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The Discerning Leader Podcast

Religion & Spirituality Podcasts

The Discerning Leader podcast is for Christian leaders who are interested in discovering the joy of “practicing a preference for God” in all aspects of their personal lives and relationships, their leadership and service to others. Each episode our host, Steve Macchia, founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), with friends from the LTI community, will explore one aspect of spiritual discernment as a way of life. Join us on this refreshingly transformational journey and add your voice to this leadership conversation.

The Discerning Leader podcast is for Christian leaders who are interested in discovering the joy of “practicing a preference for God” in all aspects of their personal lives and relationships, their leadership and service to others. Each episode our host, Steve Macchia, founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), with friends from the LTI community, will explore one aspect of spiritual discernment as a way of life. Join us on this refreshingly transformational journey and add your voice to this leadership conversation.

Location:

United States

Description:

The Discerning Leader podcast is for Christian leaders who are interested in discovering the joy of “practicing a preference for God” in all aspects of their personal lives and relationships, their leadership and service to others. Each episode our host, Steve Macchia, founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), with friends from the LTI community, will explore one aspect of spiritual discernment as a way of life. Join us on this refreshingly transformational journey and add your voice to this leadership conversation.

Language:

English

Episodes

Sabbath Rest: How | Discerning God at His Pace Episode 02

6/10/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Mark Buchanan “Our Sabbath practices began by taking one do-nothing day each week…and it changed everything.” –Mark Buchanan The spiritual rhythm of Sabbath rest is good for our souls, our relationships, and our service to others. Learning to linger at the pace of grace, Sabbath teaches us to slow down long enough to savor every important morsel of life. We need to build capacity and practice Sabbath in order to overcome our addictive patterns and realign around...

Duration:00:47:47

Sabbath Rest: What and Why | Discerning God at His Pace Episode 01

6/3/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Mark Buchanan “Jesus saved me and then the Sabbath saved my relationship with Jesus.” –Mark Buchanan Mark Buchanan, author of The Rest of God, reminds us that we spend many of our waking moments pursuing adrenaline rushes. Activity, noise, productivity, and even relationships can hinder us from a life of attentiveness and receptivity. Sabbath slows us down and awakens within us a fresh, renewing way of being. As we practice noticing God, we experience clarity,...

Duration:00:41:31

Evaluate a Good Song | Discerning God in Song Episode 05

5/27/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Dave Currie “A living church always needs new expressions in song to meet the immediacy of current and particular circumstances.” – Dave Currie Spiritual songs and hymns help us become more discerning leaders. As we sing, regardless of our unique context, we join with the voices of saints from around the world who worship musically with songs of our Christian faith. How may distinct races, denominations, or ethnic groups have you joined in song? Engaging in song...

Duration:00:34:45

Effects of Singing | Discerning God in Song Episode 04

5/20/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Dave Currie “Do everything for the glory of God – and with a song in your heart!” – Dave Currie Singing is a great way to help us notice what God is doing in our midst. When we let the message of Christ dwell among us richly, it’s the songs, hymns, and spiritual songs – offered from our hearts – that solidify the truths about God in our souls. We are made in God’s image, and we share in God’s creative process as we sing and make music in our hearts. What...

Duration:00:35:40

Songs in Church History | Discerning God in Song Episode 03

5/13/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Dave Currie “Singing the songs of those who have come before us, especially from other cultures and times, enhances our discernment as leaders.” – Dave Currie God sings over us out of his great affection, and as a warrior for our soul, he protects and cares for us as his beloved. Songs have been a part of the history of the church as singing helps us stay connected to God and with one another as his children. We know there will be lots of singing in...

Duration:00:33:53

New Testament Songs | Discerning God in Song Episode 02

5/6/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Dave Currie “When Jesus shows up, we want to sing!” – Dave Currie Sing to the Lord a new song! Songs of our faith are an invitation to intimacy with God, who loves us and enjoys hearing the praises of his people. In this episode we will notice the songs of Zechariah, Mary, and of Simeon – in celebration of the coming of the Messiah. We’ll consider how the second coming of Jesus, as noted in the book of Revelation, includes great songs of adoration. Also,...

Duration:00:31:57

Old Testament Songs | Discerning God in Song Episode 01

4/29/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Dave Currie “A song is the quickest route on the longest journey – 18 inches from the head to the heart and then back again.” –Dave Currie Our own leadership discernment grows as we enter into others’ experience of noticing God in worship and song. We get to know others from around the world as we sing their songs. This has been true since the dawn of time, and is expressed throughout the Scriptures. In the Old Testament, particularly the Psalms, we find...

Duration:00:30:44

Racial Brokenness | Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 06

4/22/2021
“It’s hard to consider racial reconciliation when we’ve never really had a right relationship to reconcile.” – Kim Nash Alexander Today’s conversation tackles one of the most significant issues of our day, and how God would have us address it from his perspective. Racial brokenness has been a part of our culture for generations and perhaps it will take longer than we prefer to bring about meaningful change. Dr. Kim Alexander shares with us what it’s meant for her as an African American...

Duration:00:42:03

Relational Brokenness | Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 05

4/15/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Genalin Niere-Metcalf “The more you know your own story, the more you will know your own brokenness and what triggers you relationally.” –Genalin Niere-Metcalf Relational brokenness doesn’t have to stay that way. There are paths that lead us to wholeness, and on today’s episode we discover how. It all begins with understanding our own personal stories, the narratives that have shaped us over time. Unless we know our own hearts fully, it will remain...

Duration:00:36:34

Emotional Brokenness| Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 04

4/8/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Genalin Niere-Metcalf “Emotional brokenness is our sense of not being whole, which is all a part of being alive.” – Genalin Niere-Metcalf All of us interact with broken people. It’s the wounded among us who wound others, often unaware. Emotional brokenness shows up in our emptiness, anxiety, bitterness, sadness, shame, and perfectionism. Because the Lord delights in healing the broken hearted, it’s vital for us to embrace our own brokenness, honor our...

Duration:00:39:20

Spiritual Brokenness | Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 03

4/1/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano “Jesus comes to tend to the broken. No need to feel disqualified or set aside by the Lord because of our brokenness. He longs to rescue us and bring us closer to his heart.” – Jeremy Stefano Spiritual brokenness begins with acknowledging our basic human condition as ones who are dislocated from God. The pathway to wholeness is paying attention to the ways we have stiff armed God or sought to manipulate him in our own image. We seek to...

Duration:00:33:10

Physical Brokenness | Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 02

3/25/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie “On the night we learned the news about my cancer, my husband and I went to a concert in Boston and I wondered, ‘Surely, I’m not the only one in this vast hall who has cancer.’” – Susan Currie Susan Currie was surprised to discover she had stage three colorectal cancer at the young age of 50. Her doctor outlined the year-long plan for dealing with it, comforting her with the words “this can be cured.” Chemo, radiation, surgery, and...

Duration:00:35:06

Broken and Whole | Discerning God in our Brokenness Episode 01

3/18/2021
Host: Steve Macchia “We are to receive the love of God if we are to ever dispense the love of God to others.” – Steve Macchia How does God use our brokenness as a pathway to spiritual transformation? Today commences a new season of episodes, focusing on the overview of brokenness and wholeness. Reading from the Introduction of Macchia’s book, Broken and Whole, Steve invites us to consider our own brokenness and God’s delightful redemption. He identifies four areas of brokenness:...

Duration:00:34:04

The Common Rule | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 07

3/11/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Justin Whitmel Earley "From being totally overwhelmed by my schedule, the house of my life was decorated by my Christian calling but the architecture of my life was built like everyone else, on an unsteady foundation…simple habits radically changed my life." – Justin Whitmel Earley Justin Earley, author of The Common Rule (InterVarsity Press), introduces his suggested Common Rule, made up of eight habits, four daily and four weekly. The daily habits are:...

Duration:00:44:21

God In My Everything | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 06

3/5/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Ken Shigematsu “People are so busy and anxious today; turning to things that give a temporary lift but not a lasting contentment. A rule of life can give us a longer term of abiding peace and a deeper trust in God." –Ken Shigematsu Using the image of a trellis to describe our personal rule of life, Ken Shigematsu, author of God in My Everything (Zondervan), places emphasis on the roots of Sabbath, prayer, and sacred reading. Building on that foundation...

Duration:00:39:00

Process and Examples | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 05

2/26/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “Your rule of life is designed to help you frame the intentionality of life that uniquely fits and sets you free in Christ!” –Tom Griffith Crafting a Rule of Life (written by Steve Macchia) is dedicated to Psalm 16:11, “You make known to me the path of life, you fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” The website www.ruleoflife.com was developed when the book was released and provides additional help in...

Duration:00:31:08

Fulfilling | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 04

2/19/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “When there’s something important expressed to us from a member of the body of Christ we are to receive it as an expression of grace that has both inspiration and conviction from the Father.” –Tom Griffith The third component of Crafting a Rule of Life is to understand how our personal rule is fulfilled in the context of community, with our spiritual friends and among our faith community. With good friends by our side, we will not be shaken...

Duration:00:29:38

Forming | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 03

2/12/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “As Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, in favor with God and man, so shall we as ones created by God and accountable to him to steward and share our lives.” –Tom Griffith We form our personal rule of life by considering prayerfully the main time frames of our lives. What is God inviting us to consider as priority on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual basis? The areas we seek to review include our spiritual practices that deepen...

Duration:00:29:46

Framing | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 02

2/5/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “There is no arrival in this world, but to have a great relationship with God the Father, and when we listen to God, we begin to meaningfully live our rule of life.” –Tom Griffith In Macchia’s Crafting a Rule of Life, we are learning how to live intentionally for God. A healthy, flexible, and fruitful rule of life needs to be articulated rather than assumed. Discovering how best to frame a personal rule of life begins with prayerful...

Duration:00:32:39

Introduction | Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life Episode 01

1/29/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Tom Griffith “Rule of life helps me to be present, not always looking to the past or projecting ahead to the future. The treasure is right here, right now, in God’s presence.” – Tom Griffith In this series, we will be noting Steve Macchia’s book, Crafting a Rule of Life (IVP). Tom Griffith is our special guest, and is the founder of Greater Formation. A personal rule of life is a pattern or way of living both descriptively and prescriptively for God....

Duration:00:30:44

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