Soil and Roots

Why do so many Christians feel lonely despite being surrounded by people? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the relationship between intimacy, vulnerability, and spiritual formation. Drawing on insights from John Calvin, Curt Thompson, C.S. Lewis, Rosaria Butterfield, and others, he argues that our relationships with God, ourselves, and other people are deeply interconnected. To know God more...

Is the world getting worse, or are Christians looking at the wrong story? In this Greenhouse discussion, Brian Fisher and Kyle Moody continue unpacking the themes from Episode 46 by exploring Christian fatalism, the Gospel of the Kingdom, and how our expectations shape the way we live. Together they wrestle with a common assumption in modern Christianity: that the world is inevitably declining and...

Why do so many sincere Christians struggle to become more like Jesus? In this bonus episode, Brian Fisher brings together the major themes of Soil & Roots and argues that many discipleship efforts fail because they are missing two essential components. While spiritual formation remains the heart of discipleship, formation alone is not enough. Christians also need a compelling vision of the Kin...

What happens after a narcissist leaves damage behind? In this Greenhouse discussion, Brian Fisher and Kyle Moody continue unpacking the themes from Episode 44 by exploring healing, discernment, and recovery after narcissistic abuse. Together they discuss God's presence in suffering, the importance of trusted relationships, why Christians are often susceptible to manipulation, and how healthy c...

What happens when the person damaging a Christian community claims to follow Jesus? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the difficult and often overlooked topic of narcissism in the church. Drawing from personal experience, biblical examples, and the work of Christian counselors and psychologists, he examines how narcissistic personalities operate within Christian organizations, churches, and f...

In this Greenhouse discussion, Brian Fisher and Kyle Moody continue the conversation from Episode 42 by wrestling with two central questions: what does it mean to live in the Kingdom of God, and why does deep discipleship require a serious commitment of time? The conversation explores why many Christians have inherited a reduced view of evangelism, where sharing the Gospel becomes a script or obli...

What exactly is a Greenhouse—and how is it different from a Bible study, small group, or Sunday school class? In this episode, Brian Fisher provides one of the clearest explanations yet of the purpose and design of a Greenhouse discipleship community. Building on the Three Primary Problems—the Forgotten Kingdom, the Discipleship Dilemma, and the Formation Gap—he explains why Greenhouses exist and...

Can ordinary Christians help one another become more like Jesus? In this Greenhouse discussion, Brian Fisher and Kyle Moody continue the conversation from Episode 40 by exploring the relationship between discipleship, church institutions, and Christian community. Together they wrestle with questions surrounding authority, mentorship, personal responsibility, and the role of the local church in spi...

What if we've outsourced discipleship to professionals? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores a growing assumption within modern Christianity: that spiritual formation primarily happens through institutions, programs, and professional Christian leaders. Drawing on the writings of Robert Coleman, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and others, he asks whether the New Testament presents a different picture—on...

What if the missing ingredient in modern discipleship isn't more information, but a different kind of community? In this first Greenhouse episode, Brian Fisher is joined by Kyle Moody to introduce the concept of Greenhouses—intentional communities designed to help people become more like Jesus. Building on the themes of community and spiritual formation explored in Episode 38, they discuss why...

Can we become like Jesus without deep, intentional community? In this episode, Brian Fisher begins exploring the third Key Element of Formation: community . Building on the themes of the Forgotten Kingdom, the Discipleship Dilemma, and the Formation Gap, he argues that spiritual growth rarely happens in isolation. Instead, disciples are formed through relationships marked by presence, acceptance,...

This bonus episode concludes our two-part exploration of the Three Primary Problems that contribute to the modern discipleship crisis. Building on Episode 36's discussion of the Forgotten Kingdom, Brian Fisher examines the remaining two challenges: the Discipleship Dilemma and the Formation Gap . Why do so many Christians feel disconnected from God despite years of church involvement? Why does...

Why does modern Christianity often struggle to produce deep disciples? In this bonus episode, Brian Fisher revisits the foundational ideas behind Soil & Roots and introduces the framework that shapes the entire podcast: the Three Primary Problems. Building on Dallas Willard's concept of the Great Omission, he explains how the Forgotten Kingdom, the Discipleship Dilemma, and the Formation G...

What does it mean to steward creation and culture as a follower of Jesus? In this episode, Brian Fisher concludes the exploration of habits by examining our relationship with creation and culture through the lens of the Kingdom of God. Connecting the Great Commission with the Cultural Commission of Genesis, he argues that disciples are called not only to make disciples but also to participate with...

Can Christians pay attention to their own hearts without becoming self-centered? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the spiritual habit of listening to our own hearts . Building on previous conversations about hearing God and listening to others, he introduces Heartview as a practical framework for understanding the hidden ideas and desires shaping our lives. Through our thoughts, emotions, be...

What if one of the most overlooked spiritual disciplines is learning to listen? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the habit of listening to others' hearts —not merely hearing their words, but paying attention to the deeper ideas, desires, wounds, and motivations that shape their lives. Building on the Five Key Elements of Formation and the habit of hearing God, he argues that discipleship...

Does God still speak today? And if He does, how can we learn to recognize His voice? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores one of the most important habits in spiritual formation: hearing God. Drawing on Scripture and the insights of Dallas Willard, Richard Foster, and others, he examines common assumptions Christians hold about divine communication and why many believers struggle to experience a...

What role do habits play in becoming more like Jesus? In this episode, Brian Fisher introduces the second Key Element of Formation: habits . Moving beyond simple behavior modification, he explores habits as recurring patterns that reveal the deeper ideas and desires shaping the human heart. Through the framework of Heartview, listeners are invited to examine how their thoughts, emotions, relations...

What does it actually look like to reorder our lives around becoming more like Jesus? In this episode, Brian Fisher concludes the Season 3 exploration of time as a key element of spiritual formation . Drawing together themes from discipleship, neuroscience, community, and Heartview, he argues that transformation happens through intentional relationships, meaningful presence, honest self-examinatio...

What if one of the greatest obstacles to spiritual formation is our inability to be fully present? Continuing the exploration of time as a key element of formation, Brian Fisher examines how modern assumptions about productivity, efficiency, technology, and busyness shape our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation. Drawing on insights from Dallas Willard, Curt Thompson, and Kelly...

In this bonus episode, Brian Fisher responds to one of the most common questions listeners have asked during Season 3: If spiritual formation requires immersive communities built around time, habit, community, intimacy, and instruction, how can ordinary people possibly make room for that in modern life? Revisiting the Three Primary Problems—the Forgotten Kingdom, the Discipleship Dilemma, and the...

Why does lasting spiritual transformation take so much time? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the first of the Five Key Elements of Formation: Time . While Jesus often performed instant physical miracles, He never seemed to offer instant healing for broken relationships, wounded hearts, or spiritual maturity. Instead, the deepest forms of transformation appear to unfold through long-term rel...

Season 3 begins with a provocative question: What if the greatest obstacle to deep discipleship is not a lack of information, but a misunderstanding of how people are actually formed? In this episode, Brian Fisher explores the connection between the Discipleship Dilemma and what Soil & Roots calls the Formation Gap—the distance between the environments that truly shape the human heart and what...

This episode serves as the culmination of Season 2's exploration of the Discipleship Dilemma, connecting Heartview to the larger cultural forces shaping both the church and our individual lives. Brian Fisher examines how modern and postmodern assumptions about truth, knowledge, individuality, and spiritual formation have influenced the way Christians think about discipleship today. From the el...

As Season 2 begins to draw to a close, Brian Fisher expands the conversation beyond individual hearts to examine the cultural ideas that shape entire societies. Building on the Discipleship Dilemma and the concept of "Ideas in the Air," he explores how assumptions about God, humanity, truth, and meaning have evolved from the ancient world through modernism and into today's postmodern...