Soil and Roots

09/22/2025

Naked and Afraid: Relational Vulnerability in the Age of Algorithms, takes a hard look at how technology is shaping our hearts—and how that impacts discipleship. He reflects on the shift from curated wisdom offered by pastors and trusted leaders to the opaque influence of algorithms that claim to know us better than we know ourselves. While memes, reels, and endless content promise satisfaction, Brian reminds us that true depth comes only through intimacy with God, others, and ourselves. Vulnerability—courageously opening our true selves—isn’t optional; it’s the soil where trust, authenticity, and transformation grow.

Drawing from the heart of Soil & Roots’ mission, Brian shows how hidden cultural and personal ideas shape us more than intellectual beliefs alone. He illustrates this through families where faith teaching was abundant but relational authenticity was missing, leading to disconnection rather than discipleship. Genuine formation, he argues, requires safe spaces where we can be known as we truly are, in all our fear and fragility. It’s not about oversharing with everyone, but about cultivating trusted circles where vulnerability leads to intimacy and intimacy leads us closer to Jesus.

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09/19/2025

God cares less about what people applaud and more about who we’re becoming in the quiet places. The Spirit’s finest work often happens unseen.

Catch the latest episode of the Soil and Roots podcast on YouTube and Spotify!

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09/18/2025

Brian explores one of Jesus’ most surprising traits—how deeply relaxed He is—and why that matters for deep discipleship.

Building on this season’s portrait of Jesus (emotionally secure, living as the Beloved, relationally shrewd, just, and gentle), Brian shows how Jesus moves calmly through storms, conflict, and pressure without losing agency or love.

The invitation? If we’re becoming like Jesus, we’ll grow in that same inner ease—rested, present, and at peace.

Instead of rewriting the past or controlling the future, we practice living in the present, so our hearts loosen their grip and rest in God. It’s not emotionless; it’s anchored. As we receive our identity as the Beloved, we learn to relax from the inside out—even when life isn’t.

Catch the latest episode of the Soil and Roots podcast on YouTube and Spotify!

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09/08/2025

Brian Fisher explores the hidden ideas that subtly hinder our intimacy with God, others, and even ourselves. Drawing on Tozer, Benner, and Curt Thompson, Brian shows how our unspoken assumptions—like thinking God merely tolerates us, or that others can’t be trusted—keep us from the depth of connection we were made for. He points out that loneliness, what Mother Teresa once called “the leprosy of the West,” is not solved by busyness or private devotions alone but by transparent, safe, committed community.

Brian doesn’t shy away from the hard truth: intimacy is always risky. To love like Jesus means daring to be known as we are, with both light and shadow exposed. It also means building safe relational spaces where disagreements and doubts don’t cancel our belonging. Safety, he reminds us, isn’t about avoiding conflict but about being anchored in God’s Kingdom and committed to one another’s good. If we want to experience the intimacy of Jesus, Brian says, we must unearth and release the lies that bind us—and courageously step into vulnerability, trust, and authentic love.

Read "The Lies that Bind" on the Soil and Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/45z2v

09/04/2025

God invites us into a journey that will lead us to discover Him and ourselves. The two cannot be separated.

Check out Soil and Roots podcast episode 129 on YouTube and Spotify.

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09/03/2025

Most of us would never talk to a friend the way we talk to ourselves. Yet our inner “talk tracks” run all day—and they quietly shape how we relate to God, others, creation, and even our own souls.

In this episode, Brian and Doc take a fresh look at self-gentleness—what it is, why it’s missing from most church conversations, and how it deepens real discipleship. (Kyle’s out this week at a very important men’s hair and beard convention—we expect him back looking sharper than ever.)

We begin with the four relationships we’re made for and why “self” belongs there. Then we dive into metacognition—thinking about what we think about. What do you say to yourself when you mess up? Would Jesus say that to you?

We also tackle why so many Christians struggle here: a “reductionist gospel” that emphasizes sin management and leaves little room for God’s delight in us. Along the way, we contrast Sinclair Ferguson’s “God accepts us despite who we are” with Dallas Willard’s “Jesus wants to be with the you-that-is.”

Gentleness is power restrained. It’s how Jesus treats us—and how he invites us to treat ourselves.

Check out Soil and Roots podcast episode 129 on YouTube and Spotify.

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08/27/2025

Brian Fisher’s newest essay presses into the heart of intimacy by exploring our “talk tracks”—the inner voice we use to speak to ourselves. He notes that while modern Christianity often reduces discipleship to knowledge or activity, becoming a deep disciple requires an inward journey of self-awareness and self-acceptance. Drawing on voices like Dallas Willard and David Benner, he insists that we can’t truly be transformed until we dare to receive God’s love in our vulnerability. In other words, knowing Jesus is inseparably tied to knowing ourselves—a concept theologians call “double knowledge.”

But Brian also highlights the tension many feel around “self-acceptance,” clarifying that it doesn’t mean celebrating every aspect of ourselves but honestly acknowledging both our light and our shadow. Authentic intimacy with God and others requires authenticity with ourselves—listening carefully to the voice inside and allowing it to be reshaped by Christ’s love. The journey may be painful, surfacing old wounds and hidden beauty, but it’s essential if we’re to live as people deeply known, deeply loved, and deeply transformed.

Read " Hello, It's Me" on the Soil & Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/44qyr

The Inward Journey and Our Quest for Intimacy

08/26/2025

In his latest reflection, Brian Fisher turns to the often-overlooked core of spiritual formation: intimacy. While many churches lean heavily on teaching and instruction, Brian reminds us that discipleship is more than information—it’s transformation through relationship. True intimacy means being fully known and fully loved, both by God and others. Drawing on voices like Dallas Willard, Curt Thompson, and David Benner, he shows that transformation isn’t about doing more or earning more—it’s about daring to receive God’s love in our vulnerability. Without this foundation, our discipleship risks becoming shallow, transactional, and disconnected from real change.

Brian also points out that intimacy is not a solo endeavor. Our modern, individualized culture—even within church life—pushes us toward private devotions and personal spirituality, but genuine formation happens in community. As Thompson notes, the depth of our knowledge of God is reflected in the depth to which we allow ourselves to be known by others. Intimacy is risky, yes, but it is also the doorway to freedom, healing, and deeper discipleship. Brian leaves us with a challenge: if we want to think, act, and love like Jesus, we must first embrace the intimacy He offers—and then extend it, courageously, to one another.

Read "Developing our Core" on the Soil and Roots Substack page: https://vist.ly/44kmt

Intimacy as the Center of our Spiritual Formation

08/25/2025

Brian Fisher’s latest piece digs into one of the most subtle yet destructive threats to genuine discipleship: narcissists within Christian communities. He reminds us that deep formation isn’t just about information—it’s about relationships, vulnerability, and authentic community. Yet narcissists thrive in the opposite environment, hiding behind charm, leadership, and even spiritual language while draining life from those around them. Whether overt or covert, they manipulate, gaslight, and often rise to positions of influence because institutions mistake charisma for character.

But Fisher doesn’t leave us in despair. He points to hope rooted in Jesus-shaped wisdom: sometimes we must wisely walk away, but other times a healthy, authentic community can model empathy, humility, and truth in ways that slowly reshape even the narcissist’s heart. As he writes, becoming more like Jesus means learning to be relationally shrewd—loving well without surrendering our agency. It’s a sobering but freeing reminder that cultivating safe, intimate communities is both our protection and our path to transformation.

Read "Enemies Among Us" on our Substack page: https://vist.ly/44gpf

Navigating the Danger of Narcissists in Formative Communities

08/22/2025

We nod at the cross but resist carrying our own. Tozer reminds us—true discipleship means more than sermons, it means surrender.

Catch episode 128 of the Soil & Roots podcast on Spotify and YouTube!

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08/21/2025

What does it really mean to be gentle? Is it weakness, meekness, or something far stronger? In this episode, Brian explores the biblical virtue of gentleness through surprising stories—from Andre the Giant in The Princess Bride to the quiet strength of Jesus on the cross.

We’ll look at how gentleness is often misunderstood in Western Christianity, especially around masculinity, and why true gentleness is actually power restrained, strength refined, and love expressed with precision. Along the way, we’ll consider how gentleness shapes our four core relationships—with God, with others, with ourselves, and with creation and culture.

Discover why gentleness isn’t just “being nice” but a crucial marker of deep discipleship and Christlike formation.

Catch episode 128 on Spotify and YouTube!

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08/13/2025

In "Stand By Me", Brian Fisher continues unpacking the idea that deep discipleship is rooted not in knowledge or individual experiences, but in small, vulnerable communities that reflect how God actually shapes us—through relationships. Drawing from thinkers like Judith Hougen, Adam Young, and C.S. Lewis, Brian points out that we were designed to believe not just through intellect, but through experience—and we experience transformation best in relational ecosystems that mirror God’s attunement, responsiveness, and love.

Brian makes the case that true formation comes from long-term, committed relationships that meet our deepest emotional and spiritual needs—just like a healthy parent-child bond. Weekend retreats and sermons can help, but without communities built around time, habit, intimacy, instruction, and shared life, our roots remain shallow. Real change happens when we walk closely with others who see and know us—mess and all. As Brian puts it, Jesus’ ragtag band of followers looked a lot more like a recovery group than a church program… and maybe ours should too.

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Recovering the Types of Communities Our Hearts Need