Did Jesus Play Hockey?

Dear SoupFriends, 

Greetings from the SoupMan! 

Did Jesus play hockey? I’m thinking He did not. The Bible mentions nary a word about hockey. Was Jesus thinking of hockey when He said “Go out into all the world and spread the Gospel?” Hmm, maybe but we can’t know for sure.

We do know from the Bible that Jesus was very creative. You heard about that turning water into wine thing, didn’t you. Or how about multiplying the loaves and the fishes. Or maybe that day He walked on the water. All pretty creative and unique stuff from any perspective. I think it’s safe to say that in many ways Jesus was quite unconventional.

So following His lead the SoupMobile has a 10 year history of being unconventional. But as Lon Ricker, the SoupMobile’s Director of Development says, "We aren’t unconventional ‘to be’ unconventional. We are unconventional because ‘we are’ unconventional." And why not? Jesus set the tone with being unconventional and we are just following his lead.



Soooooooooooooooooooooooo in that vein the SoupMobile did something recently that is a one of a kind event in the entire nation. Oh I know you’re probably thinking the SoupMan is going to start talking about the SoupMobile’s Annual Celebrate Jesus Christmas event in which we take 500 homeless men, women & children off the streets and puts them up at a fancy hotel for Christmas every year. Nope, not talking here about Christmas. And even though our Christmas event is truly a ‘one of a kind’ event in the entire nation for 8 years running, that’s not what I’m talking about in this blog.

Today I’m talking about Hockey. In a ‘one of a kind’ event in the entire nation, on March 3, 2013 the SoupMobile (in partnership with the Dallas Stars) took 200 homeless men and women to a Dallas Stars Hockey game. Yeah, can you believe it? TWO HUNDRED homeless to a professional NHL Hockey Game! And to make it even better, as the 4 huge gleaming busses loaded with our 200 guests pulled up to the arena at the Dallas American Airlines Center, there was a 100ft RED CARPET waiting for our homeless guests---just like at the Academy Awards. We called the event Jesus, Hockey & the Homeless!!!

One hundred SoupMobile volunteers also attended the event to fellowship with our homeless guests. It was a great afternoon of fun, fellowship and spreading the love of Jesus to the ones HE called the ‘least of these.’ And to make things even sweeter the Stars won the game 4 to 1. 

Special thanks to the Dallas Stars Hockey Team and their President Jim Lites for their amazing support of the event. Also my grateful thanks to Lon Ricker for running the event. Finally blessings to the 100 volunteers who took time out of their own busy schedules and came to the event to fellowship with our homeless guests.

Most of all, THANK YOU Jesus for showing us that it’s okay to get creative as we spread the Gospel---the Good News!

Click here for WFAA and CBS news coverage.

May the Lord Bless & Keep You & Yours.

Signed, David Timothy, a.k.a. The SoupMan