Soil and Roots

09/04/2026

Sometimes the way we experienced love shapes the way we imagine God’s love. If affection was tied to achievement, behavior, or performance, we may assume we have to do the same with God.

But the gospel tells us something different: God’s love is given, not earned.

Check out episode 146 of the 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 on YouTube and Spotify!

Watch on YouTube: https://vist.ly/5hajm

Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5haji

09/03/2026

Discipleship goes beyond learning and serving. It takes us inward, outward, and ultimately into a life of love.

Check out episode 146 of the 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 on YouTube and Spotify!

Watch on YouTube: https://vist.ly/5h5tr

Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5h5tk

09/02/2026

We spend so much time asking, “What am I doing?” Perhaps the deeper question is, “Who am I becoming?” More important than what you accomplish is the person you are becoming in Christ. That is what lasts beyond this life.

Check out episode 146 of the 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 on YouTube and Spotify!

Watch on YouTube: https://vist.ly/5gzbe

Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5gzbd

09/01/2026

What if you believe God loves everyone equally, but somewhere deep in your heart, you’re not so sure? In Episode 146, Brian explores the hidden idea that God is partial—that some people receive greater affection, access, or favor because they are more successful, useful, disciplined, or spiritually mature. We’ll examine how this idea surfaces through performance, suffering, comparison, spiritual celebrity, and our relationships with others—and how deep discipleship invites us to experience God’s love as a gift rather than something we earn.

Check out episode 146 of the 𝗦𝗼𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 on YouTube and Spotify!

Watch on YouTube: https://vist.ly/5guea

Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5gue8

07/15/2026

Brian Fisher pulls together many of the themes explored over the past several months, arguing that deep discipleship requires far more than acquiring biblical knowledge. Drawing on The Critical Journey, he explains that while many churches do a good job helping people begin the Christian life, they often offer little guidance through the deeper stages of transformation—the inward journey, the Wall, and the hard work of uncovering the hidden ideas that shape how we relate to God, ourselves, and others.

The article concludes by asking a bigger cultural question: why does any of this matter? Brian contends that healthy cultures are built by healthy people, not by better systems or institutions. As followers of Jesus allow Him to transform the hidden assumptions of their hearts, they become less anxious, less controlling, more loving, and more like Christ. In the end, the path to renewing our world begins with the quiet, courageous work of letting God renew us.

Read the rest of "The Emperor Has No Clothes" on the Soil and Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/5bah7

07/13/2026

The invitation of Christ is not to pretend, but to be known. Healing begins where hiding ends.

Join us online! Check out Episode 145 of the Soil and Roots podcast on YouTube and Spotify.

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Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5azrn

07/11/2026

Episode 145 continues the story of where Soil & Roots is heading—and why the next chapter is centered on Greenhouses. Brian is joined by spiritual director Rhonda Jenkins and pastor, coach, and trainer David Smith, two advisors helping shape the future of the Soil & Roots deep discipleship journey.

Rhonda and David share how performance-based Christianity, institutional ministry, suffering, and encounters with the Wall drew them into a deeper experience of Jesus. Their stories reveal the difference between knowing about God and experiencing His presence, love, and delight in the hidden places of the heart.

The conversation also explores why churches are often well-equipped for the early stages of faith but struggle to accompany people through the inward journey. Brian, Rhonda, and David discuss spiritual direction, double knowledge, self-exploration, the limits of information-centered discipleship, and the importance of trusted people who remain present when life becomes difficult and messy.

Finally, they introduce the developing Greenhouse model: a two-year guided community journey designed to help people move through the inward journey with Jesus and trusted friends. Rather than functioning as a class, Bible study, or traditional small group, the Greenhouse cultivates the relationships, practices, safety, and time needed for deep spiritual formation.

Join us online! Check out Episode 145 of the Soil and Roots podcast on YouTube and Spotify.

Watch on YouTube: https://vist.ly/5auqe
Listen on Spotify: https://vist.ly/5auqb

06/29/2026

Brian explores why many of us can sincerely believe that God loves us while still living as though He merely tolerates us. He argues that beneath our stated beliefs are deeper “ideas” formed through experience, relationships, shame, disappointment, and religious performance. These hidden assumptions often shape our emotions, behaviors, and relationships far more than our theology does. Deep discipleship, Brian suggests, requires uncovering these unconscious ideas and honestly asking whether our hearts truly experience what our minds profess.

The article then turns to the idea that God genuinely enjoys us—that His delight is woven throughout both Scripture and creation. From playful otters to blooming flowers to the human need to be known and enjoyed, Brian argues that reality points toward a God who delights in His children. He closes with a series of reflective questions designed to help readers examine their own hearts and consider whether they actually live as though God is glad to be with them. The invitation is simple but profound: allow Jesus to meet you in the hidden places where you still wonder if He enjoys your company.

Read "Why It's So Hard to Experience the Like of God" on Substack: https://vist.ly/59fhp

06/26/2026

Brian Fisher explores a quietly painful idea many of us carry: that God may love us, but He doesn’t really like us. We might believe the doctrine of God’s love, yet still imagine Him as disappointed, irritated, or merely tolerating us because of Jesus. Brian suggests this disconnect often comes from a reduced version of the Gospel that centers almost entirely on sin management rather than God’s deep desire to be with us.

The invitation is not to ignore sin, but to ask whether sin is the first and fullest thing God sees when He looks at us. Brian points us toward Jesus, who genuinely enjoyed being with flawed, confused, messy people, and invites us to sit with two searching questions: “What do I assume God feels when He thinks about me?” and “Jesus, what do You like most about me?”

Read "He Likes Me, He Really, Really Likes Me" on the Soil and Roots Substack page.

Why We Secretly Assume God Is Disappointed in Us

06/25/2026

The hidden places of the soul are not beyond God's reach. They may be where His healing work begins.

Listen to episode 144 of the Soil and Roots podcast on YouTube and Spotify.

YouTube: https://vist.ly/582g7

Spotify: https://vist.ly/582g4