Become Good Soil

The fundamental human experience is that of compassion. – The Hero's Journey Friends, A wise man once said that a warrior's true mark lies in his capacity to treat his own heart with compassion.  Sam Eldredge is a brother and friend who is leading others to become true warriors and kings out of his unique recovery of the Gospel. He’s been quietly and faithfully working toward becoming an increasingly initiated man. As one mentor suggests, Sam is among a like-hearted few “steadily being initiated into his true self, initiated into the flow of Reality, initiated into the great patterns that are always true, initiated into the life of God.” From his reservoir of initiation, he’s helping others recover the path as well. Sam is a brave and loving husband and father who recently established Noble Workshops, an outpost of the Kingdom offering counseling and five-day immersive workshops to help heal and integrate the human soul. Join me as we dive into Part 1 of Sam’s story.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

It starts with God. – Proverbs 1:7    Friends, A wise man once told me, “More is better. Except when it’s not.”  We can see this in our spiritual formation. The myth of more has co-opted even the ancient practices meant to root us in the Kingdom of God. More teaching. More study. More content. More events. More healing. More….of everything. Yet more is neither the point nor the prize. As our older brother Jesus winsomely announces, “God alone is good.”  Jesus reminds us that there is treasure along the path of his Kingdom more valuable than all growth, transformation, ministry, and miracles. It is the treasure of God himself. What if the invitation today is to simply enjoy the gift and opportunity of friendship with God? What if God himself is the point and the prize?  What if the goal is simply being with God, enjoying his personality, presence, and outrageous affection…and nothing more?  Come along. Let us enjoy God, together.  For the Kingdom, Morgan Find out more about Denver Seminary's Praxis.

The only tragedy greater than the deep fatherlessness our soul experiences is that we have come to accept that sense of fatherlessness as normal. Friends, It's been written that “when there are no kings, young warriors become brutal, magicians behave as charlatans, and lovers are soon addicts.” But what happens when there are no sages?  It’s a question entangled in pain yet brimming with possibility.  In our fast-paced, ever-changing, hyper-individualistic landscape, we find endless content: many experts, loads of pep-talkers, and infinite curricula to re-engineer the smallness. Yet the masculine soul remains starving for connection…connection to men who have gone before us, connection to men who have confronted suffering, life, death, and loss and have come out the other side with hearts alive and living generously for love.  The masculine soul craves the wisdom and joyful rest of the sage’s presence. Rest and wisdom are critical for the young man to become who he is meant to be.  Brett Davis has become a sage. In my life and the lives of countless others, he is bringing a sage’s presence to the next generation.  Having founded Christian Surfers International over forty years ago and led it since, Brett has received his next promotion. Entrusting leadership to the next generation, he has stepped forward into a new season of offering loving engagement to those God brings him as a wise man of peace. He’s a risk-taker, father, surfer, husband, friend, and leader. He’s become a Sage.  And he’s inviting us to come along.  Join me in the lineup, trusting we need only ride the wave given to us to live more freely and lightly through the winsome care of the men ahead. For the Kingdom, Morgan P.S. If you want to explore more on the Age of the Sage, prayerfully engage this PDF compiled by Brett Davis: The Age of the Sage.

Above all else, trust in the slow work of God. Friends, Jesus modeled and taught a scandalous and inviting life of prayer.  In the morning, long before dawn, he got up and left the house and went off to a lonely place to pray…  (Mark 1:35) “Find a quiet, secluded place so you won’t be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.” (Matt. 6:5-15 MSG) The invitation of Jesus into this sort of intimate prayer life is a radical path of discipleship.  And I want to suggest that discipleship is the path back to secure attachment to the heart of God.  Daily prayer as a practice of presence paves this path and can slowly and steadily root us deeply into God.  But where to start?  How to continue?  The Daybreak Prayer is nothing new. Its heart is the foundational realities of our common faith collected together as a trailhead, a rallying cry, and an anchor for the soul.  It’s simple.  It’s powerful. And it's meant to be accessible.  Let’s pick up our communal path of prayer again as Cherie and I conclude this four-part series. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Pray without ceasing. – St. Paul Friends, It's been said, “Prayer is not about changing God, but being willing to let God change us.”  What if cultivating a practice of prayer that teems with life and connection with God is much less about what we do and much more about who we become?  Through a slow and steady practice of prayer, we are reformed into the kind of people who truly do pray without ceasing. Even more, over the decades of our apprenticeship, we become people whose very lives are an act of prayer.  Join Cherie and me for Part 3 of this Daybreak Prayer series.  We think you’re going to love it.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Prayer is never the first word; it is always the second word. God has the first word. – Eugene Peterson Friends, As we continue to explore the Daybreak Prayer, let us immerse ourselves in these God-initiated and God-sustained realities: Father, thank you that our story begins with you, and we will return to the restoration of all things.  We choose to trust that you love us with the same love you have for Jesus.  Therefore we will not give way to fear.   We agree with who you are. We agree with what you are doing. We agree with how you are doing it.  We ask for a revelation of your affection today.  We ask that you would make the impossible possible. Pause.  I invite you to reread these phrases again, but slower.  Linger with each line. Notice the impact on your soul.  Friends, I want to suggest that the truths of our Father’s heart and his Kingdom highlighted in the Daybreak Prayer beckon us ever homeward, reconnecting us to ground on which it is wholly safe to rest and live and move and have our being: We are in God’s life, and therefore we are fully and forever okay. We have enough.  We are enough.  We are loved.  It’s from this secure ground that Cherie and I invite you to come along into Part 2 of this series as we seek again to participate in God’s Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven.  For the Kingdom, Morgan P.S. If you want more, consider these resources to take a deeper dive into the Daybreak Prayer: Daybreak Prayer PDF Daybreak Prayer audio (male voice) Daybreak Prayer audio (female voice)

Cherie Snyder, an expert in prayer and spirituality, discusses the Daybreak Prayer practice, spiritual inheritance, neurobiology in discipleship, liturgical prayers with children, and the significance of this prayer for family dynamics. They share insights on nurturing faith in children, incorporating rituals in spiritual development, and balancing intentions in creating a spiritual environment.

There is no power in hell Or any who can stand Before the power and the presence of the Great I Am. – Jared Anderson Friends, Jared Anderson penned these arresting words over a decade ago. His song has become a rallying cry and a lifeline to Reality for the friends of God.  But behind the song is a story.  And behind the story is a soul.  Jared is a husband, father, risk-taker, and renowned soul-poet-musician. Serving in a megachurch during a time of heartrending fallout from failures of leadership and culture, he has traversed essential miles of his initiation. And he still has heart.  He still has God.  Deeper still, God still has him. In Part 2 of this studio session and conversation, we consider the intersection of Jared Anderson’s hidden life and the years of becoming a wholehearted leader in the Body of Christ.  Let’s take another deep dive together.  For the Kingdom, Morgan You can explore more of Jared’s work on Instagram and wherever music can be found.

The male must be taught "the tears of things" before he is given any power. Friends, The goal of masculine initiation is always God. It is not ultimately healing, though that comes as well. It is not even wholehearted maturity. Above all, the goal of masculine initiation is God himself. Though our Father’s aim is always to connect us more deeply to himself, the chaos, losses, failures, pressures, and complexities of our lives obscure the brightness of his good heart. So in the midst of seemingly incoherent pieces, our soul whispers, Where is God? What is God doing?  Why is this happening?  Where do I go? God, ANSWER ME.  In these bewildering moments, let us borrow faith and hope from a man who, in passing through his own initiation, has blazed a path for many to follow.  “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face, questions die away. What other answer would suffice?” Jared Anderson is a husband, father, risk-taker, and renowned soul-poet-musician. But it is his hidden and unique story that clarifies our central aim: to gaze into the eyes of our Father and discover who we are.  Let’s dive into Part 1 of this studio session and conversation. You can explore more of Jared’s work wherever music can be found. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least. – Goethe Friends, Years ago, as a father in the faith led a group of young, thirsty apprentices and me through a series of exercises and questions for our masculine souls, we came across this question:  What is your dream assignment in the Kingdom?  In other words, if you could be charged with any task, vocation, or work in God’s Kingdom, what would you love it to be?  My peers and I sincerely (and rather hastily) shared our responses: Author Life coach Film producer Professor Real estate agent Counselor Our teacher benevolently received the desires of our hearts.  He paused. And then he answered the prompt himself: “My dream is to become a grandfather.” You could hear a pin drop. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. He had my attention. The stark contrast between my peers' and our teacher's answers revealed a gap between our souls' unfinished places and the geography to which God was beckoning us. Somewhere in this man’s initiation, he had taken a radical path that transplanted his soul from the narrow field of self-centeredness to the vast open place of wholehearted others-centeredness. He had become the kind of man who had nothing to fear, nothing to prove, and nothing to hide. He had more than enough. And he had become more than enough, in and through the One who made him.  In a phrase, he was full, secure, and free to love with the unconditional generosity of heaven.  The Father is inviting us along a path to become this wholehearted. Join me for Part 3 as we conclude this series on the metanarrative of masculine love.  For the Kingdom, Morgan