Workshops

Sabbath Rest: Invitation, Gift, and Blessing

Steve Macchia

Sabbath seems like a no-brainer. But, of all the 10 commandments, it’s the one we take for granted and rather loosely tend to ignore. God is a champion of creative work, that’s for sure. Just look around at trees, birds, oceans, and human beings to marvel at his work. But, he’s also a diligent advocate for Sabbath rest, when he and we are invited to join together in noticing, enjoying, and stewarding the life that surrounds us. Join the conversation and let’s keep Sabbath a priority.

Over this past year, the online worships and soul care retreats have been life-giving! As a healthcare professional in the pandemic, I have counted on these times to continue to conform me into the image of Christ. Not only has my head been satisfied with new information, my heart has been filled and touched by our Father.

"Psalm 23 is a landscape of my life. I felt this retreat was so life-giving. I felt so refreshed and like I just came off of the green pastures afterwards. You have designed it in such a way to overcome the "zoom fatigue" phenomena and it was a very effective venue for a retreat, because you could just enjoy it in the context of your home and not have to "commute" afterwards. It was a true Sabbath experience."

I am from a country where people are encouraged to work, work more, and work hard. The majority of people are struggling to fulfill their basic daily needs. It is also said that they are poor because they don't work harder. This is why people are motivated to work very hard. One of them is me. But I found only working hard is also not so efficient and effective that impacts life, family, and ministry. I work with few young leaders in South Asia. They are also working hard. There are fruits of working hard at the same time they feel almost always tired that impacts their own life, family, and ministry. In this workshop, I felt/compelled, I am invited to balance work, rest, and recreation in life which will bring great joy and will not reduce the end result either in life or ministry rather it will be more efficient and effective.

"I saw the gift of Sabbath rest and how it demonstrates my trust in God. It is a period of time to focus on the sufficiency of God and not rest in my own efforts."

"I have been thinking much about Sabbath recently, and this event was particularly helpful in directing my thinking. It was also very helpful for my wife who, although she has been thinking about the Sabbath for quite some time, learned some new things too. Thank you!"

Steve Macchia

God graciously speaks to us his beloved children. But how do we recognize the voice of Jesus apart from all the competing voices in our minds and in our lives? In this interactive online workshop, we draw insights from the Scriptures and explore principles of discernment taught by Ignatius of Loyola that will help us grow to better discern God’s will and direction in our lives.

"The teaching was excellent. I found the challenges to discernment helpful for identifying my fear of putting words in God's mouth (presumption). Also it was helpful to reconsider silence as an invitation to hear God speak on His own terms. I am encouraged that God wishes to speak with me!"

"The material- specifically discerning the Inner Witness of the Spirit from other voices was super helpful for me. And also naming the reasons for unbelief/distrust/fear- super helpful to acknowledge & unpack. Also- Loved the small group time!"

"The invitation to the spiritual discernment Workshop came on a day I was grieving over my performance as a Christian counselor. The Lord knew the encouragement I needed to send this invite to my inbox. I left with Clarity on my struggle and renewed confidence in the Lord that he wants me to Soldier on and serve others in the Holy Spirit's power. To trust Him with the outcomes! I also received confirmation via scripture the day after at church from Proverbs 3 5 & 6 (the Message, I think?) exactly the scripture (and translation) David began and ended with at the workshop. Heartfelt thanks!"

"I was moved and humbled by David's story of decision making using community discernment. I instantly saw this as an antidote to how so many organizations make decisions. Not only does it model genuine transparency, but embodies trust in people and God. While most organizations that i have been a part of are quite a ways away from such trust and honesty, it gives us all something to work toward."

Rick Anderson

The Enneagram is a powerful self-awareness tool that helps us explore the diverse personality traits, gifts, vices, and “deadly sins” that describe our unique selves. The Enneagram provides a helpful framework to describe how we amazingly reflect God’s image (our True-Self), as well as how our sin patterns can distort and mar that image (our False-Self). Each registrant takes an online WEPSS Enneagram assessment in advance of the workshop. With detailed and personalized results in hand, we spend the time together exploring the self-discovery insights offered by this tool.

"This was the best presentation I’ve ever attended concerning the Enneagram. The centering around who we are in Christ, I believe truly brought about the clarity of such complex information of this most amazing tool to assist us in discovering who we truly are and how God uniquely created and wired each of us. Rick has obviously such a depth of understanding and was graced to be so clear in his words that I was just amazed and hung on each word. I absorbed more understanding than I had been able to in other platforms on this subject. I am so grateful that I have so much more of a grasp so that my own study and next steps will truly feel like I’m building on a sturdy and stable foundation. The tool of the enneagram has been one of the best treasures to be discovered that God has graced me to stumble across."

"Rick's energy, grace, warmth and wisdom are such wonderful gifts -- highly recommend the Enneagram Workshop both as a powerful tool in one's own spiritual formation and also to help appreciate and value others as God is shaping them along with us with God's transforming love."

"I honestly was so blown away with the quality of the content. I have been an enneagram nerd for so long and have taken many courses through PCCI and Dr. Wilders Thrive training, and this Enneagram was top notch. I learned so much! I felt so blessed to be a part of that class and could not believe the price was so affordable after I took it. I look forward to more learning together in the year to come."

"This was my introduction to the Enneagram and it was amazing. Rick was a fabulous presenter. Just scratching the surface. Thanks for all the resources. Looking forward to diving deeper. Most helpful concept was to keep in mind that this is a recipe. Also, remembering that our spiritual gifts are a reflection of God's attributes given to us is very helpful and a very cool truth. Thanks so much. Best $49 and 3 hours I have spent in recent memory ! God's Peace"

"It was fabulous. I have read a lot and attended workshops, but this less formulaic approach is refreshing and makes so much sense. I have been trying to "fit" the emphasis I observe in my own Enneagram type patterns into what I thought was a cohesive approach taking into consideration wings, paths of integration (etc.) and harmony triads. This allows for so much more freedom - and with a particularly strong emphasis on being transformed into Christlikeness seen across the virtues of all types."

"Participating in the Leadership Transformations Enneagram workshop exceeded my expectations! I have read 3 different books on the Enneagram in the last few years and although they were good this workshop perspective and teaching was the most enlightening and encouraging for my continued spiritual formation!"

"I highly recommend this training to everyone - whether you are new to the Enneagram or have been engaging with it for a long time. The teaching is biblical, solid and comprehensive. There are clear and necessary explanations about the importance of how to engage with the Enneagram....and with ALL the journeys that transform into living images of the virtues of Christ. I wish all my psychotherapy clients as well as spiritual directees could attend this!"

Steve Macchia

The Scriptures are replete with examples of God’s people fulfilling their unique mission, from Noah to Ruth to David to Jesus and his disciples. Listening to God, noticing his invitations, acknowledging his presence, and attending to his voice is where it all begins. All of us abide by an unwritten rule of life, but very few are asking God to help clarify it on a regular basis. In this workshop we’ll unpack the process.

"The flow of thought and focus and instruction just made the whole thing so easy to understand, visualize and so doable. The instruction and explanation of all of it from Steve just dismantled all the wrong preconceptions concerning the meaning of a rule of life. His excellent presentation was just contagious and made it not only something that so inspires me but I want to share with others with an invitation to step in as well. Even in this winter season of life I am in, I’m so excited to create it and live in and out of it as long as I am drawing breath and to influence every generation in my sphere of influence. I so love being in the classroom ! Thank you Steve for sharing your passion with us."

"This year has been a major year of transition for my family as well as my parents -- yet another year in what seems like a long journey of coming to terms with a painful past. Steve's teaching on developing a rule of life helped clarify my relational priorities. I felt God calling me to clear the clutter in my heart, mind and soul and trust him as a "God of clarity and not confusion" so that I can become a "man of love" -- especially for my wife and children. Thank you! "

"I have tried for a decade to have a rule of life. It just hasn't worked. I think you simplified it and "de-mystified" it for me. I've seen other examples, but having David explain his and his WHY with it really motivated me to re-enter into this process. It was another FABULOUS 0ffering from LTI!!! Thank you so very much!"

"This has got me thinking about what my relational capacity is, and the need to examine the sustainability of my current involvements and connections, and to be prayerful about my engagements or the ways I extend myself, moving forward"

"The teaching was very useful; I've been through Steve's book and for whatever reason, the teaching in real time gave me some nuances and perspectives that helped me through my block. The reflection question about where we've met with the Lord and known him was challenging; it was a great question but I could not come up with specifics in the time frame we had. I enjoyed meeting another member of the class. And I've continued to think about that question...so really it was quite helpful."

Steve Macchia

The effectiveness of leadership in every organization circles around the fruitfulness of the team. And, whenever any one person enters or exits the team, the entire team changes. At face value, teams seem relatively easy to understand, but in actuality the building, empowering, and sustaining work of a healthy team requires godly intentionality. In this workshop we’ll unpack team health from the Scriptures for today.

"Hard to give just one thing that was most or least helpful to be honest. I really enjoyed the time and have much to think about still. I found the TEAMS acronym to be quite helpful to think through characteristics of healthy teams. I am not sure what I would say was the least helpful — the whole time was rich."

"We are going to unpack as a team & think about a covenant between us. This workshop provided easy ways to evaluate our standing as a ministry team and tools to use to shore up our challenges. It gave me great hope that I am on the right team at the right time."

"I thought the workshop as a whole was well organized and worth the time spent. It was useful to talk about traits of a healthy team and enemies of a ministry team. One essential ingredient that stood out for me was discussing how God empowers each person differently with not just our gifts, but with our passions and how this needs to be part of what we do in order to flourish. This was excellent timing. I am not sure that I even realized until this training why my job has been feeling differently to me. The part of my job that has allowed me to use my passions have been put on hold for months due to social distancing and safety protocols, and has been replaced by other necessary tasks."

"I'm so excited and thankful that LTI has developed and released the Team Health Assessment Tool (THAT). Every Christian team is in constant need of prayerful and deliberate renewal and continual attentiveness to the work of the Holy Spirit -- no coasting or complacency! And THAT provides a richly practical and prayerful method for assessing and seeking to improve team health in alignment with God and his transforming love."