Become Good Soil

A conversation about shaping the whole person to reflect Jesus in mind, body, relationships, and time. They unpack growth versus fixed mindsets and how stages of life and social location influence formation. The discussion highlights embodiment, emotional maturity, communal growth, and practical checkpoints to notice areas of immaturity and invite transformation.

They explore apprenticeship to Jesus and initiation across a life, tracing how spiritual formation unfolds through seasons and thresholds. Historical and modern maps of initiation are compared. Personal stories—body, biking, vocation—show how one theme can reveal growth decade by decade. Listeners are invited to reflect on their own initiation and receive a guided five-minute rest prayer.

They explore the recovery of longing and desire as a spiritual impulse rather than a liability. They revisit early awakenings to beauty and those formative moments that stir yearning. They trace longing through classic writers and a larger Christian storyline that frames desire as part of a homecoming. They contrast cultural distortions of desire with practices that form and steward it toward hope.

A lively exploration of what Jesus actually proclaimed: the arrival of God’s kingdom and how to live in it now. They trace gospel witness through the Gospels and personal stories. Conversations challenge moralism and invite apprenticeship to Jesus’ way of life. A guided prayer and brief reflection invite listeners to welcome kingdom presence into ordinary life.

They unpack Sabbath as a countercultural posture to endless production. Personal stories about anxiety and learning to live from rest come through. Practical rhythms are shared—from Friday night Shabbat to daily micro-sabbaths. Historical roots and communal visions show Sabbath as a formative practice for discipleship, joy, play, and sustained flourishing.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us…”—St. JohnHenri Nouwen offers these soulful questions:“In what quiet ways have you bartered the worth of your soul to other grade-givers—some clamoring voices in the world around you, other critical voices firmly within your own being? By what small, repeated surrenders have you allowed yourself to become the very thing the world applauds, and the one thing you did not want to find yourself becoming?” In reflecting on these questions, we are keenly aware of the reality that we have often “bartered the worth of our soul” and been painfully malformed through “small repeated surrenders.”Yet as we take stock of our precious yet infected souls, we experience Jesus’s pursuit afresh. As the generous host of all creation, as our creator and king, He invites us to once again entrust ourselves fully to Him—everything we are and everything we are not yet—and receive the nourishment, embrace, and affection we so desperately need and is His joy to extend.In this second episode of our Become Good Soil Foundations Series, join us as we explore the wondrous reality whispered through the text of scripture, the text of nature, and the lives of those who intimately live the with-God life: that all reality begins with God—a God who overflows with creativity, energy, love, welcome, and life.Let’s seek together how we might live more deeply from a posture of rest and receptivity, moving through our days and decades as those ever-receiving love and belonging—and, from that overflow, continually extending love and belonging to all those around us. We are so grateful to venture deeper on this journey together.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie

“The creeds function like a treasure chest, waiting to be opened and explored. The creeds are not meant to reduce our faith to simple facts; they are not intended to drive away mystery and complexity. Rather, the creeds secure a framework for the whole of our faith, so that we can freely go and explore the riches of the mystery in each part and in the whole.” —Jason Ortiz and Daniel Keating in The Nicene Creed: A Scriptural, Historical, and Theological CommentaryFriends, beneath every value we express and every thought we act upon lies an underlying belief. Though often unexamined, each of us has developed a comprehensive worldview that shapes every moment of our lives. What are those beliefs and assumptions—and to what degree do they align with reality as revealed by God?Join us for the first episode of the Become Good Soil Foundations Series, where we explore these core beliefs and assumptions of our faith and the fellowship of Become Good Soil.Drawing on Jesus’ imagery in Matthew 7, we ask: what would it look like to make a fresh assessment of the foundations upon which the “house” of our lives is built? What might we notice if we paused to appreciate the beauty and strength of the “rock” itself—and to reckon honestly with the areas of our lives still resting on shifting sand?As a fellowship, what does it look like to freshly receive and act upon Jesus’ invitation to relocate the whole of our lives onto the Rock—who is Christ Himself, His teaching, and His beautiful Kingdom?Come along in a courageous global fellowship as we venture together down a path and process that leads to a life truly worth living.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom, Morgan & Cherie Note: In our conversation on The Nicene Creed this is the reference. For further exploration: Ortiz, J., & Keating, D. A. (2024). The Nicene Creed: a scriptural, historical, and theological commentary. Baker Academic, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

“We are greatly strengthened for life in the kingdom now by an understanding of what our future holds, and especially of how that future relates to our present experiences. For only then do we really understand what our current life is, and are we able to make choices that agree with that reality.” — Dallas Willard, The Divine ConspiracyWhere are we going?Friends, this simple question continues to wake us, gently and insistently, again and again. As we linger with it, we remember that every path—whether chosen or assumed—is always leading somewhere. The question meets us as both invitation and mercy, asking us to notice where we are headed and to hold our lives up to the light of God and His kingdom.In doing so, this question stirs our imagination toward the greatest end—the long-awaited day when God’s kingdom is fully revealed on earth as it is in heaven, when all things are gathered up and made right, good, and beautiful. With that ultimate future shimmering before us, we find ourselves able to turn—sometimes subtly, sometimes decisively—and set our course again toward the good, the true, and the beautiful, trusting God to lead us faithfully in the present moment and into what is yet to come.For more than a year, we have carried this question in our minds and hearts as we have listened for God on behalf of Become Good Soil. Through prayer, discernment, and many honest conversations—with God and with so many of you—a clearer sense of where Become Good Soil is being led in this new season has slowly come into view.It is our deep joy to finally share this emerging vision with you.In this final episode of Our Origin Story, we reflect on the expanded mission and vision of Become Good Soil. At its heart is a simple and steadfast desire: to walk alongside you as you continue your apprenticeship to Jesus—the gradual, grace-filled transposing of your whole life into the life of Christ—and as you faithfully steward the generative outposts of Eden entrusted to your care.It’s all been prologue. The best is yet to come.For the Kingdom,Morgan & Cherie

The hosts dive into the significance of fully embracing the present moment. They explore how impatience often distracts us from living here and now, instead tempting us to dwell on the past or fret about the future. Personal experiences reveal their struggles with regret and aspiration. The conversation also highlights trauma-informed practices, emphasizing body awareness as a path to presence. Listeners are encouraged to engage in self-reflection, nurturing their relationship with the current moment while recognizing the hurdles of nostalgia and anxiety.

Journeying through the layers of origin stories reveals deep connections to identity and faith. Morgan shares his transformative experiences, from college conversion to wilderness masculinity, while appreciating mentors along the way. Cherie explores how these narratives shape ethics and the unique anthropology found in Hebrew scriptures. Together, they reflect on the universal dance of personal and shared stories, inviting listeners to contemplate their own paths back to divine home.