Discerning The Self

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Matt Scott

“What are we holding on to that God may be asking us to release?” — Steve Macchia

When does self care become selfish care? In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore the “mirror of the soul”—the invitation to develop a deeper, more honest awareness of who we are, what is happening within us, and how our inner lives shape our relationships with God and others.

Together, they explore the difference between self-awareness and self-absorption, the role of trusted community in helping us see our blind spots, and the importance of slowing down before reacting. They also consider the difference between healthy self-care and selfish care, and how humility, listening, and honest reflection can lead us toward reconciliation and deeper spiritual maturity.

The journey toward discernment begins with awareness: noticing, naming, and bringing what is beneath the surface into the presence of 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.

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Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Matt Scott

“The lie that we’ve bought into [is] that we need to be pushing and shoving ourselves into a being-seen place.” — Steve Macchia

What happens when our desire to be seen, known, and significant quietly becomes the thing that drives us?

In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore the seduction of significance—the subtle ways we compete, self-promote, measure our worth, and seek validation through achievement, visibility, and recognition. From social media and the “me monster” to the contrast between the stage and the cave, they invite us to examine whether our ambition is rooted in self-promotion or in a deeper desire to contribute, influence, and serve.

Rather than striving to make a name for ourselves, what might it look like to find our significance in being fully seen and known by God? This conversation is an invitation toward a holy ambition that is God-honoring, deeply rooted, and focusing on the flourishing of others.

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.

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Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Matt Scott

“The truth of Jesus will set you free. But also, the truth of your story will set you free.” — Steve Macchia

In this episode, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore the false self and the layers of identity we develop through our stories, wounds, choices, shame, and expectations of others. Together, they consider how these patterns can become so familiar that we barely recognize them. 

Receive God’s invitation through this conversation–to slow down, tell the truth, give attention to your emotions, and live in honest community. In doing so, we return to our truest identity as God’s beloved children.

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: Matt Scott

“We have to keep coming home and pursuing God and godliness rather than self and selfishness.” — Steve Macchia

In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore the difference between our true self and our false self—and the ways we can quietly lose ourselves when we begin to derive our identity from what we do rather than who we are.

In a world saturated with messages of self-improvement, self-promotion, and self-actualization, it can be easy to forget our heart’s true home: our belovedness as children of God. Steve and Matt consider what happens when our roles and accomplishments become our identity, and they invite us back to the deeper reality that our truest identity is not something we earn, but something we receive.

This is an invitation to let go of the striving, return to God’s embrace, and rediscover the freedom of living from the identity God has already given us.

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: Matt Scott

“Our life would be so different—and our churches and marriages and families and communities would be so different—if we remembered our Creator and delighted in everything that he has created.” – Steve Macchia

What if the truest version of ourselves isn’t something we have to create, perfect, or promote—but something we learn to receive?

In the opening episode of Season 41, Discerning the Self, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott explore what it means to understand ourselves in light of the God who created us. Drawing from St. Augustine, John Calvin, and the biblical language of being made in God’s image, they consider the profound connection between knowing God and knowing ourselves.

In a world that constantly invites us to self-promote, self-improve, achieve, and prove our worth, Steve and Matt invite us to a different way of living: slowing down, receiving our identity as God’s beloved creation, and learning to delight in the unique gift of who we are—and who others are.

Before there was correction, there was delight. Before striving, there was belovedness. And this conversation invites us to move from treating ourselves as perpetual self-improvement projects toward receiving ourselves as the unique, fearfully and wonderfully made people God delights in. 

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.