Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: James Hauptman

"If God's going to be in the center of our lives, we have to be willing to let him come in and take over every single aspect of our lives." - Steve Macchia

What do we do with the raw materials of our lives? Episode 3 of Season 38 invites you into a reflective and practical conversation about crafting a personal Rule of Life. Host Steve Macchia welcomes James Hauptman to explore how intentional rhythms can help us across five essential areas of life: spiritual, physical, relational, financial, and missional. Filled with wisdom and grounded practices, this episode offers guidance for weaving together a personal Rule that is fruitfully and faithfully lived out.

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: James Hauptman

"A rule of life allows us to live with intention and purpose in the present moment." - Steve Macchia

How do you actually begin crafting a Rule of Life? What steps can you take, and what tools can help you along the way? In this week's episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia and James Hauptman share practical insights and concrete guidance for getting started. They walk through five key areas of life that benefit from intentional and prayerful attention as you assess your current rhythms, relationships, and daily practices.

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: James Hauptman

"Without a humble, attentive heart our self centeredness will not lead to the abundance of a God-empowered life." - Steve Macchia

2026 begins with a brand new season of The Discerning Leader Podcast. Featuring James Hauptman, Steve Macchia hosts a rich conversation around well-ordered living that comes from crafting a personal rule of life. Whether you've been operating from a rule of life for years or are hearing about it for the first time, this ancient spiritual practice will help you live into Spirit-empowered rhythms and relationships that create, redeem, sustain, and transform the life God invites you to live.

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 Co-Host: Matt Scott

As we step into a new year, this episode invites us to resist the urge to sprint and instead begin 2026 with deliberate, unhurried intentionality. In this final episode of Season 37, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott offer a thoughtful conversation about the gift of slowing down and embracing inefficiency. They explore how slowness creates space for the deeper formation our souls long for—an invitation for each of us to lay down demands, hustle, and urgency as we embrace practices that make room for God's transforming work.

Also, here's the Year End Examen to assist you in slowing down as you conclude 2025 and begin 2026.

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, Co-Host: Matt Scott

"Solitude and silence are a gift when experienced together. And when they are practiced within a community, they can become a place of significant growth and maturation." - Steve Macchia

Many people find solitude uncomfortable. The idea of being alone with our own thoughts can feel overwhelming—even daunting. Yet solitude is not the same as loneliness.

In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, we explore how solitude invites us into a cadence of reflective and responsive living. Rather than isolating us, this practice creates space for deeper awareness, clarity, and attentiveness.The gifts of solitude include a deepened love for God and a renewed love for others. As we practice solitude, we discover how to be alone without feeling lonely.

Also, here's the companion reflection guide and spiritual exercise to help you enter into stillness and silence this season of Advent.

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, Co-Host: Matt Scott

"Silence is the place where the deepest work happens in our lives." - Steve Macchia

Advent loses its meaning when it is overwhelmed by constant noise. Silence invites the noise to quiet down, helping us recognize the inner distractions we often ignore. It is in these moments of stillness that God works most deeply—transforming our hearts and drawing us closer to Him. In Episode 03, Join Steve Macchia and Matt Scott for a conversation about cultivating attentiveness, spiritual discernment, and leading from a place of holy stillness in a noisy 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, Co-Host: Matt Scott

"We have to say no to the demands of this world. We have to create some space that is sacred and holy and dedicated wholly to our heart's devotion to Jesus." - Steve Macchia

We often give into a compulsion to complicate the simple and clutter that which is spacious. What if this Advent was different for you? In this podcast conversation, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore ways to declutter and create spacious settings for your soul, resisting the cultural pressures and societal norms surrounding us. As you do so, you'll experience a greater awareness and attentiveness to the true reason for the season...experiencing the nearness of Jesus - God with us!

Also, here's the companion reflection guide and spiritual exercise to help you declutter this season of Advent.

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, Co-host: Matt Scott

"Simplicity? It goes against the grain of our society. We're needing to make a concious choice to say no to the excess and to the busyness." - Steve Macchia

How is it that the most wonderful time of the year often draws us into excess and exhaustion? Tune into the first episode of Season 37 as Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore the posture and practice of simplicity. May God grant you rest and renewal this season as you choose the most important things to give yourself to.

Also, here's your reflection guide. Set aside some spacious and unhurried time to prayerfully consider how you might embrace simplicity this Advent season.

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: J.R. Briggs

"We don't know how to ask good questions and point to another because we're just so fixated on ourselves." - Steve Macchia

Steve Macchia and J.R. Briggs remind leaders that transformation begins by asking better, more honest questions. Their conversation invites us to slow down, listen deeply, and cultivate curiosity that leads to wiser, Spirit-led discernment. Receive the invitation to shift from having all the answers to pursuing the right questions.

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 Thomas

"A simple definition of spiritual formation is that the pathway to a deeper walk with God is aligning a deep understanding of the truth about God with the truth about ourselves." – Steve Macchia

In this week's episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia shares a conversation with long-time friend Gary Thomas. In Gary's most recent book, The Life You Were Reborn to Live, he exposes twelve subtle but powerful deceptions that quietly drain joy and block intimacy with God. Steve and Gary offer practical ways we can dismantle the false beliefs that keep us from the abundant, joy-filled life God has already placed within reach.

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.