The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guests: Greg & Doug Scalise

"You don't need a big budget, a lot of people, or a nice building to have the presence of God and loving, caring relationships." – Greg Scalise

Pastors Doug and Greg Scalise are third and fourth-generation pastors. Their family has over one hundred years of Christian ministry. Doug and Greg join Steve Macchia for a conversation on healthy churches. They each share personal stories of growing up in Christian homes and churches. Loving and caring relationships have shaped both father and son, reminding us that the church can fill the need for meaningful relationships, connection, support, and encouragement. Doug and Greg encourage the listener to recognize the power of God's Empowering Spirit within healthy churches.

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 Sparling

"I see it now among Gen Zers; there is a passion in my young adults that is as fresh and real as what we were experiencing." –Tom Sparling

The second trait of a Healthy Church is "God Exalting Worship". Tom Sparling was a part of the original team that worked with Steve Macchia on Becoming a Healthy Church. Tom joins Steve for a conversation about worship today. In this episode, Tom shares his hope for the younger generation today, advice for the older generation, and encourages everyone that authentic worship comes from a passionate pursuit of God outside of our Sunday morning gatherings. This episode reminds us that God alone is to be the object of our worship.

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: Dennis Baril

"God's empowering Presence is a value and a relationship, not a doctrine." –Dennis Baril

Dennis Baril was part of the original research team for Becoming a Healthy Church. In this episode, Dennis sits down with Steve to share a conversation about the first trait of a healthy church, a value for God's empowering Presence. Before serving as a senior pastor, Dennis managed multi-million-dollar accounts for a corporation as a middle manager. He discovered that leading a healthy church was more difficult than working on such large accounts. Today, Dennis travels the country with his wife encouraging church leaders. From this unique perspective, Dennis shares reflections on the church today as a father, grandfather, and church leader.

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: Rick Anderson

"It is so important that all of this is held together with spiritual discernment and a posture of leadership that is listening to God." –Rick Anderson

Twenty-five years later, the ten traits of a healthy Church as outlined in Becoming a Healthy Church are still relevant because they are principles from Scripture, solid theology, and practical research. In this episode, Rick Anderson joins Steve Macchia to outline all ten traits. The first three traits are vertical, aimed at cultivating a life with God. Traits four, five, and six are horizontal, aimed at connecting with one another as the people of God. The final four traits are missional, aimed with an outward focus. These ten traits conclude with a reminder that spiritual discernment and a posture of leadership that is listening to God hold all ten traits of a healthy Church together.

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

"My vision is that we would be known for our love, not our conflicts and difficulties and estrangement" - Steve Macchia

Season 29 will focus on the soul of the Church. From its first days, Leadership Transformations Inc. has prioritized the local congregation and its health. These episodes will highlight the updated 25th-anniversary edition of Becoming a Healthy Church. Born out of research with thousands of church leaders and vetted in conversations, the book and this podcast season highlight timeless principles that have not changed, though the expressions have been modernized. Each of the traits are Biblical, historical, and current because they are based on a principle rather than a program. Steve's vision is that the Church would pay better attention to the things that matter most - our walk with God; as this leads to health and vitality of relationships and churches.

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

"It's in that place of deeper solitude and reflection that we meet the living God face to face, heart to heart." – Steve Macchia

Find a time and space for a personal retreat. Maybe you only have a few hours and a bench somewhere in nature. Schedule it and prioritize it because you will have a million reasons why you should fill it with something else. In this final episode of season 28, we continue to explore the spiritual practices that are at the heart of Leadership Transformations Inc. and have been celebrated throughout Christendom. This week, Steve and Matt discuss the transforming power of personal retreats. Three things are needed for personal retreats: a set time and place; attentive listening to and with God; and seeing retreat as a place of God's transforming work. Matt talked about the need to guard retreats - unless we prioritize them, a million other things will demand our attention. Matt and Steve discussed the power of attentive listening that frees us from coming into retreats with predetermined ideas of what we need to hear from God. Finally, Steve speaks to the power of retreats as a place of meeting with God face to face.

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

"You don't need to memorize where all the Psalms are, just pray the Psalms." – Steve Macchia

The Psalms are a reminder that God is not threatened by our emotions. He is big enough to handle the combination of human emotions - faith and doub, hope and despair, joy and sorrow. In episode thirteen, we continue to explore the spiritual practices that are at the heart of Leadership Transformations Inc. and have been celebrated throughout Christendom. This week, Steve and Matt reflect on praying the psalms. The Psalms teach us how to pray. Steve and Matt share practical ways to pray through the Psalms and some of their favorite Psalms. his episode concludes with a guided reflection to help you adopt the practice of praying the Psalms.

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

"Our lives are driven by our loves - what we think about, dwell upon, what we allow to be enthroned in our hearts. When we re-order our loves, we re-order our lives." – Matt Scott

Simply put, we become what we love. In episode twelve, we continue to explore the spiritual practices that are at the heart of Leadership Transformations Inc. and have been celebrated throughout Christendom. This week, Steve and Matt reflect on re-ordering our loves. When we think about re-ordering our loves, we are talking about what are we attached to, what we think we can't live without. The biggest factor in re-ordering our loves is to become aware of these things that we hold tightly. Steve and Matt share how these idols of the heart can be people, possessions, power, or persuasion. All of our disordered loves need to be diminished or released altogether. This day-by-day, moment-by-moment process allows Christ to become our greatest affection.

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 all have a rule of life, a way of living, already. The question is, are we living in response to God's invitation for us?" – Steve Macchia

A "Rule of Life" has nothing to do with rules. The best way to translate it is the "way" of life. All of us have a rule of life already at work. The question is, are we living in the way that God wants us to be living?

In episode eleven, we continue to explore the spiritual practices that are at the heart of Leadership Transformations Inc. and have been celebrated throughout Christendom. This week, Steve and Matt focus on the practice of having a Rule of Life. Steve defines a Rule of Life as "Spirit-empowered rhythms and relationships that create, redeem, sustain, transform the lives that God invites us to humbly fulfill for Christ's glory." Steve and Matt share how a rule of life will be much more meaningful if we take the time to ask questions about our unique thumbprint and footprint. Our unique thumbprint has to do with the roles and relationships we have, our gifts, our desires, our vision, and our mission in life. Our unique footprint encompasses our spiritual life, our relational life, our physical life, our financial life, and our missional life.

If this episode has been helpful for you, you may be interested in other Rule of Life resources from LTI including online workshops, previous podcast episodes, the Crafting a Rule of Life book, and the www.ruleoflife.com website.

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: David Vryhof

This is a reprise of the Holy Week Interlude episode 2 which aired on April 6, 2023

"Death gives way to life. Not only lived out by Jesus but meant to be lived out by each of us." – David Vryhof, SSJE

Holy Week is considered the climax of the Christian year. The service that starts on Maundy Thursday continues all the way to the Easter Vigil and is the capstone of Holy Week. Steve Macchia and Brother David Vryhof return to the podcast to discuss how the liturgical worship of holy week very much engages our body with our mind and heart. During these days we recognize the death of Christ that leads to His rising. This process of death to new life is an ongoing conversion process that we are invited to participate in daily.

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.