Editor's Note: This is the last post for the year. I promise!

He was apprehensive. He had been a young pastor of a local church for about five years now but had never attended the Pastors' Fellowship before. It was just about four days before that a friend of his, also a pastor of another local church in the same town, mentioned that there was a Pastors' Fellowship which met every Thursday night. He wasn't sure that he'd be interested to participate in yet another programme. After all, the church activities alone were enough to wear a pastor out. The last thing he needed was another commitment to break the camel's back.

Upon his friend's persuasion, he decided to give it a try anyway... but with much hesitance. He couldn't imagine sitting through another formal meeting of pastors hanging around one another in their clerical collars and trying to look as uprightly holy in one another's eyes. As if the expectations of their own church members weren't enough. But still, he gave it a try.

On the Thursday evening, he stepped into the Pastors' Fellowship meeting and was greeted warmly as they always do to newcomers. As they began with sumptuous refreshments, he thought it was a good way to begin a meeting - just like all church fellowships. But after over half an hour of refreshments and seemingly superficial conversations, he began to feel that something was amiss, because they didn't seem like they were intending to begin a meeting of any sort!

But eventually, the pastors did seem to start clustering together, although none of them seemed to be in a rush of any sort. Considering their busy schedules, this was rather an anomaly. Anyway, he joined the cluster that seemed to be forming itself very automatically.

As the "meeting" begun and some of them were still holding cups of drinks in their hands, a very senior looking man in their midst initiated what seemed to be a very informal conversation. He asked, "How have all of you been, my friends?" And strangely, the rest of the pastors actually seemed keen to respond to the question, and they began chatting about life as if they were around trusted old friends. This newcomer now began to feel that something was different about this group of pastors - or were they really friends after all? It felt almost... safe.

As he was entertaining his thoughts, someone in the group abruptly lifted his hands, looking pretty nervous and yet earnest about something he obviously had to say. The senior friend in the group nodded towards him, and everyone looked at him to listen to what he had to say. What followed was an occasion in the life of this young pastor which shook him internally, as that man spoke his heart...

"Brothers, I need your help", that pastor said, looking anxious. "I've been indulging myself with internet pornography in the past several months, and I think I'm getting deeper and deeper into it. It's almost uncontrollable. Please... help me..."

What was most shocking was that nobody in the room looked shocked. Nobody looked confused. Nobody looked angry. Nobody looked unsure. He could almost swear they all looked... loving?

From that point onwards, everything else in that entire meeting was focused on the need of this one man. They collectively released messages of grace upon him. Within that group itself, there and then, they began establishing relational infrastructures for this pastor to sustain accountable relationships to people who could help him find restoration. And he gladly received what they offered, for he sat among friends who loved and accepted him.

"John", the senior pastor said to him, "we're grateful at your openness and trust in us to share in your journey and struggle. We love you. And we want you to know that your struggle doesn't make you any less a minister than any of us, for no one here is less a fallen person than you feel you are. We will take care of you, brother." Lots of hugs and tears were exchanged that evening.

This young pastor who had visited the Pastors' Fellowship left the gathering with much to think about. He realised something very fundamental to his ministerial life - he had never felt safe before. Not among his church members, and certainly never around other pastors. But tonight, he realised that what he needed most was a safe community among his fellow pastors. And that his role as a fellow pilgrim in the life of his faith community was to provide a safe environment of love, acceptance and restoration to those who desired to follow Jesus.

It's not a safe world. And unfortunately, it's not a safe church. Yet.