Become Good Soil

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadWhat was it about Jesus that allowed him to become quite possibly the most relaxed and lovingly unpredictable person who ever lived? Join me as we explore part two of an eight-part series in which we're going behind the scenes into the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive. If you haven't listened to episode one, start there. You can find the Part One, Part Two and images I refer to in Getting Naked—and much more—here. Through October 12, we are accepting applications for the next Become Good Soil Intensive. Find out more. For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Many are saying that in the automobile industry, there has not been a revolution of this magnitude since Henry Ford inaugurated the assembly line for the Model T Ford on December 1, 1913. Yet as with every revolution and in every growing kingdom, there are hidden costs. Even in an endeavor as brilliant and groundbreaking as the Tesla Corporation. ‘This past year has been the most difficult and painful year of my career. It was excruciating." These candid words belong to Elon Musk, founder and CEO of Tesla. (1) There are hidden costs in every kingdom. With vulnerable emotion, Musk describes 120-hour work weeks at the hefty expense of time with his kids and his friends. As an example, Musk confesses racing to his brother’s wedding (he was the best man) by private jet, arriving a mere two hours before the wedding, only to fly out immediately afterward in order to be back at his desk—the same desk where he spent his birthday entirely alone, minus friends or family or even a step outside the building. The names change, but the storyline is ever present: dramatic success often has its own hidden and painful costs. “There is nothing new under the sun,” as the author of Ecclesiastes put it almost 3,000 years ago. (2) Falling men and falling kingdoms. Good and beautiful and heroic desires are embedded in the center of the masculine soul. Yet there is also something corrosive at work. Some drive to answer a searing question for which we have no words. Some compulsive need to push and strive that lures us so often to prioritize the things that matter less over the things that matter (or are supposed to matter) most to us. What are we to make of this dilemma? If we venture below the surface, into the sacred inner geography of the soul of a man, what treasures would we find? What type of rescue mission might we initiate to help recover the life for which we are made? And what path of wholehearted restoration might we find that could put us on a trajectory so that, a decade from now, these words might be true? Life is different now in tangible and meaningful ways. Circumstances are no less difficult, yet my soul is thriving. My relationships are strong. A courage-filled and cultivated “yes” is at work in my soul. My kingdom and those under my care are doing increasingly better. My heart is more whole; not only my strength but also my smile has been restored. No doubt, I am still under renovation. Yet I have come to an experiential knowing of the promise of the One to whom I am apprenticed, and my experience is this:I was tired and worn out…burned by people and things and myself most of all. Yet I drew nearer to my Guide. I risked consenting to a process. I began asking the hard questions. I began risking love: love for my own soul, love for those around me, love for the One who sets all good things in motion. I drew away and slowly and assuredly began to recover my life. I watched my Master as he modeled how to take a real rest. I walked with him and worked with him. I watched with a fresh and steadfast curiosity how he navigated precarious terrain and engaged in it without being ruled by it. I learned what I can only name as unforced rhythms of receiving God acting in my life to accomplish a goodness far beyond my ability to create on my own. I gave up what was heavy and ill-fitting. I kept more and more company with my Master; and in time, I am learning to live freely and lightly. My masculine soul is being restored, and everyone in my world is better for it. (3)Welcome, friends, to this first of an extended podcast series in which we'll step behind the scenes into never-before-released teaching from the 2017 Become Good Soil Intensive. You are the core fellowship of the message of Become Good Soil, and I am so excited to bring this podcast to you first. It is my prayer that through this series, God would deepen your hope, resolve, and capacity to recover the ancient path and become the man God meant when he meant you. Through October 12, we are accepting applications for the next Become Good Soil Intensive. Find out more here. For the Kingdom, Morgan New York Times Article, August 16, 2018 Ecclesiastes 1:9 Matthew 11:28-30

In time it sometimes comes to pass that familiarity can give way to presumed familiarity. That presumed familiarity can then give way to unfamiliarity. And unfamiliarity can give way to boredom, obscurity, or even contempt. – Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download There’s nothing like the practical.   In this third and final episode of an Inquiry into Contemplative Prayer, we explore the pragmatism of integrating this practice into our daily lives, concluding with a third opportunity to practice together this accessible and time-tested means of experiencing the Kingdom Among Us. If you haven’t experienced the first two episodes of this series, you’ll want to start with episode one.

Meditation and contemplative prayer is not so much a way to find God as a way of resting in him whom we have found, who loves us, who is near to us, who comes to us to draw us to himself. ― Thomas Merton, Contemplative Prayer Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download What is it like to really know God? Not just know about God but to know him, thoroughly and comprehensively in the most essential places of our souls? What if there were a way to practice experiential knowledge of God? What if we could regularly encounter God on a level far deeper than creedal statements through a vibrant knowing of a faithful God, even when we are lacking confidence in his reliability? How do we find a way to regularly access the life of God even deeper than our cognitive representations of things and in a manner which has the power to change our actual experience of our everyday life? Friends, Cherie and I are excited to welcome you into part two of a three-part Become Good Soil podcast series intended to be an onramp to the spiritual practice of centering prayer. For the Kingdom, Morgan and Cherie

All men desire peace, but very few desire those things that make for peace. –Thomas à Kempis, The Imitation of ChristPodcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadI find it fascinating that when Jesus speaks of eternal life, it's less often about a specific time or place where we transition into some other state of being and more often about a quality of life—robust, deep vitality—that is being made available to us, right here and right now. He offers this invitation to a rich young man who has found his trust in things of this world. (1) He regularly teaches the thirsty that the Kingdom of God is at hand. (2) He leans into this idea on the night of his betrayal and abandonment by the men closest to him. In intercession for these same friends and for us, he cries out to his Father, "The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you." (3) If deep, whole-person union with God is the invitation and inheritance of Christianity, what are the means by which we respond to this invitation? How exactly do we go about entering into this union? Join my wife, Cherie, and me as we explore some deep waters in part one of a three-part podcast series on the practice of contemplative prayer. Our hope is that together we can recover one of the greatest means of deeper union—and through it, deeper life—embedded in the rich history of God’s people through the ages. (1) Matt. 19:16-30 (2) Matt. 3:2 (3) John 17:21 MSG If you'd like to go deeper, here's one resource that helped launch our journey into centering prayer: Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Spontaneity is the fruit of preparation. – Jonathan David Helser "Did you bring me out here in the storm to kill me?" This pained and brutally honest prayer poured from Jonathan David Helser's heart in the midst of a moment of exposure and hand-to-hand battle with the living God. Jonathan explains, Over the years, the Father has engineered circumstances to expose some of the core beliefs and lies that have tried to silence my heart. He has led me on a journey of initiation to excavate and transform these deep-seated beliefs in order that I might come into the fullness of life as it was meant to be. Praying my most honest prayer gets me to my core beliefs. And in response to “Did you bring me out here in the storm to kill me?” the Father spoke back this truth: "I did not bring the disciples into the storm to kill them. I brought them into the storm to kill their fear. Son, I have brought you into the storm to kill the fear that lives in you." Join me in this final installment of a three-part journey of receiving more of the wild love of our Father alongside songwriter, musician, father, husband, and son, Jonathan David Helser.   If you haven’t listened to part one or part two, you’ll want to start there. Explore more of the treasures in this three-part series here: JonathanHelser.com 18InchJourney.com   For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download If we have a crisis in this country. It’s more than a fatherless crisis, though. It’s a crisis of manhood, of masculinity. It’s affecting our families, our schools; it’s filling our prisons, and it’s killing the hearts of our women. – Donald Miller Check out the news on any given day and you’ll find stories that illuminate a crisis of masculinity. It's a crisis rooted in the loss of effective masculine initiation, for a boy does not become a good man on his own, but by the soul-food of loving mothers and the soul-forging of loving fathers. Yet we are not without hope. God is ever faithful to supply provision for every problem. In pockets of redemptive communities around the world, God continues to turn the hearts of Kingdom-oriented fathers and mothers back toward those under their care and influence. Jonathan and Melissa Helser are part of God’s provision to manifest the love of God on earth as it is in the Kingdom. Together, they offer servant leadership for a redemptive community in North Carolina and kingly care for an apprenticeship school for the next generation of Kingdom leaders, songwriters, and musicians. Join me for part two of a three-part conversation with my friend and hero Jonathan David Helser. If you haven’t listened to part one, you’ll want to start there. Here are two options for digging deeper: JonathanHelser.com 18InchJourney.com For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download When we worship, we silence the fear and declare who our father really is. – Jonathan Helser "Messy could describe the first moment that God has with man. He gathers dirt in His hands to form Adam. There is dirt under God's fingernails and then on God’s lips as He draws Adam close to breathe in His Spirit. What is it like for Adam when he opens his eyes and sees and feels God’s face pressed against his? Surely God is both willing and ready to get messy with us as He brings us close and breathes us to life…” Friends, I am thrilled to invite you into an experiential journey in this three-part Become Good Soil podcast with songwriter, musician, father, husband and son, Jonathan David Helser. Through question, story, and worship, we will practice together venturing along the narrow road and the holy and sacred path of initiation as men. To explore more of the treasures in this three-part podcast series, check out these other pages: JonathanHelser.com 18InchJourney.com For the Kingdom, Morgan

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download The whole point is presence, the with-God life. That’s the real substance of our relationship with God. – Dallas Willard, 1935-2013 Amidst the clamor of contemporary life, there is the narrow path of slowing down and setting our souls before the insight of the elders. We can take heart: there are wise ones who have gone before us, men and women who have recovered the lost treasure of the Gospel and can effectively communicate it. Wise ones who now make known to us the path of Life. Join me in this deep and rich interview with Dallas Willard and Michael Cusick and spend some time in the company of true elders. Michael is an ally of our Wild at Heart team. As both president of Restoring the Soul and lead counselor of a team of like-hearted warriors, he is devoted to the restoration of the hearts of men. You can find out much more about Restoring the Soul and the retreats, intensive counseling opportunities, and marriage ministry they offer at RestoringTheSoul.com. Here is just a sample of the realities Dallas and Michael touch on in this conversation: How do God and His Kingdom usually work? What is God’s preference in the “how” of uniting heaven and earth in the kingdom of God? Rather than focusing on the ways God can work, what if we focused our energy on participating in the ways God prefers to manifest His kingdom on the earth? Pascal said "all the troubles of the world come from the fact that people cannot go into a room, sit down, and be quiet." Why is stillness important, and how can we participate in the art of sitting down and being quiet? Solitude is a radical discipline that breaks the hold the world's system has over us. Solitude suspends the activities that pull at us, distract us, and energize our unaware-of-God identities and habits. Dallas  and Michael explore how solitude is a reliable activity—within our power to do—that enables us to experience the with-God life through interactive knowing and being known. Wholeness is the functioning of all aspects of the self in harmonious union. It's what enables a person to be truly good, doing good under God. If you're interested in deeper restoration, I encourage you to connect with Michael Cusick and his team at Restoring the Soul. Strength and Honor, Morgan

The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited. - Neil Armstrong, NASA astronaut Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Brad Beck has spent a lifetime offering strength in a myriad of roles in countless missions. As a flight surgeon in a supersonic jet for NASA, a crew member in international theater performance with YWAM, a physician in private practice, a coach of high school football, and a co-leader of men’s missions with Wild at Heart around the globe, Brad has left his fingerprints on the lives of many and much. Yet none of these powerful roles inspire the breadth of redemptive pause as his role of Dad and his path of loving his family, particularly loving a special needs child through her short years in this world and gently and lovingly into the next. Join me in a podcast that will surely lead us back to the Narrow Road. Recently we featured Brad and his wife, Lisa, in a beautiful short film that echoes the story of hope infused in John’s most recent book, All Things New. As a complement to this interview, I strongly encourage you to check out the film as well as All Things New.