The Discerning Leader Podcast

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

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith "There is no arrival in this world, but to have a great relationship with God the Father, and when we listen to God, we begin to meaningfully live our rule of life." –Tom Griffith In Macchia's Crafting a Rule of Life, we are learning how to live intentionally for God. A healthy, flexible, and fruitful rule of life needs to be articulated rather than assumed. Discovering how best to frame a personal rule of life begins with prayerful attentiveness. Our roles need to be defined and clarified, in order for our relationships to be prioritized. Our gifts, personality, strengths and temperament display the unique and mysterious way God creates us as individuals. Our passions, vision, and mission inform how we fulfill a God-blessed 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 "Rule of life helps me to be present, not always looking to the past or projecting ahead to the future. The treasure is right here, right now, in God's presence." – Tom Griffith In this series, we will be noting Steve Macchia's book, Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP). Tom Griffith is our special guest, and is the founder of Greater Formation. A personal rule of life is a pattern or way of living both descriptively and prescriptively for God. This ancient concept comes from our spiritual fathers and mothers, like St. Benedict, who chose to listen intently to God's voice for how wholistic ways of living faithfully and fruitfully. We in turn are invited to consider how best to steward every facet of our lives in ways that honor God and build up his kingdom. 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 " The Lord has his way of weaning us from our attachments or affections in this world, and cleanse the air, helping me face the dilemmas of my heart on retreat."– Jeremy Stefano One thing I ask of the Lord, this only do I seek…that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gaze on his beauty, and seek him in his temple (Psalm 27). As we dwell, gaze, and seek God, our heart's truest longings emerge from deep within our soul. Like Jesus' invitation to abide, the singular focus of a spiritual retreat is to find our way home to the embrace of God. This will require a releasing of our attachments and distractions, the idols of our heart. In that attentive space of retreat, the fruit will emerge and then remain forever. 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