The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: David Vryhof

This is a reprise of season 2 episode 1 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

A discerning leader understands that service to others is based upon a relationship with God and thereby prioritizes the nurture of the soul. Commencing a new series, Steve Macchia and his spiritual director, Br. David Vryhof (www.ssje.org), explore the importance of spiritual practices as a foundation on which to deepen a life with God. Since we generally live unreflective lives, we need the space, the grace, and the rhythms to pursue on our pathway to greater union with God. Spiritual practices are a means to the abundant life. It's all about love!

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

This is a reprise of season 1 episode 5 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

Imagining what it would be like if the Church were filled with discerning leaders, Steve and Jeremy dream together about a Church filled with those who regularly turn to God. With Romans 12: 1,2 as backdrop for today's episode, we explore six principles for practicing discernment together as leadership teams. Out of a transformed and renewed mind, we are able to test, affirm, and discern God's good and perfect will. The goal: a lifestyle of spiritual discernment for leaders and communities and a lifetime of companionship with 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: Jeremy Stefano

This is a reprise of season 1 episode 4 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

Psalm 139 reminds us that God discerns all of our ways out of his abundant and unconditional love for us. His attentiveness toward us evokes a response of attentiveness to him. Discernment means to perceive, recognize, sift, sort, and separate, learning to know what is knowable. To practice a preference for God helps us lean more and more fully his direction, discerning him courageously and gratefully. Steve and Jeremy unpack noticing God in revelatory, reasoning, and discerning times. They also discuss the role of consolation and desolation in discernment.

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

This is a reprise of season 1 episode 3 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

Beginning with the prayer of the Apostle Paul to the Church in Philippi and ending with his prayer to the Colossians, Steve and Jeremy unpack some of the most essential ingredients of prayerful discernment. They discuss the importance of an experiential knowledge of and an ever-deepening intimacy with God. And, they lovingly caution us not to slip into the mind-to-mind combat so many teams encounter at their strategy tables. Instead, choosing to become a community of love and prayerfulness will lead us into Christ-honoring discernment.

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

This is a reprise of season 1 episode 2 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

Continuing the conversation about spiritual discernment, Steve and Jeremy look at how Jesus' mother and disciples were either kept from or open to his presence and mission. The Gospels are filled with stories that provide real-life opportunities for practicing a preference for God. Defining the attributes of discernment with the backdrop of Jesus' earthly journey gives us important glimpses into the clarity of his teaching and mission. The way forward for all of us is seen in the simple yet profound intentionality of seeing God everywhere.

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

This is a reprise of season 1 episode 1 of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

On this inaugural episode, Steve and Jeremy recount one of the pinnacle accounts of discernment in Luke 24. The Road to Emmaus is a wonderful example of discernment as a way of life, and not simply a way to make decisions. Noticing the presence, power, and peace of Jesus is the beginning, middle, and end of healthy spiritual discernment. And, like the disciples on the Road to Emmaus, so too do we need to practice a preference for God and encourage one another to look for Jesus along our lifelong journeys of faith.

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 Franklin

"For the first twenty years of my ministry, discernment wasn't a part of my way of life - it was just busyness and activity." – Gary Franklin

A large part of discernment is learning to pay attention to our soul. Gary Franklin is a pastor in the greater Atlanta area who has ministered for over four decades, is the founder of the Leaders Heart Inc, and is a graduate of LTI's Emmaus program. Gary joins Steve Macchia to share his story of transformation, becoming a formational leader rather than a strategic leader. Gary describes his journey as one of holding on to God's presence, peace, power, and courage in the context of massive transitions. We are encouraged to cultivate our capacity to be present with God, to know ourselves, and restore the wonder of God's presence.

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: Abigail Carroll

"Poetry starts with submitting myself to beauty." – Abigail Carroll

God is a creative artist who delights in our creativity. God is glorified when we enter into creativity with Him. Abigail Carroll, the author of three poetry collections and pastor of arts and spiritual formation joins Steve Macchia to share her life story of collaborating with God in creativity. In this episode, Abigail describes how writing poetry has enlivened her heart and moved her soul to focus on God, especially during times of grief. We are encouraged to create with the Spirit of God through writing poetry, journaling, and through other creative means.

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: Iain Whitfield

"He knew the timing would be best if it were radically different from what I understood it to be." – Iain Whitfield

God isn't seeking our permission; God is seeking our submission. Iain Whitfield shares this principle from his life. Iain was born in India to missionary parents, spent two decades in the UK and almost four decades in the United States. Ian served as Community Life Pastor in Winchester, Massachusetts for twelve years. His first career was in commercial banking which he left to help care for his terminally ill daughter who died in 2006. Iain shares his experience of God in trusting for his daughter's nurture and care and for provision during a vocational transition.

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: Gayle Heaslip

"How can I carry Christ with me throughout the day?" – Gayle Heaslip

How can we carry the presence, power, and peace of God with us throughout our day? Gayle Heaslip joins Steve Macchia to share her story of transformation. Gayle invites us to move from spending time with God in the morning and moving forward in the day without any change to viewing our life as a "monastery of the heart," recognizing that we can carry Christ with us throughout the day. Listen as Gayle describes her experience being filled with the Holy Spirit and how we can experience the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. Gayle Heaslip has a degree in counseling from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, has completed Selah's Certificate Training Program in Spiritual Direction, and is the founding pastor of Emmaus Anglican Church in Falmouth, MA.

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.