Hi, my name is Pete Scazzaro. I want to welcome you to the emotionally healthy leader podcast today.

Our topic is called Lessons from the Desert Fathers and Mothers. It's actually part one of a part two or who knows, maybe part three.

This was a lot of work pulling us all together. And extremely important. Actually, I've got a slew

of books right here on my desk. The Sayings of the Desert Father is by Benedict O'Wore.

The Desert Father's Penguin Press, Where God happens by Rowan Williams, The Wisdom of the Desperate

by Thomas Merton. Athanasius, The Life of Anthony, which is part of the classics of Western Spirituality

series.

And so I've just been the last week, just meandering through all these books on my shelf

and, of course, stopping and praying through them and trying to organize in the way

that to offer it to you.

Because when we talk about emotionally healthy discipleship or emotional healthy

leadership or spirituality, we're talking about a culture in your life, a culture in the church

that draws on a number of things, but one of which the riches of church history and a slow-down

spirituality with Jesus. It's not simply about reading the

Bible more or adding disciplines. We're talking about a culture informed by monasticism, deeply evangelical,

at the same time, open to learn from others. Now, my first exposure to the Desert Fathers and Mothers was really with

Trappist monks in 2003 when I had this, when I took this four months sabbatical with Jerry,

and we began to live some life with monks, and it felt like we were going back in a time machine.

But it led me immediately to learning from the roots of all this, which is the Desert Teachers.

And that's when I began to really read in earnest and have ever since.

But it's like a family genogram.

Often our families, going back three, four, five generations, things happen and we're cut off from parts of our family.

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