Become Good Soil

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It was a shimmering rehearsal dinner, the headwaters of which were most certainly in Eternity. The choicest wine flowed, but even more, the choicest stories: stories of daring, risk, and deep redemption. Family and friends honored Abbey and Shaun with words of profound affection, honor for obstacles overcome, and the kind of faithful knowing and seeing that forms the texture of our deepest longings. In the transcendence of that evening God spoke five words that would change our lives forever... -This podcast is available in written form. -Want more? Dive deep into this Kingdom reality with additional resources.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadIt all started with a lawnmower, a skateboard, a women's clothing magazine, and a set of flip flops.What if play is God's idea and is at the epicenter of Kingdom living?(A version of this podcast is also available in written form.)

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field. -Matthew 13:44 In the sunset of his days, D. L. Moody realized that the catalyst for the deepest portion of his conversion was this sentence spoken to his soul by a trusted sage: The world has yet to see what God will do with and for and through and in and by the man who is fully consecrated to him. – Henry Varley (quoted in A Deeper Experience of Famous Christians) This quote equally entices and disrupts me. How much more is available in communion with God than I’ve glimpsed or even remotely dreamed possible? How much have I taken for granted as “normal” in the life of a Christ-follower that is painfully less than what is available? How much am I willing to set out again in search of a treasure whose worth would prompt ecstasy, and in the wake of the encounter, the desire to sell everything in order to possess it would be my unforced response? Surely this treasure is the invitation to share in the Life of the Trinity, and if I could only see both the invitation and the sensual grandeur of the Life of God for what it is, unforced and total consecration would be my ever-increasing response. There is a woman I know whose heart has long been set on pilgrimage to search for this kind of vision of God. She is the woman with whom I share my children, my body, my dreams, and my life. And in her search, she has glimpsed a God who is first searching for her. Of the many impacts of her life upon mine, she embodies the words of Simon Tugwell, as John quotes in The Sacred Romance: “So long as we imagine it is we who have to look for God, we must often lose heart. But it is the other way about—He is looking for us.” In response to a glimpse of the Treasure, I am witnessing her process of selling more and more to possess it. After fifteen years of life together, we met up in the studio, pressed “record,” and dove into our first-ever shared podcast.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download This episode of the Become Good Soil Podcast is a reflection I wrote after ongoing ventures in recent years through The Message paraphrase of Matthew 21:12-18, the passage commonly referred to as “The Clearing of the Temple.” My hope is that it might help us thirsty ones peel back the glaze of over-familiarity and experience the scene afresh, as we find ourselves among the crowds in the Temple on that day. Once you've listened to this episode, I suggest you return to the text again as captured by The Message in Matthew 21:12-18 and immerse yourself in it. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus afresh. Ask to see him even more truly as he is so that you might offer him your consent to become like him, as he is making possible, in this hour of this day. Enjoy the blog version of this podcast here. Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Strength and Honor, Morgan Matthew 21 (MSG) When Jesus neared Jerusalem...Jesus sent two disciples with these instructions: “Go over to the village across from you. You’ll find a donkey tethered there, her colt with her. Untie her and bring them to me. If anyone asks what you’re doing, say, ‘The Master needs them!’ He will send them with you...” The disciples went and did exactly what Jesus told them to do. They led the donkey and colt out, laid some of their clothes on them, and Jesus mounted. Nearly all the people in the crowd threw their garments down on the road, giving him a royal welcome. Others cut branches from the trees and threw them down as a welcome mat. Crowds went ahead and crowds followed, all of them calling out, “Hosanna to David’s son!” “Blessed is he who comes in God’s name!...” As he made his entrance into Jerusalem, the whole city was shaken. Unnerved, people were asking, “What’s going on here? Who is this?” The parade crowd answered, “This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee.” Jesus went straight to the Temple and threw out everyone who had set up shop, buying and selling. He kicked over the tables of loan sharks and the stalls of dove merchants. He quoted this text: My house was designated a house of prayer; You have made it a hangout for thieves. Now there was room for the blind and crippled to get in. They came to Jesus and he healed them. When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, “Hosanna to David’s Son!” they were up in arms and took him to task. “Do you hear what these children are saying?” Jesus said, “Yes, I hear them. And haven’t you read in God’s Word, ‘From the mouths of children and babies I’ll furnish a place of praise’?” Fed up, Jesus turned on his heel and left them and the city for Bethany, where he spent the night. Early the next morning Jesus was returning to the city. He was hungry. More on Styles of Relating More on The Final Week of Jesus More on this "Wild, dangerous, unfettered and free" Son of God... Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge Beautiful Outlaw Video Series by John Eldredge The Jesus I Never Knew by Phillip Yancey The Great Omission by Dallas Wilard Mediations on the Parables of Jesus, by Thomas Keating Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Comedy, Tragedy and Fairytale by Frederick Buechner

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadEugene Petersen, author of The Message, makes this observation: The two most difficult things to get straight in life are love and God. More often than not the mess that we make of our lives can be traced to the failure in one or both of these areas. Sages have a capacity to see our lives illuminated with a glow that can only be appreciated through the view of many decades to come. From victory and defeat, agony and hilarity, they can help us see clearly the dangers we might not see that create a life that is simply not sustainable. How do we choose a life whereby we become the kind of men who can not only finish well, but genuinely enjoy our lives and the people around us in the midst of our days? How is it that the things that matter most for many men are the very things that, over time, are discarded as casualties of war? Join Reese and me as we pick up on the second part of a two-podcast series. If we are to truly come to this with sincere curiosity, honest consideration, and a willingness to not settle for less, it has the possibility and the hope to transform our lives for eternity. If you haven't listened to Part One, I recommend you start there. Strength and Honor, Morgan Below is a quote I reference in this teaching drawn from Dallas' words in The Divine Conspiracy: Jesus’ enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak, to heal and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what He brought and what He still brings to ORDINARY human beings, living ordinary lives and coping in their daily surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness He gives us strength and imparts through His companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadI've lost the ability to bullshit. It's the me I've always wanted to be. It's one of my all-time favorite film quotes, spoken by Jerry Maguire as he sheds the Poser and becomes more and more the kind of man to whom God can entrust His kingdom. The film is a modern parable of a transformational process being made available to us every day. Of the men I’ve encountered, few have become the kind of man who embodies these words more than Reese Bricken. Join us in part one of a two-part dialogue where we risk putting words and questions to what we often feel but rarely talk about, exploring together what it means to keep company with the living God and learn to live freely and lightly. Morgan Make a movie night out of Jerry Maguire to see what shedding the Poser might look like. For more on the True Self as considered in this podcast, check out The New Name – Going Deeper.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download It was Dallas Willard, in The Divine Conspiracy, who suggested, Jesus’ enduring relevance is based on his historically proven ability to speak, to heal, and empower the individual human condition. He matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ORDINARY human beings, living ordinary lives and coping in their daily surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weakness he gives us strength and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity. In this second podcast of a two-part series on the Predominant Styles of Relating, we begin by taking a deeper look at how Jesus moves fluidly with both authority and love in all three styles, not out of habitual reaction but rather divine response. We then move straight into honest application as Alex, JD, and I host a raw dialogue that is both painful and hopeful. If you haven't yet listened to part one, start there. Both podcast reference exercises. Access those here. Take the time. Do the work. It'll bring more and more life for you and those you love. Jesus, I long to have a life that, like yours, cultivates a "quality of eternity." I ask that you would increase my awareness of what it is like to relate to me. What is my effect on people? What is my impact? What are you revealing? I am asking for your supernatural revelation and insight. I give you permission and access. Lead me into the deep waters. I want more. Amen.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | DownloadHow we relate with other people is one of the greatest indicators of our spiritual maturity.This was the counsel offered by an older, wiser man years ago as he helped untie the knots in my rope and my marriage. One tough conversation began the beautiful and life-changing process of understanding how our predominant style of relating shapes all the relationship in our lives. God is after the wholehearted integration of a person. This podcast is part one of a two-part series where we take some risks and offer our vulnerability with the hope of partnering with Jesus in both His disruption and His enticing us into an ever more wholehearted integration of our souls. You can find the exercises referenced in this podcast right here.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download "Deep calls unto deep..." the Scriptures suggest (Psalm 42:7). There is in every moment of every day an accessible onramp to the narrow road that leads to Life. Often the onramp is hidden in the ache and longing to ever more wholly experience life as a son.  And when we pause and let this ache rise, we begin to sense the voice of our Father: His deepest provision tirelessly, freely, joyfully calling unto our deepest need. In Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton suggests it this way: Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. Could it be that our Father is "younger than we"? Could it be that, eternally unwearied, He turns toward you and me, setting his gaze exultantly upon our hearts as sons, and offers us again and again a way to real and lasting life? First offered at the Become Good Soil Intensive, this is perhaps the most important message I have had entrusted to my care. With joy, hope, and deep anticipation, I invite you to savor it and to risk opening your masculine heart to the more the Father is making available to you today. Click here to download this Podcast as an 11x17 PDF Poster. Click here to experience this content in the written form of a recent blog post. Hungry? Courageous?  Want even more?   Click here...

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download C.S. Lewis, in The Problem of Pain, once said this, What can be more a man’s own than this new name which even in eternity remains a secret between God and him? And what shall we take this secrecy to mean? Surely, that each of the redeemed shall forever know and praise some one aspect of the Divine beauty better than any other creature can. Every time we encounter the Living God in a deeper way, we are given another glimpse into the reality of who we are uniquely to Him and who He is uniquely to us. For each of us is invited to call upon Him personally as the The One Who Names Me. George MacDonald, in An Anthology, says it this way, The giving of the white stone with the new name is the communication of what God thinks about the man to the man… (Rev. 2:17) The true name is one which expresses the character, the nature, the meaning of the person who  bears it. It is  the man's own symbol—his soul's picture, in a word—the sign which belongs to him and to no one else. Who can give a man this, his own  name? God alone. This podcast is drawn from a session on The New Name that I offered at a recent Wild at Heart Boot Camp.  I pray that it will strengthen you in your inner man as you come to know and believe more deeply who you truly are to God. Click here to find more resources associated with this teaching...