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.

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 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...

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...

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...