Blog

The 2023 Major League Soccer playoffs begin today with the 8th and 9th seed play-in games and even though Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers are out of the playoffs, there is plenty to talk about. Or, at least when you get Ben, Troy, and Brad together — there's stuff to talk about. On today's episode of From the Touchline, the three MLS chaplains talk about some of the highlights from this past season with their teams and the clubs that they serve. Troy Ready takes his first ever shot at Crosses with Rev — and it goes horribly wrong, no thanks to spotty internet in the Pacific Northwest. Ben gets inspired and writes two songs through the power of

A generous donor has offered a $500 matching donation for new donations to finish out the month of October. From now until the end of October, any donations or gifts toward the General Fund from individuals who have not given during 2023 will be matched up to $500. Rev Brad Kenney and Soccer Chaplains United are working to raise over $37k by the end of 2023 to come in on budget and continue the work into 2024 and beyond. Gifts made to the General Fund go to support Brad's salary and the overall operating costs of Soccer Chaplains United, including the generalized support of the 27 other chaplains that comprise the group. Thank you for your consideration toward a gift

The USL-Championship is the second division of professional soccer in the United States and, currently, Soccer Chaplains United's largest contingent of chaplains (9 of 28) serving teams in this league. With the playoffs set to start this next weekend, I've invited the USL-C chaplains on the podcast today to give a quick look back at the 2023 season and preview the playoffs ahead. On this episode of From the Touchline, Kurt Trempert shares some sad news with us. Robert Briggs (also known as "Briggsy") will have his first ever shot at Crosses with Rev — the little game I like to play with podcast guests. So tune in and listen as we talk about USL playoff soccer today on the

Chaplain and Pastor, Kurt Trempert, is "hanging up the boots" of soccer chaplaincy after serving the Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC for the last nine seasons. Kurt, pastor of HarvestDowntown, is a leader in the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination. This move comes as he accepts a bigger role in helping lead the church in the local district. The MidAmerica District of the C&MA covers a geographical region of five states, including Colorado. Kurt will take on a new role of Assistant to the District Superintendent, where he will work to help as a "3D (Discover, Develop, Deploy) Catalyst for Ministry Leadership." I asked Kurt what he will miss most about leaving the Switchbacks chaplaincy, I will miss the opportunity to

October is Pastor and Ministry Appreciation month and today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I (Brad) want to take a minute (well a lot of minutes) and share about the special people that make up Soccer Chaplains United. We now have a team of 28 people who are working and serving as chaplains to the sport of soccer and each of them comes with a special set of gifts and talents and contributions that they make to Soccer Chaplains United and the teams that they serve. I wish I was able to personally thank them over and over again for representing Jesus to the people of soccer as wonderfully as they do, but at least for today — I

In this new series entitled, The Technical Area, Rev Brad shares some specific applications for certain biblical passages that help apply faith to football in simple, practical ways. Today's lesson, is on Mark 3:13-19. Here, Jesus is selecting, from amongst many people who are following him, a select twelve: the Apostles. These are going to be men who live with Jesus, travel with Jesus, learn from Jesus, and go out preaching and teaching and with authority from Jesus. The intentionality with which Jesus selects the Twelve is akin to a manager choosing the starting eleven for match day. In this episode, Selecting Your Starting 11, Rev Brad examines Jesus' actions here as a bit of a template for a person