Commencement

This past weekend we celebrated the accomplishments of our wonderfully gifted masters and doctoral students who graduated from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Next weekend our family will come alongside our daughter Rebekah as she collects her Bachelors degree in Business Administration and Communications from Gordon College…we are very proud parents!

Commencement is a ceremony that looks back on successful academic achievement, and forward to new vocational chapters of life yet to unfold. Past, present and future all wrapped up together in one event. The pomp and circumstance adds color to the day, and with the crossing of the stage and the collection of the engraved diploma comes new opportunities to grow, serve and live.

When we craft a personal rule of life (www.RuleOfLIfe.com) we too look back with remembrance and thanksgiving for all that God has allowed thus far. We take stock of where we are in all aspects of our daily lives, describing the many ways we are choosing to live today. And, we look forward prescriptively to where we sense God inviting us to both DO and BE for His glory as dearly beloved children.

Each new season of life – including all the inflection points that serve as markers along the way – is like another “commencement” exercise. We don’t turn the pages of our lives too swiftly, but instead we trust in the Lord to guide, direct, and sustain us for the journey ahead. That’s the joy and beauty of a well-ordered life!

Happy Graduation one and all – moving forward with renewed trust, dependence, and attentiveness to the loving hand of God is all you need for the new seasons ahead.

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” Matthew 6: 33.

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Steve Macchia

Founder & President

The Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Macchia is founder and president of Leadership Transformations, Inc. (LTI), a ministry serving the spiritual formation, discernment, and renewal of leaders and learners since 2003. For more than 20 years he has been the Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Doctor of Ministry Program. From 1989-2003 he was the president of Vision New England, the largest regional church renewal association in the country. Earlier in his ministry life, Steve was a member of the pastoral staff of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts for 11 years. He is the author or co-author of 17 books, including The Discerning Life (Zondervan Reflective), and Crafting a Rule of Life, Becoming A Healthy Church (LTI), and Broken and Whole (IVP).  He and his wife Ruth live in the Boston (MA) area and are the proud parents of two married children and grandparents to three adorable grandchildren. Steve’s personal website is www.SteveMacchia.com.

My soul comes alive singing the great hymns of the church and enjoying the beauty of God’s creation. I’m in awe of God for fulfilling the dream for LTI that he birthed in my heart, for the team he has assembled, and the transformational impact experienced in the leaders and teams we serve.

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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.