From The Touchline | Soccer Chaplains United

Amma Syncletica is one of those women who paid a dear price to follow Christian faith. And she’s known for one of the most intriguing statements for her time. Those who are great athletes must contend against powerful enemies. These are powerful words for a 4th century Desert Mother, even more so for her day and age.

Today, on the podcast, I revisit an earlier From the Touchline podcast as a way to lighten a bit of the administrative load that I’ve been under lately. With the podcast being some 6 years old and one of the earliest ones, it’s unlikely that many have heard it. But her words are powerful and speak truth in a powerful way to us, especially in our day and age.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

Most Americans will remember where they were on September 11, 2001. It was a terrible day of tragedy and shock. 23 years later, the world looks very differently than it did before then. And 9/11 was one of those moments which stopped the global game of soccer the world ’round.

Today, on the podcast, I share my own memory from 9/11 and where I was with the start of my married life and going to seminary after leaving the Colorado Rapids. Also, we take a minute of silence, to pause and to remember. Thanks for listening today.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

There’s often a choice facing a coach prior to match day — do we play our game, or do we adapt and change because of the opponent we’re facing or the situation and circumstances? Most would say a team ought to play to their strengths and just be themselves. But how do we cope when that isn’t going to be best choice due to factors outside of our control?

Today, on the podcast, I reflect on Psalm 119:30-32 and about how we can run and live our lives with a freedom by following God’s commands and His ideals for our lives and our game. Running free means a choice and a commitment. Running free involves being open enough to have our minds enlightened and our understanding broadened — these things help to fill us with joy for the challenges and celebrations of life that lie ahead.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

I once had a coach say to me, “I guess chaplains are just there for when things go wrong…” I lament that my apologetic for soccer chaplaincy and our conversation had led him to that conclusion. It’s a common myth, though, that chaplains are only there for people when bad stuff happens. Of course, we think of the hospital or hospice moment when someone is sick, injured, or dying. Or, perhaps, we might think of soldiers going to battle and not knowing whether they will live to fight another day — we see the picture of the priest praying over the troops. It’s reasonable to believe that chaplains are there for difficult times, but is that the only place for them?

Today, on the podcast, I talk about the misnomer and mistruth that soccer chaplains are only there for the bad times — we’re there for the good, celebratory times, too. It might be the birth of a baby or officiating a wedding or hosting a trophy, but chaplains live out the biblical mandate that says “rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn.” It’s really a beautiful place and space where a chaplain dwells between the tensions of soccer with all of it’s highs and lows.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

Sometimes people ask me, “Rev, do you pray for wins?” What usually follows is, at least for me, an interesting conversation if we have the time to get into it. But a common myth or belief that chaplains (or, simply, Christian people who enjoy sports) can fall prey to, is believing that somehow one’s prayers or faith can impact and affect the outcome of a game.

Today, on the podcast, I address the questions and occasional belief that chaplains in sport, themselves, can fall into a temptation of thinking that somehow they (or their prayers) have some influence or impact on the winning (and losing) that goes on, on the field.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

Much of my work outside of being the lead volunteer chaplain to the Colorado Rapids is working to develop chaplaincy with other teams in North America. This involves educating teams on what chaplaincy is and what chaplaincy isn’t. As I have different conversations and interactions with coaches, executives, and owners around the various leagues, one common excuse or myth that I hear is, “If I have a Christian chaplain, then I have to have someone from all the religions…”

Today, on the podcast, I talk about this common belief that often gets put up between a soccer team and the opportunity of having chaplaincy service. I talk about what professional chaplaincy looks like, even toward people of other faith traditions.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

Sometimes when I introduce myself and share about the work that I do as volunteer chaplain to a professional soccer team, people don’t even stop to ask. Instead, they just say, “Oh, you must have played soccer at a high level…” Well, truth be told, I was never going to rise to such a level as an athlete.

Funny enough, though, there are some that believe former pro soccer players must make the best soccer chaplains. Today, on the podcast, I try to debunk one of the most common and frequent myths (and its may variations) that I’ve heard around the sport of soccer and chaplaincy.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

So much soccer is happening this summer, and much of it has an international flavor and a unique sense of competition — whether we’re talking about the Euros, Copa America, the Olympics, or Leagues Cup — the opportunity to watch the teams and athletes on these varied and different stages represents something different and unique from the typical league matches that happen week in and week out.

Today, on the podcast, in the amount of time that a coach gives a halftime team talk, I reflect on how these different competitions can shape and sharpen soccer. Whether it’s two elite athletes going toe to toe, or two head coaches working out tactics to win a match — when we face a worthy opponent and a difficult task, it can often raise the level within us and our own team. It’s what Solomon describes in Proverbs 27:17 as “iron sharpening iron” kind of moments.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

I shared, last week, a reflection from a recent family vacation to Yellowstone National Park. This week, another reflection from my time there and this time it has to do with the wildness that we encountered there. It might seem a far stretch to speak about wildness and connect it somehow into faith and football, but if you saw the scenes from the Copa America Final in Miami, maybe not so much so.

Today, on the podcast, in the amount of time that a coach gives a halftime team talk, I reflect on the wildness of Yellowstone and the proclivity of the human heart to chase after and a certain kind of wildness. We need to pay heed to the warnings and come back to the safety and protection that God offers us from the wildness of this world.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.

A return from family vacation last week to Yellowstone National Park has been reflecting on a couple of things. Perhaps, the greatest takeaway is that I imagine that Yellowstone is something like Heaven — indescribable, unimaginable, and more. Even like certain elements of the Beautiful Game — there is just a limit to how much one can describe or explain, it is something that must be experienced!

Today, on the podcast, in the amount of time that a coach gives a halftime team talk, I reflect on the beautiful monstrosity that is Yellowstone and that only a glimpse of something that is too great and too wonderful to explain was had. I believe it to be a bit like heaven. Let me try to explain. Oh, wait, I don’t think I can.

From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).

Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd, in the Apple and Google store.