Tonight, watching the returns from Super Tuesday’s presidential primary elections, in which 24 of the 50 states of the Union voted, you find yourself thinking, “Wonder how a foreigner sees all this?”

He would be totally at sea. Absolutely lost.

So, let’s see if we can make a little sense of it.

One: the United States of America is a family made up of 50 states. Imagine having a family with 50 children, each different from the others, some not looking like anyone you know, and each one a strong personality and priding itself on its eccentricities.

America is not a monolithic single-entity, but is divided and subdivided into sections and regions. That is, this country is not like an apple–cut it open and it’s pretty much the same throughout–but is more like an orange, composed of sections, with each one a little different from the others.

Using the orange analogy, imagine cutting one open and pulling out the sections to find that one slice is a lemon, one a navel orange, one slice a tangerine, another grapefruit, and another a lime. They’re all members of the citrus family, but that’s where the similarities end.

That is the United States of America. Emphasis on “states.” We were states before we were united, and we have retained a lot of the characteristics of our independency.

Okay, now, second point: the political parties run their primaries however they please. The federal government has nothing to do with it. That’s completely surprising to outsiders. Here we are the last remaining superpower nation on earth and in choosing the next leader of the free world, our system is in the hands of the political parties in each state which are run by people we don’t know. And we meekly go along with it.

That’s why in this presidential primary, some states met in caucus to make their selections–remember Iowa in early January–while others asked the entire electorate to traipse to the polls and vote, as in New Hampshire in February. Today, Republicans in West Virginia met in caucus and announced this morning that Mike Huckabee received all 8 delegates for their party’s nomination.

Still on point two. States do not have to do things alike. Some states will award all the electoral votes to the person who wins their state’s primary, and the runners-up are left out in the cold. Other states will give so many votes to the winner based on the percentage he polled, so many to the runnerup, again based on his or her votes, and so on.

Confused? You’re not alone. I daresay the average citizen on the street does not have a clue how all this works. They read the paper and when it says, “Go to the polls Saturday,” they go. Well, 50 percent of us do, but that’s another story.

Third: then, this summer, after the caucuses and primaries have done their thing, delegates will gather in a large city for the Republican National Convention and in another city for the Democratic National Convention. There, delegates will either decide at that time or ratify the decision the voters have already made as to who their candidate for president will be.

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Friday, Steve and Dianne Gahagan stopped by the associational office to say their goodbyes. Tomorrow their rental truck pulls out from the home next door to Oak Park Baptist Church which the congregation has been providing them for nearly 2 years now. They will be facing an 11-hour drive back to South Carolina.

For 21 months, Steve has been the construction coordinator for NAMB’s “Operation NOAH Rebuild,” overseeing the reconstruction of hundreds and hundreds of homes in our area, as well as quite a few churches. Dianne has been the office manager, taking the calls and emails from churches around the country interested in bringing teams of volunteers this way to help us and overseeing a hundred related details.

They’re leaving and we’re grieving.

Nearly two years ago, Jim Burton of the North American Mission Board told me about this couple whom he had just hired. Steve has a background in construction and had been working with Habitat for Humanity in South Carolina. Dianne had a business background and was most recently the chief financial officer for a huge corporation. “We are so blessed to be getting this outstanding couple,” he said.

Nothing that has happened since has changed our mind about that assessment.

Our pastors will remember the times when Steve stood at our (then) weekly meetings to report on the work of NOAH and the volunteers coming our way. He always inspired us without fail, and I found myself in awe of the spirit of Christ in this man.

The work of NOAH goes on, under the capable direction of Mickey Caison and, locally, David Maxwell and his wife Wanda. We appreciate them and thank them for their commitment to helping our people and our churches continue the work of restoration.

But, it’s not going to be the same. Steve and Dianne won a huge place in the hearts of all our people.

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Somewhere I read where a cancer researcher predicted that when the cure for that dreaded disease is found, it will not be in one “Eureka!” moment, but in small increments.

The rebuilding of New Orleans and its re-creation into whatever plan the Father has for it is coming about in the same way: in small victories.

A mission in the Ninth Ward–New Christian Life Baptist–is rebuilt by Florida Baptists and reopens its doors on Saturday. It’s one of the few houses of worship to be rebuilt and reopened in that devastated neighborhood, thanks to the leadership of Pastor Will Mack and the dedicated labors of Florida Baptists.

Sunday, the First Baptist Church of Luling burned the note on a loan for the construction of their educational building. Pastor Todd Hallman challenged his people to build on the faith of the past generations to meet today’s changing culture.

Down in Lower St. Bernard, the Delacroix-Hope Baptist Church worshiped for the first time Sunday in their “new” building, previously the Creedmore Presbyterian Church. The plant was given to them by the Presbytery of South Louisiana. Pastor Boogie Melerine and his little congregation have done extensive renovations and will be having a grand opening soon.

A church welcomes a new pastor. Someone prays with his neighbor as he gives his heart to Christ. A displaced resident decides to move back to the city. Someone completes the renovation of his flooded house and moves back into the neighborhood. The city paves a street. Someone gets serious about prayer. An offering is dropped into the offering plate at church. A business owner decides to take a chance and reopen his store.

Little by little, one step at the time.

No one knows at what point the tipping will occur.

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Today, Saturday, “New Christian Life Baptist Mission” reopened its doors for the first time since Katrina. Under the leadership of Pastor Will Mack, Jr., this mission of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church sits smack dab in the middle of the Ninth Ward, surrounded by houses in every shape and of every description.

Many houses still bear the huge X of the National Guardsmen who combed the neighborhoods in the days following our hurricane, searching for the stranded in need of rescue. Fully fifty-percent of the houses are still not occupied and most probably untouched since the August 29, 2005, storm. The streets are broken and potholed and warped. You wouldn’t want to be caught in that neighborhood after dark. And yet, this is where New Christian Life located itself and where they rebuilt after the storm.

Representatives of the Florida Baptist Convention were present, several members of the First Baptist Church of Marianna, and at least two directors of missions. Pastor Will Mack welcomed everyone, then introduced his choir of perhaps five ladies. “This will be their first time to wear these robes since Katrina,” he said to cheers and applause. “The water ruined the zippers, so they’re leaving them open.”

The choir, accompanied by a keyboard and set of drums, rocked that little building as the praise lofted heavenward. People kept coming in throughout the service until an equal number of black and white were present. “How many are here for the first time?” Several lifted their hands, including a man in front of me who looked like he might be homeless.

Coba Beasley is the Director of Missions for the Chipola Baptist Association in Marianna, Florida. He brought greetings and told of the work of their teams over the last year or more, as they worked to redo this building. The keyboard was a gift of a gentleman in Marianna, he said. We all surmised that it had never sounded in Marianna the way it sounded in New Orleans!

Michael Petty is the Director of Missions for the Gulfstream Baptist Association in Fort Lauderdale. His text was Psalm 67, that “we are blessed to be a blessing.” He said, “We had thought we could restore this building in a few months, but it has taken us a year and a half.” At the time he and Pastor Mack began to make plans for the rebuilding, Michael was pastor of the FBC of Marianna. Some of his members were present today, and at least one staffer. In October, he moved to lead the association in Fort Lauderdale.

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In the previous blog, I mentioned that rebellious children sap the energies of parents, leaving them with no will, no time, and no strength for outside interests or ministries. Some of our readers have experienced this personally.

The question before the class today, students, is: “What depletes your energies for God?”

As usual, I’ll get us started. At the end, leave your own contributions to the list. Our hope is that someone will see himself in this and learn that a certain practice has been robbing them of their service to the Lord and will return to the Father. Luke 15:18 comes to mind. “I will arise and go to my Father.”

Here are my top ten energy-depleters:

10. Compromise.

You’re doing something displeasing to the Lord and you know it. The guilt lingers and weighs you down. When you try to read your Bible, pray, or worship, the fog is so thick you could cut it. God seems far away, and you know without being told it’s because you moved. You’re being torn down the middle and it’s a miserable feeling.

Isaiah 59:1-2 comes to mind. “Your sins have separated you.” Confess them and move back closer.

9. Nay-sayers.

The discouragers around you are constantly pointing out that you cannot do this, you are not the Christian you ought to be, the Bible cannot be understood, your prayers never go beyond the ceiling, and your pitiful offering amounts to nothing. To make matters worse, sometimes that negative voice hounding us is our own. You lose heart and want to give up.

Psalm 103:1-5 comes to mind. “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Speak to yourself words of faith. Believe your faith and doubt your doubts.

8. Nit-pickers.

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Reading the paper this Saturday morning and checking the television schedule for tonight, I began laughing. My favorite channel–that would be TCM, Turner Classic Movies–is showing a string of Greer Garson movies tonight. No, it’s not her birthday. That would be September 29 (and the year 1904). I think I know what happened.

TCM found out that I just last night finished reading a biography of Greer Garson. “A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson” by Michael Troyan was pure fun. It’s a $22 paperback, so don’t tell my wife. In fact, I picked it up twice over several months at the local World War II Museum bookshop before deciding to spring for it. Glad I did.

What started this for me was seeing the 1941 movie, “Mrs. Miniver,” some years ago. Thereafter, like a few million others, I was smitten. First, it’s about the most fascinating moment of the 20th century, that period when England stood virtually alone against Hitler. (There might be something else going on in my choice of that period; it’s basically 1940, the year I arrived on the planet.)

Secondly, there’s a historical angle: the movie aroused the American public as nothing else had to understand the British situation and get off the fence of neutrality. Queen Elizabeth was to tell Greer Garson later that her film had rallied worldwide support for Britain more than any other one thing.

The movie won a handful of Academy Awards the next year, and that has always perplexed the professional critics who do not understand the emotional impact a movie can make when it connects with a critical moment in history.

Mostly, however, when I saw “Mrs. Miniver,” I fell in love. And who would not? What a woman.

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Sometimes friends email to ask, “Where will you be preaching? Maybe it will be in my area so I can come.”

Being a director of missions means I work for and with all the Baptist churches in our association, which in this case includes the 5 parishes that make up Greater New Orleans. Many Sundays I’m not preaching at all, and at those times I enjoy dropping in on a church and worshiping with them.

This Sunday, January 20, I’ll be teaching “Paul’s Epistle to the Romans” at Rocky Creek Baptist Church near Lucedale, Mississippi, where Greg Harper is pastor. The schedule calls for four sessions on Sunday–10 am, 11 am, 5 pm, and 6 pm. Then we’ll continue Monday night at 6:30 and Wednesday night at 6:30.

In between, on Tuesday night, I’ll be speaking at the annual men’s banquet for the Baptist churches of George and Greene Counties, which will also be held at Rocky Creek Church.

Saturday morning, January 26, I’ll do another two-hour preview of Romans for our local pastors. We’ll meet in the conference room of FBC-Kenner from 8 am to 10 am. Anyone is invited of course, particularly pastors from anywhere.

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New Governor Bobby Jindal may be the youngest governor in the land, but at 36, he has lots of experience in state government and had a clear understanding of what he wanted to do in his first day on the job. Tuesday–like the cross-eyed javelin thrower–when he stood up, he had everyone’s undivided attention, and he made the most of it.

Jindal had appointed a committee of 17 to advise him on ethics reform in Louisiana. They took him seriously, and he is taking their recommendations for all they’re worth. Here are some of the contents of Jindal’s program as announced yesterday.

1) State legislators will be prohibited from receiving free tickets to concerts and sporting events. They will be allowed to purchase them at face value, though.

2) Everyone from the governor’s office to the legislature, from judges to local officials, should be required to file annual financial disclosures. The governor is requiring that his cabinet members comply with the same financial disclosure which candidates for governor must meet.

Officials in towns or parishes of more than 5,000 residents will be covered in this requirement.

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Bobby Jindal is the first governor of any state in the union of Indian descent. His parents came to America, settled in Baton Rouge, and Bobby was born there. He converted from Hinduism as a teenager and became a Catholic. He lives in Kenner and is the brainiest person on the planet. Monday, he was sworn in as Louisiana’s new governor, replacing Kathleen Babineaux Blanco who carries her Katrina-related scars with her into retirement. Jindal is 36 years old, making him the youngest sitting governor in the land.

What does “sitting governor” mean? And why do they express it like that? Is there any other kind of governor.

Tuesday, Jindal confirmed our faith in him. In his first full day in office, he spoke to the legislature and announced that everyone in his administration will file annual financial reports and that he will be asking the legislature to do that too. He said, “We are going to be transparent!”

Uh, Bobby, some of them aren’t going to like that. But good for you. Now, make it stick.

One of the ways our state is unique is that the governor has substantial power over the legislature. I’ve lived in states where the chief executive had zero authority over the state senate and house of representatives and the citizens paid dearly for the weakness of the office. In Louisiana, if you get the right governor, things can happen quickly.

One thing our governor does is to select the speaker of the house and the leader of the senate. It still has to be confirmed by the actual vote of the members, but the governor has such power in other ways they don’t dare cross him. That’s how Jim Tucker of Algiers became our new speaker.

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A student as well as staffer at our New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Don Pike serves the Ames Boulevard Baptist Church in Marrero as a part of the Unlimited Partnership program. He leads the congregation in education, discipleship, and evangelism. Recently, when our U.P. students reported on their ministries at their monthly gathering, Don announced, “I have the privilege of serving on the staff of a healthy church.”

Today, I dropped in on the morning worship service at the Ames Boulevard Baptist Church. Tommy Plaisance, another seminary student and–easily betrayed by his accent–a native of Cajunland, serves as the pastor. Don did the welcome in the service, then played the guitar while his wife Donna led the worship from the keyboard. It was a warm-hearted service with upbeat praise choruses and strong biblical preaching.

Tommy preached the famous passage from Philippians 3 where Paul lists his credentials, then tosses them in the trash. “I count all things but loss for Christ.” Tommy’s sermon dealt with decisions we make “with the end in view.” Paul’s purpose was to know Christ better, experience His fellowship in sufferings, and know the power of His resurrection. In light of that end, he made some tough decisions.

I sat there in the service reflecting on Don’s statement that it was a healthy congregation. Rick Warren says in one of his books that the next issue facing the church is not church growth but church health. Working with nearly a hundred of our Baptist churches throughout metro New Orleans, all in various stages of health, some strong and vigorous and some on life support, I completely agree.

What exactly is a healthy church?

Someone has observed that all unhappy families are unhappy in their own ways, but happy families all seem to have certain things in common. That surely must hold true for church health. Sick churches are a dime a dozen and each has its own kind of malady, but healthy churches seem to be alike in a lot of ways.

Here is my brief take on this.

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