Our friend Cathy Pate is visiting, making her annual “Fourth of July” trek to New Orleans. Cathy was in medical school in the late ’80s when I became her pastor in Charlotte, NC. She loves to travel, loves New Orleans, and we enjoy her company. After her arrival Saturday, we gave her the obligatory tour of the devastation of the city, then bought po-boys at Mother’s (that’s a famous restaurant) on Poydras and brought them home. Sunday morning, we worshiped with FBC of New Orleans. Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was just ending their twice-a-month worship service there when we arrived, with members standing in groups, hugging, saying their goodbyes.

Pastor David Crosby introduced two large groups of youth who are spending a week in our city helping to build the houses of the Baptist Crossroads. The worship service was warm and joyful, David’s sermon on “Rendering to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s” was first-class, and we all were blessed. “I’d join this church in a minute,” Cathy said.

We ate lunch at the Bourbon House, a nice restaurant one block off Canal Street downtown. Just after we were seated, the bottom dropped out of the heavens and we were treated to a downpour accompanied by all the sound effects of lightning, thunder, and heavy rain. Planted before a large plate glass window, we New Orleanians who have been suffering a drought, enjoyed watching the rain fall, curbs overflow, and tourists scamper up and down the streets, running in and out of cover. Alas, when we arrived home in River Ridge, not a drop had fallen.

Monday morning, David Crosby pulled together several pastors to plan a Prayer Rally for Tuesday evening, August 29, the one-year-anniversary of Katrina’s fateful visit to this part of the world. As the program firms up, we’ll pass along the plans. Right now, we want everyone to calendar this date, for the 7 pm rally at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans on Canal Boulevard.

Fred Luter announced that soon Franklin Avenue Baptist Church will begin meeting every Sunday morning in the First Baptist facility. What about the 600 to 800 who have been meeting at FBC Houston, Texas, twice a month? One of his assistant pastors will be assuming the leadership of that congregation.

While we were meeting in David’s office, the skies blackened and soon the rains came in force. An hour later, the rain was still falling as I drove across the city, still coming down as I ran into Sam’s Club in Metairie, and still descending as I arrived in my neighborhood. What a welcome blessing.

We’re also in the process of planning a full-page ad in the Times-Picayune on August 29, something from the Baptist churches of this area to report to the city and affirm our intentions to be here for the full rebuilding. “It’s a great time to be a Baptist in New Orleans” is something we say to each other a lot these days, but that’s probably not the message we want to communicate to the city. We’re still trying to decide exactly what to say. There’s so much, a book would not contain it.

Tuesday, July 4, a number of churches are joining with Victory Fellowship on Airline Drive in Metairie in their annual “Feed the Multitudes” celebration. For many years, that one church erected their tent and bused in the homeless to give a great meal to all the needy they could locate. This year, there are few homeless and the really poor people have not returned to the city due to the lack of public housing, so it’s come-one-come-all, and at least a dozen churches are working it together. FBC-NO, Celebration of Metairie, and Calvary-N0 are participating. A team of volunteers from the First Baptist Church of Wichita Falls, Texas, are arriving in town this (Monday) evening and will be building houses at the Baptist Crossroads site on Alvar Street in the 9th Ward. But Tuesday, the Fourth, they’ll be working at the “Feed the Multitudes” event.

This event will be held at LaSalle Park, near the Saints headquarters, on Airline, and will feature free food and games, haircuts, manicures, pedicures, and I don’t know what all. Music, no doubt, and a lot of sharing of the love of Christ with all who come. They plan to build a “Habitat” house on the premises, then move it to the location, and have a place for anyone wanting to apply for such a home to sign up. Big day.

You’re invited.

From time to time I talk with our pastors in these Wednesday meetings about integrity and faithfulness.

Last week I told them of a pastor who has just made the news in the way none should ever. In my 42 years of leading churches as pastor, the very best revival we ever experienced was one that particular pastor led, many years ago at the Emmanuel Baptist Church in Greenville, MS. He was an independent Baptist preacher (do I hear someone saying, “Aren’t they all?”), meaning not part of a denominational structure. But he was a powerful preacher, and built a great church and powerful school. He must be in his late 70s now and was just arrested for pedophilia. The report from the television station in his city says more and more women are coming forward to file their charges against him. It is sad beyond words.

Someone told me today that the pastor of his church was declaring bankruptcy. As difficult as that was for him to take, the fact that the church provides the pastor and his family with housing and all utilities and a good income makes it all the more puzzling. He said that family had just returned from an expensive vacation.

I have no great wisdom or deep insights into either of these cases. My brother Ron, who knows the first preacher a lot better than I, was understandably reluctant to go to the website and see the news reports about the charges against that great and fallen preacher. I said to him, “Perhaps the major message to you and me is to make sure that when all our secret activities are some day revealed, as they will be, that people will see them and only giggle, not gag or grieve.”

Pray for your pastor, friend. Pray big.