Summer 2026: Rewind

Adele Calhoun | Summer 2026: Rewind, Episode 2

Summer 2026: Rewind, The Discerning Leader Podcast / /

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Adele Calhoun

This episode originally aired on September 23, 2021 as Episode 1 of Season 14.

“Shaming voices have the power to cripple us. They isolate us from the truth about ourselves and others.” – Adele Calhoun

How we deal with the shaming voices of our past will either set us free to live more abundantly, or will keep us crippled by their falsehood. In this week’s Summer 2026: Rewind episode, Adele Calhoun offers great wisdom and truth about the importance of knowing and naming the shaming narratives of our lives. This conversation invites us trust Jesus with our shame as we embrace practices that lead to redemptive healing. 

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.

Steve Macchia (Podcast Host)
Founder and President of Leadership Transformations,
Steve Macchia is the author of The Discerning Life,  Becoming a Healthy Church, Broken and Whole, Crafting a Rule of Life and several other titles. Steve has over 40 years in ministry and two postgraduate degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Adele Calhoun (Guest)
A trained spiritual director, she has taught courses at Wheaton College and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. Adele currently leads spiritual pilgrimages, writes icons, leads retreats, teaches the enneagram and enjoys painting. Adele has served on the founding board of The Transforming Center and The Hildegard Fund, which makes grants to organizations working for a just economy. She also serves on the faculty of the Soul Care Institute and PAX Center for Christian Spiritual Formation.

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Gary Franklin | Summer 2026: Rewind, Episode 1

Summer 2026: Rewind, The Discerning Leader Podcast / /

 

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gary Franklin

*This episode originally aired on May 11, 2023 as Episode 5 of Season 26.*

“For the first twenty years of my ministry, discernment wasn’t a part of my way of life – it was just busyness and activity.” – Gary Franklin 

A large part of discernment is learning to pay attention to our soul. Gary Franklin is a pastor in the greater Atlanta area who has ministered for over four decades, is the founder of the Leaders Heart Inc, and is a graduate of LTI’s Emmaus program. Gary joins Steve Macchia to share his story of transformation, becoming a formational leader rather than a strategic leader. Gary describes his journey as one of holding on to God’s presence, peace, power, and courage in the context of massive transitions. We are encouraged to cultivate our capacity to be present with God, to know ourselves, and restore the wonder of God’s presence.

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.

Steve Macchia (Podcast Host)
Founder and President of Leadership Transformations,
Steve Macchia is the author of The Discerning Life,  Becoming a Healthy Church, Broken and Whole, Crafting a Rule of Life and several other titles. Steve has over 40 years in ministry and two postgraduate degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Gary Franklin (Guest)

Gary Franklin has been a pastor since 1980. Today he serves as the teaching and vision pastor for Grace Church in Fayetteville, Georgia. He’s been in this role since 2007. He also served as the pastor of the same Grace Church in 1990’s.  He also serves as the Founder/President of The Leader’s Heart, Inc. which is a non-profit through which he provides spiritual friendship and direction to ministry and marketplace leaders.

Gary has been married to Verna for 48 years. They have three grown children and five grandchildren.

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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.“