Joe McKeever

Wednesday's Cup Runneth Over

This morning the pastors were in great spirits. "I'm still glowing from last night," one said, referring to the wonderful prayer rally at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans. Fred Luter was being congratulated on his incredible sermon. David Crosby was also basking in compliments for putting together that outstanding program.

At the beginning of the morning session, I told the pastors, "I'm going to list five biblical men. Tell me the characteristic that comes to your mind about each one." Moses, Samuel, Noah, Daniel, and Job. Courageous and faithful, bold, prayerful, and persevering were mentioned. I said, "Turn to Jeremiah 15:1. God names the two best prayer intercessors He knows: Moses and Samuel. The question is why?"

We thought of the way Moses stood between Israel and God and refused to turn loose of either. And how Samuel (whose name means "Heard by God") told Israel, "God forbid that I sin against the Lord by ceasing to pray for you" (I Samuel 12:23).

Next, I asked them to go to Ezekiel 14:14. God names the three most righteous men He can think of (and He ought to know them all!)--Noah, Daniel, and Job. In words reminiscent of Abraham interceding for Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 18, God warns His people that when He sends judgment, it does not matter who is within their walls. "Even if Noah, Daniel, and Job were there, they could only deliver themselves and no one else!" He says.

Five of the greatest people God knows, each one worth meditating upon.

Our guests almost outnumbered the regulars. (Total attendance: 48) From the Louisiana Baptist Convention, we welcomed David and Patti Hankins, Wayne Jenkins, Mike Canady, Gibbie McMillan, and Ed Jelks. From the North American Mission Board, we recognized Jim Burton, Bill Taylor, and Richard Leach. The Baptist Message was represented by Managing Editor Karen Willoughby, who brought stacks of copies of this week's "Katrina" issue.

David Hankins (Executive Director, LBC): I have three things to say to you: thank you; we know it's not over; and we're with you for the long haul. (Since I had given the pastors a sermon starter earlier, David gave one also. "How do we move on from here?" Philippians 3:12-14 1. Formulate a healthy perspective 2. forget a hurtful past. 3. find a heavenly purpose. 4. focus on a hearty performance.)

A Long Day and a Day-Long Observance

Let me say it officially here: we appreciate the nation's turning its eyes in our direction for these few hours this week. Every news program on television seemed to be doing recaps on Katrina-land today. We appreciate it. Mostly. But as with the rest of the nation, this is one anniversary we're glad to get behind us.

Someone said, "The President is coming to a church service tonight. It might be ours," referring to the Prayer Rally at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans Tuesday night at 7 pm. It wasn't, but that's all right too. The nature of meetings change when the president is there, and honestly, our meeting tonight did not need him. It needed nothing. What we had was two power-packed hours of praise and prayer, of rejoicing and loving. I don't know when I've been more blessed.

The day started too early for me. I knew Scott and Lorri on FamilyNet Radio's early morning talk show would be calling at 7:05 for a half-hour interview, so--groan--I woke up at 4 o'clock and could not get back to sleep. So, I did some Bible study and other things, some exercises and then my usual walk/prayer-time on the levee, then a shower and it was time for their phone call.

I spent a couple of hours in the office this morning, then drove to the seminary to get in on the last of their disaster relief training for students and faculty before the 11 am worship service. I stood in back of the Leavell Chapel and marveled at what I saw--nearly a thousand young adults crowding the building, adorned in the obligatory yellow t-shirt, taking in this training before fanning out into the community for some of the hardest work any of them will ever do, gutting out houses. During the worship service which followed, Jay Adkins and Byron Townsend shared their Katrina testimonies--both were spectacular--and I told a couple of stories illustrating how God not only knew this hurricane was coming but had put certain people in place in preparation. After the service, the students ate a lunch provided by the Louisiana Baptist Convention's Disaster Relief team, on the front lawn.

Our Full-Page Ad in Tuesday's Anniversary Edition

Our friends in the Arkansas Baptist State Convention footed the bill for our full-color, full-page ad in the Tuesday, August 29, 2006, "Katrina Anniversary" edition of the Times-Picayune. Here's the ad, everything except the two color snapshots toward the bottom from Keith Manuel's photography.

AN ANNIVERSARY LOVE-NOTE FROM THE 85 SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCHES OF METRO NEW ORLEANS

You know us. We're the Baptist church in your neighborhood--like Williams Boulevard Baptist Church in Kenner at Interstate 10, Riverside Church on Jefferson Highway, West St. Charles in Boutte, and Celebration Church on Transcontinental. We're El Camino Iglesia and El Buen Pastor Iglesia in Metairie, the Vietnamese Baptist Church in Gretna, and the Korean Agape Church in Marrero. In New Olreans, we are Edgewater Church on Paris Avenue, New Salem in the Ninth Ward, and Franklin Avenue, now worshiping with First Baptist Church on Canal Boulevard. We are Grace on North Rampart, Oak Park on Kabel, and Horeb Spanish on Bellemeade. We are Port Sulphur Church downriver in Plaquemines Parish, and in St. Bernard, we're Poydras and Delacroix Hope Baptist churches, and the coalition church meeting at Chalmette High School. Before Katrina, we counted 140 of our churches large and small in the metro area. At the moment, that number is 85.

We are the yellow-shirted "Disaster Relief" volunteers you saw for months after Katrina--running chainsaws, gutting out houses, handing out food and water, preparing and serving literally millions of hot meals throughout the area. Our people arrived from every state in the union to assist New Orleans, serving under the leadership of our own Louisiana Baptist Convention (www.lbc.org).

We are Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana red-shirted "Builders for Christ," reconstructing houses throughout the metro area (www.namb.net/bbuilders).

"Six Things Not to Say to a Katrina Survivor"

In Monday's Times-Picayune, FBC-NO pastor David Crosby wrote an op-ed column under this title. Here it is in its entirety:

Not too long ago, a well-intentioned fellow from somewhere else began to tell me what he thought we should do to return our city to "normal." I stopped listening immediately.

Processing the encounter later, I realized that I have reached my limit on helpful suggestions from well-meaning advisers. Outsiders may not realize how familiar residents of New Orleans are with our own failures--before and since the storm. This list is crafted to help family members and friends avoid blunders that can kill a conversation or incite civil unrest. I've heard all of these questions and comments in one form or another over the last few months.

"Hey, why don't you guys clean up this mess?"

We're working as hard as we can. The implication that we have not been working is an insult and does not recognize the amazing expenditure of energy and time and resources in the flood zone this past year. I calculate that if every barge and train and sea-going vessel that visits the Port of New Orleans were to haul nothing but debris, it would take 18 months to clean up the destruction of our city. And that's if the debris were all neatly packaged and ready for containers. Just the ruined mattresses, lined up, would stretch from here to Chicago.

We've made a lot of progress in the first year. We fight the discouragement of knowing that we have just begun. This is going to take years.

"When my neighbor's roof sprung a leak, we all pitched in and fixed it."

What the Pastors Coalition Said Sunday

Not long after Katrina, Pastor Dennis Watson had the idea of calling together pastors of all denominations to work together for the rebuilding of this city. He started with a handful of the mega-church pastors and got them behind it. Thus was born the Pastors Coalition, a group of some 200 ministers of all stripes. Among other things, they sponsored the Billy/Franklin Graham Crusade in March, and they are co-sponsoring the Prayer Rally Tuesday night at the First Baptist Church.

Sunday, they took out a full page in the Times Picayune. At the bottom are the photos of most of the people on the Tuesday night program. Here is the ad.

"WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?"

One year ago, our lives were changed forever. Pulled from our homes and ripped from everything precious and dear, we struggled in a murky abyss seeking stability and solace. We discovered that the unknown was much bigger than the known.

A few days after the storm, a number of local ministers and pastors gathered to seek God's face both for comfort and direction. They did not meet as Baptists, Charismatics, Methodists, Pentecostals, or by any denominational title. Nor did they meet as African-Americans, Asians, Caucasians, or Hispanics. They gathered as brothers and sisters and as servants who love this community.

Out of that gathering came an exceptional display of outreach, benevolence and aid, all delivered without the tethers of bureaucratic red tape. Swift acts of compassion and care were delivered through the channels of the institution equipped to do it best...the church! The church of Jesus Christ stepped forward and became the leaders in bringing help, hope and healing to the people of our city and region.

Ernesto, What Are You Up To?

I have no idea what he thought he was doing, but a local weather forecaster has already charted the path of Hurricane Ernesto as coming toward our city. I mean, it's still in the Caribbean and not even a hurricane yet. Let's not rush things. There will be time enough to panic.

Phone call from Seattle. Freddie and Elaine Arnold were about to step on board their ship for the cruise to Alaska. A dream vacation. He was thinking hurricane and what we would need to do in case of evacuation. I assured him we would do everything necessary, and that he should put all this out of his mind and enjoy the trip. Which is the whole idea, to get away from it all.

Some of our family members are flying out to New York City early Wednesday, taking a long Labor Day weekend, seeing some sights, Broadway shows, and such. This may turn out to be a perfectly timed evacuation.

I spoke Saturday night at Enon Baptist Church in the Washington Parish community of the same name. They showed videos of their community under seige from Katrina last year, then paid tribute to their people who worked chain saws and distributed food and water from the church and prepared meals for workers. They did not have the flooding much of our area experienced, but they came through a life-changing event with flying colors. Tonight, they too had Ernesto on their minds.

I told them about the fellow who was deathly afraid of getting on a plane, fearing it might have a bomb on board. Finally, he hired a statistician to calculate the odds of that happening. "One chance in a million," the expert reported. "That's great," the fellow said, "but what are the chances of getting on a plane with two bombs?" The guy worked his calculator a few minutes and said, "The chances of that happening are something like one in a hundred million." "That's more like it," the fellow said. Thereafter, any time he got on a plane, he took a bomb with him.

Anne Graham Lotz Comes to Town

I caught the first 2 hours of the "Just Give Me Jesus" revival at the New Orleans Arena Saturday morning. Perhaps 5,000 women and a few men made up the audience. Babbie Mason brought the crowd to its feet as she opened with "God Bless America." Then, to my surprise, Anne Graham Lotz stepped out and began this one-day revival.

The reason that surprised me is that I was expecting the singers to be something of a warmup act for her. They would "entertain" for an hour or so while the crowd was assembling, after which Anne would appear. I found myself wondering if she was even in the building. I was so wrong.

"Lord, you are our Rock," she prayed. "In our storms, our floods, our devastation. You are our Comfort in our pain. Our Wisdom when we don't know what to do. You are our Lord."

"How many are here from Texas?" she asked. Women across the arena waved and clapped. "How many from Alabama?" Some in front of us and a large contingent seated together near the front clapped and stood. "From Mississippi?" Ditto. "Louisiana--from outside New Orleans." Another large group. "And from right here in New Orleans?" The biggest group.

"I want you to think of that woman who met Jesus at the well. John chapter 4. She had slept late that day. She was probably depressed. She was doing her chores later than normal. When she arrived at the well, Jesus was there. The Bible says Jesus HAD to go through Samaria. He had a divine appointment with this one woman who was troubled and depressed. He asked for a drink and she was shocked. He said, 'If you knew who was speaking to you, you'd get your focus off secondary things.' She did. That day she embraced the living Lord, and went into town and told everyone about Jesus." Anne added, "Some of you know what it is to be depressed and troubled. To not feel like getting up and doing your chores. But I want you to know that the Lord Jesus Christ is here for you. He came for you, as though you were the only person who would be present today."

"Today I'm going to be challenging you to go out and tell everyone we can have joy in New Orleans because of Jesus."

The co-chairs of this event are Vicki Watson, wife of Pastor Dennis Watson at Metairie's Celebration Church, and Lisa Wiley, wife of Bishop J.D.Wiley of New Orleans' New Life Cathedral. Vicki told the group, "We've had a spirit of corruption and violence, of murder and wickedness. We've been called the big easy and the place where hell reigns. But we've been praying for God to transform this city into the place where Heaven reigns. Since Katrina's devastation of a year ago, God's people have been coming to this city, bringing hope, help, and healing. We have seen thousands come to faith in Christ."

Lisa prayed, "A year ago, Katrina was stirring things up. Ever since, Lord, you have been stirring things up for good. Katrina lasted only so long, but you are forever. In spite of the tragedy, you are faithful and just."

What to Do on the First Anniversary

The program for next Tuesday night's "Katrina Anniversary Prayer Rally" at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans looks like this:

American Idol's George Huff does pre-session music.
I lead the invocation.
Pastor David Crosby welcomes.
Praise and Worship: "In the Sanctuary"
Combine Choir Anthem: "We are United"
Recognition of Relief and Recovery Ministries: Frank Bailey, Victory Fellowship
Video Presentation
George Huff brings special music
Special prayer sessions led by
Dennis Watson, Celebration Church
Michael Green, Faith Church
Kathy Radke, God's House Westbank Cathedral
Cornelius Tilton, Irish Channel Christian Fellowship
Praise and Worship: "Thank you, Lord"
Special Music: James Tealy
Inspirational Message: Fred Luter, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church
Combined Choir and Congregation: "Days of Elijah"
Benediction: J.D.Wiley, Life Center Cathedral
Post-service music: George Huff

Everything starts at 7 pm promptly. Karen Willoughly, managing editor of our Baptist Message, will be on hand to distribute 2,000 copies of the hot-off-the-press issue dedicated to this anniversary.

All the weeklies are featuring massive coverage of our part of the world on this anniversary. New Yorker magazine for August 21, 2006, devotes an amazing 18 pages to "Letter from New Orleans: The Lost Year: Behind the failure to rebuild" by Dan Baum. Anyone needing a recap on the local political snafus and roller-coasterisms over this last year would do well to turn to this article which focuses on the fate of the Lower Ninth Ward.

Pastor David Crosby gets a mention in the New Yorker article. "If ever a city needed a voice of brotherhood, it was New Orleans after Katrina. No one could find the right words, including the city's powerful clergymen. When I visited the First Baptist Church on Canal Boulevard, which has about a thousand congregants, mostly white, its blue-eyed and flinty pastor, the Reverend David Crosby, told me, 'There is nothing left in the Lower NInth Ward but dirt! A woman who has a house down there, what's she got? A piece of dirt worth two or three thousand dollars."

Wednesday's Reminders

"Reminding the Lord" is how Isaiah 62:6-7 sees prayer. The Hebrew word there, "mazkir," was the title of a recording secretary on the official staff of various Old Testament kings. He took notes on what the king did and said and promised. Later, when requested, he consulted his notes and reminded the king of past dealings, treaties, promises, that sort of thing.

It's a great insight on how to pray: remind the Lord.

The Lord Jesus said, "Your Father knows what things you need before you ask Him." (Matthew 6:8) Our task is to remind Him. Throughout the Bible--particularly the Old Testament--perhaps half the prayerful entreaties consisted of telling the Lord things He had done, said, seen, promised. In Acts 4, when Peter and John were threatened against preaching in Jesus' name, they reported this to the church. Everyone dropped to their knees and began praying. "Lord, you made the heavens and the earth." A reminder. "Lord, you said the heathen would rage and oppose your Anointed One, the Christ." Quoting Psalm 2; reminding Him. "Now Lord, behold their threatenings." Reminding Him of their predicament. "Stretch forth thine hand and let us speak with boldness." Boom. The power of God fell.

Somewhere along the way I have heard people criticize church prayers for the way the minister spends half the time telling the Lord what He has done and reminding Him of what the people have experienced, before finally addressing their needs. The critic needs to read his Bible. This is the biblical way to pray.

Try it sometime. Congregations will appreciate hearing the pastor build a historical context for the requests he is making in his Sunday prayers. After all--and this might come as a surprise to some--that Sunday prayer is not just a prayer. It is a teaching moment. You are showing your people how to pray.

That's how we learn, you know, by hearing others. If you question that, notice all the poor prayers uttered every Lord's Day in churches across this land. Listen to the sameness, the trite cliches, the vain repetitions. They learned those lines from someone.

How many times I have heard someone pray before the offering: "Help us to give for the betterment of Thy Kingdom." I want to scream, "How in the sam hill are you going to BETTER the Kingdom of God?" And don't you love the way we pray before the offering telling the Lord to use these gifts wisely!

So why do we pray that way? The pray-er heard it somewhere and thought it sounded spiritual and added it to his prayers.

God, deliver us from dumb prayers.

No wonder the Apostle Paul said, "We do not know how to pray as we should." (Romans 8:26) Thankfully, the gracious Father ignores our mindlessness and accepts our sincerity. Perhaps like cutting the rotten off an apple and eating the good part.

Wednesday, some 40 or 45 gathered at Good Shepherd Spanish Baptist Church at 10 a.m. We emphasized the Anne Graham Lotz "Just Give Me Jesus" event Saturday in the N.O. Arena. 10 am to 6 pm. No charge; an offering taken; men and boys are just as welcome as women and girls.

Ms. Geltman's Wish for New Orleans

Patti Geltman of Wayne, Pennsylvania, wrote this to our editor Tuesday: "Two weeks ago, I visited New Orleans. I could not imagine the condition until my sister gave me the tour of the city from levee breach to levee breach to levee breach. My heart broke as I saw the massive devastation of all the neighborhoods and thought of the displaced families who call New Orleans home. Yesterday, I felt guilty after visiting the new public middle school that my child will attend this year.... Why not rebuild New Orleans as the model city for the 21st century? I hope that the nation and our government will stand behind New Orleans as it struggles to rebuild the lives of those who lost so much."

Ms. Geltman, I'm assuming no one will answer your good letter, so I will. There will be no "model city for the 21st century" built here for the simple reason that it takes strong, courageous leadership to make that kind of thing happen. We have non-leaders in our city government who want to occupy the office and to be treated as celebrities. We do not have leaders. A non-leader takes a poll to see what will make people happy, then rushes to the front of their parade and declares himself their champion. A leader sees what must be done for the good of everyone in the long run and stands courageously, alone if necessary, to get that done.

To turn even one neighborhood into a modern, well-planned, orderly site would require tough decisions by the mayor's office and the city council as well as the leaders of that neighborhood. After all, not everyone is going to like the plans. People would holler to high heaven. "You're violating my rights. That was my home you are demolishing." Or taking by eminent domain. Whatever.

But not to worry. It's not going to happen.

Pastors, Parents, and Josh McDowell

Tuesday we (the association) sold some unused church property to a bank that is wanting to expand. Freddie Arnold and I signed the papers and made BAGNO a little money which will be re-invested in more churches.

At 11:30 a couple of hundred pastors of all denominations met for lunch at Celebration on Transcontinental to meet and hear Josh McDowell. We also heard from Gene Mills of the Louisiana Family Forum, and enjoyed some terrific around-the-table fellowship. But the star of the morning was the crawfish etoufee the ladies of the church served. Definitely not your typical cold ham and peas.

Gene Mills gave us two memorable quotes. "Governor Earl Long used to say that when he died he wanted to be buried in St. Bernard Parish so he could continue to be active in politics."

"People are more interested in studying the powerful to learn how to dominate the world than studying the meek to learn how to inherit the earth."

Gene heads up a coalition of pastors known as PRC Compassion which has poured hundreds of manhours and untold thousands of dollars of resources into this area. His Family Forum monitors and advises the state legislature on issues pertaining to the family. Their website is www.lafamilyforum.org.

Host pastor Dennis Watson said, "I have two things to put before you. This Saturday at the New Orleans Arena, Anne Graham Lotz brings her 'Just Give Me Jesus' crusade to town. It's for men and boys too, not just the ladies."

"Second, next Tuesday night, August 29, a city-wide prayer rally will be held at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans at 7 pm. We've got Fred Luter speaking and George Huff singing, and a lot of you leading in prayer times. Frankly, we're trying to get President Bush and Governor Blanco, too."

Dennis spied FBC pastor David Crosby and said, "David, want to add anything?" "Yes! Come early to get a good seat. We're looking for a houseful!"

Dennis looked around the room and said, "The greatest miracle I've seen since Katrina is the coming together of our pastors. Someone said unity is not a result of revival but a precursor to revival."

Josh McDowell has been speaking to youth groups for 46 years and may well have addressed more than any person on the planet. He had something to say to us today about the children in our homes and churches.

Doing the Right Thing Regardless

Spike Lee premiered his new HBO movie at the New Orleans Arena Wednesday night. They gave away thousands of tickets for locals to see "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts," which is scheduled to be shown on the cable movie channel Monday and Tuesday. It's four hours long, so they're airing two hours nightly. I haven't heard anyone who's planning to watch.

Most of us around here are like the young teenage girl in Manhattan who said she almost never watches television anymore, just the food channel, because it's the only place where she can be sure of not seeing a replay of the collapse of the Twin Towers in which her father died. The pain is still palpable.

According to the paper, reactions to the premiere were mixed. Some say movie-maker Lee focused only on his race and neglected whites who also lost homes, businesses, and neighborhoods. Some say he villified the whites in authority and gave the blacks in high places a free pass. Others say this was not the case at all. In one sense, so long as he is putting the New Orleans story out there, keeping our situation before the public, anything is better than nothing.

They arrested two National Guardsmen this week. Brought in last June to help patrol the streets of the city after a recent upsurge in lawlessness, the Guard has succeeded in putting a huge dent in the crime wave. Sergeant Caleb Wells and Specialist Junious Buchanan were charged with taking money from the wallets of people they stopped for traffic violations. A Sunday columnist writes that the only military group not charged with malfeasance in any way over the past year has been the Coast Guard.

Something I don't understand (okay, one of many such things). The mayor and governor are working with federal officials to line up shelters for as many as 250,000 citizens in the case of another major hurricane. That number would probably have been appropriate a year ago, but since the population down here has dwindled so severely, why do they think we need that many spaces now? As far as I can tell, the poorest and the neediest of our citizens did not return. In case of another hurricane taking aim at this city, my own feeling is very few would need the emergency transportation and shelters being arranged. In fact, one of the main hurricane-preparedness-tip being broadcast is: For the first seven days of an evacuation, you should be able to take care of yourself.

A controversy rages among small businesses here regarding FEMA contracts for the trailers. This emergency agency has signed contracts for some $6 billion to place trailers in our part of the world, with a certain percentage of those contracts required to go to local businesses. For reasons not clear, FEMA decided that a huge company with offices in California and Texas qualified as a local business and assigned it a large slice of the pie. The company, called PRI/DJI, is licensed in this area and has done business in the state, said the FEMA people, and that qualifies it as a local company.

A government watchdog outfit called "CorpWatch" has complained about "disaster profiteering on the American Gulf Coast." One key finding is that local companies are being overlooked when it comes to handing out these fat contracts.

Remember the old saw that goes: "Where there's a will, there's a relative"? In our case, where there is a government contract, look for a profiteer.

The Kenner City Council has ruled that all new homes or all old ones with more than 50 percent damage that are being rebuilt will have to be 3 feet above the middle of the street in front. Kenner is the highest ground in metro New Orleans and took only isolated flooding after Katrina, but one can't be too careful, I suppose.

I was going to report here what Mayor C. Ray Nagin said about the role race played in the government's slow response to the Katrina event, but I'm preaching today and need to keep my religion. You'll have to read about it somewhere else. I find myself with less and less patience with this man.

Lakeview Baptist Church, in the neighborhood of the same name and just a few blocks north of Interstate 610 on Canal Boulevard, is meeting in their renovated fellowship hall. We had 25 in attendance this morning at 10:30, all of them home folks according to longtime staffer Harry Cowan. I preached on "Regardless." (Scroll to the bottom of this article for my notes.)

David Crosby's August 18 Update

Periodically, Pastor David Crosby of New Orleans' First Baptist Church e-mails his take on the local situation to his church members and friends across the country. His update for Friday was so poignant, the metaphor so creative and right, and his analysis so on-target, I want to share it with a wider audience.

"A View from Sea Level"

"My home is near the mammoth Lake Pontchartrain. I walked over the levee this morning and enjoyed a stroll along the shore. Schools of fish often announce their presence by rushing to the surface when predatory redfish circle below."

"This morning what got my attention was a lone pelican diving again and again into the same water. I climbed the small pile of rock near the shore and stood up for a good look. The water was boiling with schools of small fish. Apparently, the speckled trout and redfish were feasting on the slow ones. Sometimes the small fries would launch out of the water completely in their efforts to avoid being eaten."

"Unfortunately for the prey, this pelican had discovered their distress and managed to gorge himself before moving on."

"I thought about the plight of those small fish. They were being attacked from below and above. They found no safe haven."

What I Said to Newsweek

Someone e-mailed me Wednesday that they had seen my letter to the editor in the July 24 edition of Newsweek. I had missed it and had to comb through piles of papers and books around here before locating that issue. It's probably worth sharing with you in order to make a point.

The magazine had named recipients of their "giving back awards," the people who make America great. It was a fascinating selection of the great and the unknown who have gone to unusual lengths to do good. Elsewhere in the issue they had published a list of organizations that gave the most money to disaster relief in our part of the world following Katrina. To my surprise, Southern Baptists--to our way of thinking, the biggest of all givers from the religious world--did not even make the list. I studied it and figured out why.

"Thanks for a great issue: wonderful concept, terrific selections, excellent variety in the choices. We especially appreciate the New Orleans flavor in the choices, including nurse Ruby Jones (who stayed with her patients at a New Orleans hospital), anchor Soledad O'Brien (who came to New Orleans when everyone else was headed out), and preacher Rick Warren (who replaced the libraries of hundreds of our pastors who lost theirs). The simple fact is, I could give you a hundred other New Orleans heroes in a half hour, people who are champions in every sense of the word. Even as you left Southern Baptists out of the list of 'Big Names in Katrina Relief' (mainly because the Southern Baptist Convention's gifts came from so many scattered sources and not through one umbrella agency), it doesn't really matter; we just rejoice that so much good is being done by so many."

Well, two points actually.

Those Who Keep Us From Sinking

"It's one thing to announce something. We're meeting each Wednesday at 10 am at Good Shepherd Church. That's an announcement. But to promote an event is to sell it. Do a little arm-twisting, maybe. Motivate people to want to come. August 29 is our "Katrina One-Year Anniversary Prayer Rally" at FBC-NO. Here are the reasons you need to be there. That is promotion."

We urged the pastors to PROMOTE this prayer and praise rally. The latest e-mail from Pastor David Crosby shows in the order of service that Anne Graham Lotz and Fred Luter will be the two featured speakers, that a number of our ministers from various denominations will lead prayer times, that the combined choir from several churches will sing, and that American Idol runner-up George Huff will be singing.

Events of all kinds--from concerts to parties to worship services--will be held all over the metropolitan area that Tuesday. We invite everyone who reads this blog to join us that evening at First Baptist New Orleans for the 7 pm service.

Fifty pastors, leaders, and guests attended the weekly pastors' meeting at Good Shepherd Wednesday morning. I always leave amazed, reflecting on how different every meeting is, as unique as your children, and what a blessing each one has been. We begin with group prayer times, lifting one another to the Father. Honestly, that may be the best thing that happens all day. And we end with extended fellowship around the lunch tables. Good Shepherd's fellowship hall is taxed to the limit as we crowd in and gorge ourselves on this authentic Hispanic food.

"Last week's menu was Honduran," said Dona Rodriguez, the pastor's wife. "Today, this is Mexican." I smiled and said, "You know how we are around here--if it's Hispanic, it's all Mexican to us!" She laughed, "I know." Large tacos, three to a plate, unlike anything Taco Bell ever dreamed of, adorned each plate today. And for dessert, a bowl of fresh fruit with ice cream and chocolate syrup on top. I'm caught up eating for the next 48 hours.

"A man came in to our church on crutches," Travis Scruggs said. "He was with the New Orleans Police Department and a retired Marine. During the rescue operation following the storm, he had fallen off a roof and broken his leg. Now, he needed help in gutting out his house. At the time, he was living on board the ship docked down at Chalmette. We took care of his house. Now, we're ready to start rebuilding houses. We can't help everyone--this is a big job--so we're trying to be selective. And I thought of him.

The One-Year Anniversary of Katrina: August 29

Three events of special interest to the Lord's people will take place in our city on Tuesday, August 29. While various concerts and meetings will be going on all over the metropolitan area commemmorating the first anniversary of life changing forever in New Orleans, we will have a prayer rally at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, the Baptist Seminary will mobilize a thousand students and teachers throughout the city, and we will address the city with a full-page ad in the Times-Picayune.

The Prayer Rally

Held at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans on Canal Boulevard that Tuesday at 7 pm, this event is sponsored by the interdenominational Pastors' Coalition of New Orleans, the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans (that's us), and PRC Compassion, a pastors' group from throughout a larger area.

In our planning meeting, one thing everyone agreed on was that "prayer rallies" tend to do everything but pray. As with mayors' prayer breakfasts, you line up speaker after speaker and very little actual praying gets done. Not this time.

Some of the prayer leaders will include Dennis Watson of Celebration Church, Michael Green of Faith Church, Kathy Radke of the West Bank Cathedral, and Cornelius Tilton of the Irish Channel Ministries. Bishop J. D. Wiley and I will do invocation and benediction. In between, Fred Luter will speak and possibly--just possibly, we haven't heard for sure yet--Anne Graham Lotz.

Music will be provided by a choir composed of the praise leaders from Williams Boulevard Church, Franklin Avenue Church, and FBC-NO. George Huff, popular local singer who made it big on American Idol a year or two ago, is expected to be present; if so, he may do a mini-concert after the program ends.

Host Pastor David Crosby says, "We will recognize the amazing work of the Salvation Army, Samaritan's Purse, Southern Baptist Disaster Relief, Operation Blessing, and PRC Compassion as well as the wonderful work of many of our churches as part of the rally.... We are preparing a 5-7 minute video that seeks to capture this part of the story."

Extra: A Prayer for Cleansing

"Father in Heaven. My Lord and my God. Saviour and Redeemer. Friend in my deepest need.

Hear the cry of my heart, feel the pain of my soul, see the need of my life.

Cleanse me of all my sin.

Take away everything in me...
...that does not bow before Thee as Lord.
...that does not have Thy name on it.
...that is resistant to Thy Spirit.
...that is impure and unworthy of Thee.

Remove from me...
...all attitudes and opinions and convictions that do not originate in Thee;
...every desire and motive and plan and ambition in conflict with Thy holy will;
...anything that runs and hides when You enter, that laughs when I believe, that squirms when I pray, that fears when I trust;
...Whatever in me does not give Thee joy, make Thee proud, and serve Thy purpose;

All of this, take away, please...
...everything that holds me back, weights me down, and cheapens my praise,
take away and make me whole.

By the precious blood of Jesus, purge my iniquity.
In the matchless name of Jesus, make me clean.
For the wonderful sake of Jesus, draw me to Thee.

Make me whole and holy and wholesome.
Make me right and upright and righteous.

Give me a heart that wants only to do Thy will, that answers only to Thy call, that serves only to hear Thy 'well done.'

Amen."

Have you ever been so filthy you wanted a bath more than anything else in the world? I have. Have you felt that kind of soul-soil that stains and defiles and makes you shrink from reading your Bible or bowing in prayer out of pure shame? I've been there, too.

So Totally Tricked

Every two weeks Neil comes over with 12-year-old Grant and works up our lawn. We pay Grant, who is learning the craft from a master teacher. Meanwhile, Neil's 9-year-old twins, Abby and Erin, take over our household for those two-hours. Saturday, they gave me no peace for sitting at this computer the entire time, working on the "Learning to Receive" blog. "Grandpa, we're here! It's time to play!" I adore them and see them often, so it's not like we don't log enough one-on-two time together. Grandma played with them while I worked. That's when they tricked her.

They played rummy--this family's favorite card game for generations--and checkers. Only later did Grandma discover they had alternated on her. She thought she was playing with Abby the whole time, but they were switching, having a little fun at her expense. You would think at their age they had done this a lot, but they haven't. That's why it took Margaret so completely by surprise.

Abby stood at my shoulder and said, "Write about me, Grandpa." I said, "I do. Whenever you do something worth writing about." She puffed up and said, "I do. All the time. I turn cartwheels. I stand on my head. And Erin and I have this long routine we do, our special handshake." That's true. That handshake is something to behold, with perhaps a hundred elements. They twist and bump in unison, slap hands, rub elbows, on and on, all the while with eyes locked on each other and laughing all the way.

Our Plano, Texas friends, Jeff and Tiffany Dillon, have just found they're going to have twins. My observation is that these two children will be the envy of their siblings; each one will always be next to his/her best friend. From a grandparent's point of view, twins are double the fun and laughter.

They're returning to regular school in a few days, after two years of being home-schooled by Julie. Neil and Julie have evidently decided the kids are missing out on some important aspects of school which they do not get when they do their lessons at the dining room table, still in their p.j.s. After looking into a number of local schools, they chose--to my complete surprise--a Catholic school, Our Lady of Divine Providence, located a half-mile from their home. In the same way our school at FBC Kenner had Catholic kids, this one has plenty of Protestant young-uns and even some Muslims. The religion classes, we've been assured, are basic Bible stuff. The children are eager and understandably a little anxious. The girls just learned they will be in separate classrooms. "But that's all right," one said. "We're on the same hall." Only a year ago did their parents install bunk beds and introduce them to the concept of sleeping in your own bed. That was an adjustment, but they made it.

Bryan and Rebecca Harris were in town Friday, helping their daughter Aleesa move into a dormitory at our New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. This was not a small thing on their part--they live in Vallejo, California, where Bryan pastors a wonderful church. He was a member of the staff of FBC Columbus MS and then FBC Charlotte NC where I pastored, so this family is like our family. Aleesa was entering her second year of seminary last August when Katrina intervened. I love it that she's back. No one returning to school here this fall will come just because they love the exoticism of New Orleans. This is all about a calling to help a city find its soul.

Learning to Receive

My "daughter in the Lord" Mary has a keen insight into the Lord's servants, being one herself. Recently, she commented that her husband and some of us down here in Katrina-land are great quarterbacks but lousy halfbacks. I recognize a football metaphor when I see one but had to ask what it meant.

"A quarterback gives to others but is a poor receiver. My husband would give the shirt off his back and serve until he couldn't stand any longer. But he can't receive a gift graciously. Once he returned a Lazy-Boy recliner we gave him for Father's Day. He can't catch a compliment without dropping it."

She added, "I worry about you burning out and pray for God to give you the encouragement and renewal that you need."

It might come as a surprise to Mary, but I think a lot about the necessity of learning to receive graciously. Couple of little stories on that subject. (Sorry. Everything reminds me of a story.)

Years ago, Evangelist Perry Neal of Montgomery was passing through our city of Columbus, MS, and I invited him to lunch. As we sat in the dining room of the Holiday Inn, I remarked about the huge "Alabama" belt buckle he was wearing. Without a word, he unsnapped it and handed it across the table. I said, "Perry! I don't want your belt buckle." He said, "McKeever, learn to be a gracious receiver!" I said, "Give it here!" And I've kept it ever since. It's as big as a platter and reminds me of a rodeo champion's buckle, but I break it out occasionally and wear it with my denims, usually while donning my Bo Parker cowboy boots from the same period in my young adulthood.

Cindy Pelphrey, wife of Tom, long-time friends, was serving as a youth minister at a large church. One day a man in the congregation approached her. "Cindy, would you like some turnip greens? My garden is really looking great this year." Cindy told him the truth: "No, thank you very much. We don't eat turnip greens and frankly, they're a lot of trouble to prepare." The man's jaw dropped and he walked away. He was obviously hurt, but Cindy had no clue what to do about it. A moment later, her pastor's wife walked over and put her arm around her. "Honey," she said, "never turn down a gift. It gives pleasure to the giver, and if you can't use it, you can always pass it on to someone else."

I have assured Mary that as a veteran pastor, I long ago learned how to receive. Preachers live off the generosity of others. This, of course, offends some with an inflated sense of ego, and leaves all of us in a quandry. Either we resist people's gifts and deprive them of the blessings of giving, or we overdo it and become focused on finding ways to get people to give to us. Both are ditches in between which lies the road.

Recently after preaching at Calvary in Alexandria, a gentleman thrust a hundred-dollar bill in my hand. "Put it where it's needed," he said. Then, this week, a friend from Mississippi sent me a check for the same amount. Friday, when one of our pastors came by to discuss a problem he is going through, I presented him with two hundred dollars. Gifts from the Lord.

One of our Mission Service Corp couples received some money from our Katrina relief funds the other day. We knew they were having a financial struggle and put in a request for some assistance for them. Friday, the wife sent an e-mail asking whom to thank. I said, "God. I'll tell Him."

Someone once said, "No one unwilling to be eternally in debt can ever become a disciple of Jesus Christ."

A Day Wonderful and Burdensome

John McCusker is a photographer for the Times-Picayune whose great shots have long been a special feature of the paper. When I was pastoring at Kenner, he sometimes took our photos for articles and interviews. Tuesday, he tried to commit "suicide by cop."

Reports indicate he was depressed over his insurance check being insufficient to rebuild his flooded house in East New Orleans. In that deep funk, he tore out down Napoleon Avenue in his SUV, driving erratically and side-swiping several vehicles, which attracted the police to him. As they approached with guns drawn, he called, "Just kill me. Get it over with," and threw the gear into reverse, pinning an officer between his SUV and the cruiser. To the credit of the police, they did not fire their weapons but immobilized him with a taser. He's being held for psychiatric examination. Police were uncertain what charges would be filed.

At our Wednesday pastors meeting at Metairie's Good Shepherd Spanish Baptist Church, NAMB Counselor Joe Williams spoke to the depression and fatigue McCusker and others are experiencing. We need to talk about how we are feeling, he said, before emotions become so overwhelming we're ready to explode. Joe is working up a program for helping pastors assist their congregations with these scary feelings.

Steve Gahagan (Operation NOAH Rebuild) introduced Tim Agee who has come as his assistant. Tim and his wife are from a small Alabama town. "We're here for the duration," he said. (I wonder if he knows what he's saying!) Tim meets with homeowners to assess their situations, then coordinates volunteers coming to work on those houses. Gahagan asked our pastors to please let him know anything they find out about what's going to happen in their respective parishes after August 29, the deadline some have established for houses to be worked on or face demolition.

Alberto Rivera (Regional strategist for the LBC) introduced his wife Romy to the group of 50 attending Wednesday's meeting. Last week he spoke to mission specialists across America about our situation. "They are praying for us," he said. He looked at me and said, "Brother Joe, they are praying for you." Thank you.

If You Are Coming To New Orleans To Help Us Rebuild New Orleans...

If You Are Coming To Help Us Rebuild New Orleans....

1. Thank you very much. Over the 2 years since Katrina, we have been so blessed by church groups (as well as individuals) from all over America who have come this way at their own expense and at great inconvenience to themselves. Trust me, we know how blessed we are.

2. Here is the contact information for me personally and for our association, in case you have more questions or need more information.

BAPTIST ASSOCIATION OF GREATER NEW ORLEANS
2222 Lakeshore Driver, New Orleans, LA 70122
Office phone: 504 282 1428
Associational website: www.bagnola.org
My personal website: joe[-at-]joemckeever.com
My cell phone number: 504 615 0149

3. If you have not been to New Orleans since Katrina and are considering bringing a group in to work or minister, may I suggest you come on a scouting trip in advance (or have someone else come). It will help to see what the condition of the city is, where your group will be staying and working, what the accommodations are, etc. The airline service is great (finally!), so in many cases you can arrive in the morning, take the tour and see all you need to see, then fly home in the evening.

4. The North American Mission Board's ministry in New Orleans is called "Operation NOAH Rebuild." Their phone number is 504 362 4604. The office is located at Calvary Baptist Church in the Algiers section of New Orleans, and Dianne Gahagan is the office manager. Her husband Steve is the construction coordinator. David Maxwell is another leader whom we appreciate so much.

For over a year, NOAH has been housing volunteers in the World Trade Center in downtown New Orleans, but the contract has expired and future teams will be housed at the Hopeview Church site in St. Bernard Parish. They have beds and excellent provisions for nearly 200 persons a night. The NOAH office can give you information and make arrangements. They will help your group find houses to rebuild, etc.

5. The New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, located at 3939 Gentilly Boulevard in the Gentilly section of the city, has a full-service program called "MissionLab." They will house your group on campus in the Nelson Price Building, provide all meals, transportation, leadership, Bible studies, and everything. Call the seminary at 504/282-4455 and ask for MissionLab.

6. "Baptist Crossroads" is a joint venture of the First Baptist Church of New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity. See their website at www.baptistcrossroads.com. For the next several years, they will be erecting new homes in the hard-hit Ninth Ward of New Orleans, and will have great needs for teams of volunteers. At the end of their website you will find their contact information.

7. Some of our churches are set up to host church teams coming to the city. You will need to contact them directly and make arrangements. Each situation is a little different. Some charge a small fee to help with expenses; others rely on donations.

Oak Park Baptist Church, located at 1110 Kabel in the Algiers section of New Orleans (on the West Bank, across the river from downtown), is set up to accommodate a large number of volunteers. Phone 504/392-1818. (They're presently without a pastor. Dr. Jerry Barlow is interim. Sara Parnell runs the church office.)

Highland Baptist Church at the intersection of Cleary and Rayne in Metairie can host smaller groups of volunteers. Scott Smith is pastor. Their phone is 504/833-2772.

Vieux Carre' Baptist Church, located in the heart of the French Quarter, one block over from Bourbon Street, is located at 711 Dauphine Street. Greg Hand is pastor. This church has been set up for many years to host church teams that wish to minister (witness) in the Quarter. Phone 504/523-7335.

8. Churches wishing to bring in groups for more traditional ministries (backyard Bible clubs, block parties, or other evangelistic activities) and wanting to connect with a church, may contact David Rhymes in our associational office. David is an evangelism strategist with NAMB, and has lived in this city many years. His email is drhymes[-at-]namb.net, and he can be reached through our associational office 504/282-1428.

A quick story for you. Dennis Watson, pastor of Celebration Church in Metairie, tells of a Christian businessman who moved to New Orleans several years ago to begin a new business. He checked into a downtown hotel and spent the day walking around the city. That night as he knelt by his bed in prayer, God spoke to him. Later, he joined Dennis' church and told him what God said.

Thank you.

Disaster Zone Theology

The Glamour Wears Off

Keisha Moran was living in Waveland, Mississippi, with her small children when Katrina destroyed their home along with the town. Oprah Winfrey found them living in a tent on a parking lot and featured their story on national television. Leaders from St. Paul United Church of Christ in Palatine, Illinois, a half hour northwest of Chicago, took pity and invited her family to move into the church parsonage rent-free. The idea was to give her enough time and opportunity to start afresh.

It's a nice home--two story, three bedroom, located next to the church. Members fixed up the house and moved Keisha and her children in last September. What the two parties did not do was have a clear understanding on how long she would be allowed to stay in the home. Now, almost a year later, the relationship between the Katrina evacuee and the compassionate church is wearing thin.

Keisha Moran says she has until December 31 to get out. The church wants her out now, this month. "They told me I could stay until December 31 rent-free," she told a reporter for the Associated Press. "Then we'd work out the rent."

That is not how church leaders remember the agreement. Terry Ryan, speaking for the congregation, told the reporter they had a verbal agreement that Moran could stay until June 2006, at which time everyone would meet to "revisit" the matter. In a statement released last Friday, leaders say they have tried numerous times to meet with Moran to create a lease. "She never responded to our numerous requests for that meeting," the statement said.

Keisha said, "I feel like it's coming across that maybe I'm ungrateful, but that's not it. I'm not asking them to give me money. I just don't have a roof to put over my children's head."

I wonder how many times this same scenario is playing out all across this land. Churches and communities opened their hearts, their homes, and their wallets to take care of our people who lost everything in the hurricane and subsequent flooding. Initially, warm feelings abounded on both sides. The victims thought their hosts were the best people on the planet. The hosts rejoiced at this opportunity to show hospitality to "the least of these my brethren." But that was then; this is now.

Not Neglect the House of God

Saturday the First Baptist Church of Waggaman held a block party, culminating the work of a fine group of adults and youth from Dallasburg Baptist Church in Wheatley, Kentucky. Matt Dye is their pastor.

"We held a Vacation Bible School all week," Matt said in answer to my question. "And a revival at night. In the daytime, the adults landscaped the yards. We put in that fence over there. And a new baptistry in the church." And that's not all. "Yesterday, we handed out bottles of water to people at intersections and invited them to the block party. Plus, we've visited several hundred homes in this area."

Waggaman is a long, skinny village lining the west bank of the Mississippi, just upriver from Northrop-Grumman's Avondale Shipyards where my son Neil works as a corporate trainer. Many of the several thousand employees live in Waggaman. Bobby Malbrough has been bi-vocational pastor of the FBC here for a number of years. Before Katrina, he worked for Nunez Community College in St. Bernard Parish, a position that vanished along with most everything else in that parish last August 29. Bobby had invited me to the party, to sit under a tent and sketch people to my heart's content as part of the festivities.

"We're leaving early tomorrow morning," Matt Dye told me. A long Sunday drive back to Wheatley, halfway between Louisville and Cincinnati. I could see what a fine job they had done on the campus. The church yards were lovely and everyone was having a great time at the block party. These Kentuckians have strengthened the Lord's church in this area, and for that, we are in their debt.

The men of the FBC of Kenner held their monthly breakfast Sunday at 7:30. Johnny Barlow and these fellows have figured out how to have a Baptist Men's ministry. They have no program as such, no speakers, just various ones of their group reporting on the work they are involved in and promoting the work they are planning. Bob Huffman gave an account on the progress of the new port ministry center at Global Maritime Center on Tchoupitoulas Street. "We need six new bookcases," he said, "to display Bibles in all the various languages for the seamen coming into the center. We expect to give away hundreds and hundreds of copies of God's Word." Then he said, "We've received enough money to buy the materials. Now, we need men who know how to build bookcases. Maybe someone with a table saw. Let me know. We want to get this done this month."

Danny Moore took early retirement from Dow Chemical and has joined the Kenner staff as administrator. He promoted an upcoming work day in which teams will restripe parking lots, making more room for seniors and visitors, and will paint the inside of the sanctuary in preparation for the new carpets, plus playground and fence alterations. New deacon chairman Tom Howell shared his vision on this church becoming a beacon for metro New Orleans.

As I headed home to get ready for church, it occurred to me the main reason I attend this breakfast. Not just to spend time with my son and grandson, although that is very special, and not for that great cholesterol-laden breakfast of huge biscuits, thick bacon, and sausage gravy. It's the laughter, the fellowship. After an hour with these men, I feel uplifted. There's a camaraderie and a joy in the Lord, a "glad to see you" which all men need.

I found myself wishing every man in the church was in on this. It may be the best hour of the month for many, as well as the best-kept secret in the congregation.

An Extra: "Finding a Cure for Road Rage"

Two weeks ago, an older gentleman did something nice for a fellow motorist--something I have done on several occasions--and it cost the life of his grandson.

The two cars pulled into the parking lot of a convenience store at the same time. The grandfather and his grandson got out and started into the store, just as the other driver was walking in. "You ought to use your turn signal," Grandpa said. "What? You talking to me?" the other man said. He was obviously on edge and perhaps spoiling for a fight. That should have signaled Grandpa to back off and let it go. But he didn't.

"I was following you just now and almost hit you. You made that turn without giving a signal. I was just saying you ought to use your turn signal. It's just common courtesy." Simple enough, the older man thought. Just trying to be a good neighbor, doing his little part to make the streets safe.

What he did not count on with that the other driver was crazy. Or at least, afflicted with poor mental health, maybe having a bad day, and completely unwilling to suffer a rebuke from anyone. He retaliated with a verbal assault on the grandfather who, being human and reacting normally, he thought, responded in kind.

Three times now, the grandfather had miscalculated. First, in trying to correct the bad driver. Secondly, in not dropping it when the other fellow reacted poorly. And now, in not getting away before this thing escalated out of hand.

As their altercation intensified in energy and emotion, the stranger walked to his car and pulled a pistol out of the glove compartment. He pointed it at the older man and fired. The bullet grazed his head, but killed the grandson who had been standing nearby, the innocent bystander in all this. A tragedy of great proportions that did not need to occur.

As I see it, the blame for the child's death goes squarely to the grandfather. He was the only responsible adult in this story and he surrendered control of the moment to the bad guy. He will spend the rest of his life grieving over the death of this beloved child and over his inability to control the impulse that was burning within him to correct the poor driving of another motorist.

"Come Apart and Rest Awhile."

How quickly things change. In Thursday morning's headlines, the mayor's people are announcing how they plan to enforce the August 29 deadline for owners of distressed homes to begin renovation or rebuilding or demolishing of their structures. Later, Thursday, the New Orleans City Council--most of whom are newly elected and did not vote for this deadline--is softening its stance. They are announcing plans to distribute lists of agencies that will do gutting out and rebuilding and if a homeowner is even on the list, that will meet the requirement needed to prevent a house from being torn down.

On the other hand, task forces will be formed to survey communities, looking for severely damaged homes that obviously need to be demolished, and to send that recommendation to the city leaders.

Jim introduced himself in our associational offices today. "We're from Paducah, Kentucky," he said. His church group is staying at Highland Baptist Church in Metairie, and they are wiring homes that have been gutted out, so rebuilding can begin. The youngest member of their team is a 27-year-old licensed electrician and he's instructing the others. The oldest team member is 91. "His only infirmity is macular degeneration," Jim said. "Other than that, he has more energy and stamina than anyone in our group." I asked how they were holding up in the heat. "We're doing fine. It's not too bad." After visiting in the office for a few minutes, he said, "I've got to get out of here. I'm drying out."

Since receiving tons of criticism for his plans to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Katrina with fireworks, a masquerade party, and a night of comedy, Mayor Nagin is backing off. Perhaps they were sensitive to the charges of callousness about the 1600 who died in this city from the hurricane and the flooding, but the mayor's newly appointed spokeswoman Ceeon Quiett--that's her name--said they canceled these events due to a lack of time to get them planned adequately.

After the recent criticism of St. Tammany Sheriff Jack Strain over his comments that anyone wearing African-American hairstyles could expect to be stopped by his deputies, two civil rights groups are now reviewing Strain's office records for signs of discrimination. Following a rash of murders on the Northshore, Sheriff Strain said this was obviously overflow from New Orleans and he was instructing his people to look for the "types" who carry out these kinds of drug wars. Since the Northshore communities of Slidell, Covington-Mandeville, and Hammond-Ponchatoula have for the last decade drawn off a large segment of the Anglo population of New Orleans, ethnic minorities tend to stand out over there. I have no idea what the civil rights groups will find in their searches.

An interesting sidelight on this issue is the mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, an African-American himself in a city that is perhaps 70% Black, who is fighting the high crime in his area by instructing police to go for "certain types" of his own people. Profiling, it's called, and the ACLU doesn't like it one bit. I'd tell you what the mayor said about the ACLU but this is a family website.

With the exception of homes in certain historical districts, all new or drastically renovated homes in New Orleans must be elevated at least 3 feet above street level, if the city council approves the recommendation from the mayor's office of safety and permits. After weeks of discussion and negotiation, city leaders have agreed with FEMA and the Louisiana Recovery Authority that this level should be the minimum required of new homes and those being rebuilt.

On the editorial page of Thursday's paper, everyone is concerned over the plans announced by Allstate to drop wind and hail coverage from 30,000 homeowner policies. John K. Dufour of Mandeville has received his bill, calling for a "40 percent increase in premium. I blew my top at a surcharge I have to pay." He says, "This is wrong; it is taxation without representation and was carefully hidden from us by the Insurance Commission. Now it's too late to do anything. Bye, Louisiana."

Mike Scorsone of Belle Chasse calls for the insurance commissioner to start playing hardball with Allstate and "levy a $500 surcharge per auto policy that Allstate writes in our state." I wonder if Mike thinks an insurance company would not pass that on to the policyholder.

The editor comments, "The company (Allstate) is skilled in sounding pitiful." However, they cannot claim poverty, because "Allstate racked up $1 billion in profits in the second quarter, so that one is out."

Here We Go Again

Tropical Storm Chris is just east of Puerto Rico on this Wednesday morning. Forecasters draw a large cone to show possible directions. A major part of that has it heading straight into the Gulf. Not what we wanted to see. We're all a little antsy around here, and figure to be for several hurricane seasons to come.

One of our pastors called Monday night asking for prayer, which I am now passing on to you. His college student son has been charged with several counts of robbery. As I got it, the son tells his father he signed a confession for whatever it was he did, then later the cops added other offences, including the use of a pistol which changes the nature of this drastically. One of our Baptist lawyers is representing them. This is a massive blow for any family, but particularly one that has lost their home and their church and congregation. We will appreciate the prayers.

In Tuesday's news, Mayor Nagin announced that 2000 blighted properties will be given or sold cheaply to a number of companies and organizations that will be able to restore them and put on the market. Wednesday's paper lists the organizations, most or all of them non-profits. Habitat is down for 250 of the homes. The mayor says most should bring prices in the $100,000 range. First, final notices must be sent to the owners of these properties which had lain abandoned for several years before Katrina, without the taxes being paid. Owners have 60 days to respond.

Regular readers of this blog will remember the name of Kimberly Williamson-Butler, our most recent Clerk of Criminal Court, who while going through some kind of emotional meltdown, was jailed for contempt of court for refusing to turn over her office's records to a judge appointed to oversee the cleanup of the flooded evidence room, then ran for mayor under the "martyrdom" banner, garnering fewer than a thousand votes. She's back in the news. It has come to light that soon after the hurricane, she sought bids to clean up the flooded Orleans Parish criminal courthouse and awarded the contract to something called Biodefense America of St. Petersburg, Florida. The company did not have the lowest bid, not by far. Worse, the Times-Picayune reveals that the company may not even exist. The address they show is a home in St. Petersburg and they own a truck parked behind a strip mall in Largo, Florida. Butler isn't talking. Authorities admit that $200,000 has been paid to the Florida company which never did the first day's work and which abandoned the job. Stay tuned.

Lawsuits are popping up like weeds in a Lakeview yard, all directed at Memorial Hospital and LifeCare of New Orleans after the deaths of a number of critically ill patients. LifeCare says their patients were the responsibility of the feds.

A Burger King in old Metairie advertises: "Now Hiring 15 Year Olds." On the one hand, the unemployment rate is as high now as it was pre-Katrina, just over 7 percent. On the other hand, businesses are hurting for employees. With fast food places paying 9 and 10 dollars an hour, one hopes teenagers don't drop out of school for this.