From the Touchline

As the Major League Soccer (MLS) season gets underway, former defender, Jared Watts (Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo) joins the podcast today to talk about own goals. An own goal in soccer can be one of the most devastating things for a player to have to go through in the course of a game — especially with the stakes being high. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, listen as Jared and...

Last week, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) sprang back into action with the kickoff of the second annual Challenge Cup series. Major League Soccer (MLS) begins league play this weekend with its teams set to kick off across the US. With both leagues preparing to begin their respective seasons with what will, hopefully, be a bit of a return to normalcy for professional soccer in Nort...

Next week, the Swedish leagues (Allsvenskan, Superettan, etc.) kick off next week with the women’s league (Damallsvenskan) beginning the week after. With the global nature of the game of football (soccer) there have been many athletes and coaches who have played both in the United States and Sweden — and in honor of the season start, Mattias Ottestig joins me on the podcast today to share a...

Today is known as Spy Wednesday. Coming in the middle of Holy Week, we are just days away from Easter, but tonight is the night when, according to the biblical account, Judas agreed to betray Jesus and disclose the disciple’s location so that the religious leaders could arrest Jesus. 30 pieces of silver. That was the price, that was the blood money that Judas took — the equivalent of paying...

In the wake of the shootings which occurred in Boulder, Colorado on Monday, March 22, 2021 one of the most difficult and penetrating questions that people ask is, “Where is God?” Where is God in the midst of suffering? Where is God in the midst of a shooting where ten people lose their lives? Today’s From the Touchline podcast is different. I almost didn’t record one. It wa...

With the start of the season only a few days away, Christ Presbyterian Academy (Nashville) Chaplain Ryan Doyle joins to talk about his faith and family journey and what’s ahead for the CPA Lions. Rev Ryan Doyle, a long time soccer coach with CPA, now serves the team voluntarily as chaplain, a role that he really relishes. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, listen as Ryan shares about...

Valor Christian High School Boy Soccer starts their season next Monday night. Soccer Chaplains United Chaplain, Greg Navitsky , who serves the team voluntarily, joins the podcast today for part two — sharing his soccer and life journey as well as his hopes and prayers for the Valor Eagles team. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, listen as Chaplain Greg shares more about his Liverpool A...

Boys high school soccer in Colorado is just about to kickoff from a delayed started going back to last fall. Valor Christian High School chaplain, Greg Navitsky , joins the podcast today to share about his soccer and life story in this, part one of a two-episode podcast. The From the Touchline podcast hosted by Rev Brad Kenney, features an interview with Chaplain Greg. Greg shares about how soccer...

2020 and 2021 have been difficult for college sports teams — seasons postponed, games canceled, college recruiting stopped, scholarships extended, and more. During such times, as coaches and athletes alike struggle with the every shifting, ever adapting changes it can be a vital space for a chaplain to step into and serve, and love, and speak truth. Well today, on the From the Touchline podcast, C...

Hoy es Miércoles de Ceniza y el momento en que la iglesia y los cristianos de todo el mundo marcan el comienzo de la temporada de Cuaresma y los 40 días previos al Domingo de Pascua.  Hoy, en el podcast From the Touchline, en lugar de hacer un podcast separado, simplemente tomé el audio (tanto en inglés como en español y lo puse en nuestro formato típico). Te animo a que consultes el ser...

Today is Ash Wednesday and the time that the church and Christians around the world mark the beginning of the season of Lent and the 40 days or so leading up to Easter Sunday.  Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, instead of doing a separate podcast, I have simply taken the audio (both English and Spanish and put it into our typical format). I encourage you to check out the recorded serv...

Caedmon had an interesting start to life — his desire and passion didn’t match his skill and ability. He wanted to sing. He wanted to recite poetry. He wanted to share in the communal musical and lyrical moments of his day. But he couldn’t. Couldn’t sing, he was off key. He couldn’t play the harp. To his shame he would run and avoid those moments which had become a hea...

In many places around the world, football season has already begun, but here in the U.S. and in a few other nations, the new season is yet to begin. Just last week Major League Soccer joined the other professional leagues in the U.S., announcing a tentative start date for the 2021 season. For years, prior to the beginning of a season, as a chaplain, I have stepped forward to bless — athletes, coac...

The consequences of sin are some times the thing we fear most — no it’s not the confrontation or the confession — sometimes when that happens we feel lifted, lighter. It’s almost a relief when the truth comes to life. However, when we have the short and long-term consequences of sin that we have to face — those things can be painful, hurtful, and we might wonder if we will ev...

We all need truth-tellers in our lives — you know, a person who isn’t afraid to tell you like it is, ready to call you out when you start to go astray. And this can be hard — to be confronted with the truth. What is your response when that happens? Do you get defensive? Are you stoic and unwavering? Or, is there a sense of sadness and repentance when you realize you’ve sinned, messed u...

Have you ever sinned, or messed up really bad, and then you tried to “cover it up”? How did that go? How long until it was discovered or you were found out? How far down the rabbit hole did you go trying to cover up one lie or sin with another and another? My best mate, Fraser Keay, joins us during the month of January to share one of his published biblical monologues. He narrates a ti...

At what point do you and I become apathetic? Whether it has to do with our football, our family and relationships, or even our faith — we all face times in our lives when we lose sight and lose hope and become lazy and indifferent toward these crucial things in our lives. My best mate, Fraser Keay, joins us again during the month of January to share one of his published biblical monologues, t...

Have you ever thought to put Jesus’ disciples into a starting 11? What formation would you use? Would you put Simon Peter as a 6 or as a 9? Well, that’s just a little bit of the fun that we have with our special guest, Coach Brian Shultz on the From the Touchline podcast. Brian is the Head Coach for Valor Christian High School’s Boys and Girls Soccer teams. In today’s episo...

I said it last week — “There’s a lot of talent amongst our chaplains.” Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, Billy Cerveny sings and plays the classic Christmas carol, O Holy Night . Billy is volunteer chaplain with Nashville SC and the founder of Redbird in Nashville. Billy has been part of the Nashville music scene for many years before going into the pastorate and into cha...

There is a lot of talent amongst the folks that comprise the chaplain corps of Soccer Chaplains United. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I feature an original song composed and recorded by Benjamin Dudley, volunteer co-chaplain with the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer. Ben is the longest tenured chaplain with Soccer Chaplains United (going back to 2010) and part of his story and p...

This weekend, the Seattle Sounders and Columbus Crew face off in the 2020 Major League Soccer Cup Final. Well, it was 10 years ago, that I had the privilege to accompany the team where I serve as volunteer chaplain, the Colorado Rapids, to Toronto, Canada for the 2010 championship match against FC Dallas. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I reminisce and share a couple of memories that I h...

Last week, the devastating news broke, Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football legends in the game, died while resting at his home in Buenos Aires, Argentina. For Argentinians, Maradona was a national hero and, for some, a god. For a cadre of football stars around the world, Maradona was some to be emulated for his on the field skills and abilities and accomplishments. Yet, for many controver...

2020, unlike any other year in recent memory may prove to be the most difficult one yet to find much to give thanks for. But as we get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving in the U.S., we all might just need a little extra encouragement and help in just how to give thanks and some ideas of what to give thanks for. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I share three practices that can help shape our...

It’s my favorite time of year, again. Advent. This season and the lessons that we can learn and the hope that we can build has perhaps never been so important especially in the difficulties that we’ve undergone with COVID-19. I have shared before about Celtic Advent ( listen to last year’s podcast ). This season of the church which begins November 15 is a critical time for prepar...

Last year, on Saint Martin’s Feast Day (November 11), I created a special podcast ( listen to it here ) and shared Saint Martin’s story — the one where he famously cuts his Roman cloak in half and covers a beggar shivering from the cold. That famous story is the origin of our English word for chaplain. Today, on the From the Touchline podcast, I share another story of Saint Martin, on...