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.

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