The other morning, a TV news show featured the author of a book about transitioning from college life to the workaday world of a career person. The woman said, “One thing you should do is clean up your internet image.” That was a new thought for me. She continued, “You want people to think of you as a professional person now, not the carefree kid of messy dorm rooms and frat parties.”

I thought of one of our pastors. His e-mail address begins “tennizbum.” On the other hand, another of our pastors has an address that begins with “Godsman.” Knowing nothing of the two except their internet handles, which would you choose as your spiritual leader? (Tennizbum is a good guy. Just making a point.)

Sometimes these little details are clues to who we are in greater ways. I keep thinking about a staff member I used to know who was extremely lazy. One of his former pastors said to me, “I should have picked up on that quality about him from the beginning. The first time he walked into our church offices, he spotted a couch near the receptionist’s desk and said, ‘Oh boy–a couch! This is my kind of church!'”

Robert Cerasoli is a name we expect to hear more in the future. He’s the new inspector general for the City of New Orleans. We’ve never had one of those before, but the office was created in 1995 when voters approved a number of revisions to the City Charter. An ethics board was called for, one that would hire an inspector general to study the workings of city government and root out corruption. Only recently did we get the ethics board and they’ve just now hired Cerasoli as the IG from a list of 21 applicants.

The assignment doesn’t begin until August, but Cerasoli, a Massachusetts native, has been in town this week–at his own expense, he said on the radio; he’s serious about this–meeting with officials and trying to get a handle on the exact powers, directions, and limitations of his job.

The newspaper says his salary is $150,718 and the budget for his office is $250,000 for the rest of this year, which doesn’t sound like a lot. When you consider that U. S. Attorney Jim Letten’s office has netted 28 convictions, guilty pleas, or indictments in an ongoing probe into city government just in the last year or so, it’s obvious the inspector general has his work cut out for him.

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“I’m calling from USA Today newspaper. Jim Burton of the North American Mission Board in Atlanta said you might be able to help me.”

If I can, I’ll be happy to.

“I’m writing about the spiritual state of the people in your area, how they are adjusting to their post-Katrina lives–dealing with the problems of the devastation, the slowness of governments to help, the few neighbors returning, the difficulties in rebuilding, and so on.”

I told her people are more open to talking about God and receiving the spiritual assistance of others than we’ve ever known them to be. Our people who take baskets of household items door-to-door in the troubled areas are finding everyone hospitable. No one refuses to open the door and no one slams it in their faces. They appreciate any help offered and are glad to listen to someone with a witness.

But out in Jefferson Parish–the cities of Metairie and Kenner, primarily–there’s an anomaly. (I didn’t use that word. It only shows up in my writing, not my talking.) Every one of our churches, even the ones which appear to have received no hurricane damage, has lost members, some as many as 40 percent. And yet this parish’s population is around the same as before the storm. This would indicate that while thousands are moving out, those moving in have not been attending church, or at least not in this parish.

Down the street from our associational offices on Lakeshore Drive in New Orleans sits the regional offices for the Lutheran denomination. Monday, one of their leaders sat at our break table and told a similar story. All their churches have lost members and their schools are all suffering. The people with faith seem to have grown in faith, but the churches have not grown numerically. A ‘for sale’ sign sits in front of their headquarters building. They’re asking $1.3 million, and would love to relocate to the Northshore area.

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Our governor is in the nation’s capitol today, asking lawmakers to come up with another $5 billion for the Road Home Program. The headline in Wednesday’s paper announces this is going to be a “hard sell.”

Congress doesn’t trust our leaders. No wonder, when you consider the shenanigans of many of them.

Across the top of today’s front page, we read that an ex-school board member has admitted to taking bribes from the brother of embattled Congressman William Jefferson to influence board policy. Mose Jefferson himself has been prominent in the news as the partner of his little brother William in all kinds of business deals, some of which now appear to have the potential of sending them both up the river.

Ellenese Brooks-Simms had presented herself as a foe of corruption in running for the Orleans Parish School Board in 2000. She was outspoken in her criticism of Superintendent Al Davis, particularly when it came out that Davis’ elderly father, a custodian at Carver High School, had racked up enough overtime to bring his annual income to $70,000. Brooks-Simms was relentless in her outcries against cronyism and corruption, so Davis was terminated and Anthony Amato was hired. Within a year, Brooks-Simms and some of her pals on the school board were trying to oust Amato when the citizenry decided they had had enough of such shenanigans. In the 2004 election, she was voted out along with a number of other board members, and a council of responsible, more proven leaders was chosen.

Now, this prophet of righteousness, this thorn in the side of all who would try to cheat the public, this voice for goodness, Ellenese Brooks-Simms will be going to jail. She admits that she took $100,000 from Mose Jefferson in order to support a program for the schools called “I CAN Learn.” The newspaper makes it clear the educational program as such is highly respectable and popular. The owner of the company says he hired Mose Jefferson as a consultant in order to introduce him to movers and shakers in the local educational community. “You can’t just cold-call a superintendent,” he said. The contract gave Jefferson $500,000 and stipulated that the agreement was immediately canceled by any “untoward activity.”

“Untoward”–an adverb meaning adverse or vexatious. Yes, I’d say we have had–and perhaps still have–plenty of vexatious political leaders down here. Not all, thank the Lord. But we keep getting these revelations about the wheeling and dealing that has gone on behind the curtain, and pretty soon you decide not to trust any of them.

That’s what congressional leaders in Washington are no doubt concluding.

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Two pieces of mail arrived Monday afternoon that stood out from the advertisements and circulars.

The first was an oversize envelope from Congressman Bobby Jindal who has announced his candidacy for governor of Louisiana, hoping to succeed Kathleen Blanco who wisely decided not to try for a return engagement. The outside of the envelope shouts in bold red letters: “Photograph enclosed. Do not bend.” My natural impulse was to toss it in the trash, but it’s hard to do that with a photograph. Let’s see what we’ve got here.

Inside was a nice 4 x 6″ color photo of our congressman and his lovely Supriya, smiling up at me like I’ve just pronounced them husband and wife. Accompanying the photo is a letter back to Bobby which they’ve gone to the trouble of writing for me. Aren’t they accommodating?

“Dear Bobby, Thank you for sending my personalized photograph of you and Supriya. I will display it proudly as a part of your campaign leadership team. I agree our state needs a fresh start. Enclosed is my gift of:” and then I have my choice of marking $1,000 or $500 or even several lesser amounts.

Underneath all that, I can check one of the following: “My photograph arrived in good condition” or “My photograph is damaged. Please send a replacement.” And below that is a long list of jobs which I can volunteer for.

I mean, what nice folks, making it so easy for me to give away my money and commit my time and energy. And did you notice how smoothly they transitioned from talking about the photo to volunteering me for his campaign team?

The other piece of mail was not even that up front with its identity and purpose. In fact, the only thing found on the face of the envelope other than my name and address was this: “Warning: $2,000 fine, 5 years imprisonment, or both for any person interfering or obstructing with delivery of this letter. U.S. Mail TTT.18 SEC. 1702 U.S. Code.”

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I preached last Sunday at West St. Charles Baptist Church in Boutte and tried to prepare them for the changes they could expect under a new pastor they will soon be getting. A couple of weeks earlier, I did the same for FBC Belle Chasse as they welcome a new pastor any day now.

This morning, I preached at FBC of Norco and tried to help them appreciate the changes they are already experiencing under the new pastor God sent them some 6 months ago.

I’ve chronicled here the complete revamping that occurred at this small church a few miles west of the New Orleans airport after Rudy French came as pastor. I told them, “Everywhere I go, I tell the Norco story–how you were willing to redo your building and your programs in order to host visiting church teams that would come and help you reach people for the Lord.” I explained, “Now, we have a number of churches set up for hosting teams of volunteers to go into the city and help rebuild homes, but you are the only church geared up to take those teams from door to door and tell people about the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Worship leader Ben Blackwell announced that in vacation Bible school this week, FBC Norco enrolled 89 children and perhaps 20 adult workers, and had 24 children saved. That’s an incredible ratio. Minister of Education Kenneth Tew announced that tonight he will be meeting a team of 7 volunteers at the airport, a group of Coloradans coming to minister in the area while staying in their facilities.

This church is slowly but surely making a difference in the community.

I suppose they would not be a typical Southern Baptist church if this transition had not been difficult for some of them. That’s what I tried to address this morning.

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Jason and Brina were married Saturday behind a Slidell plantation house that backs up to Bayou Liberty with all the swamps and cypress and thick undergrowth–and probably a few alligators and other critters–one would expect in South Louisiana. It was a gorgeous setting for a June wedding.

The ceremony took place in front of the swimming pool. At the rehearsal I cautioned the groomsmen and bridesmaids to be careful. “We don’t want anyone appearing on America’s Favorite Videos by falling into the pool in your wedding clothes.” A few minutes before the wedding, when I sought out the bride and her maids to make sure they’re clear on the proceedings, Brina smiled, “You don’t think Jason is going to throw me into the pool, do you?” I said, “Surely not.” Not Jason. Her sister Dina said, “If he tries, I’ll stop him.” Oh yeah.

I’ve done a few weddings in outdoor settings over the years–including one at a plantation house a few miles upriver from New Orleans that was held on February 2, 2002 at 2:02 pm–but never without remembering something I heard on the radio. A soft rock station was playing America’s favorites and the host invited listeners to phone in stories about their requests. A woman called. “We were getting married in a public park. It was a beautiful setting, and even though people were jogging and sunbathing near us, we had that little corner of the park to ourselves. Suddenly, at a quiet moment in the ceremony some kid walks through the park carrying a boom box on his shoulder. It’s blaring out the David Cassidy song, ‘I Think I Love You! (So what am I so afraid of?)'” The caller said, “Everyone broke up. It was so perfect. Ever since, that has been our song.”

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