Much of my time in June focused on academic responsibilities – doctoral seminars with ministers and leaders from around the world. As July began, I shifted to working with congregations, and in a span of nine days, I spent at least an hour with 11 different churches in four U.S. states.

This array of conversations with 11 elder teams, vision teams and elder-staff teams got me thinking. What is going on in these congregations that is worth passing along?

Two things are clear. First, no church is without problems or challenges. (The old adage is true: if you ever find a perfect church, don’t join it – you will mess it up!) All 11 of these churches are facing tough issues that confront their practices and their mission. Some are looking for a new lead minister. Many are in decline. Others are seeking a new vision to carry out the timeless call to pursue God’s preferred future in their context. Interestingly, one church is growing like a weed – which has its own unique challenges!

Second, every one of these churches has leaders who are not content with the status quo. That might seem obvious since they have asked for outside help from the Siburt Institute. However, their request for help isn’t a cry of resignation; rather, the cry emerges from an awareness that God has more for them to do. As Paul writes in 2 Cor. 6:2, “Now is the day of salvation!” The moment to act faithfully has arrived!

How are these congregational leaders acting, and what is motivating their action? I see three core beliefs operating consistently in these churches – even though they vary in size (150-1,000 members) and social location (small town, suburban, and urban).

1. Hope is stronger than the past. These leader teams love the congregations they serve. Each team knows the history and legacy of their congregation, but they refuse to live in a world of nostalgia! For the most part, each of these teams would understand a favorite phrase of Charles Siburt, my mentor and the Siburt Institute’s namesake: “Reality is your friend!” They are able to look realistically at their congregations, see what needs to be addressed, and still live out of hope!

2. Courage is indispensable for leadership. As congregations grieve the loss of things that are familiar, and as they face an uncertain future, church members can easily grow fidgety and anxious. They will inevitably direct their growing frustration onto the nearest and most available leader! To manage uncertain times, leaders will first need to manage their own fears and uncertainties. Churches need courageous leaders who trust in God and don’t give way to the crisis of the moment. Indeed, riffing off Edwin Friedman, I would affirm that “the function of a leader within any institution is to regulate themselves in a way that presents an non-anxious presence.” My heart is gladdened to work with teams who exemplify non-anxious leadership, thus helping prepare their churches to hear God’s voice and move into new spaces of ministry and mission.

3. Prayer and imagination are key elements for a faithful response. As I met with one elder team recently, I offered some constructs about developing a shared vision with synergy in the congregation. In response, one elder asked the frank (and marvelous) question, “Where is prayer in all of this?” I loved it. We went back to the very beginning of a proposed process, and I said, “It’s right here!” That elder got it, and the other teams get it as well. The future of our congregations will not come by moving to the past; rather the future will emerge when we slow down, pray, and exercise a “prayerful imagination” about the marvelous reality that God desires to usher into our world.

I’m seeing and learning much more than this – yet I commend these three core beliefs to all leader teams. Hope in God’s preferred future, practice non-anxious courage, and exercise prayerful imagination. And may the “God who began a good work among you bring it to completion in the day of Jesus Christ” (Phil. 1:6).