Become Good Soil

By Morgan SnyderReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Become Good Soil episodes

October 10, 2018 047: Intensive Series (Episode 8 of 8)
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It is not what a man does that is of final importance, but what he is in what he does. The atmosphere produced by a man, much more than his activities, has the lasting influence.

–Oswald Chambers

In the mid-20th century, The Times in London ran an essay contest, inviting highly respected thinkers and leaders to respond to the question, “What’s wrong with the world?” Chesterton offered this as his full response:

Dear Sirs,

I am.

Sincerely yours,

G. K. Chesterton

Chesterton was in contact with the reality of the masculine soul. An an apprentice in the way of the Kingdom, he had taken personal responsibility for his part in what is wrong in the world. Chesterton consented to a process of masculine initiation, a putting to death of the false self, this ancient path epitomized in the life and death of Jesus and described concisely by Joseph Campbell: “Where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves.” (2) Through apprenticeship to Jesus, Chesterton had become the kind of king who could be entrusted with more and more of God’s Kingdom.

We are invited to join him at the side of our true elder Brother, so that one day the inverse of the question offered by The Times might be answered positively by us all:

What’s right with the world?

I am.

That is what comes to mind when I think of the men with whom I had the honor to share this conversation for the final episode of the 8-part Become Good Soil Intensive Series.

One man shared this phenomenal joybomb with me recently. He hosted a few alumni and their families for a meal and some laughter around the campfire. One of the wives, who has suffered much trauma from being mistreated by men who were entrusted with the care of her heart, shared these words as she later reflected on the evening:

"I feel safe and secure in a world where there are men like these men around the fire."

Oh, friends, the good it does my heart to know that among some of the lasting effects of the transformation of God in the hearts of men through this message, is this sort of good and caring impact on the lives of women. Perhaps it is indeed the "atmosphere" a man does or does not produce that can tell us much about the heart of the man.

If you're joining us for the first time in this series, I would encourage you to begin with part one.

If this series has strengthened your masculine soul in any way, I encourage you to ask God which men in your world would benefit from your passing it along.

The deadline for applications for the next U.S. Intensive is October 12th. Find out more.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan

(1) Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
54 min
October 02, 2018 046: Intensive Series (Episode 7 of 8)
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For a human character to reveal truly exceptional qualities, one must have the good fortune to be able to observe its performance over many years. If this performance is devoid of all egoism, if its guiding motive is unparalleled generosity, if it is absolutely certain there is no thought of recompense and that, in addition, it has left its visible mark upon the earth, then there can be no mistake.

– Jean Giono, The Man Who Planted Trees

Who can forget when Daniel, the Karate Kid, visited Mr. Miyagi in his understated workshop? Or when Luke Skywalker was led to the swamp and encountered Master Yoda? Both young men found themselves responding to an invitation to enter a process of becoming. The theme is universal: the human soul is formed and forged at the feet of a wise master.

Yet this vision of apprenticeship to a Master is often exchanged for a commitment to autonomy and self-realization, especially in a culture enamored with the freshness of youth and fiercely committed to convenience.

Dallas named this resistance to discipleship as “vampire Christianity.” In his words, this resistance effectively says to Jesus, "Yes, I'd like a little of your blood, please. But I don't care to be your student or have your character. In fact, won't you just excuse me while I get on with my life, and I'll see you in heaven." (1)

The Spirit is faithfully reissuing the invitation to apprenticeship to this generation. And together, we can respond. We can say yes to Jesus’ offer of a front-row seat in his "Master Class for Kingdom-Living" and choose the narrow road of inner transformation.

Join me in episode 7 of the 8-part Become Good Soil Intensive Series as we do the sacred work of turning to elders in the Kingdom, the fathers of our faith, to allow their counsel to orient, refresh, and strengthen the kingly heart set within us.

The deadline for applications for the next U.S. Intensive is October 12th. Find out more.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan

(2) The Great Omission by Dallas Willard
51 min
September 25, 2018 045: Intensive Series (Episode 6 of 8)
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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

What astonishes the heart of God?

Join me for this sixth episode of an eight-part series where we are going behind the scenes into the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive.

If you're joining us for the first time in this series, I would encourage you to begin with episode one.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
36 min
September 18, 2018 044: Intensive Series (Episode 5 of 8)
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How are you arranging your days?

Dallas suggest that there is a possibility and a promise that, in time and over time, we can indeed arrange our days so that we are "experiencing deep contentment, joy, and confidence in our everyday life with God."

Friends, it is available. By day and by decade.

Join me as we once again dive behind the scenes for a portion of another session from the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive.

In this episode I refer to two images:

Through October 12, we are accepting applications for the next Become Good Soil Intensive. Find out more.

For the Kingdom,
Morgan
42 min
September 11, 2018 043: Intensive Series (Episode 4 of 8)
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In Renovation of the Heart, Dallas says,

"Our soul is like a stream of water, which gives strength, direction and harmony to every other area of our life. When the stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because our soul itself is then profusely rooted in the vastness of God and His Kingdom...and all else within us is enlivened and directed by that stream. There we are harmony with God, reality, and the rest of human nature and nature at large."

It's been said that the infinite need of the soul can only be satisfied by God's infinite capacity and desire to satisfy.

The soul was designed for a habitat in which it can thrive.

Let's dive in behind the scenes for a portion of another session from the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive.

In this episode, among other categories, I refer to an IKEA instruction manual and, by way of contrast, a powerful trailer from Gerber Knives: Hello, Trouble.

Through October 12, we are accepting applications for the next Become Good Soil Intensive. Find out more.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
1 hr 2 min
September 04, 2018 042: Intensive Series (Episode 3 of 8)
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I break the limits I have made with

who God can be,

what God can do,

and how God can do it in my life.

It's perhaps the second most dangerous and daring prayer we could ever pray. And it is one that can lead us into treasures beyond telling.

Listen to this session from the most recent Become Good Soil Intensive about receiving God as Mother. Then, if you'd like to explore this teaching more deeply, check out a video of a teaching I recently offered at Discovery Church Colorado, as well as more resources on the mothering heart of God.

Through October 12, we are accepting applications for the next Become Good Soil Intensive. Find out more.

For the Kingdom,

Morgan
27 min
August 28, 2018 041: Intensive Series (Episode 2 of 8)
Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download

What 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
38 min
August 23, 2018 040: Intensive Series (Episode 1 of 8)
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
16 min
April 30, 2018 039: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 3 of 3
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.
33 min
April 19, 2018 038: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 2 of 3
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
36 min