Me and My Friend Jay

I like this picture.

This is my friend and colleague Jay Padgett and this is us doing what we do quite often – visiting a church member together.  On this particular occasion, we were in the Frankfort Regional Medical Center to have prayer with a dear friend. Unbeknownst to us, as we left the hospital, the husband of the patient we had just visited snapped this photo from their hospital room. It shows Jay and I walking side-by-side, wearing our overcoats (this was last winter), making our way to our vehicle to move on to the next visit.

I’m thankful for my friend.  And this photo of us silently walking to our car on a crisp, cool winter day sums it up nicely. If I have any say in the matter, Jay and I will serve the Lord and the church together until God puts us on the sideline.

And while I’m talking about my friend Jay, I want to express thanksgiving for my friend Philip Coleman. Pastor Phil Coleman is sharp as a tack and doing an incredible job reaching families and parents with gospel-saturated guidance and instruction. He and I are often found discussing weighty heart issues about families in our congregation either in our office or on the phone late at night and I am deeply grateful to the Lord for his leadership and friendship.

I’m certain that many pastors across the country have a staff they are in tension with and struggle to connect with. But the staff at GBC truly are together for the gospel in more ways than one. They are blessings, and if you are a member of GBC, I hope you recognize and give thanks for Pastor Jay Padgett and Pastor Phil Coleman.