This upcoming weekend, MLS Next Pro kicks off season three. Today, on the podcast, I am joined by special guests: Jubal McDaniel (chaplain to the Tacoma Defiance and Soccer Chaplains’ United’s very own Pacific Chaplain Manager) and Jonathan Hyde (chaplain to Chattanooga FC). Each of these guys is a volunteer chaplain with Soccer Chaplains United and serving a MLS NEXT Pro team. Today we’ll take a look at the 2024 season that lies ahead as well as some of the unique features and challenges for each of their teams. And because it’s Jonathan’s first time on the pod, we will get in a fun game of Crosses with Rev. From the Touchline is a short-feature (10-15 min) podcast with Rev

Is the chaplain a team’s good-luck charm? Does the chaplain somehow have some “direct-line connection” to God? What happens when both teams have a chaplain? What happens when the other team doesn’t have a chaplain and they win? What does this say about the chaplain, the team, or about God? We start off the pod with a short little audio clip from my away trip a couple of weeks ago. As I sat with the chaplains watching the game we exchanged some fun little banter and teasing (note: we don't really believe that the Lord hears our prayers over or above anything that isn't in His will or plan or purpose). Sometimes, though in sport, we can become extremely superstitious

Last week, Major League Soccer (MLS) kicked off — this week, most teams that were on the road are hosting their first home match for 2024. The same is true for the Colorado Rapids (my club) and in today's podcast, I reflect a little bit on the theme and idea of home. A few years ago, I read a wonderful little children's story entitled, The Trip to Panama. In it, two characters, Little Bear and Little Tiger set out to find the "land of their dreams." They end up making a round about circle and end up at home again, but it's in the journey that they undertake that the learn a lot about themselves, about what the "land of

As a volunteer chaplain entering my 23rd season with the Colorado Rapids, I have come to find an important rhythm to start a season. You might find it strange, but Deuteronomy 20 has become, for me, an important reference point as I bless athletes, coaches, and others involved in the Beautiful Game. If you're not familiar with Deuteronomy 20, in the spring time, the nation of Israel has the priests come out and bless those who will be engaged in defending and fighting for the lands need to sustain the people. As untrained, non-professional soldiers, Israel needed to depend upon God in the face of more powerful opponents and overwhelming odds. They needed to be reminded that God is with

It's a curious pairing that doesn't happen very often, but this year Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day occur on the same day. For 2024, February 14th will commingle Christian themes of repentance of sin with expressions of love and this may not be as strange together as it might seem at first! If you don't know much about Ash Wednesday, it is the start to the season of Lent. It is the day that kicks off 40 days before Easter (excluding Sundays). Lent is a season characterized by three Christian disciplines that help prepare one's heart to fully celebrate the awesomeness of the resurrection of Jesus. Valentine's Day, too, is an important day. Of course, today, it has been commercialized