Become Good Soil

Pointing to his disciples, Jesus said, “These are my brothers and sisters, my true family. Whoever does the will of my Father is my family.” – Matthew 12:49-50 (paraphrase) Friends, As Dallas Willard reminds us, Jesus is the most brilliant person to ever live. His brilliance shines not only in the what of his rescue but also in the how. By becoming human, the Triune Creator not only redeemed our bodies, minds, hearts, emotions, and wills, he redeemed all our relationships, taking the brokenness of our intimate and consequential connections into the wholeness of the Family of God. In his incarnation, he comes to us as the Beloved Son of God and the True Older Brother to all humanity.   If the Family of the Trinity is the first template of reality, then Jesus’ inclusion of us into his Family moves reality forward toward its breathtaking conclusion.  As we observe Jesus engaging men and women, we discover a brotherly extension of love, care, and invitation from him.  Redeeming every dimension of siblinghood, Jesus undercuts competition, dismantles violence, and flies in the face of division—relentlessly treating people as his beloved brothers and sisters. And he is inviting us to do the same. What if all masculine and feminine initiation is to prepare our souls to fully and creatively participate in the Family of God?  Our Older Brother is generously showing us the way. Let's follow his lead together. Join Cherie and me for Part 2 of this conversation.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

The podcast explores the concept of Jesus as our older brother and the impact of having an older brother figure in our lives. It includes entertaining stories about a golf trip with valuable life lessons, a comical incident at a resort, and the bond between brothers. The speakers also discuss their longing for a brother, finding joy in biking, and the role of an older brother in shaping one's faith and identity.

Answers before questions do harm to the soul. – Henri Nouwen Friends, For the heart of a boy, questions come quite naturally... for a time.  Then, slowly, like the tide, the questions ebb and become fewer and fewer. The false self takes root, and we increasingly operate under pressure to have life figured out. Curiosity atrophies, and we trade childlike dependency and whole-hearted questions for the self-imposed pressure of well-manicured answers. We become self-sufficient. In Part 2 of this conversation with Rob Porter, we rediscover the innocence and hope of asking questions. For every question eventually leads us back to the heart of God. Join us as we re-engage our question marks and respond to the invitation to live as men outrageously loved by God. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Guest Rob Porter discusses his journey in recovering his masculine heart, including searching for answers, rediscovering his identity as a son, and living as one outrageously loved. They also explore the importance of taking risks, embracing personal growth, and encountering God.

In fiction, we should have no agenda except to be truthful. – Winn Collier, Love Big, Be Well: Letters to a Small-Town Church Friends, it was Wendell Berry who, after seven decades of apprenticeship, penned these words: I can remember those early years when it seemed to me I was cut completely adrift, and times when, looking back at earlier times, it seemed I had been wandering in the dark woods of error. But now it looks to me as though I was following a path that was laid out for me, unbroken, and maybe even as straight as possible, from one end to the other, and I have this feeling, which never leaves me anymore, that I have been led. These words have both haunted and beckoned my masculine soul for years. They lead me to this question: How do I become the kind of man whose ever-increasing inner experience is that of being led? In Part 2 of this conversation, Winn Collier and I explore the beauty of surprise and the agony of mistakes that our Father affectionately uses in the unique mosaic of our masculine initiation.  Winn is honest.  He is passionate.  He has a huge heart.  And with his PhD in the life and context of Wendell Berry’s central fictional character, Jayber Crow, he is indeed a kindred spirit. Not only is Winn a man through whom God is bringing the life and legacy of Eugene Peterson, he is a man with his own rich and deep Kingdom life and legacy to offer to many.  Come along for Part 2 of this conversation.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

We become what we behold. – Eugene Peterson, A Burning in My Bones Known primarily for rendering the Message paraphrase of the Scriptures, Eugene Peterson was intimately faithful to the extensive range of his vocation.  Not only was he the most influential pastor of our time, he was a son, husband, father, student, writer, and sage.  Though all these titles surely mark waypoints along the geography of Eugene Peterson's soul, no description rings more true than this one: He beheld the Presence of God. Eugene fell in love with the Scriptures, but not from obligation to a religious hoop or as an abstract exercise in scholarship. No, he fell in love with the Scriptures as the space of face-to-face encounter with the Living God who pursued him.    Winn Collier is the longstanding friend and author of Eugene’s provocatively honest biography, A Burning in My Bones. In Part 1 of this conversation, Winn invites us into the story of this modern sage whose life and way invite us all into Greater Presence.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Discipleship to Jesus is the greatest opportunity individual human beings have in life and the only hope corporate mankind has at solving its insurmountable problems. – Dallas Willard What is discipleship?  What is salvation? And what relevance do these sometimes abstract concepts have for sharpening our ordinary, everyday lives?  What if salvation is both an individual and communal process that is daringly lived out across the days and decades of our relational lives? Friends, it is my joy to welcome my very favorite guest onto the Become Good Soil podcast to explore these waters with me: Cherie Snyder. She is my bride, my best friend, and the inexhaustibly loving mother of our kids. In this episode, she offers what she has lived and who she has become through 25 years of discipleship to Jesus. You don’t want to miss this.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Churches are not the kingdom of God…but they are primary and inevitable expressions, outposts, and instrumentalities of the presence of the kingdom among us. They are "societies" of Jesus. – Dallas Willard Friends, Thousands of years ago, St. Paul invited us to participate in the mysterious nature of the Church. Writing to the Corinthians, he penned, You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you’re still one body. It’s exactly the same with Christ. By means of his one Spirit, we all said goodbye to our partial and piecemeal lives. We each used to independently call our own shots, but then we entered into a large and integrated life in which he has the final say in everything. (This is what we proclaimed in word and action when we were baptized.) Each of us is now a part of his resurrection body, refreshed and sustained at one fountain—his Spirit—where we all come to drink. The old labels we once used to identify ourselves—labels like Jew or Greek, slave or free—are no longer useful. We need something larger, more comprehensive…..The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don’t, the parts we see and the parts we don’t. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 25-26 MSG) A global revolution among men is building. Over 50 local Fires have been launched, and more are being lit. They all start with one man and one match. Join me in Part 2 of this conversation with Bryan Byrd of Wild Courage and Jay Heck of Being Sons as we slowly and steadily capture afresh this New Testament vision of the Church. For the Kingdom, Morgan You can find out more at https://www.wildatheart.org/fires

"Tell me your story" is the most revolutionary phrase you can ever say to a man. – John EldredgeFriends, The revolution ignited by Wild at Heart and Become Good Soil is well under way. Though hidden from many, it is irrevocably life-changing for the men who have risked their lives to enter in. Bryan Byrd of Wild Courage and Jay Heck of Being Sons are two of our Kingdom allies at the fore of Wild at Heart Fires, taking new ground in this revolution by inviting men into the ancient practice of story-telling and question-asking around an open flame. We believe hearing authentic stories from the front lines of this movement will spur you to join us. After 70 years of apprenticeship to Jesus, Tim Keller said, “What worked for our generation to proclaim and live out the Gospel will not work for yours. I don’t know what will. My time is coming to a close. You will have to figure that out for your generation.” Brothers, I believe Wild at Heart Fires offer a fresh dimension of Heaven’s provision for Kingdom-living in our generation. These come-as-you-are spaces welcome all men to risk, love, listen, ask, share, and get their hearts back. They offer a context for the authentic masculine community essential for our hearts to thrive. As we launch this episode, we know of almost 30 Fires under way. God willing, there will be 300 this time next year, with more to follow. Imagine a day when every man in the world is within driving distance of a monthly Fire shared with like-hearted men. Join us. Come along and dream about starting a Fire in your community. Put the word out. Invite a few others who are interested in recovering the ancient path. Then light the flame. Low bar, good risk. Masculinity restored. For the Kingdom, Morgan You can find out more at https://www.wildatheart.org/fires

Life is our resume. It is our story to tell, and the choices we make write the chapters. Can we live in a way where we look forward to looking back? – Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights Friends, In some ways, much of my public mission in the world began with inviting men to recover the deepest questions of their masculine souls. And in that recovery, to risk giving God a decade. Choosing to enter into the radical choice of taking the lowest seat at the table. Excavating over building. Forsaking shortcuts. Recovering curiosity. Breaking limits we have placed on God. And choosing to recover our masculine initiation as the primary storyline in which we can recover our hearts as men and become trustworthy guides for others. None of that can be done alone. It was over a decade ago that longtime ally and dear friend of mine Aaron McHugh started to make different choices alongside me.  Choices toward life. Choices for play and adventure. Choices to stop being the victim.  Choices to love. Choices to risk living in a way where if God didn't come through, all would be lost. Most of these choices were small, hidden, and seemingly obscure. But in time and over time, Aaron has started to live in a way where he eagerly looks forward to looking back.  By day and by decade, he is learning to master the art of living.  We slowed the onslaught of daily demands to celebrate together as like-hearted apprentices a sacred mark in his initiation. Aaron is inviting us to come along. To taste and see. There is more. Dive in here to this declaration of hope. It’s yours if you want it. For the Kingdom, Morgan