I have long been an advocate for sustained relationships between local worship leaders/pastors. When I meet a young worship leader, one of the questions I may ask them is, "Where are you in fellowship with other worship leaders like yourself?" It is an important question—one that exposes our attitudes about ministry, mission, worship, and even ourselves. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I guess if I were to start at the beginning, it would be about twenty years ago. A small fellowship of senior pastors in our area, the Twin Lakes Christian Ministerial Association, has been meeting faithfully every week for about twenty years. The group shares their struggles and successes, and they pray for one another—and one another's churches.  In this era of church shopping and hopping, it may come as a surprise to the people in our area that their local pastors know and care deeply for one another. In fact, I think it is one of the hidden, longstanding strengths of our community — that the Christian pastors of our area are united in friendship and in faith.

This was the model we followed as a few of the local worship pastors have tried to create our own fellowship. Over the years, we've had limited success. The life expectancy of a worship pastor is only two to four years (not a scientific number, just an observation based on my experience), so creating long lasting friendships are difficult. Also, there were a number of worship leaders who simply never returned phone calls or ignored invitations. But in the last year, we've been able to pull together seven churches (and counting) in a once-a-month fellowship. We hang out together over lattes, share ministry ideas and the latest worship songs, commiserate our challenges and celebrate our successes. And in the process of becoming friends, we are learning what "love one another" means in deeper and more ecclesiastical ways.

We celebrated a milestone of sorts during the recent National Day of Prayer on May 6.  As a result of a shared vision among us, nine worship leaders and a modest choir from seven churches led worship at an evening event we called, "WE are ONE."  Essentially, the worship pastors of our area became a worship team together, each of us co-leading in a very practical example of mutual submission. Hundreds of people from ten churches moved beyond the artificial borders of our church walls to pray and worship together and model the greater Church that we are. Moreover, we experienced community at other levels as well, from sound techs from different churches sharing tech tips around our digital sound board, to choir members from different churches gathering and praying with one another. It was a great night, and a good beginning to something we hope will become something much bigger than ourselves.

As I reflect upon this evening and what it represents, I'd like to share a few reasons why I believe fellowship between local worship leaders is a non-negotiable aspect of being the Church:

Publicly, it makes us co-laborers, not rivals. When we look at the church down the street as a competitor, we adopt a pervasive Christian consumerism that is unhealthy, un-Bliblical, and even anti-Church. I remember seeing a cartoon once in a church magazine. Two churches sit on opposite corners of the street, each with a marquee sign.  The first marquee reads, "Come meet God here." The second marquee reads, "Yeah, but we have better music." Of course, competition between churches is more hidden and nuanced, but it is still all too often real. Fellowship with other worship pastors breaks down the rival attitudes and allows us to operate as partners—and not rivals—in ministry.

Personally, it helps us worship pastors stay humble. There are pecking orders—on the playground, in the workplace, and even in ministry. Just watch any gathering of pastors, and the inevitable question is posed: "What is your attendance?" It is unfortunate, but these man-made pecking orders—while often unintended and subconscious—drive our attitudes toward one another. To be blunt, the pastors of larger churches feel superior, and the pastors of smaller churches feel inadequate. The worst example of this is the personality-driven church, where the pastors and worship leaders attain rock star status.  But what if true fellowship between worship pastors happens? What if we're able to shed the posturing and pretending and be the Church to one another on a deeply personal level? Mutual submission, authenticity, humility, and a freedom to worship.

Globally, it furthers our witness, and frees the Spirit of God to move in greater ways. Through the fellowship of senior pastors in our area, many local churches work purposefully together to support the local food bank, the local homeless ministry, and other important needs in our community. The Gospel can be lived out more fully when churches cooperate in a shared vision for their community. And that includes being a worshiping community.

One of the highlights of our "We are One" event was watching the senior pastors of our respective churches—all sitting in the front row—watch us lead them in worship. Amongst the crowd of raised hands and raised voices, I saw our senior pastors worshiping and praying together. In a very real way, they were a microcosm of the Church itself. It is in moments such as these that I feel the smile of God upon us.

"Now the church is not wood and stone, but the company of people who believe in Christ."  —Martin Luther