Become Good Soil

C.S. Lewis was right when he summed up the dilemma of modern masculinity: "We castrate the gelding and bid him be fruitful." It's painful.  And it's true. Become Good Soil is committed to helping men find an alternative path—a narrow road—that doesn't "remove the organ and demand the function." Join me for a conversation with Jon Dale and Adam Paulsen, two of my peers, allies, and role models, as we consider what it looks like to become wholehearted men.  The conversation took some remarkable turns and concluded with an experience of the Father's love that was unplanned and simply remarkable.  And all of it was prologue to offer you a gift: a never-before-released remix of the older song "Hello Trouble," recorded by worship teacher and leader Adam Paulsen and featuring newly added Become Good Soil lyrics penned by poet/artist Erik Swenson.  All of us, graduates of the Intensive, are going after the more that God offers—and hoping you will join us for the adventure. We sure hope you enjoy this as much as we did. [powerpress] Hello Trouble is available at the conclusion of this podcast episode. To Download a single of the Hello Trouble Song MP3, right click on this link and choose "save as" or "download."

To every relationship, to every circumstance, at every given moment, we are either bringing our question or our strength.  Our search for validation and identity as men is the root of all that we do and all that we become.  This was at the center of a great conversation I had with Allen Arnold, Director of Content for our Special Ops team here at Wild at Heart.  Jeremiah was right: it's good, really good, to follow in the footsteps of men who have gone before us along the ancient road (Jeremiah 6).  I think you'll enjoy.

Dan Allender makes this bold suggestion regarding peer friendship in this decade: Find like-hearted kings living in the same direction. Sign treaties.  When one kingdom is at war, both are at war. Join me in a conversation with two "like-hearted kings" who have chosen to give a decade to Becoming Good Soil.  These men have chosen to fight for the hearts of their wives and kids and to become sons of God.  They also use their current avenues of work as sandboxes for the story line of this decade of excavation.  Aaron McHugh leads Work.Life.Play, an outreach to men in the marketplace. He also currently serves in a high level leadership capacity with an international software company.  Jon Dale serves as a consultant to businesses and ministries and also serves as our Director over IT Strategy for Wild at Heart.  Both men have lived the risk and rewards of the narrow road—choosing to Become Good Soil—for years now. This conversation about how God has fathered us through work, life, and play was a highlight of my year. [powerpress] If you haven't listened to Episode 001 of the Become Good Soil Podcast, I'd suggest you start there. In the conversation we reference Did Jesus Wear Flip Flops.  You might enjoy reading this blog if you haven't in a while.

Welcome to another Kingdom experiment.  This is the first episode of the Become Good Soil Podcast.  The BGS Podcast is a combination of interviews with sages, conversations among peers, teaching and more; all aimed at providing nourishment for men choosing a decade of Becoming Good Soil. By way of introduction to the heart of the message, this first podcast is a teaching from The Intensive. [powerpress]

For the eyes of the Lord search throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. -2 Chronicles 16:9Friends, As our fellow apprentice Matthew McConaughey once observed—albeit in delightful colorful terms:"We all step in shit from time to time. We hit roadblocks, we get sick, we don’t get what we want. We cross thousands of ‘could have done better’s and ‘wish that wouldn’t have happened’s in life. Stepping in shit is inevitable, so let’s either see it as good luck or figure out how to do it less often. … I’m not perfect; no, I step in shit all the time and recognize it when I do. I’ve just learned how to scrape it off my boots and carry on."One could scarcely find truer words to describe my dear and like-hearted brother, Dave Robison.Dave’s story is unvarnished and arresting - unorthodox, raw, at times heartbreaking, and yet - ever more radiant with the passing years. It is unique in its details and yet unmistakably universal, bearing the signs and waymarks of the initiation into wholehearted maturity every man and every woman must take. His tale is, in truth, echoes an immersion in God’s Larger Story.It is through this ancient, sweeping narrative in which his story and our own must recover its meaning. As the psalmist reminds us:“God is the country in which we live. He is our beginning and our end. He is where we are from, and where we are going. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit alone are the inheritance of our lives. God is the prize, our supreme delight, our everlasting portion. Our destiny, and its hour, rest secure in His strong hands.” - Psalm 16:5, BGSTSo come—walk a little farther down this ancient path. Allow Dave’s story of redemption to be another narrow gate to recover more of your heart. Join us in the laughter and the ache, as we enter another Spirit-breathed chapter of masculine initiation.For the Kingdom,Morgan