Become Good Soil

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download How we relate with other people is one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual maturity. This was the counsel offered by an older, wiser man years ago as he helped untie the knots in my rope and my marriage. One tough conversation began the beautiful and life-changing process of understanding how our predominant style of relating shapes all the relationship in our lives. God is after the wholehearted integration of a person. This podcast is part one of a two-part series where we take some risks and offer our vulnerability with the hope of partnering with Jesus in both His disruption and His enticing us into an ever more wholehearted integration of our souls. After listening, click here to find the exercises referenced in this podcast.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download "Deep calls unto deep..." the Scriptures suggest (Psalm 42:7). There is in every moment of every day an accessible onramp to the narrow road that leads to Life. Often the onramp is hidden in the ache and longing to ever more wholly experience life as a son.  And when we pause and let this ache rise, we begin to sense the voice of our Father: His deepest provision tirelessly, freely, joyfully calling unto our deepest need. In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton suggests it this way: Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. Could it be that our Father is "younger than we"? Could it be that, eternally unwearied, He turns toward you and me, setting his gaze exultantly upon our hearts as sons, and offers us again and again a way to real and lasting life? First offered at the Become Good Soil Intensive, this is perhaps the most important message I have had entrusted to my care. With joy, hope, and deep anticipation, I invite you to savor it and to risk opening your masculine heart to the more the Father is making available to you today. Click here to download this Podcast as an 11x17 PDF Poster. Click here to experience this content in the written form of a recent blog post. Hungry? Courageous?  Want even more?   Click here...

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download C.S. Lewis, in The Problem of Pain, once said this, What can be more a man’s own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him? And what shall we take this secrecy to mean? Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the Divine beauty better than any other creature can. Every time we encounter the Living God in a deeper way, we are given another glimpse into the reality of who we are uniquely to Him and who He is uniquely to us. For each of us is invited to call upon Him personally as the The One Who Names Me. George MacDonald, in An Anthology, says it this way, The giving of the white stone with the new name is the communication of what God thinks about the man to the man… (Rev. 2:17) The true name is one which expresses the character, the nature, the meaning of the person who  bears it. It is  the man's own symbol—his soul's picture, in a word—the sign which belongs to him and to no one else. Who can give a man this, his own  name? God alone. This podcast is drawn from a session on The New Name that I offered at a recent Wild at Heart Boot Camp.  I pray that it will strengthen you in your inner man as you come to know and believe more deeply who you truly are to God. Click here to find more resources associated with this teaching...

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It is rare that we pause and pull back far enough from our daily life to observe and wonder about the who we have and have not yet become. At Wild at Heart we produce a weekly podcast, and Craig and Allen recently invited me into the studio to reflect on how we've each changed over the last decade. It was the first of a series of rich conversations that led us into some core ideas, hopes, and desires that have come to shape us as we pursue lives ever more true and ever more deeply lived in God and his Kingdom. We wanted to make that episode of the Wild at Heart podcast available to you. We strongly encourage you to check out the Wild at Heart podcast. You can find that and more through the Wild at Heart app.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download The soul searches for a Father. It was John Ortberg who put those words to me in a way so succinct it cut to the core. I see it in nearly every action of every day. Every reaching. Every ache. Desire reveals design.  Design reveals destiny. It is the intention of the heart of our True Father that we would become sons in ways beyond what we could ask for or even imagine. That's why George MacDonald offers this invitation: "Since we are the sons of God we must become the sons of God." It is available. For the first time, my wife offered a session at a recent Captivating retreat on receiving the heart of the Father.  While it was a session offered to women, as I soaked in it, I found my heart responding to yet another deep and vast portion of the Father's love pursuing me. We offer it to you as a gift and a promise that there is more. Endnote: This would be a great bridge to share with your wife and invite her into becoming a daughter more deeply than she has known.  If you want to step into her world of becoming a daughter even more, watch The Little Princess for a date night as part of going through this podcast.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download For centuries, Celtic Christians have identified a "thin place" as a location where the veil between heaven and earth becomes especially sheer; a place where the unseen reality of God’s Kingdom is made vivid to the senses; a place where the Presence of God is unmistakable as it rouses the deepest spaces within the human heart. I can't recall a conversation with a sage that suspended me in a thin place for as long a sacred period as this one. John is a hero of mine and of many who was given a terminal diagnosis nine months ago: his cancer had returned with vigor, having spread into his lungs. He had already journeyed nine years with cancer, endured seven surgeries and multiple rounds of chemo, and at this juncture he felt the quiet, stirring invitation to choose quality of life over further medical intervention which, at best, could only delay his death. A physician himself, John said yes to living the fullness of life on behalf of those he loves, for however many more weeks and months he is granted. (more)

There are few men I respect more than Dave Tolman. He is one of the giants who served as a sage and guide at the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive.  I had a rare chance to turn on the microphone and record a conversation with him that I think you'll enjoy.  Dave is a Kingdom strategist. It's been said that a good king cares far more about your heart than he does your gifting.  And it has also been said, "The activity of love is to make space for another person to be totally themselves." Dave is that kind of leader and that kind of king.  He has that kind of impact on the men under his leadership. He serves in many leadership capacities, from serving as a key Director of a denomination of churches throughout Australia to leading a big team over one of the most vibrant conference facilities in Sydney.  His passion is ministry to families, and he lives out that message personally with his ridiculous holidays in the Aussie bush with the family in a pop-up trailer for six weeks at a time.  In this conversation, I had a chance to lean into his many years of wisdom in the category of mentoring—and much more.  Enjoy.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download A few thoughts on discipleship from Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard to begin: Who teaches you? Whose disciple are you? Honestly. One thing is sure: you are somebody’s disciple.  You are learning how to live from somebody else. There are no exceptions to this rule, for human beings are just the kind of creatures who have to learn and keep learning from others how to live... It is one of the major transitions of life to recognize who has taught us, formed us, and then to evaluate the results of their teaching in us. This is a harrowing task, and sometimes we just can’t face it. But it can also open the door to choose other masters, possibly better masters, and one Master above all... The assumption of Jesus’ course of action for his people on earth was that they would live their lives as his students and co-laborers. They would find him so admirable in every respect—wise, beautiful, powerful, and good—that they would constantly seek to be in his presence and be guided, instructed, and helped by him in every aspect of their lives... Anyone who is not a continual student of Jesus, and who nevertheless reads the great promises of the Bible as if they were for him or her, is like someone trying to cash a check on another person’s account. At best, they succeed only sporadically... [God Himself suggests that] the one who hears him and does what he says accordingly builds the house of his or her life to be totally indestructible... And of course it is discipleship, a real-life apprenticeship to Jesus, that is the passageway within The Kingdom Among Us from initial faith in Jesus to a life of fulfillment….Accordingly, we must take a very careful look at discipleship to Jesus.... consider what it is to be a disciple of Jesus, how to become a disciple of Jesus and how to make a disciple of Jesus... But if I am to be someone’s apprentice, there is one absolutely essential condition. I must be with that person. …….. The daily structure of our life is precisely related to the results we currently experience.  If we truly desire a life of more—more of God, more of the internal and external fruit of His Kingdom, more joy, more hope, more courage, more strength—we must strategically direct our lives day by day, moment by moment, on a path that takes us deeper into the interactive life of God. The spiritual disciplines are the tools. Better said, our weapons. They aren’t some set of religious activities or a magic formula.  A discipline is “an activity within our power that we engage in to enable us to do what we cannot do by direct effort.” A spiritual discipline simply postures us to receive the living water of the Life of God. It is an activity we engage in to ingest the bread of heaven offered by the only One who can truly feed our souls and generate his life within us. Daily, personal worship is not only one of the primary disciplines, it can be one of our most strategic weapons. You only learn by practicing. Like most good things in the masculine journey, there is no shortcut and no substitute for miles on the odometer. …….. Adam Paulson is a dangerous man in every good way.  I have happily consented to be his student in the arena of worship. And through that consent in this decade of becoming good soil, I have grown in my capacity to access the heart of God through the daily spiritual discipline of worship in ways beyond my wildest dreams. I had a rare privilege to have some time with Adam to hear more of his heart on worship. Adam partnered with us to produce the updated Hello Trouble Single as part of our Hello Trouble Podcast and Castration blog.  He spends much of his time directing and developing worship for Toth Ministries. In a desire to invite men like you to go adventure deeper into God's heart together, Adam and I turned on the recorder. I think you'll enjoy this. Over the last several years I've put together some powerful playlists for our nourishment as sons and as warriors of the Kingdom.  Click here to access those resources, which are found in the Dig Deeper section of BecomeGoodSoil.com. At the end of this podcast, we entered into an impromptu worship time.  Below is a link to have that worship set as a stand-alone, apart from the podcast.  Once you've enjoyed the podcast, you may want to return to to the worship set as a new weapon in future days. To download the live worship, right click on this link and choose "save as" or "download." Enjoy the podcast.  Link below: [powerpress] Note: Several of the songs from the live impromptu time were originally recorded by Will Reagen and United Pursuits. You can find more of their worship here.

"Never let the truth get in the way of a great story.” – Craig McConnell Nearly a decade ago, I had the privilege of seeking wisdom from Craig McConnell, a man who's seen many miles, fought many wars, and conquered death more times than I can recount. It was an even greater privilege to circle back with him on another conversation, this time recorded for the benefit of other men like you.  Join us as we explore the profoundly deep implications of how we relate with others, how we embrace the decade of excavation, and how we grow in this decade of character over kingdom. In this conversation Craig references a powerful book, Addiction and Grace.  I strongly recommend it as well. Here's a link if you're interested in going further. Craig also references his original counsel to me on the eve of this decade.  Like great scotch and like my brother, uncle, and friend Craig, it has aged well over time.  I include it below for your benefit, praying that the Father would have gifts for your heart in it. As many of you know, Craig has been battling for Life and against the death of cancer for the last few years.  As you are encouraged and strengthened in this podcast, please stand with me in bringing God's Kingdom on behalf of Craig.  And Praying the full resurrection life of God to fill Craig's body, soul and Spirit.

An old, wise man, Jeremiah, suggested this: Go stand at the crossroads and look around. Ask for directions to the old road, The tried-and-true road. Then take it. Discover the right route for your souls. (Jeremiah 6) There are few things in which I find more life than asking older men the hard and holy questions, helping to illuminate the tried-and-true road. Join me for a conversation with a friend and hero, Bart Hansen, and together let's discover more of what is right for your soul and mine. (We captured this conversation as both an audio podcast and a video.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QRH0VFfyjxw&feature=youtu.be [powerpress]