I have heard that John Calvin gathered the clergy together on a regular basis to provide both spiritual nurture and correction. His idea was to shape the church in a coordinated fashion so that it had a consistent message to proclaim. I don’t know how successful he was in that effort. Given our resistance to authority, particularly to acknowledge authority over us, I doubt that it would be very easy to accomplish in our time.
At the same time, we need to explore how we can draw upon the strength of a company of clergy in support of our common ministry. Ministry is a lonely profession in many ways. The more demanding our churches are, the less time we seem to take for relating to our colleagues.
Consider the strength that can be derived from having some colleagues that you met with on a regular basis. One might consider this a corporate form of mentoring each other.
Begin small. Think of three or four colleagues that you might like to form into a company of clergy. Consider what it would mean for you to meet regularly, perhaps once a month, to share joys and concerns. If they are open to it, there would be value in sharing your sense of call and the pressures you feel compromise your faithfulness to that call.
If you can build a strong relationship, you might also consider the possibility of pooling some continuing education funds to bring in a resource who would just work with the four of you in an agreed area of development.
The power of community is not restricted to an individual congregation.
