Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Matt Scott

“That experience was when the Psalms came alive to me.” -Matt Scott

Matt Scott is the Creative Director and a Minister of Spiritual Formation for Leadership Transformations Inc. Matt joins Steve for a conversation about his favorite Psalm – Psalm 27. With themes of trust and reliance on God; Psalm 27 invites the reader to fix our eyes on the Lord. In this Psalm, David honestly named his circumstances and reality. While enemies were closing in and trials abounded, David fixed his eyes on the goodness of God, the beauty of the Lord, and His attributes. Psalm 27 reminds us that we can walk forward not paralyzed by fear but in hope and joy, trusting in the goodness of God.

Mentioned in this episode:

• Matt Scott and Hilton Head Presbyterian Church Psalms Volumes 1 & 2
• I Shall Not Fear (Psalm 27) (feat. Eileen Robinson)

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: Kim Alexander

“We can’t be more attached to the outcome than we are to Christ.” - Kim Alexander

Kim Alexander is a Senior Faculty Member of LTI’s Selah, a two-year certificate program in Spiritual Direction. Kim joins Steve for a conversation on her favorite Psalm – Psalm 63. This Psalm was written by David in the wilderness and contrasts a dry and parched land without water with being fully satisfied with the richest of foods. We are reminded that our circumstances do not determine our internal state. God is no less God in dark places. He meets us in wilderness moments. Kim reminds us to be more attached to Christ than to the outcome of our circumstances.

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: Rick Anderson

“In a time when there is anxiety or panic, there is something about this psalm that calms me down. It reminds me that I don’t have a lot of control over anything. God has control over everything.” - Rick Anderson

Rick Anderson is the Executive Vice President of Leadership Transformations Inc., where he has served for the last 19 years. Rick joins Steve Macchia for a conversation around his favorite Psalm - Psalm 46. Psalm 46 invites us to come and sit at the feet of God and surrender our worries, concerns, anxieties, and fears to him. We can do that because God is the one who has all things under His control. Rick also shares how the Psalms have been meaningful in his own life; they give us words when we don’t know what to pray.

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

“Blessing the Lord is a daring thing to do, and it is the thing for which we’ve been created.” - Jeremy Stefano

Season 30 will feature team members from Leadership Transformations Inc. and focus on discerning God in the Psalms. The Psalms are prayers that God has given us to pray. These prayers cover almost every human emotion we will experience as children of God, and God delights in our expression of the fullness of our emotions. In this first episode of Season 30, Jeremy Stefano joins Steve Macchia for a conversation around his favorite Psalm - Psalm 103. The character of God is described through this Psalm - He is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love. Jeremy notes that this Psalm is both personal to each of us and at the same time, God is not a personal god, but the God over all of creation. Jeremy reminds us that believers are the only ones with the authority to bless. We get to speak blessings over one another, over our towns, and even over the Lord.

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: Olivier Bala

“Anyone that comes in here really feels comfortable. It’s something we have not tried to work hard at. It’s in our DNA.” – Oliver Bala

Oliver Bala has been the Senior Pastor of Mount Hope Community Baptist Church for the past 28 years. Oliver joins Steve today for a conversation around Healthy Church Trait 5: A Commitment to Loving and Caring Relationships. Oliver credits the welcoming and deep relationships to the cultural values held by this multiethnic, multigenerational church: worship, sanctuary, hospitality, discipleship, spiritual formation, and leadership development. Oliver notes that part of his role is to help people get familiar with the content of healthy discipleship over again until it makes a difference in their daily lives.

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: Barry Corey

“My dad said, ‘Whoever comes my way, I’m going to make myself receivable.’ Receivable is another word for kindness.” – Barry Corey

Barry Corey grew up as a pastor’s son in Quincy, Massachusetts. His early life was shaped by seeing people's lives changed at the altar at his father’s church. Barry joins Steve for a conversation about Trait 7 of a Healthy Church: An Outward Focus. Barry shares words from his father, Hugh, given when Barry spent a year researching educational programs for children of the landless poor in Bangladesh. Barry had seen his father show radical love and kindness to gas station attendants, cobblers, dentists, tailors, and attorneys. In the streets of Bangladesh, Hugh said, “Whoever comes my way, I’m going to make myself receivable.” Barry explains that receivable is another word for kindness and that there is a world of difference between niceness and kindness. While “niceness" is not in the Bible, kindness is. And kindness is a radical virtue that can change lives because of how strong it is.

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: Bob Ludwig

“Good management can assist the mission of the organization and make it more effective by setting people free from the complex irritations of bad management.” – Bob Ludwig

Bob Ludwig has enjoyed a two-track career with business consulting and church/ministry leadership. In this conversion with Steve Macchia, Bob shares principles from Healthy Church Trait 8: Wise Administration and Accountability. Bob speaks to the idea that good management makes the Church's mission more effective. Wise management involves clear procedures, resulting in lowered anxiety in the organization and an ease of good ministry. Bob concludes this episode by offering wisdom for church leaders today.

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: Ellen Bishop Little

“You don’t need a big budget, a lot of people, or a nice building to have the presence of God and loving, caring relationships.” – Ellen Bishop Little

Ellen Bishop Little along with her husband Larry responded to a call to teach at their local church. They chose an unlikely group - two-year-olds! After the first year was finished, they chose to continue moving up each year with the group of children. They stayed with this same group of children all the way to high school. Ellen and Larry provided community for the students as they grew and matured. These same students in turn provided community for Ellen and Larry when Larry became sick and succumbed to cancer. Ellen joins Steve Macchia for a personal story of Healthy Church Trait #4: Learning and Growing in Community.

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.