The latest bad news to hit our city is that Senator David Vitter, Republican, is on the list of clients of the Washington, D.C., brothel. In Tuesday’s Times-Picayune, Vitter–who has been a strong voice for morality, faith, and family values–said, “This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible.” He added, “Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there–with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.”

Driving into the office Tuesday morning, I caught a snippet of a call-in talk show in which this was the subject. Everyone had an opinion. One station said the calls and internet votes were running 57 percent for Vitter to resign.

A reporter for the Associated Press–who said he reads this blog, so I told him I’d be careful what I write!–called for my reaction. He’d been on the streets interviewing citizens, he said, and most people were saying it was no big deal. “Every man does that,” said one woman. Thankfully, not.

What was my reaction? I said something to the effect that in my mind, Vitter has not been the spokesman for religious values that Congressman Bobby Jindal has, and that if Jindal had confessed to such a failing, the disappointment would be even greater. Barring further revelations, I said, this will probably not be an issue when Vitter runs for re-election two years from now. “God’s people believe in grace.”

Then, Wednesday morning’s headline read: “Canal Street Madam: Vitter was New Orleans Brothel Client.” Uh uh. Not good.

The AP writer had said to me, “These rumors about Vitter have circulated for years.” News to me, but then, I don’t run in the circles where political gossip is a regular part of the diet.

Jeanette Maier, the madam who admits to having run an upper-scale bordello at 4332 Canal Street that was shut down by the feds in 2001 and who served her mild punishment handed down by the courts and is now comfortably resting in Gretna, says David Vitter made occasional visits to her establishment beginning in the mid-1990s and continuing up until it was closed. They met, she says, at a fishing rodeo where she and her call-girls were hired to entertain local politicians.

(Inspector General Robert Cerasoli, get yourself on down here. New Orleans needs you now, not waiting until you officially begin work in September!)

What was funny about this–if any of it can be called humorous–is that the reason Ms. Maier says she contacted the media to tell them about Senator Vitter’s being a client of hers is that, “He’s such a nice guy and I want everyone to know.” She stressed how polite he always was and that he wanted nothing kinky or weird from her girls.

The one thing we can be sure of is that the senator most definitely did not want a good character testimonial from a madam of a brothel!

Bible students will recall a demon-possessed girl traipsing around Philippi behind Paul and Silas calling out, “These men are servants of the Most High God! They’re proclaiming to you the way of truth! Listen to them!” Finally, Paul could take no more of that and turned around and cast the demon out of her, which infuriated her “owners,” who had been turning a neat profit from her shenanigans.

Not everyone is qualified to witness. Some people need to be quiet.

Furthermore, you do not want everyone’s support. Next time you run for office and the KKK or the Islamic Terrorist League offers their support, turn it down.

On my occasional visits to other cities, people ask me how our New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is doing since Katrina. I echo the glowing reports we hear from various leaders, especially President Chuck Kelley. The school is rebuilt and lovely and abuzz with activity, new professors are coming in along with a steady flow of new students. Alas, some of the professors and staff are departing, some to church staffs, some to other educational institutions.

Tuesday, a letter came from the seminary, sent to friends and supporters of NOBTS, in which Dr. Kelley recaps his “state of the seminary” address from April 12 for the students, faculty, and staff. The campus is 90 percent restored, he says. The problem is in the budget.

Anyone in this city having work done on his house or business learns quickly about escalating costs of materials and labor. That’s what the seminary is contending with. That, and the insurance. Dr. Kelley says the property insurance premium for next year will increase by $800,000. Add to that the increasing costs of utilities and other operating expenses.

“This is not about our survival,” Dr. Kelley says. It’s about keeping theological education affordable. He cites numbers from the American Association of Theological Schools that the average cost for educating a full-time student is $35,000 per year. The Southern Baptist Convention’s six seminaries manage to do the job for somewhere in the range of $13,000 to $15,000. However, NOBTS has historically come in for half that, around $7,000 per student per year. But that is about to change, it would appear.

Not one to mince words, Dr. Kelley invites readers to write big checks–“$1,000, $10,000, $25,000 or more.” I’ve not asked, but am confident he’ll take smaller amounts, too.

The seminary’s website is www.nobts.edu. In any Southern Baptist seminary, theological education is the bargain of the year compared with other institutions. This particular school, however, is the heart and soul of Baptist work in New Orleans.

We’ll appreciate your prayers, and if the Lord should so lead, contributions. The mailing address is 3939 Gentilly Boulevard, N.O., LA 70126.

Perhaps the sanest word on the reason for the failure of the levees in this city has just come down from the Corps of Engineers. A comprehensive study of decisions affecting our protection system says there is enough blame to go around. A complicated network of political, economic and engineering decisions made without care as to how those decisions would affect the hurricane protection system as a whole doomed this entire region to the fate which Katrina produced.

Not just federal officials, but local and state leadership too, over a period of time, worked to achieve this catastrophe.

Even while our mayor and our governor sound forth on the failures of the Corps of Engineers and the mishaps of FEMA–like the proverbial broken records; someone may need to explain that metaphor to the new generation–anyone with a smattering of knowledge of this region’s politics knows it’s not that simple.

Doubters should ask what the politicians were doing consorting with prostitutes at a fishing rodeo when their work was not getting done. One wonders how much longer the voters in this state will continue putting up with such shenanigans.

Baptist leaders met on the Northshore Tuesday to talk about the charges against the Slidell minister reported here a few days ago for child pornography and molestation. Director of Missions Lonnie Wascom says they met four hours and discussed every conceivable solution to the problem, but specifically how to build a system which would allow churches to report and learn of sexual predators without violating the rights or injuring the reputations of anyone. A tough call, that.

It’s at this point that denominational leaders with greater expertise and more direct experience than most of us have need to get involved and assist us.

Even so, in the absence of such a system, the one thing every church on the planet should do before bringing a worker to its staff is to run a background check. Credit and criminal histories can be verified easily enough, and the simplest way to begin is by asking for the candidate’s written permission. Surely, no sincere and healthy minister would mind the prospective employer looking into his background.

The Wednesday pastors meeting brought some 50 of our people together for two hours of fellowship, a little business, a great prayer time, a lot of inspiration, and a wonderful meal prepared by Cherry Blackwell. For the details of that meeting, go to www.bagnola.org where Lynn Gehrmann posts her notes.

(Incidentally, federal law officers in New Orleans dispute whether Senator Vitter was ever in the Canal Street house of ill repute at all. They have all the madam’s books and records and they say Vitter’s name never shows up on any of them. The senator, meanwhile, is keeping his mouth shut.)