I can commiserate with Coach Lasso — not everyone comes from your same background and at times, in an honest attempt to support people, we can sometimes fail miserably. In today's Lesson from Lasso, we are reminded of the sensitivity that we must often approach people with because "not everyone is fond of the American military" as we come to learn from star defender Sam Obisanya. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, in lesson 16 of our Lessons From Lasso series, I look at the awkward, pre-game moment between Sam and Coach Lasso. Lasso tries to encourage Sam, but essentially has to walk back the attempt because it just doesn't suit him. I correlate this moment with a moment where

A few weeks ago, my friends, Dr Chad Carlson of Hope College and Dr Brian Bolt of Calvin University on their podcast Sport.Faith.Life ask the question, Would Jesus Play...Soccer? It's part of a new series whereby they are looking at some of the different sports that Jesus would have participated in back in his day and what about that sport Jesus might have liked and what he would not have liked. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I look at each of the reasons that Chad and Brian offer and then I offer a few of my own — on why I believe Jesus would have played soccer. And I can definitely say that I think Jesus would have.

All around the world, one thing that is perhaps as common as the love of the Beautiful Game is a desire for peace; a desire for safety and security — and sometimes football affords us a sense of this in the confines of the game. But in the elite levels and the business practices in the football industry, there's a lot of fighting, back-stabbing, and more that goes on. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, in lesson 14 Rev Brad looks at Ted Lasso's "gift" of a little plastic green army man and the hopeful representation that somehow it will afford a type of protection from the wild and dangerous side of football. Peace is something that we all

Personalities play a massive role amongst a football team — whether the elite athlete or the magnanimous manager. And the football locker room isn't necessarily a friendly place for the timid or meek of the earth. So what kind of personality do you bring to football? Have you ever done a deep dive into how you are wired? Or, have you ever had to assemble a team or work with some "larger-than-life" personalities in your work place? Ted Lasso, the immensely popular streaming TV show in its second season on Apple TV+ features the antics and quirky, 'Ted Lasso' character brought to life in his own TV show series. Lasso first appeared a number of years ago as a comedic

Cristiano Ronaldo's return to Manchester United has started with a bang! Three goals in two games, a social and journalistic media frenzy, an all-time record for number of shirts bearing his name and number being sold and Untied fans around the world excited to see his return. Homecoming stories are some of the best stories aren't they? We see homecomings on social media and even read about them in the Bible — the return of the ark of God to the people of Israel under King David's reign brought about tremendous rejoicing. And Jesus tells us a parable (a story) of a lost son finding his way home to his father and his family after being a long way away.