Become Good Soil

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download “What grieves God most is not our sin but our refusing to believe that he is so kind, and that he desires to be with us so much more than we do with him.” – Rankin Wilbourne, Union with Christ How often do you have the opportunity to connect with a man who has invested five decades listening to the hearts and stories of over 5000 children and their families? If this generation has a few fathers among us, Gary Unruh is one of them. From serving people at the helm of a large organization in the early years of his career, to piloting at the helm of a small sailboat in open water for joy and soul-care, Gary is a man God has transformed in Love, drawn into deeper union, and empowered to care profoundly well for the hearts of thousands entrusted to his care. One by one. After being Gary's counseling clients for years, meeting with him in his sacred, nondescript office, Cherie and I had a chance to host him on the Become Good Soil podcast. Our hope is to bring his 76 years of insight from his heart to yours. Join us as we explore healthy attachment and the deepest needs of the human heart. Whether for the quest of parenting our children, loving well in our marriages, or caring for the hearts closest to us, Gary guides us to see outward behavior as fruit of emotion, and emotion in the body as the great reflection of the condition, longings, fears, and needs of our Center. When we seek to see, understand, and validate another human at their Center, we unleash the power of Love. We can be well. And we can become the kind of people who offer love to others with greater effect as we increasingly receive it from the heart of God for ourselves. Let’s dive in to part one and learn how. The big ideas that shape this podcast can be found in Gary’s book Golden Rule Parenting. I recommend you read and put into practice these accessible and transformational tools for healing relationships entrusted to your care. For Gary’s counseling services, you can connect with him at GaryUnruhTherapy.com. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download There is no good trying to be more spiritual than God. God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why he uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us. We may think this rather crude and unspiritual. God does not: he invented eating. He likes matter. He invented it. – C. S. Lewis What if our bodies are guides for the path to become the kind of human in whom the image of God is being restored? What if the sensations, pain, reactions, protests, and needs of our bodies are evidence of what is right with us rather than what is wrong? What if our bodies carry invaluable data about our stories and our destiny with God that can serve as a reliable compass pointing to freedom? And what if there was a way to feel utterly well in our own skin and story? It’s my joy to lean into the trauma-informed story work that my wife, Cherie, has explored for two decades. May this conversation be one more step for all of us toward the wholeness that Jesus offers in the marvel and promise of our embodied life. For the Kingdom,

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land? Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea? O Christ, will you help me on the wild waves? (excerpt from the Prayer of St. Brendan) Eugene Peterson once said, “The clarities of faith are organic and personal, not mechanical and institutional. Faith invades the muddle; it does not eliminate it. Peace develops in the midst of chaos. Harmony is achieved slowly, quietly, unobtrusively—like the effects of salt and light. Such clarities result from a courageous commitment to God, not from controlling or being controlled by others. Such clarities come from adventuring deep into the mysteries of God’s will and love, not by cautiously managing and moralizing in ways that minimize risk and guarantee self-importance.” (Running with the Horses) There are few means more potent for venturing into these mysteries than to recover the questions of God. It’s my joy to invite you into part two of the Become Good Soil podcast series on The Inquisitive Christ with our winsome, American-born, Irish-bred lady of the questions, Cara Murphy. For the Kingdom, Connect with Cara and find out more.

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download “The intention of God is that we should each become the kind of person whom he can set free in his universe, empowered to do what we want to do. Just as we desire and intend this, so far as possible, for our children and others we love, so God desires and intends it for his children. But the character, the inner directedness of the self, must develop to the point where that is possible.” –Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: Recovering Our Hidden Life in God “What do you want me to do for you?” It’s a soul-penetrating question from Jesus to each of us. And it is not the only one; the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures record God asking over 300 questions of humans. Curiosity, it seems, might be at the epicenter of the Father’s heart. If intimate, mutual knowing is the point (and given the often hidden nature of what is really going on inside of us), there is nothing more incisive and connecting in our relationship with God than the questions he is asking us on this very day. How do we recover these most precious questions?  Cara Murphy is a woman of the questions. She is an apprentice of the King, a mother, a wife, and a thirsty, wild-hearted lady of wisdom. Through her craft and care, we’re welcomed back to God’s ways of igniting imagination, intellect, and soul. It’s my joy to explore her book, The Inquisitive Christ, together and recover some of the central questions needed in this hour on the earth. Let’s dive in to part one of a two-part Become Good Soil podcast series. For the Kingdom, Connect with Cara and find out more.

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download God, grant me character greater than my gifts and humility greater than my influence. –Scott Sauls “God, if this is not your will, may it be rendered fruitless.” Who  prays that kind of prayer? Very few indeed. Yet Zach Thomas does, and he has prayed this prayer again and again and again. A husband, father of seven children, author of Leader Farming, and Kingdom entrepreneur through and through, Zach is a man who has consented to the path and process of becoming the kind of man to whom our Father can gladly entrust the care of his Kingdom. It’s my joy and privilege to invite you into this soul-strengthening conversation with a fellow Kingdom apprentice. Let’s dive in. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download "We must empty ourselves of that with which we are full so that we might fill ourselves with that of which we are empty." –St. Augustine of Hippo, 425 A.D. How do we become the kind of men who have nothing to fear, nothing to hide, and nothing to prove? Our Father is making available the way to becoming this kind of man every moment of every day. All that is needed to access it is the simple and powerful act of consent, consenting in this day and for this decade to the slow and steady process of becoming wholehearted. Join John and me and the participants of the 2019 Become Good Soil Intensive for an honest and vulnerable conversation as we dive deep into the mystery and possibility of recovering our whole hearts and the wellspring of life Jesus promises will well up from within. Jesus says it’s possible; we are testing his audacious claim and finding it to be true. Join us. And for those of you interested in diving even deeper into the mission and message of Become Good Soil, the deadline for 2021 Intensive applications is fast approaching. We will review and pray over all completed applications received by November 1st. Find out more here. Participating in a Wild at Heart BASIC as facilitator or attendee or attending a Wild at Heart Boot Camp is a prerequisite for any Intensive, so you’ll want to check those two opportunities out if you haven’t done so yet. Nothing to fear. Nothing to hide. Nothing to prove. It’s available. Let’s recover the ancient path together. For the Kingdom,

Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Friends, As we anticipate the next Become Good Soil Intensive event—we are now accepting applications—I want to feature stories of what our Father is accomplishing through this message: stories of heroic men recovering heart, strength, joy and intimacy; stories of heroic women championing those men; and stories of women benefiting from men who have risked getting curious about the landscape of their souls and consenting to the process of becoming the kind of king to whom God can entrust his Kingdom. I am blessed to have now cultivated quite a number of allies living this message, including the friends whose lives I have the privilege of seeing up close. I reached out to a few of these men to ask if I could invite their wives into a conversation. What I wanted to hear is what it’s been like for the women to live with their men. I wanted to hear from each woman how she would respond to this question: What is the fruit of the message of becoming a king in your husband's life?   I’m confident you’ll enjoy listening to these three candid and courageous women and the stories they generously share. Above all, my hope is that as you listen, your heart is strengthened with deep assurance of the radical transformation and care that our Father promises along this way. As you hear the fruit of consenting to a decade of becoming, if you're compelled to find out more about the Become Good Soil Intensive, you are on time. We're accepting applications now. For the Kingdom, Morgan

 Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download “There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul.” –Victor Hugo, Les Misérables You find yourself in a world gone mad. and You have a soul—or, more accurately, you are a soul—made by God, made for God, and made to need God. You've noticed by now that these two things, the world system and your soul, are constantly at war. But if the aim of the Gospel is the restoration of all creation, including your human soul, how do you avoid the tragedy that Jesus named as gaining the world and losing your soul (Mark 8:36)? What is the way back? How do we reestablish what has been lost, how do we replant what has been uprooted? Here’s what is giving me hope again today: the quest doesn't begin with us; it begins with God. Our job is to respond. There are practices in our power to do that accomplish in us what we never could on our own—small, consistent, but heroic acts that integrate our fractured souls and reconnect us supernaturally with our God. Join Cherie and me for a very practical discussion on being found by God through the formation of small and accessible practices. May this conversation—originally offered at our Homecoming event last fall—encourage you as you seek to arrange your days for union with God. Remember this: there is always a way forward, no matter how far into the weeds or off-track we might find ourselves today. The good news is this: our Father is more at work than we are. He is seeking us even now, finding us right where we are, and moving us forward in his story of healing us, restoring our sanity, cultivating our flourishing, and moving us into deeper union with him. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Authenticity is a collection of choices we have to make every day. It’s about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen. –Brené Brown Courage begets courage.  That was my experience of Nancy Carmichael when she invited me to share a conversation on her podcast, Isle of Misfits. Her podcast predominantly serves a tribe of women; and truth be told, of the over 40 podcasts, interviews, radio shows, and events I’ve been invited to participate with regarding the launch of Becoming a King, Nancy was the only woman to bravely and boldly extend me an invitation.  All of the other communities, organizations, and tribes have been hosted by men.  Of course, on the surface, this ratio makes sense: Becoming a King appears to be a message for men.  Yet experience tells me it's more than that. My sense is that the lack of invitation reflects the aggregate negative impact of fallen masculinity upon women. Many women—perhaps especially those who have fought hard for a voice and presence as a cultural influencer—have been failed not only by the individual men in their lives, but also by long-standing cultural structures that, rather than holding esteem and respect for female influence and power, have brought contempt. Many women, if given a choice, would just as well choose to steer clear of masculinity.  Why would a woman risk opening her heart to masculinity when she has been failed for so long on so many levels? As the Spirit has been opening my eyes and allowing me to begin to see the depth and breadth of the degrading, harmful, and disempowering impact of broken masculinity upon women, what comes up for me is deep sorrow and a desire to be a part of what God is doing on the earth to turn the tide. I have seen many of your lives. I know you stand with me in wanting to be a humbled and strong-hearted portion of the restoration of all things, particularly as it relates to masculinity. Instead of unconsciously recirculating contempt and debasement, my desire is to take the lowest seat, hear from women, and listen and learn—then partner together to help restore masculinity as it was meant to be.  The privilege of engaging with Nancy and the Isle of Misfits was catalytic in my own relationship with God. In the hope of passing on what I recieved, I wanted to bring this episode to Become Good Soil for our mutual strengthening.  Here is Nancy’s reflection on the work of Isle of Misfits and on the conversation that we share in this episode: If you’ve hung around these parts for any length of time, you know that we hold dearly to our core principles, beginning with the dearest of the dear: the clarion call to “Own Your Awkward.” I gotta tell you, though, in this particular episode with Morgan Snyder from Wild at Heart and Become Good Soil, that little value of ours was put to the test, and I was tempted to edit the H-E-Double-Hockey-Sticks out of it. Don’t get me wrong. It was a great conversation, not just about Morgan’s new book, Becoming a King, but about, oh, a lot of things. The “new normal.” God as “genderful.” Acknowledging wounds and healing hurts.  There is deep insight, let me tell you. In fact, so much so, that at one point in the conversation it took a turn toward the vulnerable, and I had to make a choice as to whether I’d keep that part to myself or share it with you all.  In the end, I decided not to edit it out, ‘cause, well, sometimes a little vulnerability makes for a much more interesting conversation.  Friends, let’s dare greatly together and dive in. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It is profound how different our experiences can be inside our own skin. When it comes to sensations in the body, we are not on a level playing field. To love and be loved, to know and be known, it’s so important that we practice story-informed relating with ourselves and each other. Jesus is the most brilliant story-informed and trauma-sensitive teacher and friend who has ever lived. – Cherie Snyder Many of us—or those whom we love—have contended with the agonizing sensations of acute anxiety. In attempts to regulate these sensations, we often reach for substances, co-dependent relationships, or control over external circumstances to mitigate the pain and upheaval we feel on the inside. Sometimes the efforts we make to soothe our bodies end up causing harm to ourselves or to those we love. Friends, if acute anxiety has been a part of your story or the story of someone you love, there is reliable hope for encounter, comfort, and transformation. I can speak to this hope on a very personal level: over the past 18 months, God has been tending to the root of the anxiety in me and offering new freedom, restoration, and internal peace beyond what I ever dreamed was possible. My bride, Cherie, has her own story of acute anxiety. Out of her own story and path toward wholeness, she has consented to the slow and steady process of becoming a trauma-informed educator. She works regularly with fellow travelers to help listen for the sacred information that the body might be conveying and experience loving and compassionate transformation. Join her in this podcast as she shares a hopeful framework and practical steps to help us listen to our bodies, learn our stories, encounter God, and move compassionately from anxiety through transformation and toward greater peace. For the Kingdom, Morgan