Discerning The State Of Our Souls

 

Host: Steve Macchia Guest: Matt Scott

“A spiritual practice is not a prescription for success; it’s an invitation to deeper intimacy with God.” – Steve Macchia

As Season 40 of The Discerning Leader Podcast comes to a close, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott reflect on the journey of exploring the state of our souls through the lens of LTI’s Soul Care Audit.

Together they revisit key themes from the season—including caring for our bodies, minds, and emotions; practicing silence, solitude, and Sabbath; cultivating spiritual friendship and community; and embracing the gift of spiritual direction. Through listener questions, Steve and Matt offer practical wisdom for navigating demanding seasons of life, creating space for God in the midst of busyness, building meaningful relationships, and discovering sustainable rhythms of soul care.

Ultimately, this conversation points listeners toward a holistic vision of spiritual formation and the life-giving invitation of a personal Rule of Life—a pathway to deeper intimacy with God and greater attentiveness to the health of the soul.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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 Guests: Gayle Heaslip, Matt Scott

“Hospitality of the soul is about a gracious welcome, not just a literal space. It’s a kind of inner spaciousness and unhurried quality that’s created within our hearts.” – Steve Macchia

What does it mean to practice hospitality—not just in our homes, but within our souls?

In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia welcomes Gayle Heaslip and Matt Scott for a rich conversation about soul hospitality—the practice of creating a spacious, welcoming place for God, ourselves, and others.

Together they explore how God invites us into a deeper relationship than we often expect, how we learn to embrace both the beautiful and broken parts of ourselves, and why cultivating an inner sanctuary becomes the foundation for offering grace-filled presence to others. They discuss the importance of wonder, attentive listening, and creating safe spaces where people can encounter the love and transforming presence of God. If you’ve ever longed for a deeper sense of God’s welcome—or wondered how to extend that welcome to others—this conversation offers a gentle invitation to slow down, make room, and discover the hospitality of the soul.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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 Guests: Gail Edmonson, Matt Scott

“Community is built through trust, but it is redeemed through love, grace, forgiveness, and a lot of listening.” – Steve Macchia

In this episode, Steve Macchia, Matt Scott, and Gail Edmondson explore the beauty, challenges, and transformative power of spiritual community.

Together they discuss why healthy community requires trust, humility, listening, and commitment; how God uses relationships to shape us into the image of Christ; and why true belonging often emerges in the midst of life’s messiness. You’ll discover practical wisdom for creating safe spaces where people can be heard, loved, honored, and known.

Whether you’re searching for deeper friendships, seeking to strengthen a small group, or longing for authentic connection in your church, this conversation offers hope and encouragement for the journey.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Guests: Susan Currie, Matt Scott

“I’m becoming more and more convinced that every leader needs a spiritual director.” – Steve Macchia

This week’s episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, offers a thoughtful conversation about the transformative practice of spiritual direction. Steve Macchia and Susan Currie explore what spiritual direction is, how it differs from counseling, mentoring, and coaching, and why it has become one of the most meaningful practices for nurturing intimacy with God.

Susan shares her own journey into spiritual direction and explains how a spiritual director serves not as someone who fixes problems or gives answers, but as a companion who helps us attend to the presence and voice of the Holy Spirit. Along the way, the conversation explores the importance of contemplative listening, the role of silence, the gift of being deeply heard, and the value of having trusted companions for the journey of faith.

Whether you’re curious about spiritual direction for the first time or looking to deepen your own practice, this episode offers wisdom, encouragement, and practical guidance for tending the health and vitality of your soul.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Guests: Rick Anderson, Matt Scott

“We all need people who believe the best in us, stand beside us when we feel like falling, and help us keep going.” – Steve Macchia

If you’ve ever longed for deeper connection, wondered how to cultivate genuine soul friendships, or found yourself feeling isolated in leadership or life, this conversation offers encouragement and practical next steps. In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia is joined by friends and colleagues Rick Anderson and Matt Scott for a conversation on spiritual friendship and its impact on the health and vitality of our souls.

Together they explore the difference between surface friendship, deep friendship, and spiritual friendship—and why so many people, especially men and leaders, often experience isolation and loneliness beneath the surface. Through stories, reflections, and shared wisdom, they discuss the courage it takes to be truly known, the importance of vulnerability and trust, and how spiritual friends help us become more fully ourselves.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Guests: Marcos Leon, Matt Scott

“If we don’t go to the place of owning and identifying our feelings and emotions, we won’t be able to embrace both our brokenness and wholeness.” – Steve Macchia

Why do so many of us struggle to name what we feel? How do family systems and early experiences shape our emotional lives? And what might happen if we stopped treating emotions as enemies and started receiving them as messengers? In this episode of The Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Macchia is joined by Marcos Leon and Matt Scott for a conversation on emotional well-being and its profound impact on the health of our souls.

Together they explore how emotions are not obstacles to our spiritual lives but invitations into deeper awareness, healing, and communion with God. 

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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: Suz Skinner, Matt Scott

“Soul care begins by creating space to listen.” – Steve Macchia

If you feel spiritually weary, distracted, or hungry for deeper intimacy with God, this episode offers a gentle invitation to create space for the One who refreshes our souls.

Steve Macchia is joined by Suz Skinner and Matt Scott for a rich conversation about creating space to be with God and how that space nourishes the soul. Together they explore the many ways God meets us—in prayer closets and art studios, through journaling and gratitude, in silence, Scripture, creativity, nature, and the ordinary rhythms of daily life. This conversation invites listeners to slow down, pay attention, and rediscover that soul care is less about perfect practices and more about relational presence with God.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Matt Scott

“A holy nap might be the most spiritual thing you do all week.” – Steve Macchia

In this reflective episode of the Discerning Leader podcast, Steve Macchia, Matt Scott, and Dr. Kim Alexander explore the deep spiritual practice of Sabbath rest and its impact on the soul. Moving beyond the idea of simply “stopping,” they unpack what it means to truly rest—embracing surrender, trust, and delight in God’s presence. Through personal stories, cultural observations, and spiritual insights, the conversation highlights the challenge of practicing Sabbath in a fast-paced, always-on world. Listeners are invited to reconsider Sabbath not as restriction, but as a life-giving rhythm of freedom, identity, and belovedness—an intentional space to be with God rather than merely doing for God.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Fyfe Blair

“What are the ‘pillows’ that allow your soul to finally rest in God?” – Steve Macchia

In this episode of the Discerning Leader Podcast, Steve Machia is joined by Matt Scott and Fyfe Blair for a rich and reflective conversation on silence and solitude. Together, they explore why these ancient practices feel so difficult in a distracted, fast-paced world—and why they remain essential for the health of our souls.

Drawing from Scripture, lived experience, and the wisdom of the Desert Fathers, this episode invites you to move beyond surface-level quiet into a deeper stillness of heart. You’ll discover how silence and solitude are not ends in themselves, but pathways into a life rooted in God’s presence—a life marked by what Fife calls a “cadence of grace.”

If your soul feels hurried, noisy, or stretched thin, this conversation offers a gentle but honest invitation: slow down, make space, and learn again how to be with God.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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, Jeremy Stefano

“The mind must be renewed if the soul is to be transformed.” – Steve Macchia

In a world saturated with distraction, misinformation, and anxiety, what we think about—and how we think—deeply shapes the condition of our soul. In Episode 03 of Season 40, Steve Macchia, Jeremy Stefano and Matt Scott unpack how examining truth, prayerful reflection, and intentional thought lead to transformation. From the renewal of the mind in Romans 12 to the call in Philippians 4 to dwell on what is true, honorable, and pure, this conversation offers a grounded and hopeful vision for cultivating a healthy inner life.

If you’ve ever felt mentally scattered, spiritually dry, or overwhelmed by competing voices, this episode is an invitation to slow down, reflect, and allow God to renew your mind…and restore your soul.

We’ve provided a 3 page Soul Care Audit that will offer you a handful of questions to consider how well you’re caring for your soul. You can download the PDF here and spend some time prayerfully reflecting on your current rhythms and practices. 

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.