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Coram Deo Fulfillment

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Perhaps one of the more difficult parts of our community work comes in the mundane task of sorting through donations. Often times, Soccer Chaplains United receives donations that are thrown together into plastic bags and cardboard boxes, it can take hours to sort and piece things together. And when we get a specific request, like we did from Matthew Hulst and Coram Deo, you end up holding your breath sometimes because you aren’t sure if you can match exactly what they are looking for. But what is amazing is to “pull” the request and see what God does.

Specifically, Hulst and co. asked for 4 different uniform sets — jerseys, shorts, socks, etc. And a few weeks ago when I pulled their request, there were some tense moments of counting and recounting and trying to match. The most awesome moments are when you can match uniform numbers on jerseys and shorts! Let me tell you it’s a lot of back-breaking, back-bending work, but it is worth it.

3 of 4 sets complete!

The sorting and organizing took an immense amount of time, but as I prayed and reflected and listened to music I found a bit of a God-conversation going on. “God, is this really what I ought to be doing with ___________?” I filled in the blank with a lot of different endings to that question: my time, my seminary degree, my family, and so on and so on.

There was one moment when I realized that the shorts and uniforms that I had already sorted and pulled could potentially have matching numbers. I debated for about 15 minutes if I should go back and spend the time to sort through and find them amongst the piles on my garage floor. And then, the thought came to me — I can’t say if it was a God-inspired thought (but it seemed so). “Wouldn’t it make someone’s day and wouldn’t it perhaps make the story of the gospel easier to show or tell if I just spend the extra time?”

Set 4! Let’s goooooo!

I know that when my family makes donations we usually throw things in a bag and imagine that someone else will sort it out and give it away as needed. To be honest, I don’t think much about it. But here, now, in the 50 degree garage on a cold, Colorado night — a little bit of a glimpse came into view. That is God values the recipients of these soccer shorts and jerseys, then so should I and because I am not going on the trip, the best way that I can serve them is to go a little bit of an extra mile to make it as special for them as I can.

So thank you for supporting Soccer Chaplains United. When you do, a portion of your gift automatically goes to help our community projects and requests. You can give specifically to help cover our costs by making a gift through PushPay — simply select Community from the selectable funds. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor individuals or organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

Timothy Project: Valor Discovery Off To Guatemala

Timothy Project: Soccer Chaplains United team members had the joy this week to deliver soccer gear that will change lives forever. For the sixth year, Valor Discovery is sending a team of students to Zacapa, Guatemala.  Soccer Chaplains United has had the pleasure of supporting the team in the past and is pleased to do so again this year.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon as the teenagers sorted and organized the donations to be taken to Zacapa.  Rev Brad Kenney spoke words of encouragement and blessing to the team on a driveway that was overflowing with donations, new and used.  The generosity of the local community is moving.  The students will be able to touch many lives with the donations they gathered.

The role that Soccer Chaplains United is playing in this project will be measured in an entirely different way.  Through support given to the Timothy Project, we were able to purchase unique and rarely found evangelism soccer balls. Evangelism soccer balls tell the gospel through colors and images printed on the balls.

In addition to giving a box of eBalls to the team, Soccer Chaplains United gave several dozen traditional soccer balls, in sizes four and five.  We gave them cones to mark out a field or run games and drills.  We also gave them all the soccer cleats we had on hand.

May this team’s experience this summer be impactful to everyone they come in contact with, even one another. You can follow the team on their blog, by clicking here.

To support Timothy Project: Zacapa, Guatemala or future Timothy Project ventures please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new soccer equipment, sponsor an individual or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

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Portland Timbers Chaplains Join Soccer Chaplains United

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 8 seasons and it is really an honor to be able to officially join the Soccer Chaplains United team.  I give Brad a hard time a lot, but he has done an amazing job of stewarding this ministry and I’m excited to see how God continues to use (all of us) to provide spiritual care, wise council, and meaningful service to the soccer community.

Troy has a special connection to the Timbers as he played for the club from 2006-2008 and had over 20 appearances. He continues to be involved with the organization as well by serving as an assistant coach with the U-23 team and as co-chaplain with Ben.

We are excited to have Ben and Troy part of Soccer Chaplains United and we look forward to sharing and collaborating to provide spiritual care, wise counsel, and meaningful service for the exciting soccer community in Portland, Oregon.

Timothy Project: CCPC Juarez 2017 Final Update

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Timothy Project: Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, Juarez 2017.  Soccer Chaplains United has a strong commitment to support ministry partners.  Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church of  Englewood, Colorado is a ministry partner so great efforts went into providing a robust Timothy Project donation when they requested it for their recent trip to Juarez, Mexico.

These reflections capture Emily Smith’s experience of her time on the trip:  Timothy Project generously donated many soccer-related items for our team of 35 from Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church to take with us on our recent mission trip to Juarez, Mexico.  Our church has been taking teams down to Juarez for nearly thirty years and it was a blessing to be a part of this year’s team.  So much of what we are doing while there is to support and encourage the local church with which we partner.

We strive to draw in as many people from the community as possible.  Soccer and games are instrumental in that effort.  Sharing the Timothy Project donations with the local church and community during a long and lively game of soccer at the city park one of the days we were there was such a delight.  We divided the shirts and jerseys between the two teams of players and continued on with our game, enjoying it all the more because of the gifts. Chaplain Brad Kenney, director of Soccer Chaplains United and a team member for Juarez shared,

 

It’s always amazing to me how a round ball can break down so many barriers – age, gender, culture, language – we were all able to play and share in a fun game of soccer with people from the church.  Shouts of ‘aqui’ or ‘tranquilo’ throughout the game made our time memorable.

Later in the week, a particularly special blessing for us was getting to hear the church leaders tell us about the first mission trip they took as a church last year into Mexico City and surrounding impoverished areas.  After many years of receiving the love and encouragement of our church’s mission to them, they were inspired to do the same and go out and support a church in their own country on a mission trip.  We gathered together one night for them to show us a slideshow of pictures from their trip and to hear more about how they were impacted by it.  We surprised them at the end of that evening with more Timothy Project gifts, but these were for them to give on their next mission trip. Parker Dragovich, team lead for this year’s trip, shared about the church,

We have been in partnership with La Iglesia Maranatha for almost 30 years, and the Timothy Project has been a wonderful addition the past several years.  What made this particularly special is that the Timothy Project not only provided us with supplies for our trip but also supplies for the Juarez church to take on their own mission trip to southern Mexico next summer.

 

Sharing soccer jerseys and gear with them during our fun day at the park was sweet but how much sweeter it was to give them a gift that they could pass along.  The truth that it is better to give than to receive was written all over their faces as they teared up with joy from the blessing they would be able to pass on to others.  Thank you, Timothy Project, for your generosity and work in stewarding gifts and allowing us to use those gifts to bless others.

To support future Timothy Project ventures such as this one to Juarez, Mexico please donate through PushPay — simply select Timothy Project from the selectable funds to contribute to. Your financial gift helps us purchase new equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

Timothy Project: Future of Timothy Project In Light Of Re-Branding

CrossTraining Timothy ProjectTimothy Project: Future of Timothy Project In Light Of Re-Branding.  Big changes are on the very near horizon for CrossTraining.  Since the inception of CrossTraining 16 years ago much has changed in the world of athletics; especially with small, boutique fitness centers that are sprinkled all over our communities.  It has become apparent that CrossTraining’s identity is fading into the abyss of the CrossFit phenomenon.

Upon this realization, Executive Director Brad Kenney made the decision to rebrand, remarket and reposition CrossTraining into a more accurate space within Major League Soccer.  The new name, logo and vision statement will better identify the ministry and all that falls underneath its umbrella of services.

The future of Timothy Project also has exciting changes in the works.  Not only is Timothy Project being protected with the new brand but there are plans in the works to expand Timothy Project’s impact.  Currently, Timothy Project touches lives internationally.  Local teams take soccer gear across continents to the far corners of our world.  In the future, we are hoping to expand Timothy Project’s reach to our surrounding soccer communities.

As CrossTraining fulfills its new vision, Timothy Project will expand into places it has never gone before.  Just as Timothy Project has cared for thousands across the globe with soccer gear, clothing and soccer supplies the future will be caring for our immediate community in ways only possible when in immediate proximity.

During the ReBrand Launch Party to be hosted at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park Timothy Project will be highlighted and the future hopes and dreams of the ministry will be laid out for all to see.

To support future Timothy Project ventures, please use the Donate button to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps to secure additional equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

#TPT

Timothy Project – Valor Kenya 2017 – Part II

CrossTraining Timothy ProjectTimothy Project – Valor Kenya 2017 – Part II  Upon return of Valor’s Discovery team from Kenya one of the group’s leaders, Toby Coffman, summed up the experience in these three words, “It was awesome.”
In Part I of our story we stated that the Valor Discovery team would be visiting  a community center and an orphanage in Narobi.  As Coffman reports, “We gave the jerseys and the two indestructible balls (a.k.a. One World Futbols) to the community center in the slums where Anthony Wanjiru, now a staffer at Valor, was taken in as a child.”  Wanjiru received invaluable assistance that helped him begin his journey from the slums of Nairobi to high school, college, and a Master’s program.
“These photos are of Wanjiru handing over the equipment to the coach,
who manages several different teams of kids from the slum both to teach them
the sport and to give them an outlet of something positive and productive to do.” Coffman says.
“He cried as we handed him the stuff.”
“We then went out to their “pitch,” distributed to the kids,
and then played against them in a game. The kids, after getting
over the shock, cried as well.” Coffman explained.
“It was our first day in country and a super moving way to start the trip.”
says Coffman.
Coffman shared with us his gratitude for the partnership with CrossTraining’s Timothy Project. “Thank you so much for blessing our group in this special way. I know it was a blessing to some kids in Nairobi. I am just so appreciative of the way you guys came alongside us and helped pull this off. Brad’s (Kenney) words at our commissioning night were so spot-on and helped send our group off on the right note. Thank you so, so much!”

To support future Timothy Project ventures, such as Timothy Project: Valor Kenya 2017, please use the Donate button to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift helps to secure additional equipment, sponsor a missionary or organization in an outreach effort, and to cover associated costs of providing bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!

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Timothy Project: Valor Guatemala 2015 Update

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CrossTraining Director, Brad Kenney along with board and staff members pray over the Valor Guatemala team.

CrossTraining Director, Brad Kenney along with board and staff members pray over the Valor Guatemala team.

Last night, a team comprised of CrossTraining staff and board members visited the Valor Christian High School team as they packed and prepared to head off to Zacapa, Guatemala this Saturday June 6. The Valor team had reached out to CrossTraining and applied for the Timothy Project. Danny Brooks, a Spanish teacher and soccer coach at the school, asked the organization to  provide them  soccer gear to hand out to the people there.

CrossTraining’s Executive Director, Brad Kenney, interviewed Laura Shultz one of the female team leaders who is going on the trip. She said the team would be down there for  a total of  28 days. She also said that though she had never been down to Guatemala her parents had gone a few years back, and that they brought loads of soccer gear down with them.

During their time down in Guatemala, they will be taking Spanish classes to help with the language barrier. They will also be performing skits which the CrossTraining team got to see part of and think that the people will be left with a smile on their face after watching it.

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Deflated balls fill a duffel bag being packed for Guatemala

As the CrossTraining team watched the Valor team pack they were delighted to see all the gear and equipment gained packed and sorted into different bags and suitcases from the Timothy Project and that others had donated. The Valor team is taking close to six duffle bags full of used soccer gear and 20 new soccer balls down to Guatemala.

Not only is the Valor team going to pass out soccer gear, but their chief goal is to get to know the culture as they are down in the area. They also want help to try and minister to the people and show them that God loves them. The team ultimately wants to help grow the global church.

Full duffel bags wait out the Colorado rainstorm on their way to Guatemala.

Full duffel bags wait out the Colorado rainstorm on their way to Guatemala.

As the team is down there they will be blogging about their adventures and they will also have updates on how the project is going. The team would like to ask supporters to keep them in their prayers as the language barrier could be quite a hindrance.

You can still make a contribution to offset the costs for the Valor Guatemala 2015. Please note (Timothy Project: Valor Guatemala 2015) in your online donation. Please use the Donate Now link to make a secure PayPal donation. Your financial gift will help pay for the cost of the new soccer balls for the team.

#TPT

– Contributed by Isabella Burton

Intern, CrossTraining

From the Rev: Healing the Waywardness

Screen Shot 2014-11-25 at 3.35.30 PM “I will heal their waywardness
    and love them freely,
    for my anger has turned away from them.”

– The Lord speaking through Hosea to Israel, Hosea 14:4

The words of the prophet Hosea were poignantly delivered to me in the form of a ministry charge during my ordination service. It is a powerful charge – heal their waywardness and love them freely. The two-pronged charge has become a guardrail in terms of my ministry as pastor and as chaplain.

First, to heal their waywardness speaks to one of the most foundational functions of the pastoral office – healing. How does one heal waywardness? Some of the people that I encounter in ministry don’t even know that they are sick or in need of healing – sure they know that something is not right, but they often refuse the curative movements that are necessary. Some of those who have sat in my office or across the coffee shop table have been carrying a brokenness of the soul that has, like a bone break that has mended wrongly, left them disfigured and disabled. Sometimes, healing means another breaking so that the bone might be set properly. Sometimes, I am not the person to offer the healing – if the wound is beyond my skill, I must pass them to a specialist. Some receive the referrals, others do not. Often, healing involves a lengthy process – if someone is dealing with grief and loss or with trauma, or with sin – there can be a process of healing and rehabilitating that needs intentionality and companionship. Not everyone is willing to endure the process or apply themselves to the work of healing.

The second component to the charge is to love them freely. This can be incredibly difficult – to watch people hurting others or themselves by their choices, their decisions and knowing that they cannot (within their own power) heal themselves. It is hard, at times, to love freely – I would rather fix, I would rather just tell them to “get over and on with it.” So, whilst this is sometimes the difficult of the balance act – it is a check and balance. I certainly cannot love freely, out of my own self, but only through the strength of the Lord. And, as I am called to represent God to so many different people – people who are near and who are far from the Lord, it is this part of the character and nature of God that is so vitally important. When people are loved freely it opens them to the Divine possibilities of healing and restoration – because this is not how the world treats people. The world is always asking something of us, demanding that we give and give and we rarely receive.

This work, both in healing and loving, can be extremely costly at times – but it is all a part of God’s redemptive process. Consider Hosea – he marries a woman (Gomer) who is prostitute. They begin a family – but Gomer returns to her life of prostitution . Hosea goes and pays a hefty price to redeem his wife – 15 pieces of silver and a portion of grain. Hosea’s price would have been equal to that of the monetary value associated with a person’s life in ancient times (see Leviticus 27:4, Exodus 21:32). Scholars believe that Hosea may not have been wealthy enough to redeem Gomer for the full monetary price (30 shekels of silver) and so he pays the difference in an agricultural fashion. In terms of my own ministry, I understand this to mean that God is asking me to spare no expense in this activity of healing and loving. So many times, I feel that I am piecing together all that I have to redeem, to restore, to heal the waywardness and love freely, but this is the activity and love of God that he calls us to. And it should not be lost on us, that Jesus was betrayed by Judas for 30 pieces of silver. Here, we continue to see the interplay of God’s redeeming love throughout all time – that he would command Hosea to pay the price to redeem Gomer (who also served to illustrate Israel’s relationship with God) and that God’s own Son, Jesus would be betrayed for such a price. But still, God chooses to love. Still God chooses to heal. And so must we.Screen Shot 2014-11-25 at 4.12.55 PM

Blessings,

Rev. Brad Kenney

From the Rev: Coming to the End

Screen Shot 2014-10-20 at 2.44.40 PMLast night, marked the final game of the 2014 season for the Colorado Rapids. In a season which began with much promise, to say the end was “disappointing” would be an understatement. The Rapids went on a 14-game winless streak to finish the season 8th in the Western Conference. With an uncertain future ahead – many of the players comprising the Rapids current roster may or may not be with the team next season. Add in the expansion drafts of 2015 which will help NYCFC and Orlando City fill out their rosters as well as the rumored dismantling of league-owned Chivas USA and there will be a tremendous amount of dismantling next season with the Rapids and around the league. While these things represent a heavy burden for chaplains to help players, coaches, and staff to carry – there were many opportunities, too, to provide care.

DSC_2359In addition to the Colorado Rapids season result, CrossTraining’s work with Valor Christian High School soccer program also had a disappointing end to the season – a younger team, disciplinary issues within the program, and some difficult losses – all of these made for a challenging year on the high school front. However, on the positive side, there were some unique opportunities to speak into the lives of parents and players and come along side of them in different ways to support them at different moments in life.

In coming to the end, as a chaplain, we tend to look back reflectively over the past season – we try to assess where we saw God working in different situations and in people’s lives, we look critically at the work we did well and the places where we fell short, and we look forward with eyes toward next year, next season to see where we might grow in our faith and where we might grow in our pastoral support of others.

Ends are usually difficult because in coming to the end we must usually say goodbye – whether to people or to philosophies or beliefs that we once held close. For the Valor boys, there are seniors who will move on to college. For the Rapids, there are players who will be traded or waived, there will be staff who move on to other positions or other companies. Ending are not easy, especially in the relational work of caring.

Even Jesus, in coming to the end of his life on earth, and then before his accession to heaven – knew that the end(s) was going to be difficult – leaving friends and family behind. But Jesus gave a promise (his presence), a command (the Great Commission), and a ritual (communion) to help with the ending. As chaplains, we, too don’t merely arrive at endings without at least trying to offer something similarly as Jesus did. We may not be able to be present at all times where life takes them, but we can continue to be present for key moments and times (like the death of a loved one). We may not be able to have direct influence (reminding them of their faith, etc.), but we can connect them to others that can serve them in these ways. And we may not be able to share things like communion at distance, but we can have moments now and remind each other of times to come in the future. And in all of these ways, we might hope and pray that we can come to the various endings in life and sport in ways that are healthy and wholesome.

Blessings,

Rev. Brad Kenney

From the Rev: Character in the Dark

The evangelist, D.L. Moody once said, “Character is what you are in the dark.” Who are we when no one is looking? Who are we when no one is around? Perhaps, for the professional athlete, this question seems irrelevant – much of the professional life is spent in front of cameras, events and comments are captured by smartphones, minutia is tweeted, facebooked, instagrammed and more.  Is there any dark in an athletes’ life? Is there any moment when the crowds or coaches, family or friends aren’t watching?

NASCAR’s Tony Stewart was under investigation earlier this year for hitting a fellow driver on the racetrack. An investigation is ongoing into whether Stewart carried any fault.

Well, regardless if we are professional athletes or have another vocational capacity there are no moments when we are ever truly alone or unseen. Proverbs 15:3 tells us, The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. And even in the moments when our actions are caught in the lens of a camera, the intent of our hearts may not necessarily be revealed – whether it is a clumsy tackle in football or driving into a fellow racer on a racetrack. And as we consider some of the events that we see in professional environs (whether sports or elsewhere) and even question the motivations of the heart and feel that justice may or may not be served, we do know that, “The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (I Samuel 16:7).

So who are we in the dark? When “no one” else is around, when no one is looking – who are we in those moments? The dark is not just limited to lightless or behind the scenes moments – there are other “dark” moments in this world: unemployment, losing streaks, economic downturns, poverty, hunger, famine, persecution, and many, many more. Who are we in those moments? How do we respond in those dark times? A comparable, biblical moment that I sometimes reflect on is the lives of Peter and Judas. Both betrayed, both denied Christ, both felt the burning shame of what they had done – but only one embraced forgiveness and grace, only one was able to live a transformed life; the other could not find his way out of darkness and was hopeless in taking his own life, a thief to the very end.

Consider your own shadow side (we all have one) and consider the content of your character – for who we are in the dark can make all the difference in the world.

Blessings,

Rev. Brad Kenney

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