Broken and Whole: A Leader's Path to Spiritual Transformation

by Stephen A. Macchia

In his nearly four decades of pastoral, parachurch and nonprofit ministry leadership Steve Macchia has come to understand his own brokenness. He "I've experienced great success and a few embarrassing failures. . . . In essence, as much as I like to view myself as a good or even a very good leader, I'm more truthfully a blessed and broken leader, one who is daily in need of being . . . redeemed by the Spirit of God who resides in me." In these pages Steve offers the gifts of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 as the antidote to our brokenness. He writes with personal transparency from his own experience. Each chapter concludes with a powerful spiritual assessment tool to use in reflecting on our own leadership strengths and weaknesses. By embracing and befriending our own brokenness we can find true wholeness in God's strength. In these pages you will discover a new way to live in freedom and joy.

Genres: Leadership, Counselling

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 4, 2016

Reviews

[Brian C · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciate everything that LTI puts out to guide spiritual leadership. I really like to concept of this book - looking through the list of “love is not” and structuring a type of curriculum around it. Because of that Macchia hits on some topics that don’t often get covered in leadership or spiritual formation (like rudeness and envy for example). The chapters however I did not find particularly enlightening. BUT the gold of this book is the leadership audit at the end of each chapter which guides you through insightful questions for you to walk through in prayer. That alone makes this a really important book for leadership development and spiritual formation.

[Brian Virtue · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciated what the author was going for and it seems like some people highly rated it. Ultimately I struggled a bit to get through it and felt like something was missing. There were good moments and it's solid in its content and foundations, but it felt overly explanatory or informational at points maybe. Stylistically it wasn't for me, but seems like a lot of others liked it.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encouraged provocative discussions about how this translates not only in ministry but outside in the workplace.

[Cheri Hudspith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve tells stories in this book that model a reflective life with God in leadership. He tells his own stories and the stories of others. They invite us to humbly look at the circumstances or relational dynamics that keep us from trusting God and responding from a trusting place. It's helpful to watch others as they explore and live out this process of recognition, need, and dependence. The good outcomes inspire us to be willing to do this work with God and others in our settings. I took this book in slowly and I highly recommend to others that they don't rush through it either.