In thriving churches, the leadership would include ministers, but also might include medical doctors, attorneys, business men and women, teachers, carpenters, judges, accountants, nurses, bakers, and so on. For three years, the Thomas H. Olbricht Christian Scholars' Conference undertook to ask fifteen well-respected senior leaders in the Churches of Christ to tell their own stories of their history into positions of leadership and influence. Each was also asked to articulate his or her vision for the future of Churches of Christ. All authors are beyond age seventy, all have terminal degrees in their field, and all have stayed within the fellowship of Churches of Christ. They include Fred D. Gray, Carolyn Hunter, Lynn Anderson, John T. Willis, and eleven others. These essays witness to the shaping work of God in the lives of notable church leaders, and perhaps also give hope to the readers for seeing God's work in their own lives.