Earlier this year, we shared about a special gift, made by a young man. He had a pair of boots (cleats) that he had outgrown, but were still in pristine condition (see below). His desire? He wanted to see these shoes gifted to someone else who “loves Jesus like I love Jesus.”
Well, the whole of 2020 has been in search of finding the “right fit.” At first, we thought that these boots might make their way overseas as part of a Missionary Athletes International soccer trip for an overseas tournament. When travel restrictions were put in place and the trip was canceled, the shoes got held up.
For a few months, the shoes sat in my office, apart from the other donations. Knowing that they were intended for a special, yet-to-be named person I didn’t want them to get caught up with another project.
We’ve been in touch with Connor Georgopulous who works with MAI’s Chicago Eagles and several youth teams. Connor actually has the shoes now in hand and he texted me recently the plan:
Conor Georgopulous , Chicago Eagles
When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United 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 projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!
Late last year, Soccer Chaplains United received a “random” email:
Hi !! I would like to have a address where I can donate my new cleats. I want them to go to someone who love soccer but special love Jesus like I do. Please send me the address where I can mail Them.
I say “random” because although we have invited donations of soccer equipment from individuals, 99.9% comes through bigger organizations like soccer teams and clubs. It is the rare occasion that we receive a donation like this.
Probing further for a story or for information on this act of generosity, we received the next message,
I’m 16 years old and I play soccer I’m from USA but God open a door for me to play in Barcelona. I’m here in Florida for the holiday but in January I will be back to Barcelona to continue my dream to become a professional soccer player (keep me in your prayers) I have this cleats for 2 months but I will get new ones and I want this cleats to go to special boy who has a dream just like me.
Justan Dunstan, donor of the special shoes. Follow him here.
Fast forward a couple of weeks, after receiving the cleats, I was having a coffee conversation with Valor Christian and John Brown alum, Conor Georgopulous. Conor works with Missionary Athletes International in Chicago and is getting ready to lead a team on an international trip. The more we talked, the more it seemed that maybe the “special” person that these special shoes may be part of Conor’s team.
Conor Georgopulous , Chicago Eagles
Stay tuned to this story throughout 2020 as we discover where and for whom God intends this special pair of shoes.
When you financially support Soccer Chaplains United 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 projects and organizations, and to cover associated costs of providing Bibles, soccer equipment, and other outreach tools locally and around the world!
Moody Bible Institute Men’s Soccer Chaplains Pete Distler resigned last week from Soccer Chaplains United after resigning from the team earlier. Pete shared that for the past few weeks he had been in prayer about his work and role with the team. He felt as though God was calling for him to step down from his position. Pete shared with me,
After much prayer and discerning of God’s will, I am taking this step of obedience. It has been a great pleasure to spend time with you and receive your mentoring in this fascinating ministry field. Many blessings to you, fellow chaplains and the board.
Pete Distler, former chaplain to Moody Men’s Soccer
Pete was the first chaplain to serve the Moody Men’s Soccer team in school history. A search will begin in cooperation with the men’s coach Jon Forsythe for a chaplain replacement to serve in the future at Moody.
We pray that God’s will and plan be plain to Pete in the coming time and thank him for his service to Moody Bible Institute Men’s Soccer and Soccer Chaplains United.
The start for 2019 is off to a fast and furious pace, with the panel that I was able to be part of just a few days into the new year. The annual, United Soccer Coaches convention was the occasion for me to be share insights as a Major League Soccer chaplain on a panel dealing with the topic of character. The panel was comprised of a few other members that I’ve come to know throughout the years including Ben Dudley (representing Positive Coaching Alliance), Adam Smith (Head Coach of USL-Championship side Fresno FC), Caroline Stanley (Coach at University of Tulsa), and moderated by Jordan Angeli (Broadcaster and commentator with the Rapids).
Adam Smith, Ben Dudley, Caroline Stanley, myself, and Jordan Angeli (left to right) pose for a picture before the panel begins.
There were, by some accounts, a little over 100 coaches in the room for our panel. The bulk of the room was made up of youth and collegiate coaches, with a scattering of others in different roles. Once the introductions were done, we dove into questions for each of the panelists — including defining character and also presenting some situational moments for those attending to think through. There were also some great Q&A as several coaches asked about how to implement character and build up resiliency with their players.
Even through there was familiarity amongst the panelists, there was a little room for debate and disagreement. In particular, I responded strongly to Ben’s statement that sports build character. I stated a strong case for sports revealing character, not necessarily building character — that the processing and shaping of character coming as parents, coaches, chaplains, etc. help an athlete understand their sports experiences.
Caroline Stanley (center) shares some of how she creates character-shaping moments as a coach at the collegiate level.
While most have asked, “How did the panel go?” my main hope is that we (Soccer Chaplains United) have shown well in this first panel. Hopefully, more discussion on the subject of character will continue in the years to come. Character is a critical issue whether examining the sport of soccer from a Christian or non-Christian worldview, whether secular or religious, as well.
I had a couple of Christian coaches come up to me after the session saying,
Thank you, I have always struggled with integrating my faith and my coaching in a positive way that won’t turn people off or call me into question.
I certainly, too, tried to make a case for coaches to consider utilizing chaplains or counselors as part of the team surrounding the team. It will remain to be seen if there are future opportunities for us to grow or if we will need to have a place at the table a little while longer. At any rate, we’ve begun and perhaps God will allow us to continue. There is a longer and deeper conversation to be had surrounding the topic of character.
In the United Soccer Coaches charter, character is stated to come first. But as you can see from the image below, charters and values are difficult to not only message, but also to live out. In some ways, our room ought to have been filled to overflowing because even on a basic level, many coaches in the game are faced with the tremendous issues of character amongst their athletes and staff.
Special thanks to those encouraging and supporting us to be part of this year’s convention. We look forward to seeing what opportunities, God creates for us going forward.
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