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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The Discerning Leader Podcast

Gordon Macdonald – Part 1 | Summer 2025: Rewind, Episode 8

Host: Steve Macchia, Guest: Gordon Macdonald 

This episode originally aired on April 28, 2022 as Episode 5 of Season 18 

“Your number one priority in the Lord’s work is your family.” –Gordon MacDonald 

Gordon Macdonald joins Steve Macchia for the first of two conversations, drawing from his book “The View from Eighty.” A summary of 15 things that make for success or failure in ministry, Gordon and Steve explore the first 7 insights that come from 6 decades of ministry experience. This REWIND episode will encourage you to prioritize your most important relationships and maintain a healthy spiritual life.  

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 is the author of  Praying the Parables of Jesus, The Discerning Life, 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.

Gordon Macdonald (Guest)
Author and Chancellor of Denver Seminary
For nearly 60 years, Gordon Macdonald has served as a pastor, author, and organizational leader. He is formerly the Chancellor and previously the President of Denver Seminary, as well as Pastor Emeritus of Grace Chapel in Lexington, Massachusetts where he was a pastor for over 40 years. He has written 20 books and co-authored additional titles with his wife Gail, including Ordering Your Private World, which won the Gold Medallion and the Platinum Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. Gordon and Gail have two children and five grandchildren.

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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 was the Director of the Pierce Center for Disciple-Building at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he continues to serve 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 Praying the Parables of Jesus (NavPress/Tyndale), 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.”

Detailed Biography
Articles by Stephen Macchia
Author Website
Schedule a one-on-one with Steve

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.“