Become Good Soil

By Morgan SnyderReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Become Good Soil episodes

May 23, 2023 135: Mastering the Art of Living, with Aaron McHugh

Life is our resume. It is our story to tell, and the choices we make write the chapters. Can we live in a way where we look forward to looking back?

– Matthew McConaughey, Greenlights

Friends,

In some ways, much of my public mission in the world began with inviting men to recover the deepest questions of their masculine souls. And in that recovery, to risk giving God a decade.

Choosing to enter into the radical choice of taking the lowest seat at the table. Excavating over building. Forsaking shortcuts. Recovering curiosity. Breaking limits we have placed on God. And choosing to recover our masculine initiation as the primary storyline in which we can recover our hearts as men and become trustworthy guides for others.

None of that can be done alone. It was over a decade ago that longtime ally and dear friend of mine Aaron McHugh started to make different choices alongside me.

Choices toward life.

Choices for play and adventure.

Choices to stop being the victim.

Choices to love.

Choices to risk living in a way where if God didn't come through, all would be lost.

Most of these choices were small, hidden, and seemingly obscure. But in time and over time, Aaron has started to live in a way where he eagerly looks forward to looking back.

By day and by decade, he is learning to master the art of living.

We slowed the onslaught of daily demands to celebrate together as like-hearted apprentices a sacred mark in his initiation.

Aaron is inviting us to come along. To taste and see.

There is more. Dive in here to this declaration of hope. It’s yours if you want it.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
1 hr 15 min
May 09, 2023 134: Parts Work, Part 6

Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

– Colossians 1:17

Friends,

What vision of the human person and the way of restoration do our Scriptures offer? Consider these verses:

So many times I have longed to gather your wayward children together around me… (Luke 13:34 TPT)

Like a city that is broken down and without walls [leaving it unprotected] is a man who has no self-control over his spirit [and sets himself up for trouble]. (Proverbs 25:28 AMP)

They will forget their shame and all their unfaithfulness….When I have brought them back from the nations and have gathered them from the scattered countries of their enemies…then they will know that I am the Lord their God, for I will gather them to their own land, not leaving any behind. (Ezekiel 39 NIV)

These verses refer to the restoration of fragmented communities, but could this pattern be relevant to our inner healing as well? As Dallas taught in Renovation of the Heart, the individual is also divided into incoherent fragments. If gathering around God’s Kingdom is heaven’s pattern to heal external communities, could a like-kind reunion of our scattered inner parts around the Presence of the Triune God be the path to restoring internal harmony and peace?

Let’s find out together.

In the final episode of the BGS Parts Work series, we’re returning to a fresh session on the big ideas of parts work where Cherie and I taught as a team. We conclude the session with a beautiful and bold opportunity to put into practice some of this deep integrative work.

All of the meditations within the series, additional resources, and referenced materials can be found at BecomeGoodsoil.com/PartsWork.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
1 hr 16 min
April 25, 2023 133: Parts Work, Part 5

I will not leave you as orphans.

– Jesus of Nazareth

Friends,

We’re deep in this series exploring a path and process to integrate a man's soul under the care and direction of the Triune God. In Part 5, I’m inviting you to put this process into practice. Through the help of a trusted guide, Grant Leitheiser, this episode offers a personal experience of care for the fragmented parts of your soul.

When you’re ready and have an hour of protected time for your soul, dive in here.

For the entire series and all the related visuals, resources, and more, go to BecomeGoodSoil.com/PartsWork.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
26 min
April 11, 2023 132: Parts Work, Part 4

In the last days, the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established

as the highest of the mountains;

it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,

to the temple of the God of Jacob.

He will teach us his ways so that we may walk in his paths.”

– Isaiah 2:2-4

Friends,

So often we skillfully distance ourselves from pain, shame, loneliness, and fear. Heroically (and understandably), we set off on a myriad of self-salvation projects.

The contexts, details, and templates are different and often endless. But what if the parts of us committed to self-protective habits are not inherently bad?

The compulsive reach for relief from a false comforter.

The teeth-gritting heroism of doing the "right thing.”

The addiction to appearance and reputation.

Our regular rage against authority or our unquestioning posture of a bended knee before it.

What if the part caught in these compulsive behaviors is, at its core, a valuable aspect of our personhood that is ripe for redemption when connected to the love and life of God?

Friends, we want to suggest that there are no bad parts of our hearts as men and women made in the image of God, but rather, parts meant to reflect the image of our beautiful Triune God that have become disintegrated, marred, and desecrated.

Perhaps we would experience the compassion and unconditional love of Jesus in even greater measure if we took the next step in believing and embracing this.

Let’s keep diving deep—together. Here’s Part 4 of our series on Parts Work.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
1 hr 6 min
March 28, 2023 131: Parts Work, Part 3

Life is not about you.

– Adam's Return

Brothers,

I want to suggest that our lives, our stories, our maturity are not finally about us.

The aim of this Parts Work series is not to achieve a new spiritual height. Nor is it to create yet another template for the self-life.

Rather, the aim is Christ. To love him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. And to engage our world for the well-being of others in union with Christ.

“It is no longer I who live—but Christ lives in me.” (St. Paul)

It is the wholehearted soul who is truly free and able to let God be the center of his story.

Let's recover this ancient way together.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
54 min
March 14, 2023 130: Parts Work, Part 2

“I have come to heal the broken hearted….I have come to set the captives free and release prisoners from darkness.”

– Isaiah 61

In the confusion of your life, have you ever found yourself having one of these internal conflicts?

I am overtired but under-rested.

I am overworked, yet I feel unproductive.

I am overweight but undernourished.

I am overstimulated yet under-engaged.

I am working to make a meaningful contribution, yet I often feel under-celebrated.

What if these internal conflicts are invitations to deeper integration? What if the Restorer of Eden Justice and Peace is providing a way forward to wholeness within you as well?

What if pursuing, accepting, and extending love is not only the answer to our external relationships but to our internal relationships as well?

And what if each of our internal fragmented parts has a redemptive and essential role in the person we are meant to become?

Part 1 of this series provides a vision for the integration of differentiated parts within the human soul. That’s where you’ll want to start if you haven’t yet had the chance. But there’s nothing like real-life examples to move us from theory toward practical application. So I took the risk of engaging with a few of my like-hearted allies. BGS Intensive alumni Grant, Isaac, and Tony give us an in-depth look at parts work in the intersection of our daily lives.

It is my hope that this conversation will help flesh out the ideas of Part 1 so we can dive even deeper into parts work in the sessions to come.

All the resources referenced in this Parts Work series (and more) can be found at www.BecomeGoodSoil.com/Parts.

My prayer is that as you listen, you will invite God to shine his light on the unique parts where Love is pursuing even more healing and integration. You’re worth it. So let’s risk, together.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
54 min
February 28, 2023 129: Parts Work, Part 1

Spiritual transformation in Christ is the process of all of the essential parts of the human self being effectively organized around God,

as they are restored and sustained by him.

Its result is love of God with all of the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and of the neighbor as oneself.

– Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart

Friends,

The most important thing you can ever know about a person is that they bear the image of God.

But what does this mean?

There is a Father, providing abundantly generative life to all who choose to receive it.

There is a Son, Jesus Christ of Nazareth, who daringly stands forever in solidarity with us amidst our messy and beautiful humanity.

And there is the Holy Spirit, wildly leading us in our moment-by-moment lives.

As we explore the landscape of our triune God, we discover that God is a dynamic, interactive community of persons. What might he be revealing about the wildly complex landscape we find within our own souls?

You know that feeling: Part of me wants to do the very thing I don’t want to do.

Saint Paul wasn’t immune to it. He said, “Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.” (Romans 7:21-25, MSG)

How do we make sense of this seeming duplicity within?

Even more, how do we participate in a process through which, over time, every disintegrated and fractured part of our brilliant personality can be brought back into alignment and abiding connection with God?

Friends, I want to invite you to take a huge risk and begin to wonder with me about the parts of us we find "covertly rebelling."

This is a dynamic series intended to serve as an immersive introduction to the integration of our many parts within.

In this first part, I want to invite you behind the scenes to a session from our most recent Become Good Soil Intensive.

We’re all trying to make our way home. What if that is as true within us as it is true without? What if Love is the answer, not only in our external world, but in our internal world as well? Enjoy.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan

Access additional resources at www.BecomeGoodSoil.com/parts.
1 hr 12 min
February 14, 2023 128: The Salt Life, with Jared Sayers

We are made in the image of God; we carry within us the desire for our true life of intimacy and adventure. To say we want less than that is to lie.
– The Journey of Desire

Friends,

It started with an ocean lifeguard dory boat race. Two-man teams set to row from the coast of Catalina Island across the twenty-two-mile open-water channel back to the mainland near San Pedro. To add to the adventure, it was the opening of lobster season. In response, Jared and his buddy cooked up an off-the-couch adventure to dive for lobsters all day around Catalina, camp on the beach, wake up in the predawn, and launch their self-powered dory at 4:00 a.m. to complete the epic race back home.

This is a glimpse into the heart of Jared Sayers, a trusted friend of mine who has consented to the path and process of becoming a king. Husband, father, waterman, entrepreneur, recovering business executive, adventurer, artist, and craftsman, Jared is a man who seeks to drink deeply of life in the fullest possible measure.

Above all, he has taken risks and carries scars of failure, heartbreak, and triumph that tell a story of masculine initiation.

Through the doorways of pain and desire, Jared is passing through his initiation into an adventure with God he would never have imagined.

And he’s inviting us to do the same.

The invitation is to allow the Father to use Jared’s story as an interpretive grid to shine a light deep into your heart as a man and to attune you to who God wants to be for you and what he is up to in calling you out to deeper waters and bigger surf.

Join us for this unique but universal story of masculine initiation. Locate your own heart and take the next risk, if you dare.

For the Kingdom,
Morgan

To dig even deeper and glean from all Jared is stewarding, check out more at his blog, A Blue Mind, and his Salt & Sea Camp for kids.
1 hr 4 min
January 30, 2023 127: Stories from the Frontlines, Part 3

Enter through the narrow gate.

For wide is the gate and broad is the path that leads to destruction,

and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the path that leads to life,

and only a few find it.

– Jesus of Nazareth

Eugene Peterson phrased Jesus’ words this way:

“Don’t look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don’t fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life—to God!—is vigorous and requires total attention.” (Matthew 7:13-14 MSG)

The Becoming a King Retreat is vigorous and requires total attention. It is not easy or cheap. It doesn’t provide a shortcut or easygoing formula.

It’s an evergreen invitation back onto the narrow path that leads to life.

And it’s working.

Men are being formed and forged.

They're discovering healing and hope.

They’re finding their smiles and their tears again.

And they’re being initiated deeply into the Kingdom of God.

We’re concluding this three-part series with more stories from the frontlines of the Becoming a King Retreat. We think you’re going to love it.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
57 min
January 18, 2023 126: Stories from the Frontlines, Part 2

We don't believe something by merely saying we believe it,

or even when we believe that we believe it.

We believe something when we act as if it were true.

– Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart

In Part 2 of this conversation, we hear another fresh batch of stories from the frontlines of our newest mission: the Becoming a King Retreat.

Constructing a four-day context that shepherds men into their masculine initiation, the Becoming a King Retreat weaves together story, teaching, rest, play, and worship. Men all over the globe are getting their hearts back through it.

And it’s only just beginning.

What if you had another chance?

What if you could be courageous, again?

Friends, join me and a few courageous others choosing to invest in the holy and daring work of strengthening the hearts of other men. They are men who have risked offering strength, love, and service on behalf of others, and they are discovering the deep fruit of doing so.

Come along into Part 2 of this conversation as we encounter men who not only believe God is a good Father, but are risking to act as if it were true.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
58 min