The Pastoral Grind

  (Photo cred: Rebecca Martin) (Originally written for The Baldwin Bulletin: Pastor's Column August 26, 2020) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine. (Romans 1:8-12) One of the downsides of having lived in a number of different places where I’ve met and developed friendships is the difficulty of maintaining those relationships. I have my friends from high school in northwest Indiana, friends from college and summers in youth ministry who now live from coast to coast and Canada, and friends from other churches and towns I’ve