Become Good Soil

This episode explores the lives of two pious sisters and their French maid, as well as their transformative encounters with Lawrence Louvihnham and Babette. It raises questions about identity and desire, culminating in Babette's request for a French dinner that reshapes their perspective.

Then our sons in their youth     will be like well-nurtured plants, and our daughters will be like pillars     carved to adorn a palace. – Psalm 144:12 NIV Friends, The Psalms were penned by regular men walking through the real and raw depths of the human experience. With body and soul, animated by the life of God, these brave authors invite us into a God-permeated vision of Reality more visceral and personal than our often emotionally reserved contexts reflect.     In Psalm 144, the psalmist vividly depicts the robust well-being of future generations as they stand on the shoulders of men and women seeking and interacting with the Living God.  What depth and breadth of life in God would prepare the way for our children and grandchildren to experience this quality of soul-flourishing?  “What story are we inviting our kids into? Is the story they are watching us live big enough to contain all the hopes, dreams, disappointments, and fears? Is the story that our lives tell filled with life and promise? Or do our lives tell a small story, a religious story, a limp and narrow story that is painfully less appealing than the competing narratives they’re also being offered? Sports achievement, mind-altering substances, unrestricted sexual expression, a girlfriend or boyfriend, and followers on social media—these are powerful stories. If I’ve learned anything, it is this: our kids’ hearts will gravitate toward the biggest, best, and most life-filled story they can find. If we don’t model a Christianity brimming with life, it simply won’t be attractive enough to captivate their hearts. So our first mission must be to come home ourselves to a Gospel and a God so vibrant with life that we can’t help but model the joy and vitality of what we have discovered. And then we must find ways to give our kids direct access to the Kingdom of our Father for themselves in order to cultivate their own faith journey.”* Join me and longstanding Become Good Soil like-hearted apprentice Jeff Zaugg for Part 2 of this conversation as we recover another ancient stone in the narrow road that leads to life. For the Kingdom, Morgan *BGS Father's Day devotional PDF

The glory of children are their Fathers. – Proverbs 17:6 KJV Friends, Our sacred Scriptures whisper to us the invitation God has woven into reality for men to once again consent to the path and process of becoming fathers. The Proverbs winsomely teach us that the weight of the lives of our children points back to the headwaters of our faithful Father. Who is he?  What is he like?  Is he available?  Deeper still, is he interested?  These questions, though often hidden below the surface, haunt us. They beckon the male soul to stop and think. They invite us to reconsider the impact of our own becoming, not with shame or regret, but with hopeful curiosity of the possibility of participating in a Father-initiated restoration. A God-orchestrated initiation. In a phrase, a story that is far larger than us.  As I’ve suggested before, “Parenting, like everything else in masculine initiation, has no shortcuts. So I want to suggest that the first questions in raising wholehearted children turn right back on us: If I can only lead my child where I’ve gone myself, what’s next in my initiation? What is the frontier of my masculine soul? What is it that I am intimidated to engage, but that I know is essential to wholly enter the life that I was meant to live? Thankfully, God is the great Initiator, and our great work is simply and bravely to respond to his particular invitation. When we give him our yes, we become what we most want to offer. And in becoming, we will find the path to shepherd our children in the way that is good and right for their souls. Only on this path of responding to our Father for the initiation of our hearts as men can we release outcomes in our parenting and find joy in whatever unfolds. For them and for us.” Come along into a conversation with like-hearted son, student, and father Jeff Zaugg, founder of DadAwesome, as we consider fatherhood and return to curiosity, hope, and strength in a Good Father.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

 I have no idea where I’m going. But I know exactly how to get there. – Boyd Varty, The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life Friends, In the Kingdom of God, we are never behind and it is never too late to consent to our unique version of the universal pattern of masculine initiation.  We are always on time.   What if that were true? What if we believed it? What if we lived it?  Masculine initiation as apprentices to Jesus of Nazareth is the only story big enough to anchor our hearts and hold the collective weight of our suffering and triumph. It is the only story that releases the shackles of regret and worry and delivers us into the present-moment possibility that we are right on time. That we are being led. And that the affection of our Father will, in the end, win.  Come along into a conversation with like-hearted apprentice and ally Jeremy Morris of the Wild Courage team as we encounter afresh the gift of consenting to the slow and steady process of masculine initiation.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Salvation is a process, not an event. – Resilient Friends, Steady. Strong. ​​​Resilient.  What would it be like for these words to describe the sons of God in this hour on earth?  It's hopeful.  It's powerful. And, brothers, it's available.  John’s most recent work, Resilient, is a life raft amidst our contemporary turbulent sea. Singularity of heart is no longer an option. It is essential for us to thrive in this moment in the Larger Story. John and I have been chasing singularity of heart for over two decades, and we have discovered one simple but powerful truth: The soul is healed through union with God.  It was my joy and privilege to host a call alongside John to unpack how union with God expresses itself in our ordinary, everyday lives. You don’t want to miss this.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

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