I heard Walter Brueggemann, author and professor of Old Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary, last week. Using the prophet Jeremiah as an example, he advised us that in this age of anxiety we need to tell the truth.

We leaders towards transformation do tell the truth. We point out that church maintenance is not ministry. The status quo locks us in our fears and does not liberate us to transformation. Naming the truth can be hard. Witness the life of the prophets!

Brueggemann went on to remind us what we know, that naming the reality of our situation to the congregation includes proclaiming the truth that the will of God will prevail. Consider the prophets. In the midst of crisis and loss, they remained convinced that God was not done with them. The Lord would bring restoration.

There is a grittiness to the prophets, a tenacity of hope. You and I work towards bringing personal transformation and corporate transformation to the congregations we serve, and we bring perseverance. We hang on and hope and work and pray, not because "we are sufficient for these things", but because we are convinced, as were the prophets, that the will of God will prevail. God is the author and agent of transformation. We are but his prophets, proclaiming a future, persevering in God's hope through Jesus Christ.