It’s hot. Outsiders who take their long weekend to come to New Orleans to help gut out and rebuilt homes are our heroes.
Saturday’s “above the fold” front page headline was “New doctors follow their hearts to N.O.” With Tenet Healthcare putting four of their New Orleans hospitals on the market–the Lindy Boggs and Memorial (Baptist) centers have never reopened since Katrina–doctors who have lived here for decades are departing for greener pastures. But, wonder of wonders, other doctors are coming to town and filling the void. Nicole Giambrone, an LSU resident in pediatrics, says, “It’s an adventure. How many people can say they were here when the city was rebuilt? How many people can say they helped rebuild the health system infrastructure?” Good for you, Dr. Giambrone!
Something similar is happening, I’m confident, with our seminary students. Some are not returning because they have no investment in this city and no reason to want to live in an island of green surrounded by miles of deadness and vacancy. But others are taking the challenge, recognizing that this is the place where God is at work, He never said it would be easy, and by spending two or three years of their seminary training here, nothing about their future ministry will ever be the same. To those churches and parents watching their “children” move to New Orleans to begin their ministerial preparation, we say: encourage them; brag on them; pray for them; support them.
Visitors to our city driving on Interstate 10 in East New Orleans notice off to the South a massive amusement park. Six Flags New Orleans has been lying there vacant and unrepaired since Katrina drowned it in 12 feet of floodwater, creating a big question mark about its future. Saturday, the owners have announced plans to shut it down permanently, in spite of their 75 year lease with the city.
Originally, this site was known as Jazzland Theme Park. Two years into its life, it still had not turned a profit and the owners filed for bankruptcy. Then Six Flags rode to the rescue and city leaders rejoiced. The company took over the ownership for a song and built new rides, then put on a huge publicity campaign. Even then, according to the company, the local community never took to the park in a big enough way and it continued hemmorrhaging cash. The hurricane might have been a blessing to them, as it gave the company a way out.
Six Flags Inc. is proposing to pay $10 million to the city, donate the adjacent 66 acres of land to the city, and give New Orleans 20% of everything it gets from insurance above $75 million. They say since the park was not turning a profit when New Orleans was populated, it makes no sense to reopen the place when only a fraction of the residents of that part of the city are back. Hard to argue with that.
Ignoring the calls of frightened restauranteurs, Governor Blanco signed into law the prohibition against smoking in dining facilities throughout the state.
Locals are watching with unusual interest the launching of the Space Shuttle Discovery this weekend. The huge liquid fuel tanks that get the shuttle into space are built just east of New Orleans in the NASA Michoud plant. Thirty employees from the plant are at Canaveral this weekend to observe the launch. A major concern is the foam which sometimes falls away from the fuel tanks during liftoff. When they strike the underside of the shuttle, they damage its heat shield and jeopardize re-entry. NASA has spent over a billion dollars and several years to find ways to prevent the foam from breaking off. Making a lot of people antsy is that not all of NASA’s leaders agree that the shuttle is as safe as it could be made. Lots of local prayers will be going up this weekend and until the crew’s safe return.
On the religion page of Saturday’s paper, two items of interest to Baptists stand out. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s new preamble to their statement of faith giving allegiance to Jesus is headlined: “Jesus is Back in Baptist Preamble.” I almost wish they would not run these articles. Local non-Baptists have no idea what this is all about, and I’d just as soon none of them think Jesus was ever out of our thinking or our hearts. Rick Warren will be going to North Korea to preach. One wonders how in the world that invitation came about. Brings back memories of the times 30 years ago when Billy Graham received similar invitations from Soviet Russia and was promptly castigated by conservatives all over this country. “Aiding and abetting Communism,” they said. But he went on anyway, and these days almost everyone champions him for doing so. God bless you, Rick. We’ll lift you to the Father, friend.
Hi Joe!
This next week, I get to be one of those outsiders coming in! The church I’ve been attending while in exile is bringing nearly 100 people to our fair city.
We’re leaving Wichita Falls at 5:00 am on Monday — and driving 12 hours in a caravan. We’re bringing a truckload of sheetrock, plywood, and other supplies to help with the needs of New Salem Baptist Church and its pastor (You helped us out with that hookup, I think).
We also have a group going to the seminary to work on Dr. and Mrs. Landrum Leavell’s apartment there. This is the church Dr. Leavell pastored just before he was president of the seminary — and where he retired. Mrs. Leavell teaches a huge Sunday School class here. We are also serving at a Feed the Multitudes event on the 4th, working at FBNO’s daycamp, and doing construction with the Baptist Crossroads project.
The group’s prayer is that God will, through them, impact New Orleans. I’m praying that, too — but I’m also praying that New Orleans will have an impact on every person in this group — and that they will develop a burden for our city. Maybe they’ll go home and tell their church and friends about the needs of New Orleans. Maybe they’ll come back to the city on mission again next year. Maybe some of the young people on the trip will even be the doctors and seminary students who in the future are called to New Orleans. That’s my hope!
By the way, not only did you play a part in hooking us up with New Salem — I’ve forwarded several of your articles — specifically “Pray Big” — and they have played a huge part in preparing our hearts.
Another church in Wichita Falls, Faith Baptist, is taking a group of youth to Rachel Simms this week, too. They’ve done the trip every summer for several years now — but all the reports of the crime rate had the parents scared this year. I sent them a copy of “Pray Big” as well — and they appreciated the spiritual perspective on what’s going on.
Oh, and at our final prayer meeting for the trip, Dr. Leavell came to pray with us. He didn’t know that I’d been passing your articles on to the group, and he said, “I’d like to share something with you, it was written by a former classmate of mine…” Then he proceeded to introduce you to the group and read from one of your articles. He had no idea that they already knew you well!
You are being used by God, my friend. Keep up the good work!
Hi Dr. McKeever,
We are two of your congregants back in Columbus, MS in the late ’70’s. If fact, we lived about 10 houses down the street from you on Crepe Myrtle Drive and your son, Neil, use to babysit for our children. How good it is to hear about you through the internet! The last we knew you were in Charlotte, N. C. We always knew you were a greater man destined for greater things.Mark and I are sure you have greatly blessed the hearts and spirits of all the New Orleans residents who know you and Margaret.
Our son, Brian, is 32, has 2 sons ages 5 and 3 and is an attorney on Manhattan. Our daughter Meredith is 29 this year, is a graduate from Ole Miss and is working for a marketing firm here in Ft. Lauderdale. Mark and I celebrate our 36th anniversary in Dec. and he will retire from commercial flying (American) next June, 2007. We always wondered how you and your family were doing. We know New Orleans is in great hands.
Our love and best wishes to all McKeevers,
Mark and Roseann Hutchings
hutch1947@yahoo.com