Blog

Today, it's my privilege to announce that Portland Timbers Chaplains Ben Dudley and Troy Ready have officially joined Soccer Chaplains United. Ben and Troy have been working with the Timbers of Major League Soccer (MLS) since 2010 and 2014, respectively. They co-chaplain the MLS side which won its first league title in 2015. Ben is no stranger to Soccer Chaplains United. He was part of CrossTraining back beginning in 2010 when he first moved to Portland and started working with the Timbers. He helped encourage me and the CrossTraining Board, at the time, to seek out becoming it's own non-profit 501(c)3 entity. He recently shared with the board and other team members, I’ve been in community with Brad for the past

A quick update as today, we were able to put forward our top chaplain candidate to Nashville SC. The search for a chaplain which began back in August, culminated in developing a candidate pool. We had those candidates meet with Tennessee Titans (American Football) Chaplain, Casey Cramer for an additional layer of vetting. Casey was helpful in sharing his own personal experience of working in a church setting and offering a chaplain presence to a pro sport team in the Nashville culture. Next steps will include the chaplain candidate meeting with team ownership to get a feel for cultural fit. Once the candidate has been accepted, Soccer Chaplains United will begin doing more coaching and development support as the chaplain

For the Colorado Rapids, offseason came sooner than last year. No playoff game appearance. No run for the league cup final. Players, coaches, staff all scattering to the far reaches of the globe until it's time to return and begin a season anew. For the Rapids and many others throughout professional soccer in North America, the season of waiting commences. The Rapids, recently announced a new head coach — so for some, the wait in that regard is over. But as the 2018 season lies ahead, there is a painful waiting that has begun. Waiting for a Contract Imagine this scenario. You are 30 years-old. Married. You and your spouse are expecting your first child and you are waiting for

Yesterday, I had the privilege of speaking to the sports ministry major class at my alma mater Moody Bible Institute on the topic of sports chaplaincy. Students had recently read Anthony Maranise's article, Beyond praying for players: an exploration of the responsibilities and practices of sports chaplains from the recent Sports Chaplaincy: Trends, Issues, and Debates. That article coupled with my own, Foundations of Pastoral Care: Recovering the Spirit of Chaplaincy in Sport became the springboard for our conversation. One of the most prevalent questions that recurs amongst those looking into sports chaplaincy, is how does one serve someone of a different faith tradition? For many evangelical Christians that are studying and preparing to go into ministry, one of the struggles that takes considerable wrestling

Timothy Project: Soccer Chaplains United has packaged and delivered soccer gear around the world, again and again.  Sometimes the gear goes to small, remote villages that are not represented on a map, other times the gear is distributed in cities with too many people to count.  Regardless of what we send, with whom we send it or to where it is going, we try to include at least a few One World Futbols. One World Play Project is a B Corporation founded in 2010 by a man passionate to provide disadvantaged people around the world with the gift of play, more specifically play that does not deflate in the harsh environments of refugee camps, thorny vegetation, and glass-ridden playing fields.

In the fast-pass culture that we live in sometimes missing the small aspects of life that help make us healthier individuals fade to the backdrop. As I was driving home with my family on Thanksgiving evening we passed an outlet mall. The line of cars extended from the mall and continued down the highway for a couple of miles. As we continued home I realized that holiday lights were already up and turned on around stores and people’s houses. Suddenly Thanksgiving was over without the day being done. Yes, every holiday is commercialized and that is an issue in and of itself that makes me cringe. This year it is bothering me even more. As Americans we are gifted a