The Discerning Leader Podcast

"There is a family of God to get to know globally." – Steve Macchia

Followers of Jesus are part of a big family that stretches around the world. This family is in China, Columbia, Syria, Russia, Ukraine and in every country of the world. Every weekend this family gathers to worship in places from the greatest cathedrals in Europe to huts with mud floors. If we could listen to the global Christian family, they would ask us to first know them, and know their stories; second to pray for them and third partner with them in their local ministry. Discovering the family of God globally may start as simply as starting a conversation with someone who has a different accent than you or visiting a church in your own city made up of people of a distinct ethnicity.

Resources:

• Operation World
• Gordon Conwell Center for Global Christianity

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: Paul Borthwick

"I think that we are living in the most exciting time in Christian history since Jesus walked the earth." – Paul Borthwick

Steve Macchia and Paul Borthwick continue their discussion on discovering God's heart for the world and our shared calling to serve collaboratively in global missions. In this episode, Paul says "As a student of God's work around the world for quite awhile; I believe that we are living in the most exciting time to be alive in the history of Christianity since Jesus walked the earth." Listen in as Paul explains this position and hear about missionary work around the world that the news media isn't sharing.

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: Paul Borthwick

"The thing that God is using to help me be a person of love is the phrase that comes to my mind whenever I see a person; 'this is a human being created in the image of God and worthy of love and respect.' " – Paul Borthwick

Season 21 will focus on discovering God's heart for the world and our shared calling to serve collaboratively in global missions. Steve Macchia welcomes guest Paul Borthwick to the podcast. In episode 1, Steve and Paul talk about God's love for all people, sharing four insights from John 3:16-21. Listen to Paul's story about an emotional encounter he had at the airport after the Boston Marathon Bombing.

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

"In order for us to be watchful and waiting, we need to be patient." – Steve Macchia

Noticing God in everything is what fosters a discerning life in Christ. Within the realm of reflection is the ancient practice of Examen. Created initially by St. Ignatius in the 16th Century, it's found new life in the modern spiritual formation movement. Here Steve Macchia unpacks the discipline by walking through the five big areas of Examen:

1. Aware of God's promised presence
2. Review the day with gratitude (what gifts did you receive?)
3. Pay attention to our emotions about the day
4. Pray into one feature of the day that you are highlighting in your reflection
5. Look toward tomorrow with prayerful anticipation and perhaps even a particular action

He also introduces a handful of additional questions for individual or group reflection.

Downloadable Resources:

• Touchpoint: Daily Examen
• Examen Questions for Personal and Group Reflection

Host: Steve Macchia

"Remembering and giving thanks are good for your soul." – Steve Macchia

A grateful heart is a God-honoring heart and we want to fill our souls with words of thanksgiving every single day of our lives. The discipline of reflection is what aids us in both remembrance and gratitude, the main themes of reflective journaling. Within the context of our personal prayer closet, where we are in pursuit of a spacious encounter with God, we want to attend to the ways God has been active in our lives. Writing down what we notice in a journal helps us focus on the deeper meaning of life's ebb and flow. Like rocks of remembrance that God's people piled high after the parting of the sea, or the significance of the Lord's Table, we practice reflective disciplines for the sake of pointing to God as the central figure of our relationships and responsibilities. Action without reflection is meaningless action.

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

"How is it with your soul today, dear friend?" – Steve Macchia

The invitation in today's episode is slanted toward listening to God in our prayers. Once we've settled into a spacious encounter with God, which commences with time in the Word, we enter into our life of prayer. So many ways to pray – upward prayers of praise and adoration, inward prayers of confession and forgiveness, outward prayers of supplication and concern. Regardless of the focus of your prayers, are you attending to the voice of God? Or, are you doing all the talking to God? Steve's focus is on tilting the balance toward more listening to God than talking to him, simply because of the belief that God has more important things to say to us than we have to say to him. And, because God delights to speak into our lives in transformative ways. Consider adjusting your physical postures of prayer as you discover the joy of listening prayer.

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.

"We need to be biblically centered in our personal spiritual practices." – Steve Macchia

In Season 20 we will focus on four spiritual practices: Lectio Divina, listening prayer, reflective journaling, and daily Examen. Steve Macchia is fluent in these practices, having made them an essential part of his regular prayer closet experience as a beloved child of God. He believes firmly in the need for us to keep the Scriptures central to all aspects of our personal devotional practices. Many of us are taught to study the biblical text in order to teach, preach, or share it with others. But, in our prayer closets we are invited to simply receive God's Word as a gift for our soul. Here we are fully present to the movement of God's Spirit, attentive and receptive to the living Word of God. The six major historical movements of Lectio Divina are presented here: Silencio, Lectio, Meditatio, Oratio, Contemplatio, and Incarnatio.

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

"Look what social media has done to our 'notice me' inclinations today and how that self-centeredness keeps us from preferring God instead." – Steve Macchia

This episode originally aired on 01/20/22 in Season 17 - The Discerning Life (Episode 1). Spiritual discernment is "practicing a preference for God" and one that we can learn how to live on a daily basis. How do we posture ourselves to prefer God and guide others to do likewise? That's what we need to learn and it only happens by a practiced discipline and choice of the heart. Perceiving and noticing God in the daily, routine places of our lives prepares us for times.

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

"Most of us have a stained-glass image of Jesus and it's hard for us to grasp his daily life as a beloved son of God." –David Vryhof, SSJE

This episode originally aired on 07/08/21 in Season 12 - Discerning God in Community (Episode 1). Brother David Vryhof of the Society of St. John the Evangelist (Episcopal Monastic Community based in Cambridge, MA) joins Steve in conversation about Jesus and his discernment at the beginning of his earthly ministry. They recount Jesus' baptism, his 40-days of temptation in the wilderness, and his proclamation of his mission and ministry in the synagogue. Each encounter is rich with meaning and purpose, profound in their mystery, and significant touch points for Jesus and his growing discernment about the Father's loving desires.

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: Adele Calhoun

"Shaming voices have the power to cripple us. They isolate us from the truth about ourselves and others." – Adele Calhoun

This episode originally aired on 09/23/21 in Season 14 - Discerning God Emotionally and Relationally (Episode 1). Shame is universal. It's been with us since Adam and Eve hid from God after succumbing to the shaming voice of the devil. How we deal with the shaming voices of our past will either set us free to live more abundantly, or will keep us crippled by their falsehood. In today's episode, Adele Calhoun offers great wisdom and truth about the importance of knowing and naming the shaming narratives of our lives, and invites us to embrace practices that will lead to redemptive healing. Trust Jesus with your shame. When we are even at our worst, He comes to set us free.

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.