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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

Who and Where to Retreat? | Discerning God on Spiritual Retreat Episode 04

1/14/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano “Sometimes people think we need to be all put together in order to come into the presence of God, but that’s simply not true.” – Jeremy Stefano Spiritual retreats are a wonderful opportunity to experience the hospitality of God amidst one’s desire to be hospitable to the soul. Where we experience such retreats should open us up to a fresh move of God’s Spirit, even if we come from a dark valley or a season of fear. God sets the table...

Duration:00:30:37

What to do on retreat? | Discerning God on Spiritual Retreat Episode 03

1/7/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano “Spiritual retreats place us in a position to receive what Jesus is already doing in our behalf.” – Jeremy Stefano There are so many options for retreats, but a spiritual retreat is unique. Designed to heighten our attentiveness quotient, participants are invited to place themselves in postures of graced receptivity. It’s here where we notice and receive all that Jesus is already providing for us…his shepherding provisions of goodness and...

Duration:00:31:16

When to retreat? | Discerning God on Spiritual Retreat Episode 02

1/1/2021
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano “Turn away from other things that pretend to satisfy the soul and find rest in the Lord…in repentance, quietness and trust.” – Jeremy Stefano Often unaware, we become productivity machines and lose sight of what it means to be a human being longing for relationship with God. Spiritual retreats are great experiences of rediscovery and restorative renewal. It’s on retreat where we are reminded of the myriad gifts of God, primarily his...

Duration:00:27:01

Why retreat? | Discerning God on Spiritual Retreat Episode 01

12/17/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Jeremy Stefano “A holy place to draw away to a space and time dedicated solely to God, to be present to God.” – Jeremy Stefano There are many ways to retreat, but on a spiritual retreat the exclusive desire is to be with Jesus. Likened to his invitation to the disciples immediately prior to the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus says “come with me by yourselves to a solitary place and get some rest.” (Mark 6:31). On spiritual retreat we are saying yes to that...

Duration:00:30:51

A Powerful Grace | Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering Episode 05

12/10/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Ted Wueste “The ways of God are mysterious, but the person of God is reliable, trustworthy – even and especially in times of suffering.” – Ted Wueste It is certainly possible to discern God’s presence during seasons of suffering. Yes, even in our darkest days, the love of God is there to guide, sustain and encourage us. Ted Wueste shares the deeply profound invitation of God to walk into and embrace our times of suffering and receive the gifts God wants to...

Duration:00:31:41

In His Grip | Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering Episode 04

12/3/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Ted Wueste “The Lord prepares us for our times of suffering so we can walk with Him through our suffering. With God we can walk through anything.” – Ted Wueste God invites us to trust him in times of pain and suffering and he equips us to enter these deep places instead of being enmeshed in our own life circumstances. Our guest, Ted Wueste, knows this from first-hand experience. Diagnosed in September 2017 with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, followed by multiple...

Duration:00:27:10

Courage and Hope for the Alzheimer’s Caregiver| Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering Episode 03

11/26/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Cynthia Fantasia “When we choose to trust God, then we find him, and begin to see his fingerprints on everything.” – Cynthia Fantasia Today 6 million have Alzheimer’s disease, with 16.5 million unpaid caregivers coming alongside them, thrown into their role without any lead up or training. None of this has caught God by surprise, but for the care-giver every aspect of the experience is new. In this testing, God is building perseverance and our response may not...

Duration:00:27:10

In The Lingering Light | Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering Episode 02

11/19/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Cynthia Fantasia “Remember that the present loss doesn’t override the richness of the past. We had 45 years of amazing memories and 3 years of sickness and suffering.” – Cynthia Fantasia In the Lingering Light, written by our guest Cynthia Fantasia, provides courage and hope for the Alzheimer caregiver. After a delightful 45 years of marriage and family life, everything changed with Bob Fantasia’s Alzheimer’s. Were it not for a community of friends and family...

Duration:00:25:10

Suffering and Surviving | Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering Episode 01

11/12/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Cynthia Fantasia “I determined to live on the other side of eternity as a caregiver for my beloved husband as he suffered through his terminal Alzheimer’s disease. My goal was to preserve his dignity and my sanity.” – Cynthia Fantasia Discerning God’s presence and power during times of suffering and heartache can be challenging. It’s nearly impossible without having others in your community to help direct you back to the truths that you know, but have gotten...

Duration:00:26:32

Assessing Spiritual Vitality | Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church Episode 05

11/5/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Rick Anderson “An honest diagnosis and a hopeful prognosis is needed for local congregations today. The Church Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) will help you get there.” -Rick Anderson The Church is vitally important. Leadership Transformations supports the spiritual health of the body of Christ. The Church Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) is an online, holistic, user-friendly, biblically-centered, strengths-based listening tool that hundreds of congregations have...

Duration:00:28:19

Life of Service | Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church Episode 04

10/29/2020
Host: Steve Macchia “We as the people of God, his dearly loved ones, are to be like salt and light in the world we are called to love and serve in Jesus’ name.” - Steve Macchia The mission of the Church is to be like salt and light in our needy world. The world is desperate for the seasoning of God and for a light to point them toward Jesus. A healthy church discerns together the unique ways they become outward in their focus via evangelism, social action, international missions, and...

Duration:00:22:34

Life of Love| Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church Episode 03

10/22/2020
Host: Steve Macchia “What does it mean to love one another, to be the body of Christ, the family of God, preferring one another in Christ?” - Steve Macchia Becoming a healthy church includes our compassion toward one another as members of the body of Christ. Ideally, by creating a culture of grace where love for God and each other reigns supreme. When we prioritize the betterment of others, we exhibit the "one another’s" of the Scriptures, loving, serving, forgiving, and praying for one...

Duration:00:20:34

Life of Worship | Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church Episode 02

10/15/2020
Host: Steve Macchia “How are you contributing to the health of the Church today? We are oaks of righteousness called of God to display his splendor!” - Steve Macchia We learn best how to practice a preference for God in the context of the local church. And, when we are positive contributors to the vitality of the Church, we honor and please God. Unity in the body of Christ is God’s priority, as there’s great beauty in our diversity. Scripture and prayer are essential ingredients of church...

Duration:00:22:18

The Church Today | Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church Episode 01

10/8/2020
Host: Steve Macchia “I want to caution us against being so enveloped by the culture that we forget the real purpose of the Church. What does it mean to be a spiritually healthy family of God today?” - Steve Macchia It’s challenging to be the church today. There is so much antagonism against who we are and what we stand for. So many issues and isms that envelop our culture. But, we believe in the central role of the Church today. And, it’s Leadership Transformations’ desire to serve as seed...

Duration:00:20:28

Cultivating Creativity | Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity Episode 05

10/1/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner "We need to give ourselves permission to become childlike and enjoy the wonder, awe, and joy of playfulness." -Suz Skinner How easy it is to forget the invitation to become like a child if we are to truly experience the kingdom of God. We tend to be more like productivity machines, maximizing the use of each available hour, filling them with noise, activity, and effectiveness. Instead, what brings God delight is when we are childlike, focusing on who...

Duration:00:26:27

Images in Prayer | Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity Episode 04

9/24/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner "How can we pay greater attention when God uses images, metaphors, parables, stories, songs, and poetry in his Word that invite us to pray and respond?" - Suz Skinner The Scriptures are replete with examples of God’s creative work in our world and in our hearts. Taking time to notice the metaphorical ways God describes himself invites us into a posture of graced receptivity. We are in turn invited to be artists in our prayerful response. There’s a...

Duration:00:24:37

Beauty and Creation | Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity Episode 03

9/17/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner "Seeing the sunrise and sunset never gets old. They are the fingerprints of God each and every day." – Suz Skinner Creation and beauty speak directly of God, but without words. God is the author of both gifts and he delights for us to enjoy them. Who among us doesn’t love to lay on the ground and look up at the sky, noticing God’s handiwork in the clouds? In both unpredictable and predictable ways, God has blessed us with his creation and empowered...

Duration:00:26:42

Seeing God in Scripture and Imagination | Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity Episode 02

9/10/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner It’s important that we are in the Word in order to see how God makes himself known to us. – Suz Skinner The Word of God comes alive in our hearts and minds as we see God with greater clarity in our Scripture reflections and prayers. In this episode we discuss lectio divina (divine reading) and visio divina (divine reflection on a photograph, painting, piece of art or creation) in order to be drawn into the Word of God and prayer in Spirit-empowering...

Duration:00:24:42

Created to be Creative | Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity Episode 01

9/3/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Suz Skinner We are creative beings, reflecting the creative God who made us in his image. – Suz Skinner Creativity begins with God the Creator. He invites us to participate in his creation by caring for the air we breathe, the water we drink, the beauty of the sky, the earth, the animals, the trees, and everything that exists. It’s part of our creative identity to reflect the image of God, care for and nurture what he’s provided, and to honor creation by...

Duration:00:26:30

Celebrating | Discerning God in Sabbath Rest Episode 05

8/27/2020
Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie In the celebration of Sabbath, we explore the command and accept the invitation to dwell with God with a deep, resounding yes – with gusto! – Susan Currie The fourth rhythm of Sabbath is “celebrating” the joy and delight of our identity and freedom in Christ. When we gather with the family of God on Sabbath – for worship, fellowship, prayer, and relationship building – we are reminding each other of the with God life we share. Weekly worship with...

Duration:00:26:04

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