Roots and Branches Podcast

Paul and Pastor Brent describe how the church is the God-ordained family of faith in which we find belonging. True belonging begins with being fully known by God, fully loved by God, and fully redeemed by God through the gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we find meaningful belonging in Christ’s Body, the local church, as we gather face-to-face and engage in worship, discipleship, and mission alongside...

We explore a new transformational outcome: moving from lonely to belonging. We are bombarded with superficial relationships in our culture. Paul and Pastor Brent consider the epidemic of loneliness that affects so many people today. We need to think critically about what it means to truly connect and belong, starting with our relationship with God, then extending to our relationships with others....

Paul and Pastor Brent sit down again to explain why it is so important that we embrace objective truth. We develop a theology of special revelation, specifically through the Scriptures that reveal Jesus Christ. Paul and Brent define “inspiration” and help us learn why the Bible is foundational for the Christian faith. Our prayer is that you would crave to know God through his Word!

Paul and Pastor Brent launch into a new transformational outcome: relative truth to biblical truth. We begin by defining "subjective” and “objective” truth. Then turn to the Bible to understand how we can know God through general revelation. Our discussion ends with an intro to special revelation and a challenge to desire God’s self-disclosure through his Word.

We pick up the final installment of our conversation with Pastor Brent and Stephen Jelks about moving from my design to God’s design. We dig deeper into the importance of having a solid foundation in Christ. He is the only secure and solid Cornerstone. The church is the visible edifice of God’s glory, a signpost and foretaste to the coming Kingdom of God. We end this episode with a summary of our...

Pastor Brent talks again with Stephen Jelks about moving from my design to God’s design. The focus of part 2 is on the biblical story and how we need to humble ourselves under the Master Builder’s plan, recognizing his sovereignty, and live a life centered on him. Architecture and design give us practical illustrations that will challenge our perspective on discipleship and enrich our understandin...

Pastor Brent sits down with Stephen Jelks, an architectural designer, to talk about our next transformational outcome: moving from my design to God’s design. Brent and Stephen reflect on the pride and self-centeredness that pervades our culture, then contrast this with the call of the gospel to live in humility and surrender under God, the Master Builder.

Paul and Pastor Brent continue the conversation about image management. We introduce new concepts, enmeshment and differentiation, that illuminate how real connection can be distorted. We need to firstly have a real relationship with God through Jesus. Ultimately our security in Christ is the only way we can truly connect with others and to live together as the Body of Christ in the world.

Paul and Pastor Brent reflect on the toxic culture of image management in our world today. They also share some personal stories and anecdotes that illustrate the problems that often arise when we want to be accepted by others. Apart from Christ, we will easily make image management an idol and it will destroy us! We need to live securely in the grace of God and his love for us in Jesus Christ.

The continuation of our conversation about the church as a “place”. Paul and Pastor Brent illustrate how to redeem places for God’s glory and they cast a vision for the church as a “placemaking” endeavor. We need to envision disciple-making as an opportunity to enact the gospel in everyday life, together as the Body of Christ. Pastor Brent summarizes Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer’s book "Faith Speaking Unde...

Paul and Pastor Brent begin an overview of the “transformational outcomes” we desire to see in our disciple-making vision. These goals paint a powerful picture of the kind of transformation we need to see in our lives at this particular cultural moment. Today we discuss moving from “non-place” to “place”. We need to embrace the embodied and relational reality of Christian community in which we exp...

Paul and Pastor Brent sit down to discuss the nuances of discipleship as we live in the complexity of the post-Christian world. How do we come to have a deeper knowledge of God that results in real transformation? Paul and Brent introduce a new term, tacit knowledge, that helps illustrate how we come to inhabit the truth of God in a deep sense so that we can live faithfully day-by-day.

We are now going to explore the details of our Disciple-by-Doing ministry philosophy. Paul and Pastor Brent sit down to define biblically what we mean by Disciple-by-Doing and illustrate what this method of discipleship and outreach can look like in everyday life.

Paul and Pastor Brent reflect on the revival at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. How do we think biblically about these kinds of events? What does this mean for our church in our community? Join us as we discuss movements of God to renew the church.

Paul and Pastor Brent reflect on the prophetic promise of deeper transformation. How is the story of people, presence, and place fulfilled? We need a new heart! The good news is that through Jesus we are reborn to new life in Christ by the forgiveness of our sins and the regeneration of our inner being! Special guest Isaiah Langenfeld shares his testimony of renewal through the gospel.

We are getting a clearer picture of the heart of discipleship in the Bible. In this episode, Paul and Pastor Brent explore the consistent call across the scriptures to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We will learn that spiritual formation is about reordering our loves, redefining our identity, rediscovering the truth, and repatterning our behavior. Guest Deb Hannah illustrat...

Paul and Pastor Brent go into more detail on the specific biblical promise of redemption from the Old Testament. God is doing a work in history to redeem “God’s people in God’s place under God’s rule in God’s holy and loving presence.” Special guest Kiya Anderson describes the beauty of Christian community and what it is like to live missionally in the world.

Now that we've outlined the biblical story from creation to new creation, we can circle back to deepen our understanding of redemption. Paul and Pastor Brent discuss our culture's false versions of salvation, and then uncover what the Bible says we are saved from, what we are saved for, and how we are saved. Special guest Tiffany Neuharth tells stories of redemption from her own life and from her...

Paul and Pastor Brent fast-forward to the end of the Bible to explain where all of history is headed: the new heavens and new earth. By tackling Revelation 21-22, we will learn about the beautiful picture of a renewed and redeemed creation where God will dwell with us face-to-face and all sin, evil, and death are gone!

Everything turns upside down in this new episode! The story of God’s good world and humanity’s special image-bearing work gets ruptured by sin. Paul and Brent explain how Genesis 3 results in cursed fruitfulness and the need for redemption. Special guest Ernest Stellingwerff shares his experience for 30 years in business management and helps us understand the curse of sin in our vocations.

Paul and Pastor Brent dive into Genesis 1:26-28 and Genesis 2:15 to learn about the image of God in humanity. This episode uncovers the beautiful picture of stewardship we find in the creation account. Special guest Paul Cravens shares about image-bearing through composing music.

In our first full-length episode, Paul and Brent sit down to talk about the biblical foundation of creation from Genesis 1. God’s creation has purpose and order, it is dependent on God, and it reflects His goodness and glory. Special guest Meg Cravens helps to illustrate how this foundation affects everyday life.

Check out our website for more information about this ministry initiative: https://www.nlefc.org/roots-and-branches