Unusual Suspect: One Man’s Calling to Help a Team Embroiled in Controversy

What is the Christian life supposed to look like?

This is perhaps the most asked question in Christianity with answers that vary as much as New England weather. Some feel the Christian life should look, well, Christian. Moral people who help others and go to Bible College and are employed in full-time ministry. Others would say it is less about degrees and church membership and more about an attitude of forgiveness and benevolence toward others. Treat others like you want to be treated, right?

What if a great example of the Christian life took place within the walls of Gillette stadium? Yes, Gillette stadium. The home field of the New England Patriots who are not only current Super Bowl champions but entangled in a ball deflation controversy stemming from their footballs being under the league required air pressure range during the American Football Conference Championship game played on January 18. A game in which they won incidentally 45-7.

With a blowout win in hand and a trip to the Super Bowl on the horizon, surely no one would care about football air pressure? That might have been true if these same New England Patriots had not been caught illegally videotaping opponents defensive signals in 2007. A rule violation in which the league handed out its harshest penalty ever, fining owner Robert Kraft $250,000 and head coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and docking the team a first round draft pick.

It would seem that if this football deflation controversy proved to be true than the New England Patriots would be as synonymous with winning championships as they are with being habitual cheaters. An image and a brand that would be tough to swallow for management and its players.

Enter Jack Easterby – a lanky and balding former college basketball player and golfer with a thick Southern accent. Easterby was hired by the Patriots in July 2013 as the team’s chaplain.

According to Seth Wickersham, a writer for ESPN The Magazine who profiled Easterby just prior to the Super Bowl, Easterby’s first words to the team were, “Tonight, my goal is that you will never be the same.” Wickersham goes on to say that Easterby says that often in his devotionals, with the swagger of a hitter calling his shot. It's an invitation, and dozens of athletes and coaches – from Tom Brady to Brady Quinn, from Bill Belichick to South Carolina women's basketball coach Dawn Staley – have accepted it. They don't always buy into Easterby's gospel, but they buy into Easterby himself. His job is to be trustworthy, and it doesn't help him earn trust if he's out there talking about it, which is why he politely declined to speak to Wickersham for his story. "He's just a great person and friend," Brady says. "You feel a special connection with him and with his genuine caring for all the people in his life."

The typical team chaplain, Wickersham explains, is a pastor at a local church who volunteers to host Saturday chapel for 10 or so players who attend and is compensated with cash in a collection plate. In New England, Easterby has an office – and it's near Belichick's. He is a classic Belichick hire: The more he can do, the more he does. He hosts Bible study, works coaches' hours in his office counseling players and their wives, throws passes in practice to Darrelle Revis and sometimes even jumps in on scout-team drills. When he's not listening, he's texting. When he's not texting, he's writing players and coaches individual notes, recapping their personal goals and reminding them of how thankful he is to know them.

Like Belichick and Brady, says Wickersham, Easterby is obsessed with process – only his process is self-actualization. He challenges those he counsels to be better people the way coaches challenge them to be better players. He's written a devotion called the Competitor's Creed – I am a Competitor now and forever. I am made to strive, to strain, to stretch and to succeed in the arena of competition. ... My attitude on and off the field is above reproach, my conduct beyond criticism. Whether I am preparing, practicing or playing, I submit to God's authority and those He has put over me. I respect my coaches, officials, teammates and competitors out of respect for the Lord.

Many Patriot coaches and players credit Easterby and his presence as one of the reasons the team won the championship this season. High praise for a man teaching his listeners about the higher power found in Christ and his gospel message.

Often we think of the Christian life being spent on the mission fields of Africa or India not on the football field. But here is Easterby, at Gillette stadium, the home of the NFL's most notorious cheaters or so the narrative goes but make no mistake, if the Patriots are exonerated from this latest football deflation controversy, he will have helped them weather the storm. If not, he will embrace the chance to help them learn from it, underscoring that life and its ups and downs are temporal but eternal life is offered to anyone who comes to Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. In short, Easterby will be ready to serve.

Thou Shalt Not …

Aaron Hernandez makes us feel better about ourselves.

Despite the fact that he has not been tried yet for the gruesome death of Odin Lloyd, the court of public opinion has rendered him a cold blooded killer along the lines of Dirty Harry.

Hernandez was a promising tight end for the New England Patriots who just two years ago was catching passes from Tom Brady in the Super Bowl. Now he is sitting in jail with no bail facing a first degree murder charge.

Society can forgive most things. But murder? Not a chance. Even the sixth commandment leaves no wiggle room or loophole. Murder is wrong.

Forget for a moment that we live in a digital age filled with public relations savvy and fleeting fame where image reins over truth in most circumstances. And that the intent of most is to sell oneself to the media as a likeable commodity. None of us know Aaron Hernandez. But yet, we look at him and his arrest for first degree murder and feel pretty good in comparison. After all, most believe hell is reserved solely for the worst of worst. Adolph Hitler. Charles Manson. Jeffrey Dahmer. Certainly not us.

But Jesus has a different view. In the Gospel of Matthew, He threw his audience a curve ball when He said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.”

Jesus is always looking at the heart for it is here that the issues of life spring forth. Anger is the beginning of murder. Many of us only believe our actions are sinful but Jesus backs up the sin problem to our heart. Proverbs 23:7 tells us that as a man thinks, so is he. In other words, we are a product of our thoughts.

Abortion was passed in this country because we changed our thinking about life in the womb. We have told ourselves for decades now that a fetus is not really a life until the third trimester and that a woman has a right to do what she wants to her body. It is this thinking that now has conservative abortion estimates up to 50 million annually. That number is staggering. And it has its roots in wrong thinking.

It is all too easy to look at Aaron Hernandez and excuse ourselves from self-examination but really his arrest should do just the opposite. We should probe deeper and look at our own hearts to see if we have seeds of anger. And not only anger but lust, greed, gluttony, pride, covetousness and envy – all of which are the root of sinful actions.

Jesus came to save sinners. At the cross we find forgiveness and victory over sin. Jesus bids us to come and then beckons us to extend His forgiveness to others.

There is a sin problem. We all have it. And Jesus is the remedy.

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“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’” - Gospel of Matthew 7:1-5

A God of Second Chances

Tebowmania is back.

On June 11 the New England Patriots put smiles on every single ESPN executive when they announced the signing of the most polarizing sports athlete on the face of the planet – Tim Tebow.

You may recall that Tebow spent most of last year anguishing on the New York Jets bench as he watched incumbent QB Mark Sanchez lose game after game while setting the league record for most turnovers.

Tebow was erroneously told when he signed with the Jets that he would have the opportunity to compete for the starting QB job. He never got the chance because of his unorthodox style of play (he is a run first quarterback with below average throwing ability) and was released by the Jets just a few weeks ago.

It was being reported after his release that he assumed his football playing days were over and was considering a career in broadcasting.

A tough place to be for Tebow who as a collegiate player at Florida University won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and the BCS National Championship in 2007 and 2009. It was then that he became known for his Christian faith which permeated his life – he often thanked Jesus Christ after every game, a tradition he continues today. 

After graduating, he was drafted by the Denver Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. During the 2011 season he was inserted into the Broncos line up and asked to help resurrect a team that began the season 1-4. He won 7 of his first 8 games, many in dramatic fashion and propelled the Broncos to the AFC West division title and a wild card playoff win over the Pittsburg Steelers.

It appeared that Tebow would remain the starter in Denver at season’s end until the Indianapolis Colts decided to release QB Peyton Manning, the league’s only four-time MVP. Denver put its hat into the ring and won the Manning sweepstakes which sent Tebow packing to New York.

After a season to forget in New York, Tebow passed through NFL waivers and was not signed by any team. This prompted Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon to say that Tebow was not only finished playing in the NFL but that he also would not be a fit for the Canadian football league either because of his inability to throw the football at a professional level.  

Just when things looked bleak, his football career seemingly over after just three short seasons, football expert after football expert telling him he can't throw, ESPN talking heads gleefully discussing the demise of his flash pan career –  in walks Tebow’s white horse – Bill Belichick.

Most in the football universe consider New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick to be the best coach of his era with three Super Bowl trophies and the highest winning percentage in the NFL since 2001.

When news of the signing first broke, NFL analysts were shocked. Many thought it was an Internet joke. Not only was Tebow back in the NFL, the Patriots signed him as their third string QB which means he has the chance to compete to back up Tom Brady, the best QB of his generation.

How did all this happen? Many say it was because Belichick likes players who are versatile and can do more than one thing well on the football field. Others believe it was Josh McDaniels, the Patriots Offensive Coordinator who wanted Tebow because he was the one that drafted him in 2010 when he was Head Coach of the Broncos.

While these reasons have merit, I believe Tebow was signed because God gave him a second chance to play the sport he loves.

What is infinitely more interesting about Tebow other than his topsy turvy football career is his faith. Tebow was born in Makati City in the Philippines, to American parents who were serving as Baptist missionaries at the time. He is the youngest of five children, all of whom were homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family's Christian beliefs along the way.

If you have had a chance to listen to any of Tebow’s interviews you would know that he puts Jesus Christ first in his life. He has become famously known for “Tebowing”, his touchdown celebration in which he kneels to pray after scoring. The NFL became enamored with him because of his unconventional style of play and his beliefs.

Tebow is a Christian first, pro football player second. Not an easy life to balance especially in a society where so many hate the Christian faith and the religious right is clamoring for someone to represent them.

But here is Tebow. On Monday he was out of football. On Tuesday he was signed by the premier  franchise in football. An amazing second chance granted from the God of second chances.

Is your life looking hopeless today? Is everyone calling you a failure?

Don’t believe it.

Take heart in a God that says He knows what you need before you even ask.
Take refuge in a God that whispers, “I will never leave you or forsake you."
Take confidence in a God that promises you a future and a hope.

And know that what is impossible with men IS possible with God.

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"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Reflecting on Tebow Time

As the NFL football season winds down over the next couple of weeks, it is hard not to look back on the season without first thinking of Tim Tebow. The first thing that comes to mind is his clutch play-making abilitites that helped the Denver Broncos go from a 1-4 record to AFC West Division champions, but in light of his on-field success, his faith may have spoken louder than his play.

Most people know Tebow from his college football days at Florida University where he won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and the BCS National Championship in 2007 and 2009. After graduating, he was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft.

What is infinitely more interesting about Tebow than his decorated football career is his life story. Tebow was born in Makati City in the Philippines, to American parents who were serving as Baptist missionaries at the time. His mother, Pamela Elaine is the daughter of a U.S. Army colonel, and his father, Robert Ramsey Tebow II, is a pastor. While pregnant, his mother suffered a life-threatening infection with a pathogenic amoeba. Because of the drugs used to rouse her from a coma and to treat her dysentery, the fetus experienced a severe placental abruption. Doctors had expected a stillbirth and recommended an abortion, even though illegal in the Phillipines, to protect her life, but she decided not to have one. The child born was Tim Tebow. He is the youngest of five children, all of whom were homeschooled by their mother, who worked to instill the family's Christian beliefs along the way.

If you had a chance to listen to any of Tebow’s interviews you would know that he begins each interview by thanking his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He also has become famously known for “Tebowing” which is when he kneels to pray after a scoring drive. The NFL became enamored with him because of his unorthodox style of play (he is a run first quarterback) and his faith.

Many athletes over the years have been Christians but none have put their faith front and center the way Tebow did this past season. During many of his interviews, he stressed that football was second in life to his faith and that he plans on using his football success as a platform to help others less fortunate than himself. He has already put this into practice. Each week before the Denver Broncos football game, he would fly a disabled or handicapped person to the game (many of them children), put them and their family up in a hotel, and personally meet them after the game.

When his teammates were asked what it was like to play with him, almost all of them commented on his faith, noting that his Christian beliefts appeared to be his source of strength. To say he inspired his teammates would be an understatement. Prior to the Broncos making him the starter in week 6, the team was off to an abysmal start, only winning one of their first five games. When Tebow took over, the team won seven of its next eight games with five of the wins coming down to late drives engineered by Tebow in the fourth quarter to win. Yet, during all of the hype and hoopla, Tebow always gave praise to his Lord and Savior and remained humble in victory.

As someone who has been a Christian for more than 20 years, Tebow has been quite an inspiration to me. As a diehard football fan, I never thought I would see the sport I love intersect with my faith in such a powerful way. It reminds me of the parable of the wicked vinedressers in Matthew 21:33-46. The parable speaks of a landowner who planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a winepress in it and built a tower. He leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country. When vintage-time drew near, he sent his servants to the vinedressers, that they might receive its fruit. But to his surprise and shock, the vinedressers took his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another. He sent more servants, more than the first, and they killed them as well. Finally, he sent his son thinking they would at least respect his son but the Scripture says that when the vinedressers saw the son, they said among themselves, “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.” So they took the son and killed him.

In this parable, the vinedresser is God the Father and the servants are the prophets. The Son is Jesus Christ. This story illustrates God’s repeated attempts at reaching the nation Israel with His gospel message and their utter rejection. When I see Tim Tebow, I think of God sending someone to reach the football community. Don't laugh. The NFL is the number one sport in America. The Super Bowl is the most watched event every year on television. Last year alone, the game was broadcast in 110 countries. And here comes Tim Tebow with the gospel message and the life to illustrate its power. A man who was supposed to be aborted, alive and playing professional football and witnessing for the Lord. The Bible tells us that God often uses the foolish things of the world to confuse the wise and that he takes individuals of no report, of no status or reputation and uses them for His glory. (1 Corinthians 1:26-29)

I ask you to join me in praying for Tim Tebow. This off-season and next season will be a whirlwind for him. Please pray for his faith, his testimony, and his efforts to reach the lost. I may be a diehard New England Patriots fan, but I am rooting and praying fervently for Tim Tebow not to win football games but to bring glory to the Savior.
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"The believer does not use God's power; God's power uses him."
- Kenneth Wuest

In the Service of Others

A few weeks ago I was watching ESPN’s special broadcast of Lebron James’ announcement of where he will play basketball next year. He became a free agent at the end of this season, which means his contract with Cleveland had expired affording him the opportunity to play basketball for any team that was interested in signing him.

The show in which he would announce his decision was aptly called “The Decision.” You may have seen some of it as it invaded just about every television channel at 9:00 p.m. I could spend the rest of this blog discussing our fixation as a society with professional athletes but that is a topic for another time.

What I wanted to discuss was the advice Lebron James received from his mother regarding his decision, which he referenced several times during the show. He said that when he asked his mom which team he should join, she said that he needs to do what makes Lebron happy.

On the surface this sounds like sage advice, after all who would advise one of their children to do something that would not make them happy? But I believe her response is indicative of the self-serving mindset that has permeated our American culture for decades now. The idea of sacrificing your wants and desires for someone else or the greater good of society almost seems anti-American, doesn’t it?

If you look throughout the corridors of history, you will find thousands of biographies of men and women who practiced the principle of doing what made them happy. You will also find within their lives bitterness, depression and a sense of never having enough. Many believed that money and the pursuit of fame would be the ultimate fulfillment in life only to discover it left them wanting and empty. Just listen to some of the wealthiest people of their day:

- "The care of $200 million is enough to kill everyone. There is no pleasure in it." - W.H. Vanderbilt

- "I am the most miserable man on earth." - John Jacob Astor

- "I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness." - John D. Rockefeller

- "Millionaries seldom smile." - Andrew Carnegie

- "I was happier doing a mechanic's job." - Henry Ford

When our Savior preached the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter 5 many thought He was insane. The selfless principles he outlined that pictured the kingdom of God were too difficult for many to comprehend. It is easy to see why upon hearing this sermon, His listeners were shocked. Jesus begins each point by naming a group of people normally thought to be unblessed or unblessable and pronounces them blessed because of the presence and availability of the abundant life in God's kingdom to everyone, everywhere, regardless of status, circumstances, or condition.

In Stanley Hauerwas & William Willimon’s book, Resident Aliens, the authors make an important point for consideration, “The Beatitudes are not a strategy for achieving a better society...they are an indication of life in the kingdom of God...to produce a shock within our imaginations and to see life in a radical new way."

In other words, Jesus’ sermon was the antithesis of the culture 2,000 years ago. Not much has changed today. If anything, as our affluence has increased so has our reliance on humanism. Mrs. James statement to her son pinpoints the heart of a society that actually believes professional championship rings will bring a lifetime of happiness. How very sad. I was just reading the other day how the market has been flooded with New England Patriot championship rings from the early part of this decade when the team won three championships in four years. Apparently, the hard economic times has forced many players to sell their rings to pawn shops for ten percent of what the ring is actually worth.

Jesus is offering something much more valuable today than a championship ring or an executive promotion or a new house. He is offering Himself and within that offer comes the abundant life. For you see the abundant life that everyone is pursuing on Wall Street and within corporate America is a mirage. It offers nothing lasting, nothing of eternal value in this life or the next. The true abundant life exists within the life, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is here at the cross of Calvary that you find what you have been looking for – unconditional love, forgiveness and self-worth. It is Jesus Christ who is the key to all that fulfills and truly satisfies. Much of what He said and taught underscores this marvelous truth. If you do not know Him, I pray you come to know the Savior today (Romans 10:9-10).

"God may thunder His commands from Mount Sinai and men may fear, yet remain at heart exactly as they were before. But let a man once see his God down in the arena as a Man--suffering, tempted, sweating, and agonized, finally dying a criminal's death--and he is a hard man indeed who is untouched." - J.B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small

The Perfection Standard

After witnessing the University of Connecticut women’s basketball team win its 78th straight game last night and its second championship in a row, I am reminded of how enamored we are as a society with the pursuit of perfection. Just two years ago, the New England Patriots were within minutes of achieving a perfect 19-0 season which had never been accomplished in professional football. For months their pursuit of perfection captivated the New England area and every football fan across the nation, prompting ESPN to include a “patriots” tracking symbol within their update scroll to ensure fans were kept up to date, every minute of the day on team developments.

What is it about perfection that captivates us to such an intense degree? Could it be that it signifies an achievement without blemish, without error, without defect? Or perhaps it exemplifies all that we hope to be in life, not only within athletic competitions, but also within our careers, our marriages, and our churches.

While all of these are certainly plausible reasons for why we are entranced with the pursuit of perfection, I believe at the core we desire it because our God is perfect and we are made in His image and likeness, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female…Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Genesis 1:27; Matthew 5:48).

You see, it has always been God’s desire that we be perfect. When He created us that was His purpose and hope but as sin captivated our hearts, it alone drew us away from God and we ceased to be perfect and God’s standard became unattainable. It is this dilemma of trying to reconcile sin with perfection that prompted God the Father to send his Son Jesus Christ to earth to become the necessary propitiation or satisfaction for our sins (I John 2:2).

Many believe that when we die our good works will be weighed against our bad works and as long as our good works balance out our bad works than we will be permitted into heaven. But the Bible has something very different to say. Isaiah 64:6 states that all our acts of righteousness are like filthy rags to God. Why is this? Because even our good works are stained with sin before a holy and just God for we are all sinners; we have broken God's commandments. In this sense we are all wicked, and therefore, we do not stand a chance of escape from Divine justice.

That is why, if we had to rely on our obedience to God’s commandments or laws, we could never be justified before Him, "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin" (Romans 3:20). With tears of sorrow, even the holiest Christian admits he/she sins ever day. As long as we remain on earth it is a sad reality that we continue to sin and miss the mark of perfection.

If we were honest with ourselves, we would not ask whether we have obeyed God’s laws enough to be justified - we know we have not. Rather, every one of us should ask: What can free me, a guilty sinner, from my sin?

Thank God for His Son. There is hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

We read this good news in Romans 4:5 when the Apostle Paul declares, “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.” You see, it is God Himself that justifies the sinner. Paul insists that it is to him "who does not work" but "believes" that God accounts as righteous. God justifies the ungodly by faith alone because Jesus Christ alone is perfect and we are made perfect in Him!

What a glorious truth to contemplate. All of us, through the blood of Jesus can attain perfection before God! Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to do it, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

While it was wonderful to watch the University of Connecticut women achieve perfection last night, it was something that was only attainable by those 12 women. What Jesus Christ is offering is attainable to anyone, anywhere, right now. If you have not attained the perfection offered by Jesus, won’t you today?