despite our sins. Respond to the love that he has for us by loving him and trusting him in return.

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

Steve Jobs (Credit: apple.com)

I’m writing this post on a MacBook Pro and will read it later on my iPhone. Steve Jobs and I have had a “relationship” for nearly 10 years, despite the fact that he probably doesn’t know who I am. (Although, come to think of it, he does have my credit card information…)

I’d known about Jobs’ health issues for many years: pancreatic cancer in 2004, leave of absence and liver transplant in 2009, leave of absence and resignation in 2011. His death was something that I was not only anticipating, but also expecting. When Steve Jobs died on October 5th, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone.

And yet it surprised everyone.

I think it took everyone by surprise because so many people relied upon the products that he produced. It was as if we needed Steve alive. We needed him to continue to make life-changing and industry-forming* products. We weren’t ready to see him go.

* the personal computer (Apple II), the graphical user interface & the mouse (Macintosh), the modern day operating system (NeXT, OS X), animation movies (Pixar), all-in-one computers (iMac), music players (iPod), the digital music industry (iTunes), retail stores (Apple Store), smartphones (iPhone), mobile operating systems (iOS), tablet computers (iPad), & advertising (1984 Ad, Think Different Ads, iPod Silhouettes, Mac vs. PC)

When people mourn the death of another, either a loved one or a CEO, we are mourning the loss of that person’s impact in our lives. I don’t emotionally react to any other company’s CEO’s death because I don’t emotionally connect to that company’s products. However, Steve Jobs meant something to me. His products created (and then satisfied) needs in my life. When my aunt passed away last year, it affected me because it created a void in my life that she filled. Death ends life.

Most of us view death as the end. But as a pastor, I teach that we should not view death as the end, but rather as a beginning. It is the beginning of our eternity. Our thoughts on death make us think about life. When we think of Steve Jobs’ death, we naturally think of his life and we think of our own lives. What am I doing? Where am I going? What purpose am I serving? 

Even if I revolutionize industry after industry, or even if I give millions of dollars to the poor, or even if I raise my two wonderful children, my death is a beginning, not an end.

So, today, I want to live with my eyes not on the end of my life, but on the beginning of my eternity.

Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life.

~ Jude 21 (NIV)

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

As you may have already heard, Harold Camping has been getting his small army of volunteers to spread the word that the world is going to end tomorrow, 5/21/2011, at 6am. So, naturally, this will be could be probably won’t be my last blog post ever.

My first reaction is to dismiss this. In fact someone first mentioned something back in November when they heard an ad on Star 99.1. And I didn’t think about it again until I heard it on ESPN radio, where they were mocking the guy about a month ago. I didn’t think about it much because I feel like the more that we pay attention to these things, the more they don’t go away.

But then, somehow, it’s hit the mainstream media. It’s on about every news outlet. Even the CDC released a tongue-in-cheek Preparedness 101: Zombie Apocalypse primer just 4 days ago.

So, if CNN is talking about it, then I perhaps my mentioning it in my blog won’t make a remarkable difference in the amount of attention that this is getting.

First of all, as soon as you hear about someone saying that they know that the world is going to end on a certain day or a certain time, I think, “well scratch that one off the list…” because the Bible says,

“But concerning that day and hour  no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” ~ Matthew 24:36 (ESV)

Look, if Jesus doesn’t know, then why would God reveal it to this guy. Also, this is the same guy that said that the world was going to end in 1994. Plus, we’ve been through this before. I remember someone telling me that it was going to happen in 1989. And then I heard about it in 1992. And then with the Millennium. And now this. Besides, we all know the world is gonna end in 2012, right?

But, just because he was wrong before  doesn’t necessarily mean he’s wrong again right? Retest, anyone?

So, should we pay attention to what this guys is saying at all?

• NO! Clearly, the world is not gonna end tomorrow. And if I’m wrong, then I’ll be the first to admit it. Wait—how does that work?—okay, nevermind. I Thessalonians 5:2 says, “For you yourselves are fully aware that  the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” I’m pretty sure that the original Greek does not translate to “billboards and radio ads”. So, don’t pay any attention to him.

• But wait! YES! We shouldn’t necessarily sell our possessions and paint our vehicles with dates and times on it. However, the Bible is pretty clear that we should be thinking about the end of the world. Matthew 25:13 says,

Watch therefore, for you  know neither the day nor the hour. (ESV)

We should be living in such a way that makes us prepared for the end of the world. And here’s the kicker: We live that way, specifically because we don’t know the day or the hour.

So, let’s recap.

• The world is not gonna end tomorrow.

• We don’t know when it’s gonna end.

• Because we don’t know when it’s gonna end, we should live as though it may end at any time.

So, I guess the question is: It’s the day before May 21st, 2011. Have you thought about your eternity?

See you Sunday, everyone!!

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

One of the issues that arose was How do you approach someone about an issue without appearing judgmental? Recently, I also had a conversation with someone (actually I was present during a conversation that my wise wife* was having) who was talking about confronting someone with a character issue.

* It always bothered me that people always introduce their wives in public forums as ‘beautiful wife’. It bothered me for a couple of reasons. Is she that insecure that she needs public displays of compliments? Are we that unobservant as an audience that we wouldn’t have noticed until you mentioned it? But the real reason that it bothered me is because it reinforces the subtle and sinister stereotype that a woman’s worth is only wrapped up in her beauty. (I was this close to blogging on the obsession with Princess Kate). I know, I’m strange, but this is how I think.

Her concern, and really the concern of most people in these situations, was Is this really the loving thing to do? What if they don’t receive it well? Will it do more harm than help? Again, my sage spouse (who also happens to be ravishingly beautiful… =D) brought up most of the good points. I only added one thing that I wanted to share with my you, my reader readers.

You have to think of a confrontation as a transaction. It is a transfer of funds. But the currency isn’t bills or coins, but love and acceptance. Basically, when you have to speak truth into someone’s life, you are cashing in whatever love and acceptance that you have build up with that person previously. And if you have enough currency, then they will receive what you have to say.

But, if you don’t have enough currency with them, if they haven’t felt enough love and acceptance built up in the relationship, then they will probably reject what you have to say, regardless of its truth. So, one of the implications of this is that we should be conscious of the currency we are building up with people. Because if you don’t invest in a relationship and wait until you need to confront someone, it’s already too late. Very rarely will that conversation end up in a good place. “Who are you to tell me that?” “You don’t even know me…”

When confrontations occur, so much of the focus is on what is said and how it’s stated. And rightfully so. But don’t forget about the currency of the relationship.

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

• Relief – Relief that the visionary figurehead of countless terrorists throughout the world won’t be able to proliferate his message of hate and violence.

• Extreme Disgust – Once I jumped on facebook, I saw post after post celebrating the death of OBL. Some, like the Daily News (5/2 cover) used the phrase, “Rot in Hell.” No matter how evil this man was, the thought of relishing over someone’s life being snuffed out, let alone his eternal damnation, was just over the line for me. A quote from DA Carson is helpful here:

He is an evil man, and he must be stopped, but he is a man, and we should take no pleasure in destroying him. Vengeance is the Lord’s alone.

Do not offer the alternative, “Should we weep for Osama bin Laden or hold him to account for his genocide and prevent him from carrying out his violent intentions?”

The right answer is yes.

~ Love in Hard Places (Crossway, 2002), 143.

• Pride – As details emerged about the actual raid, I became extremely proud of our armed forces. As my thoughts turned to my brother-in-law serving a tour in Afghanistan with the Marines right now, I was once again reminded of the value that our brothers and sisters in arms provide. We do need them on that wall.

• Vindication – I lost one of my best friends in 9/11. And I can’t help but feel a bit of vindication for Andy’s life being taken. I took comfort that Bin Laden won’t be able to take any more lives like he did Andy’s.

• Faith – 9 days ago we were all thinking about Easter and the theories of the Resurrection. Here you have a visionary and controversial leader that was killed. And in the three days since his death, there hasn’t been any murmurs from Al Qaeda that Osama is still alive or that he has been raised from the dead. Can you imagine what it would take to propagate a lie that Osama was resurrected? How much coordination would it take? And if you only had 3 days to do it? Now, how plausible is it that the helpless, hapless disciples were able to hatch the greatest scam in the history of mankind in only 3 days? Makes you think that perhaps what these disciples believed was actually true.

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

* I love my job.

Pastors are called to build their church. Not the dozen churches in his town. Not the hundred churches in the surrounding towns. Not the thousands of churches within driving distance from his church. Just his church.

But pastors are also called to build the Church. The universal Church made up of all believers, all places, all time. So, he is called to build up the dozen churches in his town and the hundred churches in the surrounding towns… and the thousands of churches within driving distance. Not just his church.

Just his church. And not just his church.

Confusing, eh?

But that’s not all. You see, the way that he builds the universal Church is by faithfully building his own church. And at the same time, the way that he faithfully builds his own church is by remembering that he is building the universal Church. Even as I write it, I’m getting confused.

All that is to say, a balance must be struck when you’re serving in the church, whether you’re a pastor or volunteer.

The tendency for pastors is to get caught up in building their local church. They place too much of their value in the size or success of their churches. The get depressed when people leave their church. Or they get angry and bad mouth them. The temptation  is to believe that they are competing with the other churches in the area. We need to be reminded that we are all serving the same God and building the universal Church.

So, how can you ask someone who is in charge of the success of a local church to not be overly focused on its success but at the same time be focused enough to not neglect it? Where is that perfect balance between serving both the church and the Church?

Ultimately, we have to do what we can do and trust in God to do what he’s gonna do. I once asked Tim Keller about power in preaching. He said, “you have to ask God for the power.” And then he said, “And then you have to be content with the apportioned amount.” So true! There are some things that I can do as a pastor and some things that I can’t. All I can do is what I can and I have to trust that God is gonna do what he’s gonna do.

The way that I see it is that all I can do is bring my 5 loaves and 2 fish. God is the one who feeds the 5000. Some of you might have 10 loaves. Some 2 loaves. Some of you will feed 10,000. Some maybe 500. We do what we can do. Let God do what he’s gonna do.

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. ~ Mark 6:41

And all of that takes faith. Which, I guess, is why we’re doing what we’re doing in the first place.

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

Our church has teamed up with charity: water in 2009 and 2010 to raise over $13,000 to bring clean water to the nearly 1 billion people that are without access to it.

More recently, I gave up my birthday to raise money awareness both for charity: water (through One Day’s Wages). I was able to raise $1,660. [I'm glad, because I never got that much on my birthday!]

For your enjoyment, here are a few facts that you might not have known, regarding the problem of water in the world, from change.org.

Water is everywhere, right? Actually, for such a plentiful resource, clean water is surprisingly scarce. Less than 1% of all fresh water is readily accessible for direct human use, representing only 0.007% of all water on earth. Bet you didn’t know that. Check out five more clean water facts and find out what else you didn’t know:

1. Unsafe drinking water and lack of sanitation kills more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Unclean drinking water can incubate some pretty scary diseases, like E. coli, salmonella, cholera and hepatitis A. Given that bouquet of bacteria, it’s no surprise that water, or rather lack thereof, causes 42,000 deaths each week.

2. More people have access to a cell phone than to a toilet. Today, 2.5 billion people lack access to toilets. This means that sewage spills into rivers and streams, contaminating drinking water and causing disease.

3. Every day, women and children in Africa walk a combined total of 109 million hours to get water. They do this while carrying cisterns weighing around 40 pounds when filled in order to gather water that, in many cases, is still polluted. Aside from putting a great deal of strain on their bodies, walking such long distances keeps children out of school and women away from other endeavors that can help improve the quality of life in their communities.

4. It takes 6.3 gallons of water to produce just one hamburger. That 6.3 gallons covers everything from watering the wheat for the bun and providing water for the cow to cooking the patty and baking the bun. And that’s just one meal! It would take over 1.8 billion gallons of water to make just one hamburger for every person in the United States.

5. The average American uses 159 gallons of water every day – more than 15 times the average person in the developing world. From showering and washing our hands to watering our lawns and washing our cars, Americans use a lot of water. To put things into perspective, the average five-minute shower will use about 10 gallons of water. Now imagine using just 10 gallons to bathe, wash your clothes, cook your meals and quench your thirst.

Want more info? Our friends at Water.org just put together a handy resource guide for Blog Action Day 2010 bloggers where you can learn even more about water access in the developing world.

While these facts may be grim, there is hope for real solutions as more and more people around the world are waking up to the clean water crisis. Earlier this year, the UN declared access to clean water a human right and groups like Water.org and charity: water continue to work tirelessly to bring water access to the developing world. Take a moment to register your blog and grab an action widget, and get ready for an amazing day of blog activism.

So, blog away and raise awareness.

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

* That’s about the distance from the Empire State Building Observation Deck to the ground.

The weeks following today’s rescue will be filled with a mixture of elation, relief, rest and gratitude. I imagine it will be days, if not weeks, before any of the miner’s lives get back to any semblance of normal. In fact, one of the miners, only 19 years old, has written a letter stating that he believed God had a purpose for him to be down there and his life will not be the same afterward.

However, imagine, if you would, that many days from now, one of the miners decides that he actually prefers his life in the mine shelter and finds a way to climb back down the mine shaft and plans to live the rest of his life down there. At first, there would be curiosity and probably ridicule. However, eventually, there might even be outrage over the gargantuan effort it took just to extract him from that very shelter in the first place. Eventually, however, I think sadness would be the prevailing sentiment that would rule the day. How could this man, who was rescued from that prison, still desire to live in it?

It is with the same ridicule, outrage and sadness that we must view ourselves when followers of Christ return to a life of sin. You see, we have been rescued from a pit of darkness from which we could not rescue ourselves. However this pit was not just 1000 ft deep. And we were not just at risk of death. And it wasn’t just 69 days. The pit we were trapped in is our sins… and it rendered us spiritually dead.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins.
~Ephesians 2:1

Having been rescued from that pit of death and raised to life, through Christ, how could we return to a life of sin? God rescued us by climbing into the pit and saving us. And the new life that we have been given is to be lived for him… for his glory.

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
~ Galatians 5:1

So, remember, you have been set free by a God who rescued you and who died in your stead. He did it to rescue from the pit of death called sin and he also did it to give you a new abundant and fulfilled life. So, live with a new purpose and new perspective. And stop climbing down the mineshaft again.

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
~John 10:10

©2012 richlee blessed. All Rights Reserved.

However, one of the compelling reasons to watch DWTS (if I were to watch it) is to see former Sports stars dancing. This season, Kurt Warner, former QB of the NY Giants (what? he played for other teams, too?) who has been to 3 SuperBowls and won 1 (Sure makes it seem like it was with the Giants, huh?) is on the show.

Kurt Warner has an amazing story. [Both worth clicks!] But what makes it even more amazing is the way that his faith has really carried him through this amazing LifeStory. Here is just one example: a game that they play when the Warner family goes out to eat. Faith in action!

Well, apparently, he has received some criticism from Christians about his decision to do DWTS. Well, apparently, he’s written a letter that has circulated around the tubes of the interweb that let us read, in his words, the reason for doing DWTS. Enjoy!

Hey y’all, hope this letter finds you well.  Life has me crazy busy and I miss having the opportunity to connect with all of you.  But, I find myself with a little extra time on a flight to STL for a couple events & wanted to use a little of it to share with you something that God has placed on my heart recently.

As most of you know, I am currently taking part in the hit reality show Dancing With the Stars.  Since the announcement has been made I have received numerous concerns relating to why, as a Christian, I would choose to take part in this particular show.

I can promise you that it wasn’t because I felt I was a superior dancer and just wanted to show off to the world.  It wasn’t because I had nothing else to do and wanted to spend more time away from my wife and children.  It surely wasn’t for the money or fame or attention that it would bring.  Nope, not so I could take the opportunity to embarrass myself in front of 20 million people each week or because I had an open shelf in the trophy case where I thought the ‘Mirrorball’ would fit perfectly!

So why?  Why choose to do a show that many deem ‘provocative’?  Why participate in  a show that places you next to a beautiful woman, who is not your wife, for up to 6 hours a day in close proximity?  Why associate yourself with a show where many of the contestants wear little clothing and move around in a sexual way?  Why do a show that may affect the credibility you earned while playing in the NFL?  Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

I have received letters from friends asking these very questions!  I have received letters from those in the ministry criticizing me for making this choice! And I have received numerous facebook and twitter messages referencing how big a mistake this whole thing is!

So amidst all of these questions I wanted to take a little time to share with all of you why I have made this choice.

In the early stages of receiving the offer to be on the show, I almost immediately said NO!  I couldn’t see how something like this could be a benefit to my marriage.  I didn’t need the notoriety I would receive because God had already taken care of that throughout my football career.  I didn’t see any positive side to making a fool of myself in front of all those people.  And my perception, like I believe many of you, is that it doesn’t appear to line up with the idea of Christianity at all.  So with so many strikes against it, I was ready to simply go my first response.

But, before doing that, I thought I would take a little time and pray about the whole situation.  I realized that God had taken me this far and done some amazing things in my life, even though the initial signs appeared bleak, and I owed it to Him to at least ask Him what He thought!

Fully expecting my initial answer of ‘NO’ to be confirmed in prayer, I spent some free time hanging with Jesus.  And it didn’t take long before He directed me to a couple passages of scripture that would ultimately help me to make my final decision.

The first scripture was Matthew 9:9-12 and it says this:

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth.  “Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.  While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and ‘sinners’ came and ate with him and his disciples.  When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, ‘Why does your master eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’? On hearing this Jesus said, “IT IS NOT THE HEALTHY WHO NEED A DOCTOR, BUT THE SICK.  BUT GO AND LEARN WHAT THIS MEANS: ‘I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE.’ FOR I HAVE NOT COME TO CALL THE RIGHTEOUS BUT THE SINNERS.”

Hmm, does the question asked by the Pharisees sound familiar?

The second comes from the book of Mark 16:14-15: “Later (after being risen from the dead) Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel”

After reading this two scriptures for the thousandth time, I was struck by exactly what God was trying to tell me.  He was letting me know that He didn’t place me in the position I am in to hide out in the church and preach only to those who enter those buildings (although I know this is important and part of my calling).  He had called me to the WORLD, to those people who may never set foot in a church and may never (in their circles) have Jesus shared with them.

In taking me to these scriptures He enlightened me on the fact that His placing of me in the NFL was no different then the idea of Dancing with the Stars!  He showed me that there is little in a locker room that appears Christian either.  There is vulgar music, violence, language, sexual innuendos, hate, selfishness, pride, prejudice, judgment, etc…  So why did I never get these same questions in regards to my football career?

My point is simply that God has called me to reach the world, by going into places where all Christians may not choose to go.  He has equipped me to be a light in the darkness and my responsibility is to embrace it, step into, and allow him to use me as he sees fit.

I look back at my 12 year NFL career and reflect on what God did during that time.  He allowed me to lift up his name on the podium at the Super Bowl.  He gave me numerous opportunities to have conversations with people that had no direction and were spiraling out of control.  He allowed a uneducated young Christian the opportunity to speak to hundreds of thousands of people about Jesus.  He blessed me with the unique gift of showing people what it looks like to love Jesus when you are on top and when you are in the valley.  He allowed me to hear a comedian reference me as ‘David’ going into the Lions den on Monday Night Football.  And he has allowed me the opportunity to represent Him daily in the public eye.

Wow, not bad considering that it all took place in a very secular, sinner dominated environment! Hmm, sounds very similar to what many think of when they hear ‘Dancing with the Stars’!

I also find it ironic that it seems to be so closely related to the portion of scripture that I referenced above in relation to the situations that God called Jesus too.

My point is simply that I believe God has called me be ‘in the world, but not of it’!  He has called me to embrace the ungodly things, in hopes of sharing the Godly in them.  I am not sure if He is calling all of you to the same things, but I know He has me, and He is equipping me for them by giving me perspective.

Where many say, how can you possibly work so closely with a beautiful woman wearing such little clothing?  My response is, watch me show you how you can do such a thing and still honor your marriage and love your wife.  And already in my first dance (which I know wasn’t the greatest! LOL) I was able to make that statement by going over and kissing my wife in front of 20 mil people after just dancing with that other beautiful woman!

Where many say, how can you take the reputation you built during your football career and destroy it by doing something like Dancing with the Stars?  My response is twofold, first I don’t really care about my reputation, I care about reaching people and this platform allows me to do just that.  Second, I say that what I have come to find as the most attractive characteristic of any Christian, to a non-Christian, is a realness that comes from sharing your shortcomings as well as your strengths.  This show allows me to show that I can laugh, make fun of myself, and engage in relationships with people of all kinds, and still in the midst of it all, Love Jesus!

Where some say, you must not get along with any of the cast members, because they appear so worldy and sinful?  My response is that I love the other cast members on the show.  Yeah, they are flawed, just like I am, but they also are real and need a relationship with Jesus as much as I do, and they need someone to show Him to them!

I could go on and on, with other questions and answers as to why I am doing this show, but I think you all get the point.

I have not been placed on this earth to judge or criticize or determine the fate and sin of others.  I have been placed here to direct the ‘sick’ to where they can be healed and to go into all the world and preach the gospel.

Right now, that world is found and the sick are tuned in on Monday and Tuesday nights on ABC!

I know all of you may not agree with me and would not choose to do the same thing, but I would ask that you not judge me, but that you pray for me.  Pray that I can represent Jesus the way He deserves to be represented, because I believe if I do, you will all see exactly why God chose to put a Christian on DWTS!

Thanks for listening and supporting… Love you all.  KW

Faith in action, I tell ya!

[h/t: Won Kim]

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