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.

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Current Season

Season 31: Discerning God in Slowness

Co-Hosts: Steve Macchia and Matt Scott

In Season 31, Steve Macchia and LTI Creative Director, Matt Scott, discuss discerning God in slowness.

Previous Seasons

Celebrating 200 Episodes!

Co-Hosts: Steve Macchia and Matt Scott

Steve Macchia and LTI Creative Director, Matt Scott, celebrate 200 episodes of The Discerning Leader Podcast.

Season 30: Discerning God in the Psalms

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Jeremy Stefano, Rick Anderson, Kim Alexander, Matt Scott, James Hauptman, Susan Currie, Suz Skinner, and Chrissy Chang

In Season 30, Steve Macchia invites various members of the LTI team to discuss discerning God in the Psalms. 

Season 29: Discerning Congregational Health

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Matt Scott, Rick Anderson, Dennis Baril, Tom Sparling, Doug and Greg Scalise, Ellen Bishop Little, Bob Ludwig, Barry Corey, and Olivier Bala

In Season 29, Steve Macchia invites various guests to discuss discerning congregational health. 

Season 28: Silencio- Reflective Practices for Nurturing Your Soul

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Matt Scott

In Season 28, Steve Macchia and Matt Scott discuss various spiritual practices that nurture your soul and lead listeners in a guided, reflective experience each episode.

Season 27: The Heart of a Discerning Leader

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Barbara Peacock, Philip Yancey, KeumJu Jewel Hyun, Jeff Crosby, Winn Collier, Jeremy Stefano, Trent Casto, Brandon Moore, and the LTI Lead Team.
In Season 27, Steve Macchia invites guests to discuss the heart of the discerning leader through the following episodes:

Season 26: Discerning the Presence, Power, and Peace of God

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Rowena Day, Gayle Heaslip, Iain Whitfield, Abigail Carroll, and Gary Franklin
In Season 26, Steve Macchia welcomes guests to the podcast to discuss discerning the presence, power, and peace of God.

Holy Week Interlude

Holy Week Interlude

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: David Vryhof
For a 2-week Holy Week Interlude, Steve Macchia welcomes Brother David Vryhof  to the podcast to discuss the Holy Week journey to Easter Sunday.

Season 25: A Process for Discernment

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: John Pearson, Matt Scott
In season twenty-five, Steve Macchia welcomes guests John Pearson and Matt Scott to the podcast to discuss a process for discernment from Chapter 8 of Steve’s latest book, The Discerning Life.

Season 24: 40 Days of Discernment

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Matt Scott

In season twenty-four, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Matt Scott to the podcast to discuss a forty-day prayer and reflection resource from Steve’s latest book, The Discerning Life.

Season 23: Discerning God in Seasons of Waiting: Advent & Christmastide

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Susan Currie, Dave Ripper, Dave Friedrich, Mark Booker, Bryan Wilkerson, Todd Cravens, and Margery Kennelly

In season twenty-three, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Susan Currie, Dave Ripper, Dave Friedrich, Mark Booker, Bryan Wilkerson, Todd Cravens, and Margery Kennelly to the podcast to discuss discerning God in seasons of waiting.

Season 22: Discerning God in Our Stories

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Trevor Hudson, Carolyn Arends, Bill and Kristi Gaultiere, Molly Shafferman, Cindy Bunch, James Bryan Smith, and Cindy Foley

In season twenty-two, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Trevor Hudson, Carolyn Arends, Bill and Kristi Gaultiere, Molly Shafferman, Cindy Bunch, James Bryan Smith, and Cindy Foley to the podcast to discuss discerning God in their stories.

Season 21: Discerning God’s Heart for the World

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Paul Borthwick

In season twenty-one, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Paul Borthwick to the podcast to discuss discerning God’s heart for the world.

Season 20: Spiritual Praxis: Exploring Spiritual Practices

Host: Steve Macchia

In season twenty, Steve Macchia will discuss four spiritual practices to help you practice a preference for God on your spiritual journey.

Season 19: The Discerning Leader Podcast: Rewind

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Gary Thomas, Adele Calhoun, David Vryhof, and Matt Scott

In season nineteen while Steve Macchia takes a brief sabbatical, we will be re-airing 4 of our premier episodes from the past 18 seasons.

Season 18: Your Discerning Life Story

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Matt Scott, Eric Peterson, Nate Foster, John Pearson,  Gordon Macdonald, Sara Singleton, Debby Mills, Cheryl Buchanan, Mindy Caliguire, Al Lopus,  Jenn Giles Kempner, Michelle Sanchez, and the LTI Lead Team

In season eighteen Steve Macchia welcomes various guests to talk about life stories shaped around spiritual discernment as a lifestyle.

Season 17: The Discerning Life

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Matt Scott

In season seventeen Steve Macchia and Matt Scott dialogue together about the important themes found in Steve’s new book, The Discerning Life: An Invitation to Notice God in Everything published by Zondervan Reflective. We will cover what it means to practice a preference for God in all aspects of our personal lives, relationships, and service to others.

Discerning God in Advent and Christmastide

Season 16: Discerning God in Advent and Christmastide

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Curtis Almquist, Anna Friedrich, Susan Currie, Rick Anderson, Jeremy Stefano, and Matt Scott, and David Currie

In season sixteen, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Curtis Almquist, Anna Friedrich, Susan Currie, Rick Anderson, Jeremy Stefano, and Matt Scott, and David Currie to the podcast to discuss discerning God in Advent and Christmastide in the following episodes:

Season 15: Discerning God at the Pace of Your Soul

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Alan Fadling, Tara Owens, Steve Smith, Barbara Peacock, and Kyle Strobel

In season fifteen, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Alan Fadling, Tara Owens, Steve Smith, Barbara Peacock, and Kyle Strobel to the podcast to discuss discerning God at the pace of your soul in the following episodes:

Season 14: Discerning God Emotionally and Relationally

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Adele Calhoun, Gary Thomas, Alison Cook, Amy Murgatroyd, and Alice Fryling

In season fourteen, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Adele Calhoun, Gary Thomas, Alison Cook, Amy Murgatroyd, and Alice Fryling to the podcast to discuss discerning God emotionally and relationally in the following episodes:

Season 13: Discerning God in Friendship and Direction

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Richard Plass, Rick Anderson, Gayle Heaslip, and Susan Currie

In season thirteen, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Richard Plass, Rick Anderson, Gayle Heaslip, and Susan Currie to the podcast to discuss discerning God in friendship and direction in the following episodes:

Season 12: Discerning God in Community

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: David Vryhof

In season twelve, Steve Macchia welcomes back guest David Vryhof to the podcast to discuss discerning God in Community in the following episodes:

Discerning God at His Pace

Season 11: Discerning God at His Pace

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Mark Buchanan

In season eleven, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Mark Buchanan to the podcast to discuss discerning God at His Pace in the following episodes:

Season 10: Discerning God in Song

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Dave Currie

In season ten, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Dave Currie to the podcast to discuss discerning God in song in the following episodes:

Season 9: Discerning God in our Brokenness

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Susan Currie, Jeremy Stefano, Genalin Niere-Metcalf, Kimberly Alexander

In season nine, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Susan Currie, Jeremy Stefano, Genalin Niere-Metcalf, and Kimberly Alexander to the podcast to discuss discerning God in our brokenness in the following episodes:

Season 8: Discerning Our Personal Rule of Life

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Tom Griffith, Justin Whitmel Earley, and Ken Shigematsu

In season eight, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Tom Griffith, Justin Earley, and Ken Shigematsu to the podcast to discuss discerning God in our personal rule of life in the following episodes:

Season 7: Discerning God on Spiritual Retreat

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Jeremy Stefano

In season seven, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Jeremy Stefano back to the podcast to discuss discerning God on spiritual retreat in the following episodes:

Season 6: Discerning God in Seasons of Suffering

Host: Steve Macchia | Guests: Cynthia Fantasia and Ted Wueste

In season six, Steve Macchia welcomes guests Cynthia Fantasia and Ted Wueste to the podcast to discuss discerning God in seasons of suffering in the following episodes:

Season 5: Discerning the Spiritual Health of the Church

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Rick Anderson (Episode 5)

In season five, Steve Macchia discusses discerning the spiritual health of the church in the following episodes:

Season 4: Discerning and Celebrating God in Creativity

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Suz Skinner

In season four, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Suz Skinner to the podcast to discuss discerning and celebrating God in creativity in the following episodes:

Season 3: Discerning God in Sabbath Rest

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Susan Currie

In season three, Steve Macchia welcomes guest Susan Currie to the podcast to discuss discerning God in sabbath rest in the following episodes:

Ceasing | Discerning God in Sabbath Rest Episode 02

“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…

READ MORE »

Season 2: Discerning God in the Spiritual Practices

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: David Vryhof

In season two, Steve Macchia welcomes guest David Vryhof to the podcast to discuss discerning God in the spiritual practices in the following episodes:

Season 1: Discernment as a Way of Life

Host: Steve Macchia | Guest: Jeremy Stefano

In this first season of The Discerning Leader podcast, Steve Macchia and Jeremy Stefano explore discernment as a way of life through the following episodes:

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Mitzi Mak

Selah-West Faculty & Emmaus Faculty

Mitzi started her professional life as a high school social studies teacher. She and her husband Jerry then served cross-culturally for ten+ years, living abroad first in India and then Kurdistan, N. Iraq. In addition to being a Spiritual Director, she now serves as a Formation and Care pastor in her local church in Houston, TX. She has graduated from LTI’s Selah Spiritual Direction training as well as LTI’s Emmaus Formational Leadership Program.

Mitzi enjoys engaging conversation, reading fiction, doing jigsaw/crossword puzzles, ocean gazing and exploring the world with Jerry through food and travel.

God has two main callings in Mitzi’s life: to care for those who care for others and to be a guide in helping others have a healthy relationship with the Trinity – recognizing God’s loving presence and activity in their lives and how to faithfully respond.

Selah was a transformative experience for me – allowing the contemplative within to emerge and to beautifully co-exist with my extraverted personality.