From The Touchline | Soccer Chaplains United

During the MLS preseason, a lot of physical, mental, and emotional preparations go on. But what about our spiritual preparations? What about preparing for some of the challenges that we face in life — whether we are at home or on a month-long trip for preseason on the road?

Today, on the podcast, I begin a series on temptation. Looking at the nature of it and way to combat it we get into the first stage of temptation, the assau...

Three King’s Day was yesterday, January 6. It is the time that marks the end of the Christmas season and the visit of the Magi to the Christ child. Many speak of the three kings — in song, story (some fable), and poem — but what we know is that there were three gifts that are mentioned in Matthew 2: gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. These three gifts hold multiple meanings — symbolic on different levels, but they also might...

Some of you know that I love my Scottish/English/Irish heritage (maybe a little too much). I have found much within Celtic Christianity, that I connect with and today on the podcast, I share about a Scottish tradition of ‘first-footing.’ Essentially, the first guest into someone’s home for the New Year carries symbolic and representative gifts that are to be a boon and blessing for the year to come.

My encoura...

Hey friends, sometimes it can be hard to find that gift for that special person who enjoys soccer. I just wanted to quickly share a couple of resources that might be great gift ideas during this Christmas season.

I recently had a couple of conversations with some friends and suggested a couple of devotionals to fit the need.

The Light is Coming, The Five Women You Meet In Faith and Football, and more recently, The Soccer Ps...

Hey friends, this time of year, I love to feature some of the talents and skills of our chaplains. Today, on the podcast, Justin Noseworthy, our chaplain for Monterey Bay FC plays and sings O Come, O Come Emmanuel for our podcast episode today. 

Enjoy the musical gifts and talents of Justin Noseworthy and have a wonderful Christmas!

From the Touchline is a short-feature podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executiv...

Hey friends, sometimes it can be hard to find that gift for that special person who enjoys soccer. I just wanted to quickly share a couple of resources that might be great gift ideas this Christmas season.

I recently had a couple of conversations with some friends and suggested a couple of devotionals to fit the need.

The Light is Coming, The Five Women You Meet In Faith and Football, and more recently, The Soccer Psalms, ...

Christmas is just a few days away — during this time of year, waiting seems more pronounced. Whether waiting in a line at the store, waiting for that gift or package to arrive, waiting for a family member to come home, and more. In soccer, this time of year is filled with other kinds of waiting — for a new contract, a new team; waiting for the results of a scan or working through the rehab and recovery from an injury; waiting for ...

Last Friday, the world watched as the participants for the 2026 FIFA World Cup were drawn into their groups for what may be the most epic soccer tournament of our lives to date. Spread across three countries — US, Mexico, and Canada — a historic 48 teams will take part in this next World Cup. It promises to be an amazing time.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, I share some thoughts on the world’s biggest stage for ...

Today is Colorado GivesDay, a day when Colorado non-profits are highlighted and donations are incentivized through coloradogives.org. Find our non-profit at this link: https://mtyc.co/99o7ff. If you want to join the work and support Soccer Chaplains United year-round simply text “soccerchaplains” to 77977 and you can make a secure, online donation there.

See you all tomorrow for a full episode of From the Touchline!

For many years, I simply introduced myself as “Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids.” That is until someone asked me how much my typical position paid. Whoops! I explained that I am a volunteer and I raise support (like a missionary) to do the work I do and am in no way funded by the team or ownership. The same is true for all of our chaplains with Soccer Chaplains United and about 99.9% of all chaplains in sport.

Today ...

Here in the United States, we observe the holiday of Thanksgiving. It’s a time when family and friends come together and give thanks and share a table. More and more these days, though, we can lose sight of the time and preparation that it can take for a good meal to be prepared, cooked, and then shared. We live in a microwave society where we want things with the convenience and quickness that comes as simply as pressing a ...

Getting away is a hard but necessary thing, especially when you’re in a caregiving kind of role. Jesus knew that he needed to get away and to get rest and he knew that his followers and friends needed to get rest and a bit of retreat. And even though Jesus never really gets the rest he needs, he still gives us this invitation that we find in Mark 6:31, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.R...

Every year, around the middle of November, I usually highlight some aspect of the life and work of Saint Martin of Tours. Saint Martin’s story is where the origins of our English words, chapel and chaplain come from. His most poignent moment, perhaps, is when he robes a distressed man in the cold of winter. A part of my own practice and study has been to look at tother robing moments in scripture to learn from what it might ...

November 1 in the church calendar is All Saints Day. It is a time to acknowledge all known and unknown saints throughout all moments in time. Often times, church communities will take some time on the Sunday closest to November 1 to honor, recognize, and commemorate those who have “gone before,” the “communion of saints,” the community of those who believe in God.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast...

October is pastoral and chaplain appreciation month and it’s our last podcast of the month where we focus in on Soccer Chaplains United people and their service and pastoral care in the soccer space.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, I am joined by Gavin Brand. Gavin is the volunteer chaplain for Ballard FC, a team that plays in the United Soccer League Two. Gavin shares about his journey as a army chaplain and the...

October is pastoral and chaplain appreciation month and for the remainder of the month, I’d like to interview several of Soccer Chaplains United’s very own chaplains. In the course of the next couple of weeks we can listen to and hear the work that they are doing with their teams and some of their origin story of how they came to be part of Soccer Chaplains United.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, I am joine...

October is pastoral and chaplain appreciation month and for the remainder of the month, I’d like to interview several of Soccer Chaplains United’s very own chaplains. In the course of the next few weeks we can listen to and hear the work that they are doing with their teams and some of their origin story of how they came to be part of Soccer Chaplains United.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, I am joined by M...

October is pastoral and chaplain appreciation month and for the remainder of the month, I’d like to interview several of Soccer Chaplains United’s very own chaplains. In the course of the next few weeks we can listen to and hear the work that they are doing with their teams and some of their origin story of how they came to be part of Soccer Chaplains United.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, I am joined by R...

Often times we can look at professional athletes and think that their life is glamorous and desirable, but we may not know how hard it is to get there and the many sacrifices made to play the Beautiful Game. Last week, Clint Irwin began with his origin story and gave us a look at the difficulty and determination needed to get to the top level of soccer in the US — Major League Soccer.

Today on the From the Touchline podcast, pa...