The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Matt Scott “Look what social media has done to our ‘notice me’ inclinations today and how that self-centeredness keeps us from preferring God instead.” – Steve Macchia Welcome to all who are joining us as members of the Reading Retreat for The Discerning Life.  (If you still want to join the online, author-guided, self-paced retreat, go to www.stevemacchia.com for all the details).  Spiritual discernment is “practicing a preference for God” and one that we can learn how to live on a daily basis. How do we posture ourselves to prefer God and guide others to do likewise? That’s what we need to learn and it only happens by a practiced discipline and choice of the heart.  Perceiving and noticing God in the daily, routine places of our lives prepares us for times when we need to discern his particular will.   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 “Discernment is a lifestyle of noticing God in everything, practicing a preference for God in all aspects of our life and service to others.” –Steve Macchia We are excited to launch the 17th season of The Discerning Leader Podcast with a focus on Steve Macchia’s newest book, The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything (Zondervan Reflective, 2022). Steve and his conversation partner, Matt Scott, commence this new season talking about the importance of spiritual discernment as a lifestyle for all leaders and learners. Today Steve and Matt lay the groundwork for this new series. All who pre-order the book are invited to join the online, author-guided, self-paced Reading Retreat. Pre-order your copy of the book, find all the details at www.stevemacchia.com - and sign up today! 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, Guests: Dave Currie and Susan Currie “Epiphany was our main missions conference in the local church, when we invited the children to bring offerings to Jesus as we sought to share the light of Jesus to the far corners of the earth.” –Dave Currie Epiphany is both a day and a season in the church calendar. Occurring on January 6, it concludes the 12 days of Christmas and signifies the wise men following the bright star to find Jesus. They brought gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, symbolic of the fulfillment of God’s promises in Jesus as prophet, priest, and king. Dave and Sue Currie follow the church calendar as a couple and as a family and guide us into the experience with the richness and fullness that Epiphany is intended to provide. As we follow Jesus let’s joyfully reveal his light to the world. 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, Guests: Susan Currie, Rick Anderson, Jeremy Stefano, and Matt Scott “Four words have been my focus this past year: silence, slowing, simplicity, and Sabbath.” –Matt Scott   It’s always good for the soul to look back and around us before looking ahead. Turning the page from one calendar year to the next gives us opportunity to do so prayerfully, reflectively, and gratefully. The LTI Lead Team talks about the various ways they do so on today’s episode. Collectively representing more than 60 years of service to LTI, each team member offers great wisdom and practiced ideas of how to anticipate a new year. These include spiritual practices such as Examen, journaling, restful noticing, updating rule of life, and creatively decluttering. “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” –Psalm 90 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: Anna Friedrich “I love Christmas because, with the resurrection in view, its obscure beginning and its incredible beauty strengthens my trust in God.” –Anna Friedrich Shifting from Advent into Christmas is seamless when considered in the light of the full Christian story. For four weeks our hearts have been inclined toward waiting, watching, and wondering once more. In Christmas, our yearnings and longings are fulfilled in the joyful coming of the long-awaited Messiah Jesus. From the perspective of a wife, mom, artist, and poet, Anna Friedrich refreshes us with her musings about our stirred-up emotions, our anxious longings, and the joy of being welcomed again into the depth and beauty of the glorious Incarnation.  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: Br. Curtis Almquist, SSJE "Learning the value of waiting has largely been removed from our vocabulary. Advent gives us the gift of waiting." –Curtis Almquist, SSJE Advent is a season of anticipation. A time of preparation for the Christian community. The promised Messiah is coming in Jesus and the Church remembers once more. With a penitential quality to the season, Advent is a solemn time to pay attention to what is standing in the way of our walking in the way. It’s a time for personal reflection in our prayer closet where stillness and silence are our teacher. It’s a season of noticing those around us who are lost and lonely, reaching out to those who fear being forgotten. It’s a time to practice presence and gratitude. 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: Curtis Almquist, SSJE "Advent invites us to slow down and create space in order to receive Christ in the fullness of our being." – Curtis Almquist, SSJE Discerning God during the season of Advent takes prayerful intentionality, especially with the onslaught of alluring messages from our over-commercialized world. It’s the beginning of the church year, where we prepare our hearts for the coming of Christ in his physical nativity, in our own hearts, and in his future second coming. It’s also a time of disciplined fasting and abstinence, a time to ponder and pray, which helps us to get in touch with our deepest longings as we prepare our hearts for the prophetic and mysterious coming of Christ into this world. 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: Kyle Strobel "The Lord’s Prayer is at the very heart of what prayer is supposed to be, as we pray with and in Jesus." – Kyle Strobel Featuring Kyle Strobel’s latest book, Where Prayer Becomes Real, today’s episode is on the importance of honesty and sincerity in prayer. Kyle and his co-author John Coe write on prayer from a practical, theoretically rich approach, addressing what happens existentially when we pray. He shares that we actually are dishonest in our prayers, as if it’s a performative act before God, based on our preconceived notions of how we should pray. He then focuses on the importance of watchfulness and the need for us to cultivate a life of earnest, unceasing prayer. 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: Barbara Peacock “As Africans were being transported across the Middle Passage to America in slave ships, their formation was practiced while in chains.” – Barbara Peacock The author of Soul Care in African-American Practice inspires us on today’s episode with words of wisdom and grace. And, even offers a song for our weary soul. With the backdrop of Africans in slave ships heading to America, she enlightens us with how spiritual formation and soul care has been a central part of the African-American experience. Reading excerpts from her book, Barbara shares with us how Black leaders have embodied spiritual practices for generations. Spiritual disciplines open us up to receive God’s love and in turn to love others in God’s name.  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: Steve Smith “We can experience hitting the wall, burnout, and exhaustion, all the while working to build up the Kingdom.” – Steve Smith Steve Smith, Founder of Potters Inn, a ministry of soul care for local church and professionals in the marketplace, confronts head on the soullessness of leaders today. With God as the Potter, we are his clay, and if we want to be formed into his likeness, we need to practice ancient rhythms of prayerfulness in Christ. Overcoming the fears of silence and solitude is the place to begin. Like Jesus, who often withdrew to lonely places, so too shall we. Going solo in the spiritual practices will lead us home to the Father’s loving embrace and into the abundant life. 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