The Discerning Leader Podcast

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie

Discernment is about being with God, paying attention to God, letting our every word and effort come from attentiveness to God. Sabbath is the place that nurtures that attentiveness. – Susan Currie

Sabbath nurtures our attentiveness to God and thereby enhances our practicing a preference for God. From the creation account in Genesis we see God's choice to rest after completing his work, delighting in the beauty of all that was established. We are invited to join God in the blessing and holiness of Sabbath rest and enjoy the gifts offered as we're attuned to his priority. Sabbath rest encourages a pace of life that allows us to see, hear, and notice God's goodness and grace amidst our very full lives. Let's slow down enough to listen more restfully to 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: David Vryhof

Reflection is an important spiritual discipline, inviting us to notice, remember, and give thanks. It is practiced in a variety of ways, from journaling to photography, and especially in the ancient practice of Examen. In reflection we are seeking the Spirit's guidance to illuminate the path we've walked and attend to his presence and power every step of the way. As discerning leaders, it's preferable to live a reflective life, noticing our feelings, actions, and attitudes, and intentionally realigning our motivations, drives, and values toward God's delightful priorities.

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

Prayer is a huge, somewhat daunting subject. No one has mastered prayer. In fact, if we're honest, we are all simply beginners. This episode explores the inward, upward, and outward nature of prayer, in both the "secret place" of our prayer closet, as well as in our public worship and community life. Prayer is a conversation between God and his children, with God as primary initiator, offering his love and inviting our love in return. Our posture is to be one of receptivity, openness, listening and noticing God's loving voice of comfort, guidance, and joy.

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

Instead of studying the Word to preach or teach it, Lectio Divina invites us to simply listen and receive the Word as a gift of love from God to us, his beloved children. Discerning leaders know the power of the Word and delight when the Scriptures come alive in our prayer closets. As a primary spiritual practice, lectio divina encourages us to feast on a slow and prayerfully meditative reading of God's Word. In this episode we look at the six rhythms of lectio and behold how the Word comes alive as it's prayerfully and repetitively held as a gift of 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: David Vryhof

We live in an incredibly noisy world. Distractions abound, vying for our attention all throughout our days. Choosing a subversive, counter-cultural pursuit of exterior and interior silence is what separates a discerning leader from society's norm. Silence and solitude is where we hear the whisper of God, enveloping us with love and affection. It's the place where Jesus often was found, before the sun rose or late in the evening, discerning the loving voice of the Father.

Finding our way to interior stillness is a great challenge but an even more significant reward.

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

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

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

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

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, to choose to become a community of love and prayerfulness which will leading 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

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