Roger Marsh: Welcome everyone to Family Talk, a listener supported division of the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. I'm Roger Marsh. You might know Tim Tebow as the Christian star football quarterback who played for the university of Florida and the NFL's Denver Broncos. Or perhaps, you know him as the current New York Mets baseball player. But he's much more than an impressive professional athlete. Born in the Philippines to missionary parents. Tim Tebow is an unapologetic Christian and a three-time, New York Times bestselling author. Through the Tim Tebow foundation, he has spearheaded a movement called "A Night to Shine."
Last February with the help of over 700 churches, more than 100,000 students and young adults with special needs were honored guests at a special prom where they were each crowned king and queen. Tim insists that each prom participant is perfectly created by a perfect creator. And now, through his new children's book, Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember, he proclaims that, regardless of their abilities, or disabilities, everyone is unique, special, and wonderful. This all underscores Tim's favorite verse from Ephesians 2:10. "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do." Here now is Tim Tebow with our own Dr. Tim Clinton, on this special edition of Family Talk.
Dr. Clinton: Tim, how are you? Welcome into Family Talk. Nice to see you again.
Tim Tebow: I'm great. Great to see you. Thanks so much for having me, and, been looking forward to sitting down and talking with you.
Dr. Clinton: Yeah, we've been together a couple of times, always one of my favorite guests. And Tim, it's just amazing what God's doing in and through your life. Hey, let's start this way. Happy first anniversary to you and Demi.
Tim Tebow: Thank you so much.
Dr. Clinton: Hey, that's a big deal.
Tim Tebow: It is a big deal.
Dr. Clinton: Hey, your first year, living through the pandemic, the lockdown and everything else, what was it like?
Tim Tebow: Well, I'll tell you what I've been asked a bunch of times, "What's it like being married in the pandemic?" I'm like, "I don't know what it's like being married not in a pandemic."
Dr. Clinton: True.
Tim Tebow: Obviously there's been setbacks and disappointments and our families and around the world and everything that COVID has presented, but I'll tell you, I think it's also important to find the silver lining and the blessings in everything. And one of the blessings for us is that we got a lot more time to spend together early on in marriage, which is very important.
Dr. Clinton: Tim, I hear from a lot of couples that the pandemic has really brought, maybe a reset to a lot of relationships. It's forced us into looking each other in the eye and figuring out how are we going to get along? And maybe by the way, building some special intimacy. Tim, let me jump to your heart for kids. Through a lot of your work, especially your special event, Night to Shine that you put on. It really reflects your love and commitment there. Tim, tell us, and for those who don't know a lot about Night To Shine, tell us a little bit about it, what it does and what it really means to you.
Tim Tebow: Yeah. Well, thank you Tim, for asking about it. Night to Shine is our worldwide prom for people with special needs. And we've been so fortunate to have it in 35 countries around the world, in all 50 States. And for us, it's more than a prom. It's a movement. And it's a movement to celebrate worth and value and dignity that we believe every single life has. It's also a movement to rally volunteers and rally the church together. We love having churches rally together of different denominations, all coming together, because we believe that we should be a body, an army of believers coming together to celebrate who a lot of the world has not celebrated. And so that is coming up and we're so excited.
And obviously this year has to look different because we would never want to put any of our kings and queens, which every single one of our guests with special needs is crowned as a king and a queen of the prom at the end of the night. But this year it's going to look different. And so our team has worked so hard at trying to find new ways to adapt because too much has been canceled this year. And we cannot cancel this, and we cannot cancel a worth, and we cannot cancel value, and we cannot cancel God's heart for humanity. And so we wanted to find a way to live that out.
And so we have decided to turn Night to Shine into virtual, but then also we decided to build something called Shine Through, which is a Night to Shine drive through. Instead of walking down a red carpet, you'll be able to drive down a red carpet in more of a parade type environment, where they're still going to be cheered for. They're still going to have a fake paparazzi. There's still going to be all sorts of events and singing and karaoke and everything, but we're just going to be able to find a way to try to do it in the safest way possible.
Dr. Clinton: Tim, I've gone up online and read some of the stories, a lot of emotion there for individuals and families, what it means to them. It's a big deal. I think you had well over 700 churches last year, probably over a hundred thousand participants. You had a lot of volunteers stepping in this. It's really a movement in the church.
Tim Tebow: Well, that's one of our prayers with it. And you're right, last year we had over 200,000 volunteers and over a hundred thousand kings and queens. And there's so many different stories that I could share, but truly it's my favorite night of the year. And I think really because we're in a fight of sharing God's love for humanity and his worth for every single human life. And in our society here in the states, we don't really understand honor and shame the way other cultures do, sometimes. And the way it means so much. At last year's Night to Shine, we had multiple guests for the first time in over a decade that they were allowed out of their house by their family, because that's how ashamed their family was of them. But when they heard that the biggest party in their city was being held for people like their son and daughter, that it brought honor for the first time in their lives to their family, and they let them go. Their whole family's life was greatly impacted by being able to first see the gospel and then hear the gospel when they went.
And that's the power that it has to change lives, is when we go out of our way to celebrate people. And then we get to tell why. Why does it matter so much? Why are we celebrating your son or daughter? Why do they have honor? Why do they have worth, why do they have value? Because it's not about me or you giving it to them. The God of this universe gave it to 'em when He said that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. They're one of one. They are special. They are unique. They were perfectly created by a perfect creator. And so you can see, I like Night to Shine and I get pretty fired up about it, Tim.
Dr. Clinton: It puts chills through my body, really. My mind was going to my son, Zach, who you know Tim. And he has a buddy named Coy who has autism. And he has loved on Coy. They're good buddies. They go out to movies together and the whole bit, and I know what it means to Coy. I know what it means to him, and I can see this. What a great movement of God.
Tim Tebow: Thank you.
Dr. Clinton: And we pray God continues to bless it. Tim, let's shift to your book. Brand new book out, kid's book, called Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember. I heard you say that your mom and dad used to read to you when you were a boy.
Tim Tebow: Yep.
Dr. Clinton: I read to Megan and Zach growing up. It's so important to do this.
Tim Tebow: Yes it is.
Dr. Clinton: Let's just start right there.
Tim Tebow: Yeah. I'll tell you, first of all, it had a huge impact, my parents reading to me. And reading meaningful things to me, especially before I go to sleep, because I would think about that, meditate on it, and then dream about it. And those stories would have such an impact in my heart, the different truths that they would read. And so it was so on my heart to write something that was entertaining and fun and uplifting, where kids would love the pictures and point at them the same way that I used to with Green Eggs and Ham, but also have the truth of human value in worth and dignity. And this book was really inspired from Night to Shine.
And so really this book is based on animals. The main character is Bronco, who is my dog, who I love so much, that was given to me when I was drafted by the Denver Broncos. The rest of the main characters are different animals, but their names - I wanted to honor them, because they were really close friends of mine that unfortunately passed away in their battle against cancer, and are now hopefully loving Bronco and Friends from heaven. All of them are Wish kids. And so I think they lived out this message so well. And so it's this group of animals that they're all invited to this grand party, but they have to find their puzzle piece to be able to go. And really it's also finding their worth and their value, but they find out that actually when they help one another, that it is a big part of their purpose. I believe that's true in life. When we help one another, that that's a big part of our purpose. Why we're here is so that we could help someone else find their purpose, find their puzzle piece.
And it's just a really fun celebration, but it's also a celebration of strengths and weaknesses, abilities, and disabilities. And every single one of these animals has strengths, but they also have weaknesses. They have abilities, but they also have disabilities. And I think that's true for every single one of us, is we have strengths and weaknesses. We have abilities and disabilities, but that doesn't mean that God made a mistake on us.
See, the book ends by telling every single boy or girl that you are unique, you are special, you are wonderful. And that's how I want them to go to sleep, remembering those three things. And I think if we are able to share that with the next generation, when a life understands that their worth, their value from the God of this universe, it not only changes me on the inside, it changes how I treat people on the outside. Because when I realize that about my life, then wait a second, I realize that about your life. And I realize that about the next person, and the next person, the next person, so I treat them that way. When I realize that I was created in the image of God, then that means you are the same. So when I understand about my life, it changes me from the inside, but then it also changes my actions on the outside.
Dr. Clinton: Yeah. You know as well as I do, kids are tough on each other. They're [crosstalk 00:10:27].
Tim Tebow: Yeah.
Dr. Clinton: And so we've got to step into their life. What you're doing is you're creating a resource to help that conversation take place in our families.
Tim Tebow: Absolutely. And what I would also be saying is if you're the smallest in the class, then God made you the smallest in your class right now for a reason. You had nothing to do with it. Your parents had nothing to do with it. Obviously they had something to do with you, but they couldn't decide how tall, how short, your facial features, everything. One Person had something to do with that. That's the Creator of this universe. So when we understand His plan for us, we can be content instead of comparing and saying, "man, I wish I had this. I wish I had that. I wish I was 6'6". I wish I could do this. I wish I had all these different things."
What we're really saying is, "Hey God, you made a mistake because I'm supposed to be like that person", when our God didn't make a mistake. Nothing caught him off guard. He didn't make a mistake on us. He made us exactly the way that He wanted for a perfect plan and purpose. That's why Ephesians 2:10 is one of my favorite verses: "We are a masterpiece in Christ Jesus for good works, which he prepared long ago." Long before your parents ever thought of you, God thought of you. And He knew exactly how He was going to make you, for what he was going to make you. And it is for good works in Christ Jesus, and you are considered in Christ Jesus, a masterpiece, period.
Dr. Clinton: And He didn't make a mistake when he made you, Tim.
Tim Tebow: That's right.
Dr. Clinton: Those are the themes that are run through this book. You're unique. You're special. You're wonderful. Tim, I believe this, all kids need somebody, someone. And it ought to be mom and dad, it starts there, who's crazy about them.
Tim Tebow: Yes.
Dr. Clinton: Absolutely insanely crazy about them, Tim, because that's an anchor in their life. They've got to have that core.
Tim Tebow: That's right.
Dr. Clinton: That's what you're trying to get done here. And so you're using narrative, and a beautiful picture book to walk through. And by the way, you're not soft on this stuff. It's warm, it's charming, but it's straight. "Here it is. See this. And by the way, see the others around you too, as you grow up."
Tim Tebow: That's right. That's exactly right. And that's so important. And I also believe it's a choice and it's something when we practice, we get better and better at actually seeing the people around us. You know what I love about the Great Commission is so many people say, "Great Commission is go and preach the gospel." But I found in studying that a better definition is "as we go, we preach the gospel." Yes are we called to go to the ends of the earth? Of course we are. But as we go to the ends of the earth, we're supposed to be speaking and preaching and teaching and loving and caring and helping and lifting as we go. Not just when we get there. And so many times we're just like, "Oh man, when I get there, this is what I'm going to do." But as I go, I'm going to be looking for hurting people. I'm going to be looking to help. I'm going to be looking to share. I'm going to be looking to make a difference as we go, not just when we get there.
Dr. Clinton: Tim, you know what really bothers me, hurts me in my heart, is when I see people, they feel like their flaws are who they are. And Tim, that's such a sad, difficult place to live.
Tim Tebow: It is. Well, every single one of us is messed up and we have guilt and we have shame and we have flaws. And the Bible is very clear that, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." But the best part is - the gospel doesn't stop there - then comes the best part. And He has a name, His name's Jesus. Because in our sin and trespasses, we had a hero, we had an MVP, we had a Savior that came to rescue the day, on a rescue mission for all of us. And he lived a life we couldn't live, he chose to die a death we deserved to die. And when Jesus was on the cross, he paid for all of it. And so what we do is so many times, even after we know the Lord is we keep pulling that back in, and we keep pulling that shame.
And Jesus, what He did on the cross, it counted for every bit of that, of our worst sin, the sin that you don't even want to mention to somebody the thing that you don't even want to mention you thought that one day. Jesus paid for that. And one of my favorite things to do is to go to prisons, to death rows and talk with inmates. And I can't tell you Tim, how many times they've mentioned to me, but, "Timmy, do you really think that what Jesus did on the cross, do you think it really counted? Do you think he really paid for even what I've done?"
Dr. Clinton: Wow.
Tim Tebow: "Listen, I got to tell you Timmy, it's bad stuff." And I get to say, "Yes, it counted for that too. It counted for all of it." And because of what Jesus did in overcoming death and what we get to know in John 16:33, that he has overcome the world. Because he's overcome the world, through him, we get to overcome that sin and that shame and that doubt and that fear and that unknown, because in him, we have peace. "In the world, we have tribulation, but take heart," He has overcome the world. What he did on the cross, it mattered for us.
Dr. Clinton: Amen. You're listening to Family Talk, a division of the James Dobson Family Institute. Our special guest today, one of my favorites, Tim Tebow talking about his new book for children called Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember. And what a spirited conversation, Tim, thank you again for joining us.
Tim, I was up online and watched a video of you recently called And Then She Was Sold. And it was, it was quite an emotional moving piece that you did, really in this fight against human trafficking, sex trafficking. Tim, can you share a little bit about what burdened you to do that?
Tim Tebow: Yeah, well, Tim, it was about nine years ago now I guess that my dad called me. He was preaching at Underground Pastors Conference. And he called me and he said, "Hey, Timmy, I just bought four girls." And I said, "What?" And at the place that he was preaching, they were selling four girls. And he couldn't help but do something about it. So he took out all the money in his wallet, which was $1,250. And he bought four girls, and didn't have a plan afterwards. But just in the moment he knew, "I'm not going to let them go, because whoever they go to, that ain't going to be good." And so my eyes were just open to something new and God just called me into a new fight. I wasn't prepared for it. I wasn't expecting it. But you know in that moment I've just entered it and this is real.
And I said, "Okay, dad, we're in it." And so the first few nights we hid the girls in an underground church and then we built our first safe home. And then we've been building them ever since and trying to rescue and restore and love and care for as many as possible. But I knew that day that I had a new mission in life. That was to rescue as many as possible. And I'm so grateful that my dad answered the call that day, and being an example to me. But Tim, I also got to tell you something. There was multiple people, believers, pastors that were there watching it. No one else said, "Oh, hey, I'll chip in. I'm going to go in this with you." I think that's what hurt me the most.
I believe this is one of the greatest forms of evil in the world today. And it's not going to change just by me or you, Tim. It's going to take an army of believers, of people that believe that every life matters. The people that believe that every life is valuable, has worth and it's worth us fighting for. And Jesus came on a rescue mission for life, to give life and give life abundantly. He says that in John 10:10. Listen, I believe that we're supposed to be on a rescue mission for people, and we better live up to that. We better step up, as a church, as a body, as believers, as an army of people. And I think that's one of my big callings and purposes is to rally as many people into this fight, because we need it. And we're only going to be able to push that back if we have more people step into the fight.
Dr. Clinton: You bet. Edmund Burke, "All that's necessary for evil to triumph is for good men", and I'll add women, "to do nothing." Tim, we're called to this battle. Hey, everybody would be disappointed if I didn't ask you. You getting ready for spring training and what's happening?
Tim Tebow: I am. I am. I think we'll be starting soon, hopefully. And I'm excited about it. Obviously, I was disappointed last year when it got cut short based on COVID, but I'm training hard. Actually, I'm going to the cage here in a couple of minutes after I've finished hanging with you, and we'll be getting after it.
Dr. Clinton: Baseball career with the New York Mets. Tim I wanted to ask you, you're such a decorated football player. Do you miss football?
Tim Tebow: Of course.
Dr. Clinton: What is it inside of you that drives you, Tim? That keeps you just going?
Tim Tebow: Well, I think it's, it's a lot of things. I think one of them is that we only have one life, one chance, one opportunity, and we better be able to take advantage of it, right? Everything that God has given us. Our time, our talent, our treasure, our resources, our body, everything. We only have one opportunity to use that for the Lord. And first of all, it's not even ours. He let us borrow it, and we're not even going to have all those things forever. He just lets us borrow it for a time. So you know what, I just really want to live open-handed, saying, "God, this is yours. Platform, relationships, friendships, opportunities, whatever it is, sports. I only have it for a time, but man, when I have a time, I want to run hard. I want to get rid of everything that slows me down."
It's one of the reasons I love Hebrews 12:1 and 2 so much. Let's get rid of everything that entangles us, everything that slows us down, because the authors talking, "You got to go as hard and as fast as possible." Sin is one of the things, but also anything else that's going to slow you down. It might not be bad, but is it stopping you from being your best? Let's get rid of everything, so we can run this race with endurance.
Dr. Clinton: And I love that fire that's down inside of you, Tim. I remember you talking about this story about being five years old and you and your coach and your dad talking about battling and winning. It's the greatest story, Tim. And when I think about you played football and what you were able to accomplish there and now baseball and battling your way all the way up through, hey, I tip the hat to you. It's amazing. That's a tough transition and God is gracing you. We're praying for you all the way.
Tim Tebow: I appreciate it. I appreciate it so much. And it's been a crazy fun journey and I'm so excited for whatever God has next. But whatever it is, we're going to go full steam ahead.
Dr. Clinton: We're going through some tough times. There's a lot of fear. There's a lot of concern, alarm about our country, the direction we're headed and more. What do you say to us as we wrap up today's broadcast in this hour? God's given you a great platform.
Tim Tebow: Well, I would say the first thing that comes to my head and my heart is the verse that I just shared a minute ago, John 16:33. Jesus says, in the upper room after Judas had already left and he knows Peter's about to betray him, and he's in the upper room and he looks at his disciples and he says, "For in me, you have peace." In him, you have peace. In the world, you're going to have trouble or tribulation. It's not a maybe, it's not a might, it's not a possibility, it's not even a probability. You're going to have it. You're going to have heartache. You're going to have disappointment. You're going to have trouble. You're going to have tribulation. It is going to come, but take heart, take heart. I have overcome the world.
Seven times in the New Testament that word, take heart, which is the Greek word, [foreign language 00:21:49], and there's seven times it's used. Every single time it is troubled people, and then Jesus says it, one time the disciples say it. It says, "Take heart." And then there's a miracle. And this was a greatest miracle. He says, "Take heart", then he goes to the cross and he overcomes the world. Let me just encourage you. COVID didn't catch God by surprise. He knew trouble and tribulation was coming, but He also has asked us to take heart, to choose heart, to choose courage, even in the midst of disappointment, heartache trouble, because He also told us to be ready. It's coming.
But we also, we know he overcame the world. And one of my favorite parts in that is in overcoming the world, it will never change. There will never be a day when we wake up where he did not overcome the world. There will never be a day when we wake up where Satan overcame what Jesus did on the cross. That is never changing. It is permanent. It is continuous. And so we know we get to wake up, even if it's a sucky day, even if it's disappointing, even if we got to face some trouble or some tribulation, we get to have peace in Jesus, because he overcame the world. So let's take heart, even in the midst of trouble.
Dr. Clinton: Tim, what a great word. What a fun and fantastic conversation with you. Know our prayers are going to go with you and for you. And hey, I want to recommend again to every family out there. Tim, his brand new book, a special book for families called Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember. A book that will speak a lot of hope and joy and strength into the hearts of a lot of kids around the world. Tim again, thank you, blessings to you and your family.
Tim Tebow: I appreciate you, Tim. Thank you so much. Look forward to next time, man.
Dr. Clinton: Absolutely. Hey, if you want to learn more about Tim and his ministry, what God's doing in and through their efforts, go to TimTebowfoundation.org. That's TimTebowfoundation.org.
Roger Marsh: You're listening to Family Talk and I'm Roger Marsh. Our guest today has been Tim Tebow. I know that God must be so pleased with the Night to Shine, the annual prom that Tim organizes for high school students and young adults in all 50 states and 35 countries around the globe.
To learn more about Tim Tebow and his children's book, Bronco and Friends: A Party to Remember, visit our broadcast page at drjamesdobson.org. Also, if you missed any portion of this broadcast and want to review it again in its entirety, you'll find the complete and entire broadcast on that broadcast site, drjamesdobson.org/broadcast. Plus, throughout this romantic month of February, we are offering a copy of Dr. Dobson's book, 5 Essentials for Lifelong Intimacy. In it, Dr. Dobson writes that, a marriage founded on Jesus Christ and the practice of persistent prayer, unswerving commitment to one another, mutual respect and trust, and a sense of romance and effective communication, will go the distance."
We'll be happy to send you a copy as our way of thanking you for your donation of any amount to the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute. So give us a call at (877) 732-6825 that's (877) 732-6825, or go online to drjamesdobson.org, and learn more about this special offer. That's drjamesdobson.org. And remember, you can also write to us at the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, P.O. Box 39000, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80949. Again, that address is the Dr. James Dobson Family Institute, P.O. Box 39000, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80949. Thanks so much for joining us today and be sure to tune in again next time for another edition of Dr. James Dobson's Family Talk. I'm Roger Marsh, thanks for listening.
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