The Discerning Leader Podcast

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 o...

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, everyt...

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 o...

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-frien...

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 th...

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 exh...

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...

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 c...

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,...

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...

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?...

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...

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 refl...

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 relationsh...

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie We realize our deepest, truest, eternal part of us as God's dearly loved children when we rest. What God does in us when we rest is carried into all aspects of life. – Susan Currie Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath and when he frustrated the religious leaders by healing on the Sabbath, he was a delight to those he came to serve and set free. Sabbath reminds...

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie You have been set free (in God), so keep the Sabbath! This is what Sabbath rest is all about. We don't want to lose our memory for tasting the goodness of God.  – Susan Currie God's loving invitation and specific commandment is to Sabbath rest – for all. The people of God were ushered into the Promised Land and reminded to rest, always to remember their yea...

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Susan Currie Sabbath ceasing is meant for everyone and every living creature our lives touch: our children, our animals, all in our household.  God rests in order to delight in his creation. So too are we made to rest in order to engage our creational identity. – Susan Currie Sabbath rest is the turnkey to the deeper life. Ceasing can be the most difficult of all the Sa...

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 r...

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 th...

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, wi...

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 s...

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...

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...

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...

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 direct...