Roots and Branches Podcast

This episode (the second of four) covers the same material that Pastor Brent presented at New Life EFC on 2/18/25. Session 2 is entitled “Biblical Solution: God Forms His People in Particular Places.” Pastor Brent begins with “The Importance of ‘Place’ in the Bible” (from Eden through the New Earth) and goes on to discuss “Places vs. Non-Places,” “Distortions in Western Culture,” and “Recovering G...

Whereas Episodes 94 & 95 previewed the four-week elective class taught by Pastor Brent Kompelien, this episode (the first of four) covers the same material that Pastor Brent presented at New Life EFC on 2/11/25. Incentives to attend in person include fellowship and ample time for Q&A (remaining sessions are 2/18, 2/25, and 3/4), but this is the next best thing! Session 1 is entitled “Ident...

Paul and Pastor Brent were recently among 550 church staff, missionaries, and denominational leaders in Chicago. Their recap ranges from ancient church history to contemporary issues in the overall conference theme: “Theological Anthropology” (Gen. 1:27). Special attention is given to the teachings of Dr. Donald Fairbairn (1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed); Dr. Hans Madueme (Original Sin and...

This second part continues overviewing Pastor Brent’s DMin dissertation and previewing his upcoming elective class (Tuesdays, Feb. 11-Mar. 4). His four sessions will cover “Identifying the Problem,” “Biblical Solution,” “Capturing the Imagination,” and “Staging Parables of the Kingdom.” The point of discipleship is the Greatest Commandment (Mark 12:28-31), and our call as believers being sanctifie...

As a fitting follow-up to Episode 93 and a complementary commentary to our winter-spring sermon series on the book of James, this two-parter overviews Pastor Brent’s DMin dissertation, Reimagining Catechesis: Embodied and Embedded Discipleship Through Placemaking . After swapping stories of how the year 1994 was pivotal in each of their lives, Pastor Brent and Paul go over the outline of Pastor Br...

Paul and Pastor Brent co-host their first shared episode of 2025 with a preview of the book of James, Pastor Brent’s winter-spring sermon series. In addition to the many well-known themes of James (e.g.: trials and suffering; wisdom; faith and works; careful use of words; humility; interactions with fellow believers; prayer), the theme of disciple-by-doing / whole-life discipleship is also seen th...

Paul Arneberg offers an annual refresher following up Episodes 34 & 35 , “Goal Setting Parts 1 & 2.” Part 3 reviews and offers specifics on four basic categories of goal setting: physical (nutrition and exercise); spiritual (Bible reading and prayer journaling); financial (budgeting and saving); and skillful (vocation and hobbies). Healthy relationships should be the overarching end-result...

Happy New Year, Roots & Branches church family and friends! Pastor Brent is on vacation, so Paul rings in 2025 with a solo episode as a follow-up and further commentary on his 12/29/24 sermon on Psalm 90 . After overviewing this heavy psalm written by Moses, Paul highlights the grief and the hope represented by three family deaths: Wendy’s dad, Conrad DeGroot in 1970; Paul’s mom, Audrey Arnebe...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien conclude Advent 2024 with one of the most awesome chapters in the Bible, Revelation 5. Ever influenced by the arts to supplement his love for God’s Word, Paul opens and closes with samples of a great oratorio that he experienced in college, The Revelation of St. John the Divine by the late Dominick Argento. Pastor Brent reflects on his final sermon on “The...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien continue their mini-series celebrating Advent 2024. After Paul recounts the four-fold life-changing nature of the year 1989 in his life, Pastor Brent returns to his sermon from 12/15/24 and offers bonus material on Abraham, the exemplar of faith and “the father of us all” (Rom. 4:16). He and Paul discuss atonement (meaning to “cover over”) as a human longin...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien return to their mini-series celebrating Advent 2024. As Pastor Brent wraps up his 15-week sermon series on “The Promises of God” this month, he and Paul discuss Matthew 1 and the arrival of the Promise in Christ (aka the Messiah, or Anointed One). After Paul connects his recent arctic distance run with the journey depicted in The Nativity Story (2006), Past...

This two-part episode by Director of Discipleship Paul Arneberg focuses on the concept of margin inspired by the book Margin by Dr. Richard A. Swenson . In the 2019-2020 school year, the Lord led Paul to write a nine-part column series on margin . Using Scripture, personal examples and movies, Part 2 features four more key words related to margin : Contentment, Rest (incl. seven sub-category “S” w...

This two-part episode by Director of Discipleship Paul Arneberg focuses on the concept of margin inspired by the book Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives by Dr. Richard A. Swenson. In the school year leading up to and including the COVID lockdowns (2019-2020), the Lord led Paul to write a nine-part column series on margin ( https://jugheads.com/c...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien kick off a mini-series celebrating Advent 2024. As Pastor Brent wraps up his 14-week sermon series on “The Promises of God” this December, he and Paul discuss Ezekiel 34 and the Lord’s promise to shepherd His sheep and seek the lost. Cultural references include the classic “Rudolph” Christmas program; Aslan of Narnia; Aragorn of Middle-earth; and a special...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien explore the biblical grounds of the imperative of solitude. Carving out regular time in one’s schedule to be alone with the Lord (and simply to process life) brings both wisdom and challenge to our lives in whatever stage. In addition to examples from Scripture (e.g., Psalms 39 and 131), Paul reads from a blog by Sharon Glasgow about the prayer life of Susa...

Happy Reformation Day! October 31, 1517 was a pivotal day in church history, when German monk Martin Luther publicly launched a movement to rediscover the Word of God and salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. Just as it’s important to know our Bibles and redemptive history, it’s also important to know the history of our local churches and even entire denominations. Our special guest th...

Paul opens with his recent front-row experience seeing The Petersens, a top-notch Christian bluegrass band. Pastor Brent then leads a discussion of God shaping our faith though specific places and circumstances: family, neighborhood, workplace, hobbies, world events, illnesses, life stages, and the local church. Based on his recent sermon, Pastor Brent uses the biblical example of Joshua as one wh...

For Part 2 on mentorship, Paul Arneberg interviews Glenn Olson, long-time Christ-follower, husband, father, elder, and vocational minister. Glenn and his wife, Anne, have been at New Life EFC for their entire 37-year marriage, raising all six of their children in this small (now medium) local church. Glenn highlights his personal testimony, his experience mentoring young people through MN Teens fo...

Director of Discipleship Paul Arneberg offers a solo episode on mentorship. He keys off of four main categories: mentorship in the Bible; mentorship themes within Paul’s Top 100 Movies List; examples of people who have mentored him throughout his 5.5 decades of life; and broad categories of people whom Paul has endeavored to mentor, including two specific twenty-somethings who are rooted with him...

To accompany this fall’s sermon series, “The Promises of God,” Pastor Brent Kompelien and Discipleship Director Paul Arneberg discuss the importance of reading the Old Testament. Christianity neither works nor makes sense apart from understanding and even loving the whole counsel of God as laid out in the OT and fulfilled through Christ in the NT. We should neither “unhitch” from the OT nor elevat...

Pastor Brent Kompelien and Paul Arneberg further discuss this fall’s sermon series, “The Promises of God.” There is continuity to God’s story—and God’s character—throughout both the Old and New Testaments. After swapping personal stories of misconceptions about God and the Bible in their respective adolescent years, Pastor Brent addresses the concept of typology: God used real historical people, t...

Pastor Brent Kompelien and Paul Arneberg dedicate a “mini-episode” to this fall’s 15-week preaching series, “The Promises of God.” The goal of this series is to help our church gain a big-picture understanding of the Bible, showing how God’s promises of redemption are fulfilled in Christ: God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule in God’s holy and loving presence! Pastor Brent refers to two boo...

At the start of a new season, Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien consider biblical reasons and intentional strategies for why and how we gather for weekly corporate worship services. Corporate worship is a whole-family, intergenerational gathering that “breathes in” the Word and Spirit of God and then “breathes out” His grace and mission to our various other spheres throughout the rest of th...

Pastor Brent Kompelien and Paul Arneberg follow up on a recent two-part sermon series on Hebrews 10:19-12:3. Faith is a relational word, not merely an intellectual assent to the existence of God. God is our Creator, Provider, and Keeper of promises. Christianity is firmly based in history, in the Bible, in the church, and in the evidence of God’s faithfulness in our individual lives. Faith is a co...

Paul Arneberg and Pastor Brent Kompelien continue discussing the biblical meaning of work. Vocational stewardship means that our work itself is an act of worship to the Lord and witness to our co-workers, customers, and bosses. Along with their usual commentary and anecdotes, Paul and Pastor Brent highlight three books making the essential link between faith and work: “Don’t Waste Your Life” by Jo...