Become Good Soil

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadIt has been said, "The lives of many rest in the courage of a few." How are you becoming the kind of person to whom God can entrust the lives of others? How are you becoming the kind of person to whom God can entrust his Kingdom? In this third episode of a three-part series, I take us deeper into a Become Good Soil Intensive, where we are invited to participate in portions of a guided session inviting more of us to belong to more of God. We are now accepting applications for the upcoming Become Good Soil Intensives in Colorado and Australia in May of 2017. Deadline for complete applications is November 15, 2016. To learn if you qualify to apply and to find out more about the message of Become Good Soil, go to www.RansomedHeart.com/BecomeGoodSoil. Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadIn part two of the three part series, we venture behind the scenes into a sacred space where sages of the great nation of Australia offer their counsel at a Become Good Soil Intensive in New South Wales. I want to invite you to savor some wisdom from the ancient path. We are now accepting applications for the upcoming Become Good Soil Intensives in Colorado and Australia in May of 2017. Find out more Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadWhat astonishes the heart of God? In part one of this three-part series, I want to invite you behind the scenes into a session at the heart of the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive in Colorado. We are now accepting applications for the upcoming Become Good Soil Intensives in both Colorado and Australia in May of 2017. Find out more.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It was a shimmering rehearsal dinner, the headwaters of which were most certainly in Eternity. The choicest wine flowed, but even more, the choicest stories: stories of daring, risk, and deep redemption. Family and friends honored Abbey and Shaun with words of profound affection, honor for obstacles overcome, and the kind of faithful knowing and seeing that forms the texture of our deepest longings. In the transcendence of that evening God spoke five words that would change our lives forever... -This podcast is available in written form. -Want more? Dive deep into this Kingdom reality with additional resources.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadIt all started with a lawnmower, a skateboard, a women's clothing magazine, and a set of flip flops.What if play is God's idea and is at the epicenter of Kingdom living?(A version of this podcast is also available in written form.)

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. -Matthew 13:44 In the sunset of his days, D. L. Moody realized that the catalyst for the deepest portion of his conversion was this sentence spoken to his soul by a trusted sage: The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to him. – Henry Varley (quoted in A Deeper Experience of Famous Christians) This quote equally entices and disrupts me. How much more is available in communion with God than I’ve glimpsed or even remotely dreamed possible? How much have I taken for granted as “normal” in the life of a Christ-follower that is painfully less than what is available? How much am I willing to set out again in search of a treasure whose worth would prompt ecstasy, and in the wake of the encounter, the desire to sell everything in order to possess it would be my unforced response? Surely this treasure is the invitation to share in the Life of the Trinity, and if I could only see both the invitation and the sensual grandeur of the Life of God for what it is, unforced and total consecration would be my ever-increasing response. There is a woman I know whose heart has long been set on pilgrimage to search for this kind of vision of God. She is the woman with whom I share my children, my body, my dreams, and my life. And in her search, she has glimpsed a God who is first searching for her. Of the many impacts of her life upon mine, she embodies the words of Simon Tugwell, as John quotes in The Sacred Romance: “So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about—He is looking for us.” In response to a glimpse of the Treasure, I am witnessing her process of selling more and more to possess it. After fifteen years of life together, we met up in the studio, pressed “record,” and dove into our first-ever shared podcast.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download This episode of the Become Good Soil Podcast is a reflection I wrote after ongoing ventures in recent years through The Message paraphrase of Matthew 21:12-18, the passage commonly referred to as “The Clearing of the Temple.” My hope is that it might help us thirsty ones peel back the glaze of over-familiarity and experience the scene afresh, as we find ourselves among the crowds in the Temple on that day. Once you've listened to this episode, I suggest you return to the text again as captured by The Message in Matthew 21:12-18 and immerse yourself in it. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus afresh. Ask to see him even more truly as he is so that you might offer him your consent to become like him, as he is making possible, in this hour of this day. Enjoy the blog version of this podcast here. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Strength and Honor, Morgan Matthew 21 (MSG) When Jesus neared Jerusalem...Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: “Go over to the village across from you. You’ll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you’re doing, say, ‘The Master needs them!’ He will send them with you...” The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!...” As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?” The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.” Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves. Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them. When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?” Fed up, Jesus turned on his heel and left them and the city for Bethany, where he spent the night. Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. More on Styles of Relating More on The Final Week of Jesus More on this "Wild, dangerous, unfettered and free" Son of God... Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge Beautiful Outlaw Video Series by John Eldredge The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey The Great Omission by Dallas Wilard Mediations on the Parables of Jesus, by Thomas Keating Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Comedy, Tragedy and Fairytale by Frederick Buechner

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadEugene Petersen, author of The Message, makes this observation: The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. More often than not the mess that we make of our lives can be traced to the failure in one or both of these areas. Sages have a capacity to see our lives illuminated with a glow that can only be appreciated through the view of many decades to come. From victory and defeat, agony and hilarity, they can help us see clearly the dangers we might not see that create a life that is simply not sustainable. How do we choose a life whereby we become the kind of men who can not only finish well, but genuinely enjoy our lives and the people around us in the midst of our days? How is it that the things that matter most for many men are the very things that, over time, are discarded as casualties of war? Join Reese and me as we pick up on the second part of a two-podcast series. If we are to truly come to this with sincere curiosity, honest consideration, and a willingness to not settle for less, it has the possibility and the hope to transform our lives for eternity. If you haven't listened to Part One, I recommend you start there. Strength and Honor, Morgan Below is a quote I reference in this teaching drawn from Dallas' words in The Divine Conspiracy: Jesus’ enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak, to heal and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what He brought and what He still brings to ORDINARY human beings, living ordinary lives and coping in their daily surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness He gives us strength and imparts through His companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadI've lost the ability to bullshit. It's the me I've always wanted to be. It's one of my all-time favorite film quotes, spoken by Jerry Maguire as he sheds the Poser and becomes more and more the kind of man to whom God can entrust His kingdom. The film is a modern parable of a transformational process being made available to us every day. Of the men I’ve encountered, few have become the kind of man who embodies these words more than Reese Bricken. Join us in part one of a two-part dialogue where we risk putting words and questions to what we often feel but rarely talk about, exploring together what it means to keep company with the living God and learn to live freely and lightly. Morgan Make a movie night out of Jerry Maguire to see what shedding the Poser might look like. For more on the True Self as considered in this podcast, check out The New Name – Going Deeper.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It was Dallas Willard, in The Divine Conspiracy, who suggested, Jesus’ enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak, to heal, and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ORDINARY human beings, living ordinary lives and coping in their daily surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness he gives us strength and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity. In this second podcast of a two-part series on the Predominant Styles of Relating, we begin by taking a deeper look at how Jesus moves fluidly with both authority and love in all three styles, not out of habitual reaction but rather divine response. We then move straight into honest application as Alex, JD, and I host a raw dialogue that is both painful and hopeful. If you haven't yet listened to part one, start there. Both podcast reference exercises. Access those here. Take the time. Do the work. It'll bring more and more life for you and those you love. Jesus, I long to have a life that, like yours, cultivates a "quality of eternity." I ask that you would increase my awareness of what it is like to relate to me. What is my effect on people? What is my impact? What are you revealing? I am asking for your supernatural revelation and insight. I give you permission and access. Lead me into the deep waters. I want more. Amen.