Become Good Soil

Without God, we cannot; without us, God will not. – Saint Augustine Since we are the sons of God, we must become the sons of God.  Since we are the kings of Jesus, we must become the kings of Jesus—kings to whom he is glad to entrust his Kingdom.  It brings an honorable sobriety to come to the realization that our heart—our healing and our wholeness—is not about us, nor is it primarily for us. It’s primarily for others.  As the sons of God, our will is insufficient as the fuel for transformation. Yet it is always the rudder to set our course.  By day and by decade, we always have a choice.  How will we accept and engage the particulars of the consecrated life our Father has asked us to live? If you’ve made it this far in the Intensive series, you are among the few. Well done.  We’ve traveled some hard and honest miles together, but we’re not done yet.  Come along into Part 8, the final session of the 2019 BGS Intensive. We hear from men who have traveled the road before us. We sit in their counsel. And we will stand on their shoulders. You don’t want to miss this.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

You’re right where God wants you to be when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God. – Jesus of Nazareth, to his closest friends Your reliance on your talent and gifting must die before they can ever be truly free. It is impossible for a man to fully know the love of God until he has experienced the love of God apart from his gifting, his performance, and his successes. To fully rest in love, we must experience the relentless affection of God—not only when we are running strong, but also when we have reached the end of our rope.  The cross and resurrection of Jesus is a brutal and beautiful comment on the shape of reality. The cross reveals to us that our masculine initiation lies not on the path that avoids death and suffering, but on the path that enters suffering and death in order to be transformed. Passing through death is nonnegotiable. There is a way of being in us that must be put to death so that the indestructible life of Christ might be born in us and experienced by those entrusted to our care through us.  We will have life and have it to the full only if and when we are willing to die.  Come along into Part 7 of the 2019 BGS Intensive. Dive into the story of The Company Men, the modern-day parable inviting us to put self-sufficiency to death. I encourage you to view the trailer and the movie before listening to this podcast.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Sometimes we don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are….What happened wasn’t about you, it was about me. – Superintendent Eric Marsh, Only the Brave Brothers,  As we mature as kings who offer more love and strength to those entrusted to our care, Jesus invites us even deeper: Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults—unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, "Let me wash your face for you," when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor. (Matthew 7:3-5 MSG) I’m sorry.  I was wrong.  Will you forgive me?  Friends, it’s these three phrases that can transform our every relationship.  With hearts deeply rooted in a growing experience of sonship, our courage gains momentum and we can remove the judgments, assumptions, and rigid conclusions that inhibit our seeing. We begin to treat people as we want to be treated, with an open mind and open heart. And we finally start seeing the people we love more clearly.  Come back into the 2019 BGS Intensive series for Part 6 as we chase even more of our masculine initiation together.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

You are a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, made to run on God. Which means that you are not made to be self-sufficient. – Dallas Willard Change in the rate of change is the quiet killer of our generation. Change is the constant.  Habits were meant to root our masculine soul in the life of God. They were meant to be an onramp of constancy in a changing world. Our masculine soul matters immensely to God, to those entrusted to our care, and to our particular role in the story God is writing.  In this postmodern age of hyper-individualism and endless noise, wholehearted living is no longer a choice—we must cultivate daily habits that root us in the life and presence of God. Slowly and steadily, by day and by decade, we get to arrange our days so that we experience deep joy, contentment, and union with God.  How are you arranging your days? What are you practicing?  What are your habits?  What is the condition of your soul? Friends, join me and the like-hearted tribe of men across the globe for Part 5 of the 2019 BGS Intensive series. In this episode, I invite my friend John Eldredge into a beautiful conversation on exercising the masculine soul in life-giving habits.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage, and I promise you something great will come of it. – Benjamin Mee, We Bought a Zoo It was Francis Schaeffer who boldly invited disciples to "do the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way,” instructing that “we must take the lowest seat at the table until God makes it impossible to do otherwise.”  As we live into more and more of the reality of sonship, one of the foundational ways a man can practice taking the lowest seat at the table is to wholeheartedly pursue the path of a generalist. Through willingly engaging the relationships, things, and details of his life that feel uncomfortable, a generalist acquires not only a severe humility, but all the more a radical trust in a good and active Father.  As we explore the path of becoming a generalist, we might begin with asking ourselves these questions: Where do I feel uncomfortable, as a man?  When do I feel weak?  In what ways do I feel uninitiated?  Where is God asking me to risk?  Friends, join me and this like-hearted tribe of men across the globe choosing to take the lowest seat at the table, step into risk, and engage the uninitiated places of our souls by way of becoming a generalist.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Attachment begins in the first few months of life, but it is the continuous presence of a mother in the first 18 months that is the first step in building a deep and lasting sense of emotional security in a child. This security forms the basis of a child’s sense of self for the rest of life. Bonding is putting the pieces together and attachment is gluing them into place. – Erica Komisar, Being There “Are you glad to be with me?” It was Mom who first and foremost was to answer our unspoken question with a wholehearted "yes!" to the depths of our soul. And not just once, but ten thousand times over. While our father forges us, our mother forms us.  Our earthly mother was intended to be our first encounter with reliable nourishment, cherishing protection, unconditional delight, renewing rest, and safe emotional connection.  Through her attentive, loving gaze, we were meant to experience our worthiness of love and belonging simply because we exist. We are not only deeply loved but also fully seen, known, and celebrated by one greater than ourselves who needs nothing in return. No earning.  No transaction. No conditions.  One whose wise, regulated, and affectionate relating communicates, “I am so happy you exist. I am so glad to be with you. There is more than enough for you.” That’s what we were designed to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt. We were designed to experience abundant, cherishing love freely offered from a wholehearted source. Pay attention to your own story. What has been your experience of being loved without condition by someone who had robust well-being to share?  Where have you experienced abundance of provision? And where do you currently experience a sense of fullness, a sense that nothing more is needed and there is no lack?   Friends, join me and this like-hearted tribe of men across the globe choosing to break the limits of who God can be for us; what God can do to meet our need to be seen, soothed, safe, and secure; and how God might choose to meet these sacred needs. Part 3 of the 2019 BGS Intensive series is a risky invitation to look to God as Mother and experience robust well-being as the powerful fruit.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

A 30-year old-man is like a densely populated city. Nothing new can be built, in its heart, without something else being torn down. – Mike Mason, The Mystery of Marriage The theme of "dying before we die" is Jesus’ steady and consistent invitation to his closest companions.  “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self.” Matthew 16:24-26 MSG “...unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” John 12:24 NIV  “If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.” Luke 17:33 NLT Perhaps one of the crowning marks of masculine maturity is the increasing capacity to entrust ourselves to God with intimate abandon so that we no longer shrink from death. This session takes us a step further in uncovering what in us needs to die in order that we might really, really, live. And in living, as more parts of us come home to more parts of God, we become men who have nothing to hide. Nothing to fear. Nothing to prove. Nothing to cling to beyond the love and goodness of the Triune God. Come along into Part 2 of the 2019 BGS Intensive as we journey together on the path to restoring the True Man. For the Kingdom, Morgan

There are many people who think they want to be a matador, only to find themselves in the ring with 2,000 pounds of bull bearing down on them, and then they discover that what they really wanted was to wear tight pants and hear the crowd roar. – Terry Pearce Over 20 years ago, I found myself navigating a man’s world but largely feeling like a boy. Balancing a young marriage, young children, and a young career had punted me into the deep end. Though I was thirsty for God and his Kingdom and doing my best to pursue good and noble endeavors, I was running out of steam. It was a baptism into adulthood by the fire of overwhelm. “It felt like I hopped on a rollercoaster that I didn’t remember getting on—it was all I could do to simply hold on.”  That’s how an older friend described this nexus of pressure and responsibility and it felt spot on. Life became something that happened to me, rather than something to which I was bringing strength and intentionality from a reservoir of confidence and peace. Money felt scarce, and time scarcer still.  In response, the myriad of uninitiated little boys in my soul began to surface, leading me to one of the most important days of my life: The day that I traded my exclamation points for question marks. The day that the Spirit invited me to a path of connected initiation instead of isolating performance. And it's made all the difference.  We’re more than a decade into hosting intimate leadership events with apprentices both young and old from around the globe to chase after the treasures of the Kingdom. Now two decades from beginning this quest, it is my joy to invite the extended Become Good Soil Tribe of apprentices to this audio teaching from the 2019 Become Good Soil Intensive. Join me for Part 1 of an extended podcast series diving deep into the restoration of the masculine soul.  For the Kingdom,

I will not abandon you as orphans….I am coming back for you. – Jesus of Nazareth Friends, there is much to hope for in the face of our apparent waywardness with God and our nagging discontent.  God is coming for us.  In his book Renovated, Jim Wilder explains the very simple and profound path to re-attaching ourselves to God and finally becoming the kind of people who can heed the supreme command of Jesus to love God with all our heart, mind, and strength. “...having received love, you will be transformed into a person who loves.” The secret is not found in a heroic, self-made mixture of beliefs, practices, and willful effort.  The secret is in receiving the love, care, and nourishment of God, over decades, into our souls.  The hope is not found in our effort or action, but rather in the desire, design, and deepest intentions of God’s heart.  There is more. Join Cherie and me in Part 3 as we share stories of coming home to receive the overflowing love, attention, and care of God through multiple stages of development.  For the Kingdom, Morgan

Christianity has tended to focus on right beliefs and right choices as the keys for personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science show that our character is shaped more by whom we love than what we believe. – Jim Wilder, Renovated What if coming home to a new and secure attachment to God is the primary definition of salvation?  What would it be like to come home to God as our primary and single source of life, joy, strength, and stature?  The writers of the Old and New Testaments assure us that the very real dilemma of unhealthy attachment to other things and relationships need not have the final word, nor does the nagging sense of disconnection from God.  God has provided a path and process through the dignifying choice to re-parent our souls, shepherding them afresh into a loving, strengthening, and momentous attachment to God. Come along into Part 2 as Cherie and I reveal ways to come home to God when we feel distant from him.  For the Kingdom, Morgan