The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano This is a reprise of season 1 episode 2 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.  Continuing the conversation about spiritual discernment, Steve and Jeremy look at how Jesus’ mother and disciples were either kept from or open to his presence and mission. The Gospels are filled with stories that provide real-life opportunities for practicing a preference for God. Defining the attributes of discernment with the backdrop of Jesus’ earthly journey gives us important glimpses into the clarity of his teaching and mission. The way forward for all of us is seen in the simple yet profound intentionality of seeing God everywhere. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano This is a reprise of season 1 episode 1 of The Discerning Leader Podcast. On this inaugural episode, Steve and Jeremy recount one of the pinnacle accounts of discernment in Luke 24. The Road to Emmaus is a wonderful example of discernment as a way of life, and not simply a way to make decisions. Noticing the presence, power, and peace of Jesus is the beginning, middle, and end of healthy spiritual discernment. And, like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, so too do we need to practice a preference for God and encourage one another to look for Jesus along our lifelong journeys of faith.  Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gary Franklin “For the first twenty years of my ministry, discernment wasn’t a part of my way of life - it was just busyness and activity.” – Gary Franklin  A large part of discernment is learning to pay attention to our soul. Gary Franklin is a pastor in the greater Atlanta area who has ministered for over four decades, is the founder of the Leaders Heart Inc, and is a graduate of LTI’s Emmaus program. Gary joins Steve Macchia to share his story of transformation, becoming a formational leader rather than a strategic leader. Gary describes his journey as one of holding on to God’s presence, peace, power, and courage in the context of massive transitions. We are encouraged to cultivate our capacity to be present with God, to know ourselves, and restore the wonder of God’s presence. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.    

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Abigail Carroll “Poetry starts with submitting myself to beauty.” – Abigail Carroll God is a creative artist who delights in our creativity. God is glorified when we enter into creativity with Him. Abigail Carroll, the author of three poetry collections and pastor of arts and spiritual formation joins Steve Macchia to share her life story of collaborating with God in creativity. In this episode, Abigail describes how writing poetry has enlivened her heart and moved her soul to focus on God, especially during times of grief. We are encouraged to create with the Spirit of God through writing poetry, journaling, and through other creative means. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Iain Whitfield “He knew the timing would be best if it were radically different from what I understood it to be.” – Iain Whitfield God isn’t seeking our permission; God is seeking our submission. Iain Whitfield shares this principle from his life. Iain was born in India to missionary parents, spent two decades in the UK and almost four decades in the United States. Ian served as Community Life Pastor in Winchester, Massachusetts for twelve years. His first career was in commercial banking which he left to help care for his terminally ill daughter who died in 2006. Iain shares his experience of God in trusting for his daughter’s nurture and care and for provision during a vocational transition. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gayle Heaslip “How can I carry Christ with me throughout the day?” – Gayle Heaslip How can we carry the presence, power, and peace of God with us throughout our day? Gayle Heaslip joins Steve Macchia to share her story of transformation. Gayle invites us to move from spending time with God in the morning and moving forward in the day without any change to viewing our life as a “monastery of the heart,” recognizing that we can carry Christ with us throughout the day. Listen as Gayle describes her experience being filled with the Holy Spirit and how we can experience the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. Gayle Heaslip has a degree in counseling from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, has completed Selah’s Certificate Training Program in Spiritual Direction, and is the founding pastor of Emmaus Anglican Church in Falmouth, MA.  Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.    

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Rowena Day “There are so many ways that our attention is pulled, and we are divorced from our own bodies which make it really hard to notice God.” – Rowena Day Season 26 will focus on life stories that have been shaped by the presence, power and peace of God. Rowena Day was born and raised in Canada and now lives in Washington D.C with her husband Jon and their four children. She was a member of LTI’s Emmaus program and has just begun the Selah-Anglican program this month! She is passionate about creative arts, spiritual formation, soul care and its intersection with neurobiology. Rowena shares with Steve how she notices the presence of God through the mighty oceans and in the minute details of our lives. Rowena encourages us with the notion that only when our mind, heart, body and spirit are fully integrated can we be receptive to what God has for us in the present. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: David Vryhof “Death gives way to life. Not only lived out by Jesus but meant to be lived out by each of us.” – David Vryhof, SSJE Holy Week is considered the climax of the Christian year. The service that starts on Maundy Thursday continues all the way to the Easter Vigil and is the capstone of Holy Week. Steve Macchia and Brother David Vryhof return to the podcast to discuss how the liturgical worship of holy week very much engages our body with our mind and heart. During these days we recognize the death of Christ that leads to His rising. This process of death to new life is an ongoing conversion process that we are invited to participate in daily.  Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: David Vryhof “We are offering ourselves in fresh new ways to God in Lent.” – David Vryhof, SSJE Holy week has the potential to invite us into intimacy sharing with Jesus not only his triumph and resurrection but his path of suffering. Commencing a two-week interlude, Steve Macchia and his spiritual director, Brother David Vryhof of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Episcopal Monastic Community based in Cambridge, MA) explore ways that we can value and participate in the work of Christ during holy week. All of us are in pursuit of a deeper affection for Christ. Times like Holy Week bring us to that deeper place of desire, longing towards Jesus. Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.  

Host: Steve Macchia “We get into conflict related to discernment because there are those around the table of discernment who don’t want to be patient with the process.” – Steve Macchia So often we are confronted with environments that are not going to be very friendly to a prayerful process of discernment. In order to find the fullness of God’s design for us we may need the help of another. This ten-phase process (that has been used by the church for generations) can be your help. In this final episode of season 25, Steve shares pastoral reflections on the entire process of discernment. Drawing upon decades of ministry experience, Steve reminds us how crucial prayer is throughout the complete discernment process. Steve recounts how crucial it is we have the right people involved – those who have a heart for God and are more committed to the process of discernment than their own preconceived ideas.  Join the conversation about spiritual discernment as a way of life at www.LeadershipTransformations.org and consider participation in our online and in-person program offerings. Additional LTI spiritual formation resources can be found at www.SpiritualFormationStore.com and www.ruleoflife.com and www.healthychurch.net.