Gordon MacDonald
179 Mountain Road, Unit 7, Concord, NH 03301--603 520 0480---Gordon@canterburypartners.com
Background biographical information
Dr. Gordon MacDonald serves as chancellor of Denver Seminary and editor-at-large of
Leadership Journal. He is an author, speaker, and teacher. “I am in that stage of life,” he says,
“when I feel the call to be a spiritual father to a younger generation.”
MacDonald was a pastor for more than forty years, 21 of those years at Grace Chapel, Lexington,
Massachusetts. He also led other congregations in New York City, Southern Illinois and Kansas.
For three years MacDonald was president of Inter Varsity Christian Fellowship. In 2008/09 he
served as the Interim President of Denver Seminary.
Gordon MacDonald has written 20 books and co-authored others with his wife, Gail. Perhaps his
best known title has been Ordering Your Private World which won the Gold Medallion and the
Platinum Awards from the Evangelical Christian Publishing Association. There are almost a
million and a half copies of this book in print, and it has been translated into a dozen or more
languages. Among his other books are Secrets of a Generous Life (Published by Tyndale, Fall
2002), The Life God Blesses, Renewing Your Spiritual Passion, When Men Think Private
Thoughts and Mid-Course Correction. A revision of Ordering Your Private World was released
in January ’03. He writes regularly for each addition of Leadership Journal and also writes a
monthly column which appears on the LeadershipJournal.net website. A Resilient Life, (now
also in German, Korean, and Dutch) was released in early 2005 MacDonald’s most recent books
are Who Stole My Church, (Jan, 2008) and Building Below the Waterline (May 2011. A new
book, Going Deeper, was released in the fall of 2011.
MacDonald is a former Chairman (not president) of the Board of World Relief Corporation, an
NAE-associated relief and development organization. He also speaks frequently at pastors and
leadership conferences, both in the US and in other parts of the world. Privately, he engages
with company leaders as an executive coach.
MacDonald’s academic background includes a prep school graduation from the Stony Brook
School, a B.A. from the University of Colorado (’62), and a M. Div from Denver Seminary. In
2011, Denver Seminary awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity Degree.
Fifty-three years married, Gordon and Gail MacDonald live in Concord, New Hampshire. Their
greatest delight is in their two married children and five grandchildren. Beyond that the
MacDonalds are hikers, bikers, kayakers, picture-takers and vigorous readers.
Gail MacDonald
179 Mountain Road, Unit 7, Concord, NH 03301
gailmail@canterburyparners.com
Biographical Information
Gail MacDonald is first a wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She also happens to be
an author, a speaker, and a counselor of women who live with leadership responsibility.
Whether alone or with her husband, Gordon, Gail usually speaks to the issues of human
relationships, spiritual disciplines, and leadership dynamics.
Born in Illinois and educated at the University of Denver, Gail has spent fifty-one years
alongside of her husband who was the pastor of four congregations. The first church the
MacDonalds led was located in the prairies of Western Kansas (ranching country) where
they lived seven miles from the nearest paved road and twenty-five miles from the
nearest town. In two of their other churches, the MacDonalds lived in suburban
America, their longest ministry with the people of Grace Chapel, Lexington,
Massachusetts. Finally, the MacDonalds lived in the heart of New York City where—far
from the “wild west”—they experienced urban life at its best.
For ten years, Mrs. MacDonald spoke for Focus on the Family at their pastor’s wives
conferences across America. She is highly involved as a mentor with faculty and student
women at Denver Seminary. Much of the rest of her time is spent in consultation with
women in Christian leadership who are seeking encouragement and spiritual direction.
Additionally, she has traveled to all the continents with her husband to minister to
Christian leaders and missionaries.
Her books are: In His Everlasting Arms (Regal), The Heart of the Master (co-authored
with Gordon, Servant), High Call; High Privilege (Hendrickson), and A Step Farther and
Higher, (Multnomah). Presently out of print.
The MacDonalds now live in Concord, N.H. Their greatest enjoyment is in their two
married children and five grandchildren. Beyond that the MacDonalds love to walk,
bike, and are voracious readers.