Archive for month: February, 2019

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On the Road Again

February was a heavy travel month — as there is a preseason in sports, there is a preseason in sports chaplaincy as well.

Feb 7-8: Leoti, KS

To begin, a 400-mile road trip out to Leoti, KS for presbytery meetings. As an ordained minister in the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), it is important to work to attend a number of our quarterly meetings if at all possible. The added benefit for this trip was two fold: a) I got to spend an unexpected amount of time with our new chaplain in Memphis, Greg Aydt. His re-routed and re-directed flight put him into Denver and I had an extra seat. It was a God-thing to get the additional 4 hours on the drive to talk and work through some of the chaplaincy needs of the preseason. b) Soccer Chaplains United was able to have our new introductory video played at presbytery. The video highlights our chaplaincy, counseling and community work and many in attendance commented on the quality of the video and how it conveyed a new sense of the scope of work being done with Soccer Chaplains United.

Feb 19-21: Nashville, TN

I had the wonderful privilege of spending time with one of our newest chaplains, Rev Ryan Doyle. Ryan is getting started with providing chaplaincy for Christ Presbyterian Academy Boys Soccer for the upcoming spring season. We enjoyed a coffee and catch up in the historic Franklin downtown. We shared for a couple of hours on different ideas for the chaplaincy.

While in Nashville, I also got a chance to spend time with our Nashville SC chaplain, Billy Cerveny. We spent time together talking about the chaplaincy issues that will likely be faced this year as the team makes the transition from United Soccer League – Championship to Major League Soccer. Some Martin’s BBQ made for a full day as we also took in the announcement for Nashville’s new logo when they begin play in MLS.

Nashville SC new logo launch and reveal party

My trip also include some time spent with Nashville Head Coach Gary Smith and his family and an old friend, Pastor Don Diehl. Don was my youth pastor for a couple of years back in high school and early college. We were able to grab a quick breakfast and catch up with each other, before heading off to my final February destination.

Don and Diann Diehl, long time friends back to my high school days

Feb 21-26: Charlotte, NC

The longer part of my trip was to take part in the 3rd Summit on Global Sports Chaplaincy. Here, with leaders from around the globe, we worked through the continuing development of sports chaplaincy at a global level. How do we develop chaplaincy in developing countries? How do we equip and support chaplaincy leaders that lack resources? To what level do we try to formalize partnerships and relationships? These were some of the questions and tasks that everyone around the table worked to tackle.

Dr Steven Waller and I pose outside the Championship Conference Room at Joe Gibbs Racing Center where we had our meetings over a few days

For Soccer Chaplains United, the aims of this group is much broader than our own; however, the global nature of soccer and the relationships that God has afforded me to make over the years has meant that this is a significant conversation to continue to be involved in and contribute to.

I was excited, too, to learn that my hosts were connected to the most recent candidate to emerge for the Charlotte Independence vacancy. I had a dinner meeting with someone from the club during one of the nights where we had some time off from the meetings and then a breakfast the next day to meet with the candidate and speak more about what the chaplaincy with the team looks like.

All in all a full February and many ways in which I was able to see God’s faithfulness in so many ways. Thankful for the many miles travelled and the safety and provision of God.

2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity

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I am really excited about the upcoming 2nd Global Congress on Sport and Christianity this October. The inaugural congress was held in 2016 in York, England at the University of Gloucestershire. I was able to be a presenter and participant in 2016. I gave a 20 minute presentation on Foundations of Pastoral Care: Recovering the Spirit of Chaplaincy in Sport. And before the congress, the paper was accepted for publication in Practical Theology.

2016 and the congress were significant for another reason, though — it was through some conversations borne out of my time there that God impressed upon me that the time had come to put the CrossTraining name to rest. Thus began the journey of creating our current organizational name of Soccer Chaplains United.

Now, three years later, I am excited to return back to this latest expression of the Congress. It will be held at Calvin College in Michigan, October 23-27. I have already entered one abstract for presentation along the lines of a theological construct for chaplaincy. I am also working to develop another presentation with sports chaplaincy and counseling themes intertwined.

I am praying that we will be able to help subsidize the cost of our chaplains and counselors that are available to go and attend, as it is an extremely formative and sharpening time.

Matthew Adams Joins Soccer Chaplains United Board of Directors

Last week, the Soccer Chaplains United Board of Directors unanimously voted to approve Matthew Adams to the board. Matthew is VP, Senior Tax Counsel at Cloud Peak Energy and a member of the Department of the Interior Royalty Policy Committee. Originally from Iowa, Matthew grew up playing soccer and he is passionate about leadership and strategic development. An assistant coach at Valor Christian High School, Matthew has had two sons in the program, which  is how Matthew and I met.

As I became involved with the Valor Christian soccer program as a coach, I was tremendously impressed with the cultural impact that Rev. had on the coaches and players alike.  His modeling and support of Christian values as players deal with success, challenges and personal growth is invaluable to the entire community.

Matthew’s passions and gifts toward developing mid-range and long-range strategy is an important gift and asset to bring to the board of Soccer Chaplains United, especially at this time. As we have completed, now, one year of moving forward with our new name and rebrand we will need to begin to strategically think through the different opportunities that lie before us in terms of development and potential growth. Among some of the key developments and learnings that will need strategical thinking and planning hit amongst our three expressions, namely:

  1. Chaplaincy — we are the only organization looking to provide chaplains at all levels of the sport. Especially, in the areas of the youth game and at the collegiate level this will require strategic plan development and roll out.
  2. Counseling — we are the only sports organization or ministry group that is coupling chaplaincy and counseling. As a pioneering work, there has been difficulty in gaining traction, but we are beginning to get through some early development stages.
  3. Community — as our footprint across soccer grows, we know that we will become aware of more need and more opportunities. Developing a robust community service plan will be key for the future.

I am honored to join this group of exceptional men and women in pursuit of increasing the impact of SCU.  I look forward to helping shape and implement our growth initiatives as we enable players and coaches to utilize their personal strengths and faith to raise their professional skills to greater heights.  I strongly believe that by enabling and supporting pastoral and counseling support services through the great sport of soccer, we are building and strengthing entire communities in a unique and positive way.

Matthew is a graduate of Drake University and holds a Masters and Doctor of Law from the University of Denver. He is an expert in tax law and different issues surrounding compliance and regulatory issues.

Matthew’s appointment now brings the Soccer Chaplains United Board of Directors back up to seven individuals, following Jack Ballou’s non-renewal.

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work.

If you would like to learn more about Soccer Chaplains United, please email info@soccerchaplainsunited.org.

New Soccer Chaplains United Introduction Video

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I am excited by our latest project that we’ve just completed — an introductory video that describes Soccer Chaplains United. Many times, people ask, “What do you do?” In some ways, to simply describe (or try to explain) chaplaincy doesn’t quite convey the breadth of our approach with Soccer Chaplains United. This new video is a wonderful description of the three different expressions or extensions of Soccer Chaplains United.

Our video below details the different work that Soccer Chaplains United does around the sport of soccer.

Chaplaincy — this is our primary work. We serve as chaplains to the soccer teams and organizations at various levels of the game. Our chaplaincy is about offering pastoral/spiritual care — and we serve everyone (whether they identify with a particular faith or no faith, at all). Our Christian chaplains sign a code of conduct and will often times advocate or connect people of other faith traditions into their faith community or resources.

Counseling — this is an important piece to our work of providing care that is holistic. Trained counselors have different skill sets and training that is often needed for the athletes, coaches, staff, and families within the sport of soccer. Counselors work on sliding scales and are able to utilize a counseling subsidy to remove the financial barriers to counseling. Our counselors and chaplains are connected to each other in order to best make handoffs and referrals and address the needs within the teams and communities that we serve.

Community — the global stage of soccer (fútbol, football, etc.) in many ways is a “leveler.” People in the game come from diverse backgrounds and different cultures and languages. Our community initiatives are a way for the wealthier and more resourced to give to those who are impoverished and in need. Our community projects help distribute soccer gear and equipment to help aid mission and relief work locally and around the world.

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work.

New Director of Counseling Announced

It is my privilege to announce Brooke Ewert as the new Director of Counseling for Soccer Chaplains United. Brooke has been with Soccer Chaplains United for over two years, serving with the different needs in the Denver, CO area. With our expanded view to grow the counseling network for Soccer Chaplains United, this represents a major step toward insuring that the development of the counseling can move at a similar pace as the chaplaincy side of things.

I am excited to take on this new role with SCU. I believe there is a great need for mental health counseling within the soccer community. I look forward to aligning these two critical ministries within SCU. 

As Director, Brooke will be responsible to help on the discovery and development of the network and speak into some of the organizational and structural pieces for the counseling. Namely, the sliding scale structure for fees and the counseling subsidy that is for the people who can least afford counseling.

Brooke will also prioritize the cities and teams where a strong chaplaincy presence for Soccer Chaplains United already exists. Many of whom, already have some local relationships with counselors and make referrals, but the goal will be to develop a more formal relationship between chaplains and counselors to address the many critical issues facing people within the soccer community.

We are already beginning to work with various chaplains throughout the county to help them to identify Christian counselors who are familiar and understand the mental health issues that affect athletes. We are currently working with chaplains in Portland, Charlotte, and Nashville to put in place a counselor to come alongside of them and to help identify athletes who need mental health support. 

I do think that in the future we will need to discern whether a spin off organization will better suit the development and unique needs for the counselors in this space, but for now it is important to continue linking the chaplains and counselors together. And Soccer Chaplains United is one of the only sports organizations that is doing this pioneering work!

Over the past two years, I have become more convinced that chaplains and counselors are necessary partners. The strategic objective is to train up our chaplains to early identify mental health needs and to have a local sports counselor available to assist. 

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work.

Soccer Chaplains United 2018 Annual Report

Soccer Chaplains United Logo

Please find here the electronic, pdf version of our annual report for 2018.

2018 Annual ReportDownload

We have been blessed by this past year and look forward to the upcoming year of ministry and service. If there are any questions about the annual report and you are a donor or partner church, please contact me at brad@soccerchaplainsunited.org. We view you as our “shareholders” in this important work and area always working to address issues of transparency and accountability in the spaces where we work and serve.

This is not an easy job, either. We have been deeply entrusted in the places where we serve and amongst a culture that is highly skeptical of religion and religious expressions. You will not find language about “souls saved” or conversions, etc. that you might find amongst other organizations. Partly, because our view and approach of chaplaincy is vastly different from those types of sports ministry organizations that you might be more familiar with. Partly, because our care and concern is for the whole person — no matter how they self-identify.

Please humbly accept report above as our condensed version of sharing the past year’s work and activity and our future vision and direction as we seek to serve in the best ways possible.

United by a common code and a shared vision to provide spiritual care, wise counsel, and meaningful service for soccer.

Soccer Chaplains United

Soccer Chaplains United is non-profit, 501(c)3 and depends upon the financial support of our partners to carry out our work of developing chaplaincy, counseling, and community service across all levels of soccer. Please consider making a contribution today to help us continue growing our work.

Ballou Doesn’t Renew, Commits to Help as CPA

Jack Ballou has been one of the longstanding board members for Soccer Chaplains United. Beginning his service in 2015, Jack has served through the transition from CrossTraining to Soccer Chaplains United and has been largely responsible for helping the organization set its financial policies and procedures into place. In addition to helping create the existing structure, he has helped oversee the expanding book-keeping needs and the addition of a part-time book-keeper.

At the end of his second, two-year term Jack expressed his desire to step away from the board of directors, but continue to serve as a CPA for Soccer Chaplains United. He will continue to be involved to insure a smooth hand off is made to the next board member who might step more fully into the Treasurer role.

On behalf of Soccer Chaplains United and the Board of Directors, we are extremely grateful to Jack for his years of service and we look forward to continuing to have his wisdom and experience at hand in this new form.

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