Last week, an editor with Rick Warren’s internet magazine for pastors asked me to write an article for them. He had seen something I wrote perhaps 3 years ago about how I had started taking care of my body, lost some weight, and got serious about exercise. “Tell us what you are doing and let’s encourage pastors to do the same,” was the general thrust of the assignment.
Well, somewhere in the body of that article I commented on the benefits of my program. Years ago, I used to have colds a couple of weeks every winter and from time to time experienced lower back pain. “I no longer have colds and it’s been years since my lower back has given me trouble,” I said. That was last Friday.
Monday morning I woke up with lower back pain. Spent the day on a heating pad and taking muscle relaxers. Tuesday was a little better; Wednesday a lot better.
I know what did it. Sunday afternoon, I had slouched on my recliner and watched the Saints’ football game, then spent a couple of hours at the computer typing the day’s blog. The computer chair is canvas, which means absolutely no back support at all. Tuesday, I threw it out and bought a real chair at Office Depot.
Nothing like a dose of humility to get the week started off right.
Wednesday morning, we began our weekly pastors meeting with a brief “associational executive committee” meeting. This group is made up of the pastor of each church and one elected layperson. Instead of meeting quarterly as formerly, we’ve decided to meet the first Wednesday of each month in order to stay on top of developments.
The administrative committee reported that although our associational receipts (the monthly gifts from our churches) are running about 70 percent of normal, we are spending much less than normal also, so we’re doing fine. They announced we are signing a contract with PayCheck to handle our payroll, primarily for the security they offer against errors in handling taxes. One of our churches ran into such problems not long ago and they are learning the hard way how difficult the IRS can be in these situations.
Speaking of money, Freddie Arnold announced that the repairs of our heating system in the Baptist Center cost $15,000.
Freddie and NOAH’s Steve Gahagan drove through Plaquemines Parish Monday. Of the 5 Baptist churches in that downriver parish, only the last one, Venice Baptist Church, just about as far down the river as you can go–next stop, Cuba!–only that church has not been gutted out since Katrina. Freddie reported seeing very little activity of any kind in that little community. The best thing we have going in that entire area is Port Sulphur Baptist Church where Lynn Rodrigue is pastor (and that’s probably 40 miles upriver from Venice). Work continues on the rebuilding of their sanctuary.
Freddie reported on a prayer meeting Tuesday morning at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans involving their men and guys from Franklin Avenue Baptist, some sixty in all. “It was a mighty time of prayer,” he said. He feels God is up to something special in our city.
Today we welcomed back Don Pucik of the Arkansas Baptist Convention. “It is a privilege for us to be a part of what God is doing in this area,” he said. Their people have been with us since right after the storm hit, running feeding units, gutting out, rebuilding. We have often said that New Orleans has had no better friend than the Baptists of Arkansas.
Don brought envelopes to the pastors. Inside was a Christmas gift from the churches of Arkansas. The pastors who were not present or who left early will be getting theirs in the mail. (See why we love the Arkansans?)
Larry Vaughn from San Diego took the floor and told of the church furniture his company manufactures. He told me, “The Catholics brought me to New Orleans, but I wanted to make our services available to you folks too.” He apologized for not bringing enough handouts. “I wasn’t expecting this many.” We had 44 in attendance.
Steve Gahagan, Operation NOAH Rebuild, announced that the Salvation Army has given us 18 vouchers worth $10,000 each toward rebuilding that many homes. Our operation applies that money toward purchasing materials for the rebuild, adding it to what the homeowner has from insurance and other sources. NOAH is partnering with the Sara Lee Corporation in rebuilding homes for their employees, many of whom are living in trailers on the company parking lot. Their other employees from around the country have taken up a sizeable donation and sent to NOAH, specifying that it does not have to be spent on the homes for their people. “But it will be,” Steve smiled.
Thomas Glover, New Covenant, is grateful for the people from Underwood Baptist Church in Alabama for taking down three trees for them last Thursday. Two people were saved in church last Sunday.
Lynn Rodrigue, Port Sulphur, had his first baptism since Katrina. Men from Baptist churches in Oklahoma and Virginia are framing their sanctuary. An 18-wheeler is coming from Ohio, bringing turkeys and presents to give out in the community, creating a wonderful opportunity for witness. Lynn said, “We will be going door to door giving away presents. Our desire is to share the gospel.”
Oscar Williams, Good News, reports they have put together 300 baskets for Christmas gifts in Destrehan.
Meanwhile, as various ones spoke, Marilyn Stewart was taking all this down for a Baptist Press/Louisiana Baptist Message article she’s writing. After we dismissed, I noticed her interviewing several of the pastors. We appreciate Marilyn and her colleagues for helping us keep the New Orleans story before the nation. Editor Kelly Boggs and Managing Editor Karen Willoughby have gone the second mile and beyond on our behalf.
Rudy French, Norco, said the church is about to vote on him becoming their pastor. If they do–and we expect they will–he plans to expand the church’s outreach so that it becomes a mission center. He and Rose are looking for bunk beds to put in the rooms where they will house church volunteers. “We have about 15 men coming from Tennessee soon and don’t have a place for them to sleep.”
Keith Manuel, Calvary, reports they have just baptized a Muslim man. “His name is Muhammed, but he plans to change it now that he’s a Christian. So he had me baptize him as ‘Jimmy’.” That brought laughter (of the joyous kind).
Anthony Pierce, Evangelistic: The sanctuary is about 85 percent restored. Next week a new roof will be on the building and the flooring will be completed.
Inman Houston, First Baptist-New Orleans: We’re still gutting out houses and will be finished in the Spring. We’ve completed 800 at this point. The church is continuing the “Baptist Crossroads Project” and plans to build another 300 homes with Habitat over the next 5 years.
Todd Hallman, Luling: His wife Tabatha has put together a list of all our youth ministers with their contact information. Any church that has a full-time/part-time/ or volunteer youth minister should contact Tabby at momatabs@gmail.com. The church phone is 985/785-6297.
Johnny Jones, Free Mission: We are not in our church at present. We’re waiting on the City to tell us what it plans to do in that section of the Lower 9th Ward, north of North Derbigny. We need someone with influence in City Hall to help us find out. We’ve called and called and gone by and still can’t get any answers.
The best thing that happened today, I’ll wager, was the prayer time. The tables in our hall are circular, and with six or eight people around each, it’s perfect for a half-dozen prayer sessions going on simultaneously. The assignment each time we break for prayer in these sessions is always the same: pray for one another.
We promoted our Ministers/Spouses’Christmas Dinner for next Tuesday evening at the Ormond Plantation in Destrehan. Originally we told the manager to expect 150 of us. Lynn Gehrmann reported today we have 175 signed up and one church just called adding another 21 names. The dinner will feature a great meal, good fellowship, some Christmas caroling, and then a program by Jim Chester of the Northshore doing his story-telling interspersed by a little magic. (It’s not real magic, Mom. Just illusions. Fun stuff.)
It’s the high point of our week, this Wednesday meeting. I gladly confess that.
A letter in Wednesday morning’s Times-Picayune was the kind we like to read and told what we need to hear.
Pete Eshelman of Roanoke, Indiana, wrote: “It’s been over a year since we last visited my aunt and uncle in Metairie, where a group of us from Indiana helped them rebuild their home after Katrina. When we flew into the Louis Armstrong International Airport more than a year ago, I had never seen so much devastation in my life. After driving from the airport to the neighborhood that (they) lived in, I was convinced it would take five to 10 years for things to return to normal.”
“This past weekend we visited my aunt and uncle, and it was incredible to see what the people of New Orleans have accomplished in rebuilding the city in a little over a year. Everyone we talked to remembers the pain of Katrina, but had a positive, can-do attitude. My congratulations to the people of New Orleans who have, in one year’s time, accomplished so much.”
I suppose it’s like watching your children grow, that it’s happening right in front of you but it takes an outsider to call it to your attention.
Thanks, Pete.