Good morning, friend!

I write today with some exciting news. Don’t worry – I’m not selling you anything or asking for donations. Just offering a few new free ways to light up your inbox.

You already get our award-winning news and features in your inbox daily, and our weekly roundup every Saturday. And if you’d like, we’ve recently added three newsletters to our roster that provide advice on leadership; faithful inspiration outside of church; and the latest news on Madison’s professional soccer scene.

Subscribe to the one that hits for you, or all three, or none – your call. Just reaching out to make you aware.

All the best,

Henry Sanders

Publisher & CEO, 365 Media Foundation

Leadership can be a difficult burden, and a brilliant opportunity to uplift yourself and those around you. Henry Sanders worked as executive vice president and the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce before being appointed as a small business advocate by President Barack Obama. He’s started several nonprofit organizations and has led Madison365 since its beginning more than 10 years ago. In “The Selfless Way,” he tackles misconceptions about what makes a good leader, draws from his own decades of experience, and imparts wisdom for anyone in or aspiring to leadership positions at work or in the community. Here’s a sample:

There is a moment that catches many parents off guard. The house grows quieter. The calendar opens up. A child who once needed rides, reminders, and reassurance begins making decisions alone.

Pride is present. So is unease.

For years you were needed daily. Your presence shaped the rhythm of the home. Then the dynamic shifts.

The change is healthy. It is also disorienting. After decades of being essential, the silence raises a question most people avoid:

Who am I if I am no longer required in the same way?

This tension is not limited to parenting. It follows leaders into succession plans and founders into transition. Anyone whose identity has been reinforced by usefulness eventually faces it.

Read the full column here.

Forward Madison, the city’s first professional sports team, has created an electric atmosphere and dedicated fan base since beginning play in the United Soccer League in 2019. Madison365 has been the only media outlet to cover the team consistently, and will be the only outlet regularly covering Rally Madison, the new women’s pre-professional team set to take the field for the first time this spring. The 608 Soccer Show podcast has connected the club with fans, highlighted players, and examined storylines since the 2021 season (under its former name, Talkin’ Flock). The newsletter will bring breaking team news as well as postgame comments, match recaps and weekly podcast episodes to your inbox. Here’s a glimpse:

In the lowest division of American professional soccer, roster turnover from year to year is to be expected.

It’s a bit unusual, however, to field an almost entirely new squad. But that’s exactly what Forward Madison will do as it takes the field this weekend for its eighth campaign in USL League One.

Only Derek Gebhard, the longest-tenured member of Forward Madison and the team’s all-time leading scorer, returns from the 2025 season. The rest of the 17 players announced to this point not only have never played in Madison, but have never played in the league.

But don’t call it a rebuild.

"We're looking at it more as a reload than a rebuild,” said head coach Matt Glaeser. “I think there's some foundations that we're pretty confident with just sort of structurally as an organization."

Following a ninth-place finish in a 14-team league, and winning just eight of 30 games, it was clear some changes needed to be made. A complete roster overhaul wasn’t the intention, however.

Read the full season preview here, and listen to this week’s podcast here.

Many of you attend church faithfully, but how can your faith manifest in your life between Sundays? Henry Sanders and other contributors offer deep, thoughtful, inspirational words to keep you focused when life gets hectic. Plus, we find good, uplifting news from around the country and offer discussion prompts for you to engage your family. Here’s a look:

Most people think love fights back by getting louder. By proving a point. By winning the argument. By striking back when it’s hurt. But the strongest kind of love I’ve ever seen doesn’t look like that at all. It looks like staying when leaving would be easier.

This column was inspired by one of my kids. She’s thirteen. Loves basketball. Admires Jesus deeply. Carries a 4.0 GPA. She’s the kind of kid most people would describe as quiet, steady, trying to live her life the right way. Not perfect. Just sincere.

This season, she was playing really well. Growing. Finding her rhythm. Then one play changed everything. She went down hard, grabbing her knee.

A few days later, we got the news no athlete ever wants to hear. A torn ACL. For those who know sports, you know what that means. Surgery. Rehab. Months of slow, painful work. A long road back. And then came the question that broke my heart: “Why would Jesus let this happen to me?”

I wish I could tell you I gave her some profound answer. I didn’t. I reached for the same phrases most parents do in moments like that. The familiar ones. The tidy ones. The ones meant to make pain make sense. But none of them landed.

What did land surprised me. I told her this. Jesus will be with you in the rehab. In the grind. In the long days when progress feels invisible. He knows your tears. He will not leave you. Every step of the way, He will be there.

That was the first time I saw her shoulders relax. Not because the injury made sense. Not because the road got easier. But because she realized she wouldn’t walk it alone.

Read the rest of the column here.