The Discerning Leader Podcast

"Your number one priority in the Lord's work is your family." –Gordon MacDonald

"The View from Eighty" is a synopsis of Gordon MacDonald's discernment today. What are the 15 things I've observed in myself and others, that make you either a success or failure in life and ministry, fulfilling all that God invites? In this episode we cover the first 7 items:

1. Prioritize the most significant people in your world;
2. Never (ever!) stop growing; stay responsive to fresh ways and ideas that sustain your physical and mental health; ask great questions; enrich your wisdom and spiritual life;
3. Be more a priest and less a preacher; bless people and don't bully them;
4. The time will come when you will have to relinquish titles and privileges and slip into obscurity;
5. Anticipate those occasions when you may suffer, fail, doubt, face conflict, and experience loss;
6. Be trustworthy and reliable, a person who keeps his/her word; don't make promises you can't keep; and
7. Be a spiritual father/mother to teachable people who may someday inherit your responsibilities.

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: John Pearson "Once you taste spiritual discernment, you won't want to go back to the old way of decision-making." –John Pearson

John Pearson is a leadership and management consultant, who formerly served as CEO of the Willow Creek Association, Christian Camp and Conference Association, and Christian Leadership Alliance. His "Weekly Staff Meeting" email reviews at least one book per week, including The Discerning Life (sign up at www.managementbuckets.com). He shares with us heart-warming stories about how his life has been transformed by spiritual discernment. He reminds us of the importance of having people on our leadership teams who understand discernment and want to respond to God's desires and hear God's voice, urging us to focus on depth instead of #'s.

Board Prayer: You can download the Board Prayer John mentions in this episode via the show notes page on the website here.

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.

"The Jesus way is clear: hang out with 12 nobodies and then give them the keys." –Nathan Foster

Nate Foster is the son of Richard Foster, renowned spiritual formation leader and founder of Renovare, where Nate serves as director of Community Life. He shares how his awareness of God's engagement in his life grew from a lot of quiet reflection. It's here that he notices God filling the gaps, often most apparent long after the fact and in quiet discernment. He sees the spiritual practices as what we do in the ordinary parts of life, serving our family or reaching out to a neighbor in need. He has quit viewing spiritual practices as only for the super spiritual, and has found renewed joy in wonderful, ordinary places filled with grace. So countercultural.

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.

"God is in everything, in all the details of life, and not just the pleasant ones." –Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson is the son of Eugene Peterson, author of The Message translation of the Bible, who found his way to faith and pastoral ministry with reluctance. As he reflects on his discerning life, he describes his journey as along a luminous trail, a metaphor based on mountain climbing. Slugging his way up the mountain, he looks back and down and sees headlamps shining on the pathway he and his friends had created. The lights are references to his own discerning life story, always being led by the light, but not always along a straight line. Eric is a man who's been richly blessed and continues to discern ways to be a blessing to others.

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.

"Formation, discernment, and renewal are threads woven into everything we do at Leadership Transformations." – Matt Scott

Season 18 will focus on life stories shaped around spiritual discernment as a lifestyle, beginning with the Leadership Transformations story, nearly 19 years in the making. Spiritual formation, discernment, and renewal are embedded into everything we are and do as a ministry. And, it all began in the summer of 2002. Steve recounts the dream God awakened within his soul, in the midst of a challenging season of his family, ministry, and personal life. After months of team-based discernment, the ministry of LTI was born. Since our inception on July 1, 2003 God has built a strong foundation and solid ministry to leaders and teams, and we give God be the glory!

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 a common language and experience for how best to live a discerning life individually and collectively." –Steve Macchia

As we conclude season 17, we discuss The Appendices of The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything. Inspired by Rueben Job, Steve's kind, gracious, humble and loving mentor, this 40-day guide to spiritual discernment introduces the reader to a common language and experience of discernment. This is helpful for teams and small groups who are seeking to live a discerning life in community. Discovering this lifestyle from the biblical text and in the life of the historic Church is inspirational for those in that that pursuit today. The Lord purposefully makes himself known to his beloved, and then invites us to practice a preference for him 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.

"My true home is in Christ's heart and Christ's home is my heart. That's radical!" – Steve Macchia

Today's episode focuses on chapter nine and the Epilogue of The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything. In this conversation we discuss the radical nature of the discerning life, a lifestyle marked by a transformed heart. With God as the Mastermind of the necessary renovations of our hearts and lives, we learn to trust him in all things. It's important that we remain open to the work of God as we are molded and reshaped by the love of God. When we rest in God and trust him completely, we notice his work in our midst with greater clarity. Let's say yes to the invitation to follow Jesus, and then discern his presence and power in all things.

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.

"Asking 'Why?' is the hardest and most important question to consider in virtually every circumstance of life." – Steve Macchia

In chapter eight of The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything, today's episode covers the very intentional and deliberative process of spiritual discernment for groups and individuals. Here we build on the foundation of a discerning life and enter into the phase of decision-making that grows from the radical lifestyle of practicing a preference for God. We begin with the importance of the question "Why?" which is the most important question to consider. From here we shift to identifying the most important question we are discerning together, which leads into the ten questions and phases for discernmentarians to consider.

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.

"The discerning life requires a radical and renewed change of heart and mind." – Steve Macchia

Today we are diving into chapter seven of The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything. We unpack the importance of shifting from a self-directed to a Spirit-empowered life, and the radical choices that implies. A renewed mind is a changed mind, transformed by the invitation to consider the various levels of soul care and its parallel to house care: chores, maintenance, emergencies, redecorating, upgrading, and renovating. To the very end, even on the cross, Jesus modeled for us a life of intentional focus on God's way…grace and forgiveness. He thereby invites us to live in full submission to his priorities, practicing a preference for 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

Chapter six of The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything, is the topic of today's conversation. Here we unpack the importance of understanding and appreciating the various contexts that have shaped our lives…as well as the lives of those we are called to love and serve in Jesus. The gift of empathy is the goal – walking in each other's shoes and showing grace, mercy, kindness and love to those who are different from us. When we become respecters of various cultures, contexts, and story lines, we learn to embrace one another and live the abundant and discerning life. Our God-blessed pathway is always rich with empathy.

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.