On Jan. 17, People Magazine announced that Smirnoff is expressing interest in Tim Tebow. It’s not the Vodka company that wants Tim — as a non-drinker he wouldn’t make a very good spokesperson for the brand. It’s actually Karina Smirnoff of “Dancing With The Stars” who announced that she would love for him to follow in the footsteps of other NFL stars who have appeared on the show.
There’s no word yet from Tebow on whether he’d consider dancing. However, in light of his Baptist upbringing, the real question is: Should he be there? There are some Baptists who believe dancing is off limits.
Timothy Fish of South Park Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, explains some of the ideology surrounding the belief that Baptists should not dance. On the church website, he cites ballroom dancing as an example of the type of dancing that is unacceptable, and says, “The clothing many of the women wear is mostly not there. The moves they make are designed to highlight her legs or the man may run his hand along the front of the body in a move the draws attention to her breasts.” Fish’s comment was unrelated to Smirnoff’s invitation.
Fish’s description of the outfits and the dance moves certainly rings true of the dancers on the show. For a self-proclaimed 24-year-old virgin like Tebow, who is saving himself for marriage, the show may not be the best place to avoid temptations of lust.
However, according to the official website of the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC “has not taken an official stance on these matters.” It is left up to each church to decide its stance on dancing.
In a sermon, Pastor John Piper points out that there are many Christians “for whom … faith is all tradition.” An excerpt from the sermon is posted online with the title “Test Yourself: Football or Christ.” Tebow, however, has a way of spreading the gospel while simultaneously embracing and defying tradition.
Tebowing, a prayer pose, is now a part of pop culture. Tim Tebow has successfully reached many people through his public showing of faith on the football field. So will he take up dancing in the name of Christ? Only time will tell. His ability to spread the gospel through unconventional means has gained him over a million Twitter followers and inspired fans to publicly acknowledge faith by putting Jesus’ name on their jerseys.
So should he continue his quest to make Christianity cool in the public eye by appearing on Dancing with the Stars? Or should he shelter himself from temptation by declining the invitation? Only God knows, but Tebow will have to decide. If he does, there’s likely to be a new dance craze. We probably already know its name…