In football, soccer, many fans whose favorite teams are in the throes of relegation and promotion or playoffs, have their hopes dashed and come crashing to the ground. When the team doesn’t have a good season, there are consequences for going down into an inferior tier of soccer. When a team doesn’t produce any winners or any trophies, there are consequences for everyone involved.
In today’s Lesson From Lasso, we watch as Coach Ted Lasso confronts this attitude and cliché phrase that “It’s the hope that kills you…” which is articulated by several AFC Richmond fans and even the footballers themselves. We look at the Christian concept of hope and what hope in Jesus means, especially for those who are used to being let down before.
Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, Coach ‘Ted Lasso.’ Lasso first appeared a number of years ago as a comedic character as NBC purchased the broadcast rights to the English Premier League. Played by Jason Sudeikis, Lasso (as a coach) brings change to the difficult football (soccer) team that he has traveled overseas to coach.
In the ‘Lessons from Lasso’ series, I (Rev Brad) look at some of the different life learning points brought up in the show from a chaplain’s point of view.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (usually 10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LFL-art.png1040778Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2024-04-17 00:00:002024-07-08 23:44:53Lessons from Lasso — It’s The Hope That Kills You
In our last Lesson from Lasso, we touched on superstition and curse being overpowered by blessing. This week, we talk about how to handle and cope with devious deception that can happen in football.
There are many places in the Beautiful Game where there is the lure and temptation for something to be gained or achieved or received. What happens though when those promises fall short? What happens we get abused or hurt by the people in and around the game we’ve grown to love? Today on the podcast, I suggest that people in football consider the power of prayer, the place of faith and other resources that they may have to cope with dangerous deceptions around the game, and I encourage a steadfast trust. The words of God through the prophet Micah (6:8) are helpful reminders, too, for those of us in places and positions of influence and power.
Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show in its second season on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, Coach ‘Ted Lasso.’ Lasso first appeared a number of years ago as a comedic character as NBC purchased the broadcast rights to the English Premier League. Played by Jason Sudeikis, Lasso (as a coach) brings change to the difficult football (soccer) team that he has traveled overseas to coach.
In the ‘Lessons from Lasso’ series, I (Rev Brad) look at some of the different life learning points brought up in the show from a chaplain’s point of view.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (usually 10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer.
Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/LFL-art.png1040778Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2023-02-08 00:00:002024-07-08 23:54:23Lessons from Lasso — Fast, Fit, Fans of Football
The 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup is well underway away and Soccer Chaplains United has produced a devotional with themes of Advent and Christmas combined with football. For the next few weeks on the podcast, myself and author Jordan Medas will read one of the weekly devotionals for the podcast.
We encourage you if you haven’t purchased the devotional, it’s available on Amazon in Spanish and English and Portuguese. The links below are for the US AmazonSmile website where your purchase also helps our organization (if you designate Soccer Chaplains United), but if you have Amazon in or near your country, you can purchase it through there as well.
Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, Rev Jordan Medas reads the Halftime reflection for Week 4, entitled: Sometimes, Faith is All We Have. At some point in life, we exhibit some kind of faith — faith in a chair we sit in, faith in a plane that we might travel or fly in, faith in our teammates in soccer. Sometimes we have nothing else left but faith. And faith in God is key. Listen to today’s podcast to learn more.
From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev Brad Kenney, Founder and Executive Director of Soccer Chaplains United and Volunteer Chaplain to the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer. Rev Brad and occasional guests touch on various issues around the topics of faith, family, and football (soccer).
Also, don’t forget that you can listen in our app, SoccrChapUtd,in the Apple and Google store.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/World-Cup-Devo-ebook-cover-2.jpg15721012Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2022-12-07 00:00:002024-07-08 23:55:002022 World Cup Devotional — Faith
The BBC storyline reads, “Did this sleepy village stop the Great Plague?” Whilst the 2015 BBC story is merely a travel story about the small Derbyshire village, there is perhaps more to Eyam (pronounced “Eem”) that we might learn and apply to our modern-day Coronavirus situation. Especially for Christian persons, there are some important people and important lessons to learn from this tiny little village and its path through plague and hardship so many years ago.
By now, most of us have seen the match imagery of stepping out or removing one’s self from the path of a virus or disease. And, while, different countries and governments are responding differently to the spread of COVID-19, many are looking to the past for a path forward through uncertain and unknown times. There are lessons being revisited from the more recent epidemics of SARS, MERS, and Ebola. But let us go back some nearly 400 years ago, and learn from Eyam.
The Outbreak
I am no historian and it’s probably easier to go read the Wikipedia article on Eyam or visit the Eyam Museum itself. Suffice it to say, that this English village had an outbreak in 1665 when flea-infested cloth from London was delivered to the tailor of the village. A small village at the time, Eyam’s population of a little more than 350 people was decimated over the course of the two years of enduring the disease, some 267 people died. If you visit the village church, you can see the book where their names are recorded.
I snapped a picture of the recorded names of those who died during the outbreak while visiting St Lawrence parish church in Eyam in 2016.
The People
Most credit the decisive action of the town’s Church of England priest, William Mompesson, as playing a huge role in the village’s response to the Great Plague epidemic. Before social distancing was a popular catch-phrase, Mompesson and other town leaders decided to enforce a quarantine — no one in or out of Eyam. Mompesson and his wife, Catherine, sent their children (healthy at the time) to go live in Sheffield for the time being. William had actually wanted his wife to go, but she was committed to remaining at William’s side to help serve her fellow neighbors during the epidemic.
Catherine Mompesson’s grave, decorated with a wreath, stands as a reminder of Christian love and service in the midst of great hardship and loss.
History also records another name famous in Eyam — Elizabeth Hancock. She buried her husband and six children, over the course of a week, during the outbreak. The town leaders had established some ways to try and limit the spread of the plague including families burying their own dead and using a different gravesite, instead of the church graveyard.
Steps Taken
I’ve already mentioned some of the steps taken, but additionally, the village of Eyam setup boundary stones — as a way of warning and keeping people within a particular boundary and keeping outsiders from encountering the plague from the village, itself. Here, people from the outside would deliver different food and supplies and resources for the village without having to come in contact with the village. There were appointed times and deliveries.
Mompesson is also said to have filled a well with vinegar. This was primarily used for any trading that the townspeople needed to do. They would dip coins into the well to pay for the supplies, the thought was that the vinegar would kill off the disease and prevent the spread.
Each August, there are a number of “well-dressings” throughout the English country side (Peak district) where artisans use different local flora and natural materials to tell a story or paint a picture tied that town’s history. Pictured here is a well-dressing from Eyam, I’m not sure if this is the well that Mompesson poured vinegar into or not. There are a couple of wells in Eyam.
I realize that history will probably forever debate whether the steps taken by William Mompesson and others did any good, but for a people who did not have the technological advancements and resources of our day, you can see that they did what they thought was best to try and limit the spread of the disease.
The Lessons
So, what does this got to do with us anyway? I try to often connect what I write about to those persons of faith and also a connection for football and family. So let me share just a few lessons that I believe we see and learn from Eyam.
A Lesson of Love
Perhaps the greatest lesson that stands out to me is how several of the people of Eyam live out the texts of John 13:34-35, John 15:12-13 and I John 4:7-21. William and Catherine Mompesson choose to stay and serve their neighbors. Another minister, Thomas Stanley, was part of the efforts to lead and to serve. Even the “unofficial village gravedigger,” Marshall Howe — continued his service throughout the epidemic. In all that they did, recorded and unrecorded, seen and unseen, we can see and know that they did so out of love.
Jesus gives the “new command” in John 13:34-35, also known as the love command. That command, to love one another, cannot be simply made through mental assent. That command goes beyond “social distancing” and other personal safety precautions. The command to love one another is about sacrifice and it is modeled by Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice for each of us. And that love (that Jesus gave for us) rightly understood, motivates us to love others — not just in greeting card fashion, but in real, tangible ways.
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John 15:13, NIV
The lesson of love is a lesson for us today during the COVID-19 pandemic. Will history record this as a Great Plague? We do not know. That is not the point. But the response of Christian people during this time needs to be one of love. Love in practical ways. Love that serves fellow neighbor. A love that stays in the midst of the troubling times. A love that doesn’t exhibit fear or panic, but demonstrates the all-encompassing, peace of God.
Stained glass in the Eyam parish church tells the story of The Great Plague and it’s people.
Do I need to write out practical ways that this ought to happen? The loving thing to do may be keeping one’s self at distance, or respecting orders put into place (even if we might question effectiveness, etc.). Or, the loving thing may be leaning into a particular need, point of service or request for help. The loving thing may be paying wages to the one who is employed and under your care. Each one of us will need to listen carefully to God in the ways that we are to love during this time.
A Lesson of Hope
Within the history of Eyam during The Great Plague, there are lessons of hope that we can take away. We can see it within the lives of the village people and the actions of the leaders. The Mompesson’s sent their children away — they wanted their children to have a greater chance to remain healthy and to live life. They had hope that the plague would eventually pass and diminish. They had hope that life might carry on and the children could return. They didn’t know that they would never be able to say goodbye to their mother.
Elizabeth Hancock eventually left Eyam and went to live with a still-living son in neighboring Sheffield. The grief she carried with her was undoubtedly immense and many accounts said that she “fled Eyam,” but I think it important to see that she went to be with her son. She didn’t give up on life. She didn’t give up some sort of hope that life could still be had in the face of so much loss.
There are other stories — some less known — that exist as one simply walks down the streets of Eyam. Plaques outside of homes and tablets and memorials inside Saint Lawrence, tell the stories of others.
A plaque outside of one of the “plague cottages” of Eyam tells of the former inhabitants and their deaths. The memory continues on and they are remembered annually, here in 2016 with a colorful keeping of the front garden.
But there are two forms of hope that we see in Eyam — a hope for tomorrow and a hope for the future (eternal). Christian people must live and be people of the here and now and people of the time which is to come. We are travelers on this earth — but our hope and treasure (and eyesight) must be lifted higher to that time which is to come. To the eternal and to being with Jesus in heaven.
The boundary stones that Mompesson and others used to set the village apart were not going to be an impenetrable boundary for the rest of time. But they knew and believed that they needed to isolate and separate themselves until a later time. Even within the time of quarantine, the life and activity of the village didn’t necessarily cease — trade still happened, fields were still plowed, ore was mined, cotton and silk weaving was still happening.
Even love and relationship continued. Perhaps one of the tragic love stories of this time was between Emmott Sydall and Rowland Torre. Betrothed to one another, they continued to meet throughout the plague epidemic, but kept distance from one another — Emmott’s family having contracted the plague and not wanting Rowland to catch it as well. Their story is depicted in the stained glass image above (lower right corner) and has been revisited and told in various different media and forms.They continued to meet, continued to love because they held hope that the plague outbreak would pass and they could be together, again.
A Lesson of Faith
Also within the story of Eyam is a lesson of faith. During this time, it is said that the village turned to William Mompesson for guidance and leadership in response to the plague epidemic. I don’t know that many people in the world today are looking to the church — and this may be more culturally and time-nuanced, but Mompesson and Thomas Stanley took up the reigns of leadership. They demonstrated a faith in God and they exemplified this to the people of Eyam.
One such step of faith, was continuing to hold worship services throughout the epidemic. While the decision was made to hold services in the open-air as a precaution against putting the ill in too close proximity to those who were healthy, the decision highlights a simple truth: in times of physical sickness and disease, there is still a need for spiritual nourishment and refreshment.
The interior of Saint Lawrence parish church Eyam 2016. Empty as it would have been in the years of 1665 and 1666 when the church held worship services outside to try and prevent further spread of plague.
Mompesson and Stanley would have both likely been impressed with the words from Hebrews 10:23-25, which says,
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:23-25, NIV
This passage — mixed with words of hope and faith, serve as a reminder that even in the threat of disease or other times of difficulty and discouragement (for the recipients of the letter of Hebrews it would have been Roman persecution) that the people of God, the followers of Jesus need to keep gathering and getting together. They need to remind each other of the hope that they have that is beyond this world and all that it holds — this is an essential part of Christian faith.
Perhaps you, like me, have walked or driven by some large church building in the past couple of weeks. The building(s) sit empty for the most part — but this is not The Church! The Church is comprised of the visible and invisible — those true believers, in all the world, for all time. Part of the visible Church today is God’s people gathered, assembled for worship and mutual fellowship, encouragement, service, and spiritual growth . The Church is made up of people, not bricks and building materials (no matter how ornate or common).
In Closing
Friends — faith, hope, and love. The most important lesson from Eyam, the love shown and the love that we ought to show. If you are a follower of Jesus, if you are a person with faith in him, then the outflowing from that faith and hope and the love the we have received makes all the difference in the world and to the world. The result will be a bright shining in a dark world, a worthy example. It will be the way that the world, in the words of the hymn, “know we are Christians…by our love, by our love.”
I take a selfie in front of a historic, 8th cent. Celtic cross in the Saint Lawrence parish church graveyard. (Eyam, 2016). The cross reminds us of Jesus’ ultimate act of love — the giving up of his life to reconcile people back to God.
https://soccerchaplainsunited.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/eyam-2016.jpg960720Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2020-03-22 12:00:002020-03-23 14:24:21From the Rev: Lessons from Eyam
At the recent 2015 NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) Convention in Philadelphia, I was waiting in Starbucks for a meeting when I overheard a woman ask a friend to make introductions with a potential employer and influencer in the game. “Maybe if you could just introduce me,” she suggested, “it could open the door for me.” She was hopeful that her friend had enough influence and rapport to get an opportunity or an audience. As I reflected on the woman’s hopeful tone, I realized my own meeting was about an introduction – waiting to meet someone in the new USL-Pro franchise for Charlotte, the Charlotte Independence. I was, too, hopeful for good introductions and the beginning of a trusting relationship to help develop chaplaincy with this new organization. In fact, much of the the time at the NSCAA Convention and MLS (Major League Soccer) Draft, when we hold our annual chaplain meetings, is about making introductions and networking with friends and colleagues from years past.
Introductions: An Ancient Practice
The need for introductions is nothing new – as I walked away from my meeting that day and thought back to those moments in Starbucks, I was reminded of Paul and Christians in the ancient world. Without the modern resources of LinkedIn or Facebook to help make quick connections, people in the ancient world relied heavily upon references from others. Introductions from people were that were held in high esteem or had wealth or power or influence were highly sought after and desired. These introductions were often made by way of letter and were often carried on the person (like a passport or a wallet, today).
The earliest fragment of Philemon – Paul’s introduction of Onesimus back to his owner
Philemon: An Example of Biblical (Re)Introductions
An example of such is found in the biblical book of Philemon. Here, Paul introduces (or re-introduces) the slave Onesimus to Philemon. As far as we know, Onesimus had runaway from his owner Philemon. At some point, Paul encounters Onesimus, learns his story and sends him back to his owner – trying to make right or just the situation. Within the letter to Philemon, Paul uses several pleas and appeals to Philemon – recalling their friendship, recalling the favors that Philemon owes Paul, naming mutual friends, and offering to settle any financial debts that might be had.
It may seem odd to have the inclusion of such a letter in the Bible – the Word of God. I doubt that MLS or other major corporations keep historical records of the “introductions” that led them to particular player or opportunity. But for the church and the people of God this letter stands as a clear example for the power of introductions (and reintroductions). Paul’s appeals for these two men to love each other, forgive each other, to have restored fellowship and to engage in reconciliation are benchmark standards and goals for Christian believers throughout the ages.
Modern Day Introductions
Today, many introductions happen over a cup of coffee.
Fast forward a couple thousand years – whether in a grand convention hall or in a local Starbucks or church – we are still in need of introductions today. As a chaplain to the Colorado Rapids and as a Christian, much of my role is about making introductions – introductions that exceed temporal priorities and impact; introductions that have eternal and lasting benefits. As a chaplain, I sometimes introduce people into a local community or support network. Sometimes, I make introductions to resources or ideas that have to do with being a good father or husband. I also introduce people into places or disciplines that keep their mind and faith sharp amidst the pressures of professional life. And, the greatest privilege for me, is to introduce (or re-introduce) people to Jesus Christ and to his Church.
Friend, maybe you are reading this today and you need an introduction. I cannot claim to be a person of importance or influence, but I do know One with whom I can introduce you and it would make all the difference in the world in your life. I would love to make that introduction for you – please reach out to me and I will.
Blessings
Rev. Brad Kenney
00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2015-01-18 06:00:062015-01-18 06:00:06From the Rev: Introductions
Colorado Rapids fans hope the new year will see some different results on the field.
It’s a new year and with a new year, come new resolutions – whether a goal to lose weight, spend more time with family, become a better soccer player, or to win a championship – all sorts of things make our initial list to try and “resolve.” For the Colorado Rapids, they have some new year resolutions on the field and off the field. And, even for this Rev, there are a few “resolutions” that I have been considering myself. To be honest, though, I am not a big believer in making annual resolutions – unless they have some “SMART”-ness to them; SMART standing for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely.
New Year, New Resolutions Out of Control?
Of course, sometimes we make resolutions when things are really out of our control. Such is the case for New York City Football Club (NYCFC) who recently revealed that midfielder Frank Lampard, whom had been highly promoted as a premier player for the club, won’t join the team until July at earliest. The pundits and fans, alike, are up in arms about the “false advertising” that the team or perhaps, Major League Soccer (or maybe both) provided about Lampard. So maybe acquiring the player that you want isn’t the best new year resolution to make.
Of course, you could try and make it a priority to name your team as the franchise in Atlanta (set to begin league play in 2017) is attempting to do, but as Matthew Doyle (pictured right) writes, that might be harder than it seems.
Some of these names are trying a bit too hard, while a few others aren’t trying quite hard enough. And some are trying hard to appear like they’re not trying very hard.
Whatever the resolution, we may first want to ask our selves if we are attempting to control something that is really out of our control.
New Year, New Resolutions In Our Control
You don’t hear too many people make resolutions like these:
I resolve to depend more on others.
I resolve to rely upon God and not myself.
We do make resolutions that often are within some scope of our own responsibility and control. I recently entered a 20/20 challenge. Pay $20 into a pool of people working to lose 20 lbs. this year – unfortunately, the challenge began before Christmas and New Year’s so there has been difficulty with the amount of food and sweets that typical Americans eat during this season. While I have lost about 5 lbs. thus far, there is still a long “weigh” to go. While I don’t really see this as a New Year resolution – there are some similarities but more at issue has been how I got to be overweight in the first place.
Dereliction of Duty?
Call it absent-mindedness. Call it busyness. As a writer once said,
Gaining three pounds a year wasn’t significant. Until looking back 10 years…
There is a sense that we try to make new year resolutions about things that show we have been disobedient, poor stewards, or just simply lazy. I have a lot of excuses for my own weight gains – ministry, the children, getting enough sleep, not wanting to sweat, not being 20 anymore, and so on. But there is always a responsibility that we have – first to God, and then to others. Actually, the two are so intricately intertwined that we cannot separate the two.
I was recently gifted an exercise bike – that helps, especially in winter. But we still have to get on the bike – we still have an outworking responsibility. This is the curious thing about faith, too – we have a part in the growth (or death) of our faith.
New Year, New Faith Resolutions
Most people that I serve, struggle with their faith at some point or another at life. Maybe it is in the midst of crisis, maybe it is in the dullness of prosperity, other times it is in moment of unbelievability. This is nothing new. At one point in the gospel of Luke (17:5-6), the disciples of Jesus ask,
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
The faith to do – to uproot a tree, to live out a resolution, to accomplish a task – this faith doesn’t simply go or grow on its own. A mustard seed must be planted, watered, tended. So, too, our faith.
When I sit across from people who tell me that they’ve “lost God” or God “doesn’t exist anymore” for them, I sometimes ask when such a thing happened or where was the last place they “left him.” The loss of God (or faith, or a resolution) usually occurs when there is a departure from Him – they stopped reading the Bible, they stopped being involved in a community of faith or church, they stopped praying, they stopped believing.
Perhaps, in this new year of 2015 we ought to resolve to grow our faith – to start believing in God again, to pray once more, to start becoming involved again in a local community of faith, to begin reading His famous letter. Maybe, just maybe, we will then have the strength and the resolve to see the other things in life – things within and without our control – come to fruition. And, if we don’t, then at least we can settle for God’s peace about it.
Blessings,
Rev. Brad Kenney
00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2015-01-04 06:00:222015-01-04 06:00:22From the Rev: New Year, New Resolutions
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
/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.png00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2014-09-07 06:00:222014-09-07 06:00:22From the Rev: Character in the Dark
If you are part of the CrossTraining or Colorado Rapids community, we have been praying for a former player and his wife and their three children that were recently born. Today, one of the babies, a girl, died from complications. The other two are clinging to life in the neonatal unit and there are many prayers that are being said on their behalf and for this husband and wife. For my own family, we have wept tears in knowing that this couple have lost a child. In these times, as people of faith, we are confronted with the question of, What do we do with the enigma of unanswered prayers?
For some, unanswered prayers can become a breaking point of one’s faith. There are some that believe that the unanswered prayer is in some way due to one’s own fault – perhaps there was a lack of faith, or a lack of sincerity – or, there are many times, larger theological issues at stake – is there even a God? does He care? does he listen when I pray? does prayer really do anything?
While some of the questions surrounding prayer and its effectiveness or use are beyond the scope of this post, there are a few things that we can say affirmatively about prayer.
1. We are commanded to pray – this was modeled by Jesus, it has been a part of the religious life of the follower of God throughout all time (from Garden to grave), that we, as humans, would communicate and cry out to God.
2. There are specific ways and things to pray – unlike far east religions or new age philosophies, prayer is not merely just emptying to be filled by whatever comes to mind nor is it merely mantra-like or mechanistic chant. We have been given examples of prayer (i.e. The Lord’s Prayer, the psalms, etc.) that ought to be part of our own times of prayer.
3. What remains unchanged by prayer may not include ourselves – reread that one again. Essentially, even if prayers may go unanswered it does not mean that myself as a person will remain unchanged or unmoved. Sometimes God wants to change something within me and this often happens through prayer.
4. God is not constrained by our prayers – whether an issue of time, distance, or knowledge the limitations of our prayer are not limitations to God. Often times prayer is equated to “picking up the telephone” but if the lines are down or we don’t have cellular coverage, what then? That’s not how prayer works.
Where ever you may be in your own faith journey, let me encourage you to not give up on prayer. It may seem to you that there is no answer or the “wrong” answer has come – don’t give up. God does hear and He will show you and me more about himself through our times of prayer.
Blessings,
Rev. Brad Kenney
/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.png00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2014-08-17 06:00:392014-08-17 06:00:39From the Rev: Sincere Prayers
Dallas native and Colorado Rapids captain Drew Moor can’t head his team past Dallas in the latest Rapids loss.
The Colorado Rapids latest loss on Saturday meant the longest slump of the season with three losses in the last three games, and only one win in the last seven. While not the longest losing streak in recent times (a six game stretch during 2012), it comes at a difficult point in time for the team during this season with many difficult opponents yet to play. Slumps are not uncommon in sports – every athlete in every sport can slump at any time and sometimes it is difficult to get back into a winning or successful rhythm. Many athletes and organizations put a lot of time, money, research, and energy into overcoming the droughts that come in performance-oriented environments.
But slumps don’t just happen in sports. Slumps happen in other aspects of our lives, too. Whether it is in a career, a marriage, mid-life, or even our own faith – we all fall into those places where we find success difficult and we are filled with fear, doubt, depression, or worse. What does one do in those moments when there seems to be no relief? What ought we do when we go through those seasons of drought in our lives – whether we have a losing streak or just, plain seem to be playing the role of loser?
The Bible is replete with many examples of “slumps” or droughts that people go through – some literal (periods where the rain just doesn’t fall) and some more metaphorical (related to faith and belief). Below are couple of ways that we can respond to the slumping moments of life that we go through.
1. Help for Unbelief – One of my favorite stories in the Bible is when a father comes to Jesus and cries out, begging him to help heal his child. Jesus asks the father, “Do you believe?” To which the father responds, “I do believe, but help my overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:14-29). What I love about this particular story is the brutal honesty of the father – he realizes the limitations of his own ability to believe. There are many in our world who make a lot of money writing “self-help” books and developing personal psychology which encourage people to believe in themselves and to “dig deeper,” etc. When was the last time that you heard any of them acknowledge the spaces of unbelief that one has in life?
I know, personally, that for me in the greatest moments of unbelief and doubt that I have needed to rely on my faith in Jesus Christ to see me through those difficult moments.
2. Rest in the Midst of the Drought – The story of the prophet Elijah features a major drought and famine in the land. There is time when Elijah, hiding and on the run during the drought, was fed by the Lord by ravens (I Kings 17) and another time at the end of the drought period (I Kings 19) when an angel of the Lord cared for Elijah who was at the point of utter desperation. The vitally important reminder is that there are periods when we cannot go on in and of ourselves and we need to be cared for by others – especially in our faith. We need to receive Divine “assistance” and sometimes a direct touch from the Lord. Many times in the midst of the drought and slump as people we tend to try and “push through” or we change routines over and over until we can rediscover or find that rhythm or success. We fail, though, to rest in those periods and to realize the benefits of resting in the midst of the slumps of life.
During a period of unemployment after graduate school, I remember learning about my own need for rest. I was working hard several hours a day – resumes, job applications, online database searches, meetings, interviews – nothing seemed to be working. I was worn out – emotionally and spiritually, in many ways. I started to segment the time that I spent in the job pursuit and the time I spent with my daughter at home. I rediscovered creativity and life in those moments of “rest” from the job hunt.
3. Companionship on the road – The Bible has many stories of the beauty and strength of companionship. Ecclesiastes chapter 4, relates it this way:
9 Two are better than one,because they have a good return for their labor:10 If either of them falls down,one can help the other up.But pity anyone who fallsand has no one to help them up.11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.But how can one keep warm alone?12 Though one may be overpowered,two can defend themselves.A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Ruth and Naomi, David and Jonathan, the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, Elijah and Elisha – there are many examples of God providing special companionship for difficult roads and trials, seasons of pain and drought.
In my life, God has always managed to bring a close companion for the road that I needed to walk – whether through my school years or in ministry, I have shared a special bond with another person. They have been there to help encourage and lift me up while going through those “summer slumps.” They help reorient me and help me to see things from a bigger picture – that God isn’t finished with me and that I am not alone.
While just a few ways of coping with the slumps of life, I believe the above to be some of the best ways that God gives us help. I pray that if you are going through your own slump that you will lean upon the Lord. Trust him. Cry out to him. He knows you’re need and he will provide. May God get you through the “summer slumps” that you encounter in life.
Blessings,
Rev. Brad Kenney
/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.png00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2014-08-10 06:00:132014-08-10 06:00:13From the Rev: Summer Slumps
At the most recent Colorado Rapids home game, the club recognized the 5th member of the Gallery of Honor, current coach and former player Pablo Mastroeni. As a player, Mastroeni was the Rapids’ most decorated player – named to the MLS All-Star Team in his first seven years with the club (2002-2008) he earned Rapids MVP honors in 2007, 2008 and 2010. He currently holds club records for most regular season games played (225), games started (217) and minutes played (18,669), and served as the Rapids captain from late 2004 until mid-2013. His tenure as coach, just beginning, he has a record of 8-6-6 as of this posting.
Balboa, Bravo, Henderson, and Spencer are in the Rapids’ Gallery of Honor.
“It’s going to be one of those surreal moments, I’m sure.” “Those guys were influential in my development as a young pro and hopefully I will have the same influence on the next generation of Rapids’.”
In my pre-game time with some of the players, I reflected on the galleries of honor and halls of fame that we are usually accustom to in sport and compared those with the “Hall of Fame of Faith” that we find in Hebrews 11. Below is the portion of biblical text that I shared:
Hebrews 11:39-12:3 New International Version (NIV)
11:39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
There is something unique to this Hall of Fame of Faith that is unlike any sporting recognition – we are all invited into it. Hebrews 11 is replete with the famous of the faith and the infamous (compare Abraham or Moses to Rahab). And while the named (and unnamed) of Hebrews chapter 11 are commended for their faith – they did not receive what was promised because God “planned something better” that “together with us” (which we understand as the church invisible) we would all be made perfect.
God is calling you and me, to be part of this Hall of Fame, this Gallery of Honor. To be people who, filled with faith, live out our lives with distinction – it matters not what earthly accomplishments or achievements that we earn, it matters little what recognition or fame we earn. What matters is that we live out our faith and trust in God – through good and bad times, through times of success and times of failure because God is planning something better for us. He is planning something that, together, will see us perfected and champions for eternity.
May we be part people of faith that become part of that gallery of honor.
Blessings,
Rev. Brad Kenney
/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.png00Brad Kenney/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/SCU_Seal_Logo-300x300.pngBrad Kenney2014-07-27 06:00:292014-07-27 06:00:29From the Rev: Gallery of Honor
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