The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Genalin Niere-Metcalf “The more you know your own story, the more you will know your own brokenness and what triggers you relationally.” –Genalin Niere-Metcalf Relational brokenness doesn’t have to stay that way. There are paths that lead us to wholeness, and on today’s episode we discover how. It all begins with understanding our own personal stories, the narratives that have shaped us over time. Unless we know our own hearts fully, it will remain difficult to love others fully. God invites us to trust him, urging us to build trust among others. Kindness, compassion, forgiveness and grace come from a heart that’s been healed and renewed. Listen today and ask God to strengthen and restore your relationships. 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: Genalin Niere-Metcalf “Emotional brokenness is our sense of not being whole, which is all a part of being alive.” – Genalin Niere-Metcalf All of us interact with broken people. It’s the wounded among us who wound others, often unaware. Emotional brokenness shows up in our emptiness, anxiety, bitterness, sadness, shame, and perfectionism. Because the Lord delights in healing the broken hearted, it’s vital for us to embrace our own brokenness, honor our pain, and seek healing from God. How? Listen to your body, practice breath prayer, enjoy beauty, seek out friends, and practice self-care. Also, giving voice to our personal story in the safety of loving community allows us to be fully known. 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 “Jesus comes to tend to the broken. No need to feel disqualified or set aside by the Lord because of our brokenness. He longs to rescue us and bring us closer to his heart.” – Jeremy Stefano Spiritual brokenness begins with acknowledging our basic human condition as ones who are dislocated from God. The pathway to wholeness is paying attention to the ways we have stiff armed God or sought to manipulate him in our own image. We seek to explain him our preferred way, or perform for him in hopes of blessings in return, or we have unrealistic expectations of God and get easily disappointed. Instead, our wholeness comes when we choose repentance, gratitude, a heart of worship, and a reawakened love for 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: Susan Currie “On the night we learned the news about my cancer, my husband and I went to a concert in Boston and I wondered, ‘Surely, I’m not the only one in this vast hall who has cancer.’” – Susan Currie Susan Currie was surprised to discover she had stage three colorectal cancer at the young age of 50. Her doctor outlined the year-long plan for dealing with it, comforting her with the words “this can be cured.” Chemo, radiation, surgery, and additional treatments and therapies left her sidelined from her daily routines. But God comforted her fears and made himself lovingly accessible throughout her physical brokenness. The intimacy of God’s abiding presence carried her throughout, with the Scriptures, prayers, and loving family helping her to persevere. 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 are to receive the love of God if we are to ever dispense the love of God to others.” – Steve Macchia How does God use our brokenness as a pathway to spiritual transformation? Today commences a new season of episodes, focusing on the overview of brokenness and wholeness. Reading from the Introduction of Macchia’s book, Broken and Whole, Steve invites us to consider our own brokenness and God’s delightful redemption. He identifies four areas of brokenness: suffering, heartache, sinfulness, and imperfection. The focus of our transformation is the unconditional love of God in Jesus. He closes the episode with three reflective exercises. 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: Justin Whitmel Earley "From being totally overwhelmed by my schedule, the house of my life was decorated by my Christian calling but the architecture of my life was built like everyone else, on an unsteady foundation…simple habits radically changed my life." – Justin Whitmel Earley Justin Earley, author of The Common Rule (InterVarsity Press), introduces his suggested Common Rule, made up of eight habits, four daily and four weekly. The daily habits are: kneeling prayer at morning, midday, and bedtime; one meal with others; one hour with phone off; and Scripture before phone. The weekly habits are: one hour of conversation with a friend; curating media to four hours; fasting from something for twenty-four hours; and Sabbath rest. Each habit corresponds to two different spectrums: love of God and love of neighbor. 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: Ken Shigematsu “People are so busy and anxious today; turning to things that give a temporary lift but not a lasting contentment. A rule of life can give us a longer term of abiding peace and a deeper trust in God." –Ken Shigematsu Using the image of a trellis to describe our personal rule of life, Ken Shigematsu, author of God in My Everything (Zondervan), places emphasis on the roots of Sabbath, prayer, and sacred reading. Building on that foundation are the day-to-day pieces of life – family, friends, work and play. We relate in spiritual friendship, in our sexuality, and in family life. We are restored by the care for our physical body, childlike play, and generous stewardship of our finances. We reach out to others in our work, in acts of justice, and in our verbal and lifestyle witness. 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: Tom Griffith “Your rule of life is designed to help you frame the intentionality of life that uniquely fits and sets you free in Christ!” –Tom Griffith Crafting a Rule of Life (written by Steve Macchia) is dedicated to Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life, you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” The website www.ruleoflife.com was developed when the book was released and provides additional help in crafting your rule of life. Here you’ll notice a variety of creative ways individuals have written it out, either in a grid, list, graph, object, tree, poem, or a manuscript. Either way you choose, it’s not to be perfect, but easily editable per season of 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

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “When there’s something important expressed to us from a member of the body of Christ we are to receive it as an expression of grace that has both inspiration and conviction from the Father.” –Tom Griffith The third component of Crafting a Rule of Life is to understand how our personal rule is fulfilled in the context of community, with our spiritual friends and among our faith community. With good friends by our side, we will not be shaken from the pursuit. Instead, as we are loved well by being actively listened to, we can rest in God at a deep level of trust. Offering to one another the gift of attentive presence is one of the best acts of love. Principles of good listening are covered in this episode with the encouragement to do so in a trustworthy manner. 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: Tom Griffith “As Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man, so shall we as ones created by God and accountable to him to steward and share our lives.” –Tom Griffith We form our personal rule of life by considering prayerfully the main time frames of our lives. What is God inviting us to consider as priority on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis? The areas we seek to review include our spiritual practices that deepen our affection for Christ and his Church; our relational priorities that feed and foster trust with others; the physical care of our bodies as the temple of the Holy Spirit; the stewardship and generosity of our finances; as well as our missional service to others. There’s joy in this journey of discovery! 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