The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Matt Scott

"Is this really God speaking or is it any of those other voices pulling me off course?" – Matt Scott

Every day there are a multitude of voices that clamor for our attention. Sometimes the voice we hear is our own internal voice of pride or selfish pursuit. Other times we hear the voice of the enemy through lies, deceit, or shame. What we want is to sift through the voices, notice God, hear his voice and even help others respond to his voice. In this episode, Steve and Matt return to the podcast to take us through the fourth week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on God being revealed and our openness to fully receive what he wants to do. Be encouraged to listen for God's voice amidst competing voices, for your own walk with God and for your spiritual friends.

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 are to be peculiar people in our grace, our mercy, our kindness, our love, our forgiveness, our reconciliation - that's the peculiarity of the church." – Steve Macchia

Sometimes we think the church is perfect. We wish it were. But the church is not perfect. The church is comprised of broken people. In this episode, Steve and Matt walk us through the third week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on how we can become aware of our personal brokenness which contributes to brokenness in the body of Christ. Steve shares that "the broken me ends up contributing to the broken we." We need to release an expectation of perfection from one another and adopt a posture of saying, "Lord, have mercy" first on me then on us collectively. We end by asking what can we do today to be a positive life-giving experience in the body of Christ?

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

"In the midst of pain and suffering and sorrow, what is God inviting us to do about it?" – Steve Macchia

Most of our emotional pain and heartache is unnecessary. Because we are jealous, anxious or fearful, we tend to hold grudges. We tend to throw each other away relationally when that is not the way of God. In this episode, Steve and Matt walk us through the second week of our forty-day discernment journey. This week's readings from The Discerning Life center on our broken world and come from some familiar passages from Genesis and Exodus. Steve shares about the forgiveness that Joseph gave to his brothers. This forgiveness redeemed them back to him, to one another and even to the mandate their father Jacob gave on his deathbed. Matt shares about God speaking to Moses in the burning bush. This moment was God seeing the suffering of His people and Moses' commissioning to be an agent of God's redemptive work.

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

"In the discerning life, we have to take everything we have and hold it more loosely." – Steve Macchia

Our world is often very noisy and fast-paced, making it hard to hear God's voice. During season 24 we will look at a forty-day prayer and reflection resource from Steve's latest book, The Discerning Life. In Episode 1, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott have a conversation around discernment in community and friendships. Steve shares reflections on discerning God from the account of Abraham and Isaac found in Genesis 22. Steve reminds us that ALL that we have comes from God. God wants us to function as stewards, holding things looser than we often do. Finally, Steve encourages us to listen to God attentively and obey Him faithfully.

Visit www.stevemacchia.com to order your own copy of The Discerning Life.

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Margery Kennelly

"We always think about waiting on God but God spends a long time waiting on us." – Margery Kennelly

Margery serves as Associate Rector at St George's Episcopal Church in Nashville, TN. Margery joins Steve to share pastoral reflections on Epiphany - the bright clear revelation of Christ's kingship over the whole world. For Christians, this time reminds us to manifest who Jesus is in the world through our testimony and work in the world. As we think about waiting on God, we are reminded that God spends time waiting on us. Margery shares that patience is the ally of waiting and encourages us to demonstrate this fruit of the spirit while we wait. Finally, we are invited to Ignatian Examen, asking, "Does my life glorify 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: Todd Cravens

"What do I need to do now? Waiting is not an absence of activity." - Todd Cravens

Todd Cravens is in his 16th year, serving as Teaching Pastor and Elder at Hope Christian Church in Winchester, MA. He grew up in Louisville, KY, attended the University of Louisville, and received his M. Div in Theology from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Todd and his wife Alisa have three adult children and enjoy hosting international students, totaling more than 60 students from 16 different countries. Todd joins Steve to share about personal and pastoral practices in the week after Christmas. We are encouraged to reflect back upon the year and give voice to the way God has been at work in our lives. We are invited to continue being attentive to God; bringing what we think out to happen into alignment with what we know God wants to happen.

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Bryan Wilkerson

"Believe that the Lord had something fresh for you this Christmas" – Bryan Wilkerson

Bryan Wilkerson serves as Senior Pastor at Grace Chapel, authored Living God's Story, is a graduate of Wheaton College and Denver Seminary, and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Bryan's life mission statement is "to lead as many people as possible to a joyful and growing relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church." He and his wife, Karen, have four married children and a growing number of grandchildren. Brian shares with Steve that as he enters his thirty-ninth year of ministry, Christmas is his favorite time of year to preach and minister. He believes that the Lord can bring something new in our spirit as we wait expectantly. His pastoral counsel to us is to be quiet for five minutes – to sit in front of the Christmas tree or fireplace, go for a walk, and allow the Lord to meet us in those moments.

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: Mark Booker

"Waiting on God is resisting the impulse to take matters into my own hands." – Mark Booker

Mark Booker serves as the Senior Pastor at Park Street Church in downtown Boston. Mark joins Steve to share about waiting in his leadership and personal life. Many of us like to bring change and make things happen. Advent puts the spotlight on the reality that we are a waiting people. We often grasp for what is tangible; what we can control or manipulate. Mark reminds us that waiting looks like resisting the impulse to fix things through our own means. Waiting is about trusting in God's promises, even when evidence points in all kinds of different directions.

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.

"Waiting in the Bible is not just looking at the clock. It is about anticipation. It's about cultivating hope and joy. " – Dave Friedrich

Dave Friedrich has advanced degrees in philosophy from York University in Toronto and in spiritual formation from Regent College in Vancouver, BC. He has lived and worked at L'Abri, a ministry of Christian hospitality and cultural engagement, both in Switzerland and in Massachusetts. Dave has also worked at a bank, been a professional firefighter/paramedic, a swing dance instructor, and a youth pastor. He was ordained as an Anglican priest in 2013 and is currently serving as the rector of Church of the Cross, an Anglican church in Boston. Reflecting on Simeon in the Temple from Luke 2, Dave joins Steve for a conversation about waiting on God. We are tempted to want to know exactly when God will fulfill His promises. He often doesn't answer that question. Instead, He gives us surprises in our waiting. Advent is a season where we cultivate hope and joy in what is coming and in what is already being experienced that gives us a foretaste of what is to come.

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: Dave Ripper

"We suffer from a severe depletion of spiritual expectancy. Moments of waiting can actually rekindle the flames of hope." – Dave Ripper

Dave Ripper serves as lead pastor of Crossway Christian Church in Nashua and Milford, NH, and as the chaplain of the Boston Bruins. He's a graduate of Denver Seminary and is finishing his Doctor of Ministry in Spiritual Direction from Fuller Theological Seminary and The Dallas Willard Center. Dave is the co-author of The Fellowship of the Suffering: How Hardship Shapes Us for Ministry and Mission (IVP, 2018), and is the co-founder of Evergreen, a nine-month training experience for emerging leaders in partnership with Converge Northeast. Dave joins Steve to share pastoral encouragement on reflection, stillness and waiting. While we wait, Dave encourages us to keep a faithful list - noting the top three things already in our lives that God invites us to be faithful to. Reflecting on Psalm 40, Dave and Steve invite us to consider the experience of waiting as an obstacle to our faith or an invitation to a deeply expectant life. An expectant life is a wonder-filled, joyous experience.

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.