Roots and Branches Podcast

Pastor Paul sits down with New Life leaders Terry & Heidi Szymanski for the first of a two-part interview. In addition to Terry serving on our Elder Team and Heidi as our Bookkeeper, both are committed Kids Church teachers, and Heidi directs The Orchard Co-op founded in 2024 as a ministry of our church. This episode focuses on Terry & Heidi’s respective (and shared) backgrounds from high school through the present, including the process by which they moved from devoted Catholicism to Evangelical Christianity in their 20’s and 30’s followed by their journey of homeschooling their three now-adult children. Pastor Paul begins with a light-hearted litany of the things he and Terry have in common, setting the tone for a conversation glorifying the Lord for using every part of one’s life to connect with one another, grow in Christ, and disciple the next generation. Pastor Paul ends with 3 John 4, an apt life verse for anyone raising children and/or discipling them in all manner of settings and strategies.

With a week to go before the mid-terms for local, state, and national elections, Pastors Brent and Paul recap the recent elective class taught by the former based largely on the book How the Nations Rage: Rethinking Faith and Politics in a Divided Age by Jonathan Leeman. Amidst their typical banter, cultural references, and use of Scripture, the pastoral pair discuss Pastor Brent’s written outline highlighting “Going Deeper: Values vs. Policies”; “Mapping the Political Landscape: Progressive/Conservative, Left/Right” (which approaches political convictions in four quadrants rather than merely left/right); and “Take-Aways: Faithful witness in the public square”. Voting is the minimum level of engagement for Christians in our nation, but whatever the outcome and our level of further engagement, we’re to be good stewards of our earthly citizenship while remembering that we’re ultimately citizens of the kingdom of Christ. Pastor Paul ends with a benediction from 2 Cor. 5:20-21 connects our role as ambassadors in this world/nation/state/locality with the heart of the matter: urging everyone to be reconciled to God through the free gift of salvation in Christ. Our salvation then has implications for how we live, love, hope, and vote.

Pastor Paul records a solo podcast on a topic he highly prioritizes in his personal life and career: learning and using people’s names. He outlines why names are so important; practical ways to learn and use names; several personal anecdotes (from college, childcare, Jugheads, and New Life); Scriptural examples; and film references. From the names of the Lord to His knowing and naming us (and the stars) to Adam naming the animals to us respecting fellow image-bearers and Christ-bearers, names are a key to relationships and trust.

Pastors Brent and Paul focus this palindromic episode on the Lord’s goodness regarding the progress on our building project, from the groundbreaking ceremony in May to the foundation, walls, roof, windows, and the congregation actually writing Scripture verses on the studs in late August before the sheet rock went up. We’re thankful to the Lord as He is building HIS house for His body, the church! Pastor Paul’s benediction comes from Psalm 127:1-2.

Roots & Branches has reached another mini-milestone, and we celebrate with Psalm 150 and an overview of the rest of our year-long sermon series in the Book of Romans. (Go back and listen to Episode 100 if you’d like a more thorough recap of the origin story of this podcast.) Before focusing on Rom. 12:1-2 (a consistent theme throughout our 150 episodes), Pastor Brent reviews the four main sections of Romans: ch. 1-4 reveals our sin and God’s righteousness; ch. 5-8 transforms us into a new humanity; ch. 9-11 fulfills the OT promises to Israel; and ch. 12-16 unifies the church under Christ. The last major section of this beloved and theologically seminal book is crucial for Christians seeking to apply the doctrine of the first 11 chapters. Pastor Paul’s commentary on transformational renewal includes a juggling analogy and a glimpse into the ministry life of Elijah, with a benediction from Rom. 11:33-36.

Pastors Brent and Paul discuss the last two sermons in our summer series “What Does the Bible Say?” and overview the 17-week series on Heaven planned for Youth Group 1st semester. Christian believers need to debunk many myths and even false teachings about the reality and permanence of both Heaven and Hell. We also need reminders (and to tell others) that our actions and our beliefs in this lifetime reflect upon our eternal destination.

Pastor Paul follows up to Episode 114 discussing film as inspiring storytelling and an avid hobby. After reviewing his own “origin story” as a movie buff, including maintaining a Top 200 Movie List in various forms for 40+ years (with a list of rating criteria), he delves into the broad genre of biopics (and historical dramas). He gives extended attention to new releases A Great Awakening (2026) and Young Washington (2026) and covers sub-genres of biopics in the areas of modern church history, sports underdogs, iconic musicians, cultural figures, fantasy, and adoption. Pastor Paul ends by sharing his anticipation of the fall release of “Jimmy” which depicts Jimmy Stewart’s journey from Hollywood star to war hero and back again to filmmaking. Paul’s benediction from Heb. 12:1-2 admonishes us to live our lives as epic films among our “great cloud of witnesses” but most importantly for our Audience of One, our Triune God.

Although we’re already a month into our summer sermon series, Pastors Brent and Paul banter about 13 topics under the banner of “What Does the Bible Say?” From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible teaches us everything we need for salvation; godly living as individuals and in community; living on mission; and anticipating our eternal destiny for those in Christ Jesus. Our sermons are available on Vimeo (since 2018) and iTunes (since 2023, audio only) as well as in two formats on our website.

Now that the school year has ended and we’re in the full swing of summer, Pastors Paul and Brent are finally back behind the microphones to recap Pastor Brent’s recent one-off elective class. With the analogy of a building, Pastor Brent reviews his class with “Site Work” (e.g., Jude 3 and several examples of early creeds and councils in the Bible); “Foundation” (e.g., comparing capital “A” Authority of the Bible with lower-case “a” authority of consensus throughout church history); “Framing, Fixtures, and Finishes” (e.g., major councils, major creeds, and major confessions). This broad topic is important for Christ-followers to understand in 2026 in order to believe proper doctrine and live in accordance with that doctrine. Pastor Paul’s benediction is from Acts 15:8-11, the first major council in the early church. He encourages exploring this topic further through watching or listening to the 2025 EFCA Theology Pre-Conference on the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed.

Pastor Paul offers his first solo episode since New Year’s Day with a focus on various venues of formal prayer among the people of New Life EFC. Annual prayer priorities include big crowds (such as April’s District Blitz youth conference in Duluth) and cities (such as the Hastings Prayer Breakfast on the National Day of Prayer). Weekly and daily prayer priorities including among our church ministries (Sunday mornings, leadership meetings, affinity groups) and personal cloisters (alone, with a spouse or prayer partner, with one’s family, with closest accountability circle). Pastor Paul encourages using tools such as a prayer calendar and prayer journal, recording answers as well as re-reading past entries to see the Lord’s hand in and through a lifestyle of prayer in Jesus’ name. Scriptures cited include Ps. 145:18-20 and Jude 24-25 (in the double-benediction) plus other direct and indirect references. Remember to prioritize prayer with and for fellow Christ-followers (and public officials) in huge assemblies, civic settings, church events and teams, with dearest loved ones, and alone with the Lord.