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Saving Goals to Saving Souls: A Pro Athlete's Collapse, a 10-Year Recovery, and the World Cup

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Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Jesse Bradley was living his childhood dream — a pro soccer career after Dartmouth — when a malaria drug taken as prescribed turned toxic and cost him a decade of his life. What that decade exposed was an identity built entirely on performance.

Keith Koo sits down with Jesse — senior pastor at Grace Community Church in Seattle, chaplain to the Seattle Sounders and the U.S. U-20 national team — for a conversation about:

  • Why performance-based identity is "a cruel trap" — and especially easy to fall into in the Bay Area
  • The shift from performance to grace, and the security that comes with it
  • "The power of the second thought" — a practical habit for the days the negative voice won't quit
  • The World Cup as mission field: 21M+ people reached this tournament through Victory Beyond the Cup
  • Why the youngest generation wants backbone and authenticity, not a play-it-safe faith

The question to sit with: what are you building your identity on — and could you lose it?

New episodes weekly — subscribe wherever you listen, and join the conversation at xtalents.com." 

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