The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: John Pearson and Matt Scott "The why question is a gutsy question. There's a lot of people who need more guts as lead ministers." – John Pearson Every day we are confronted with decision-making. Some decisions are obvious, others require us to wait. The most difficult decision-making is deciding between multiple options. In Season 25 of The Discerning Leader podcast, we will focus on the process of discernment. Drawing material from Chapter 8 of Steve's book, The Discerning Life, John Pearson and Matt Scott join Steve Macchia for a conversation on the big question of decision making - the "why" question. John Pearson is a management and board governance consultant and author of many books, including Mastering the Management Buckets. 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: Matt Scott "How powerful it is for people to let each other emote and not get in the way of what the Spirit of God is doing and let God do His work" – Steve Macchia In this concluding episode, Steve and Matt share what it means to be present to God and to one another. When we listen to one another well our goal is not to fix, judge or necessarily say something helpful. Instead, we offer our attention and our presence. We make space for the trinity to do the work of healing and restoration. Steve and Matt share what this looks like in leadership teams and in personal relationships. A practical application we can take from this week's episode is to ask the people around us "am I companioning you well?" In listening to their experience of us, we can learn a lot on how to be good spiritual companions. 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: Matt Scott "Leaders plant seeds of hope, even when the situation is dire." – Steve Macchia We live in a world that is constantly disappointing us. How do we continue to have hope? Steve Macchia and Matt Scott return to the podcast to talk about this very idea. Using week five of the appendix of The Discerning Life, they echo the psalmist who points our eyes to the mountain, to the Lord the maker of heaven and earth. The temptation for leaders (especially gifted, capable leaders) is to invite people to hope in us. The best thing we can do is come alongside them and point them towards our eternal hope. 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: Matt Scott "Is this really God speaking or is it any of those other voices pulling me off course?" – Matt Scott Every day there are a multitude of voices that clamor for our attention. Sometimes the voice we hear is our own internal voice of pride or selfish pursuit. Other times we hear the voice of the enemy through lies, deceit, or shame. What we want is to sift through the voices, notice God, hear his voice and even help others respond to his voice. In this episode, Steve and Matt return to the podcast to take us through the fourth week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on God being revealed and our openness to fully receive what he wants to do. Be encouraged to listen for God's voice amidst competing voices, for your own walk with God and for your spiritual friends. 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: Matt Scott "We are to be peculiar people in our grace, our mercy, our kindness, our love, our forgiveness, our reconciliation - that's the peculiarity of the church." – Steve Macchia Sometimes we think the church is perfect. We wish it were. But the church is not perfect. The church is comprised of broken people. In this episode, Steve and Matt walk us through the third week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on how we can become aware of our personal brokenness which contributes to brokenness in the body of Christ. Steve shares that "the broken me ends up contributing to the broken we." We need to release an expectation of perfection from one another and adopt a posture of saying, "Lord, have mercy" first on me then on us collectively. We end by asking what can we do today to be a positive life-giving experience in the body of Christ? 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: Matt Scott "In the midst of pain and suffering and sorrow, what is God inviting us to do about it?" – Steve Macchia Most of our emotional pain and heartache is unnecessary. Because we are jealous, anxious or fearful, we tend to hold grudges. We tend to throw each other away relationally when that is not the way of God. In this episode, Steve and Matt walk us through the second week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on our broken world and come from some familiar passages from Genesis and Exodus. Steve shares about the forgiveness that Joseph gave to his brothers. This forgiveness redeemed them back to him, to one another and even to the mandate their father Jacob gave on his deathbed. Matt shares about God speaking to Moses in the burning bush. This moment was God seeing the suffering of His people and Moses' commissioning to be an agent of God's redemptive work. 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: Matt Scott "In the discerning life, we have to take everything we have and hold it more loosely." – Steve Macchia Our world is often very noisy and fast-paced, making it hard to hear God's voice. During season 24 we will look at a forty-day prayer and reflection resource from Steve's latest book, The Discerning Life. In Episode 1, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott have a conversation around discernment in community and friendships. Steve shares reflections on discerning God from the account of Abraham and Isaac found in Genesis 22. Steve reminds us that ALL that we have comes from God. God wants us to function as stewards, holding things looser than we often do. Finally, Steve encourages us to listen to God attentively and obey Him faithfully. Visit www.stevemacchia.com to order your own copy of The Discerning Life.

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Margery Kennelly "We always think about waiting on God but God spends a long time waiting on us." – Margery Kennelly Margery serves as Associate Rector at St George's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. Margery joins Steve to share pastoral reflections on Epiphany - the bright clear revelation of Christ's kingship over the whole world. For Christians, this time reminds us to manifest who Jesus is in the world through our testimony and work in the world. As we think about waiting on God, we are reminded that God spends time waiting on us. Margery shares that patience is the ally of waiting and encourages us to demonstrate this fruit of the spirit while we wait. Finally, we are invited to Ignatian Examen, asking, "Does my life glorify God?" 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: Todd Cravens "What do I need to do now? Waiting is not an absence of activity." - Todd Cravens Todd Cravens is in his 16th year, serving as Teaching Pastor and Elder at Hope Christian Church in Winchester, MA. He grew up in Louisville, KY, attended the University of Louisville, and received his M. Div in Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Todd and his wife Alisa have three adult children and enjoy hosting international students, totaling more than 60 students from 16 different countries. Todd joins Steve to share about personal and pastoral practices in the week after Christmas. We are encouraged to reflect back upon the year and give voice to the way God has been at work in our lives. We are invited to continue being attentive to God; bringing what we think out to happen into alignment with what we know God wants to happen.

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Bryan Wilkerson "Believe that the Lord had something fresh for you this Christmas" – Bryan Wilkerson Bryan Wilkerson serves as Senior Pastor at Grace Chapel, authored Living God's Story, is a graduate of Wheaton College and Denver Seminary, and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Bryan's life mission statement is "to lead as many people as possible to a joyful and growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church." He and his wife, Karen, have four married children and a growing number of grandchildren. Brian shares with Steve that as he enters his thirty-ninth year of ministry, Christmas is his favorite time of year to preach and minister. He believes that the Lord can bring something new in our spirit as we wait expectantly. His pastoral counsel to us is to be quiet for five minutes – to sit in front of the Christmas tree or fireplace, go for a walk, and allow the Lord to meet us in those moments. 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.