Salvation is not merely a rescue from peril but the restoration of our true selves.

The post 176: First Breath appeared first on Become Good Soil.

We are not called to avoid failure but to entrust it to God’s redemptive story of love.

The post 175: Live to Rescue, with Greg Lindsey appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Daily prayer paves the path back to secure attachment to the heart of God.

The post 166: Unpacking the Daybreak Prayer, with Cherie Snyder (Part 4) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Liturgy was intended to be a grace and essential stream to draw near to God and access the full breadth and depth of his Kingdom.

The post 076: Lent & Liturgy appeared first on Become Good Soil.

What is the path of inner transformation and becoming like Christ? Is such transformation even possible? Dallas Willard assures us it is readily available. 

The post 075: Vision, Intention, and Means appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Experiential therapy has been a profound conduit of the River of Life for me and for many; it is one of the great modalities of therapy and healing to consider in our toolbox for the restoration of the masculine soul. 

The post 074: Experiential Therapy with Bill Lokey appeared first on Become Good Soil.

We turn to part two of a conversation Cherie and I hosted with our mentor, counselor, and dear friend, Gary Unruh.

The post 073: Gary Unruh – Counselor and Restorer of Families (Part 2 of 2) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

May the action of our Coming King in you and through you refresh your heart and enliven your hope as you prepare and anticipate his Coming Again.

The post 072: Zechariah appeared first on Become Good Soil.

After being Gary's counseling clients for years, Cherie and I had a chance to host him on the Become Good Soil podcast.

The post 071: Gary Unruh – Counselor and Restorer of Families (Part 1 of 2) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

It’s my joy to lean into the years of 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.

The post 070: The Body Keeps the Score, with Cherie Snyder [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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.

The post 069: The Inquisitive Christ – Part 2 of 2 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Cara Murphy is a woman of questions. It’s my joy to explore her book, The Inquisitive Christ, together and recover some of the central questions that are needed in this hour on the earth.

The post 068: The Inquisitive Christ – Part 1 of 2 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

It’s my joy and privilege to invite you into this soul-strengthening conversation with a fellow Kingdom apprentice.

The post 067: Pathfinder – A Conversation with Zach Thomas [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Over the decades of our apprenticeship, we become people whose very lives are an act of prayer.

The post 165: Unpacking the Daybreak Prayer, with Cherie Snyder (Part 3) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

"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

The post 066: Arranging Our Days – An Intimate Conversation from the 2019 Become Good Soil Intensive [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

I asked three courageous women, "What is the fruit of the Become Good Soil message in your husband's life?" My desire is that this conversation will strengthen your hope for the transformation that is available. 

The post 065: Heroic Stories Series – Wives of the Become Good Soil Intensive Fellowship [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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.

The post 064: Cultivating a Habitat for the Soul [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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. 

The post 063: Isle of Misfits [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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.

The post 062: Anxiety to Peace [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

How do I find a mentor? What do I do with my disappointment in older men? How do I offer guidance, counsel, or simply more to younger men in my world?  

The post 061: In Search of a Father [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

No one stops to think. These five words, spoken over two thousand years ago, have the potential to change your life more than any others. 

The post 060: What if Margin Could Save the World? [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Over two decades ago I set out on a relentless quest to find the answer. What I found was not what I expected, and where I found it was in the most unanticipated places. With it came a restored strength and an unshakable hope.

The post 059: Becoming a King [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Seventy-two years ago, a novel threat emerged on the earth, inciting a proportionate pandemic of fear around the globe. In that hour, it was the advent of the atomic bomb, a weapon whose potential for immediate and global destruction was unprecedented.

The post 058: Locking Shields [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

The owner of the company maintained his poker face; it was not simply for the card game. This was the face he now donned for every public moment in these dark days. He was in trouble, and under no circumstances would he let it show. The investments he had made in the good times were now worthless.

The post 057: Surviving Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why? [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

We are in God’s life, and therefore we are fully and forever okay.

The post 164: Unpacking the Daybreak Prayer, with Cherie Snyder (Part 2) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Friends, it was Oswald Chambers who said, "We tend to use prayer as a last resort, but God wants it to be our first line of defense. We pray when there's nothing else we can do, but God wants us to pray before we do anything at all." This morning I was deeply moved in my own personal prayer time to contend...

The post 056: Strength in the Midst of the Storm – Prayer Response to Coronavirus [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Standing up and owning our reverberating pulses of passion rarely comes down to a singular event or momentary intersection with destiny. There is a daily-ness to our noble and sensible resignations. We dutifully go about our lives for years, decades even, and suddenly we look up to find ourselves with parts or whole swatches of our lives unlived...

The post 055: The Secret To Work You Love [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

We celebrated the 50th Become Good Soil podcast by asking you like-hearted listeners around the globe to send in the questions coming up as you travel the narrow road. The response was far more than we anticipated, and so deeply encouraging. And included far too many to address in one podcast...

The post 054: Question Response, Volume 2 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

It has been an incredible privilege to invite you into an intimate mentoring encounter with Chuck Bolton in this three-part Become Good Soil series. Among the many treasures in this final conversation, Chuck offered this gold: "I want to be authentic with everyone, transparent with fewer, and intimate even fewer...

The post 053: Heart Strong – A Conversation with Chuck Bolton (Part 3) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download Prison was so holy, because there was such a dependence on God. I had the gift of desperation. I couldn’t fix anything. I couldn’t do it. I had to lean into the Father. -Chuck Bolton One of the lenses I often use when I’m looking to recover the...

The post 052: Heart Strong – A Conversation with Chuck Bolton (Part 2) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download I’ve spent 15 months in federal prison, but I can say the loneliest, darkest prison I’ve ever been in was my addiction. It was because I was alone and because I was living in secrets. -Chuck Bolton Heart strong and soul safe. That’s what I think of when...

The post 051: Heart Strong – A Conversation with Chuck Bolton (Part 1) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

The questions came pouring in. From near and far. They have been rich and meaningful. What I thought would be one podcast celebrating the 50th episode of Become Good Soil is sure to turn into an extended volume of conversations over time...

The post 050: Question Response, Volume 1 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

It was 21 years ago, but I remember the interaction like it was yesterday. I was in the home of a mentor, and he and I were talking in the kitchen while two of his boys played in the adjoining room. A few minutes into our conversation, a conflict arose between the boys. And in the blink of an eye...

The post 049: Parenting and Styles of Relating appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Though it is rare, there are people who have built a strong inner character, who have achieved a certain depth. In these people, at the end of this struggle, the climb to success has surrendered to the struggle to deepen the soul. David Brooks, The Road to Character...

The post 048: Initiating Five Sons, with Paul Ryan [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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

The post 047: Intensive Series (Episode 8 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

A breathtaking invitation to honesty, simplicity, and connection in prayer

The post 163: Unpacking the Daybreak Prayer, with Cherie Snyder (Part 1) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

Podcast: Subscribe in iTunes | Play in new window | Download 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...

The post 046: Intensive Series (Episode 7 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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...

The post 045: Intensive Series (Episode 6 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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."

The post 044: Intensive Series (Episode 5 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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...

The post 043: Intensive Series (Episode 4 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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...

The post 042: Intensive Series (Episode 3 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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.

The post 041: Intensive Series (Episode 2 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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.

The post 040: Intensive Series (Episode 1 of 8) [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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

The post 039: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 3 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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...

The post 038: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 2 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

I 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.

The post 037: Contemplative Prayer – Episode 1 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

The hidden life is key to becoming a wholehearted leader.

The post 162: The Great I Am, with Jared Anderson (Part 2) appeared first on Become Good Soil.

"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...

The post 036: Jonathan David Helser – Episode 3 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

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...

The post 035: Jonathan David Helser – Episode 2 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.

"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 ...

The post 034: Jonathan David Helser – Episode 1 of 3 [podcast] appeared first on Become Good Soil.