Each Wednesday, our ministers/pastors meet at First Baptist Church of LaPlace for fellowship and information. Around 50 of us gather there each time, but it’s never the same group.
Today, November 2, a young pastor who serves a non-Southern Baptist church in Kenner addressed the group. “I’ve been in this area for nine years, and I’ve been impressed with the work of Southern Baptists. I know what you believe and it’s the same thing my church stands for. After Katrina hit, I did not see any of my denomination’s people down here at all. The first people on the ground were Southern Baptists, and they’re everywhere, ministering in Jesus’ name. It’s outstanding. And I want my church to be a part of that. So I am here, officially requesting to join the Southern Baptist Convention.” Everyone applauded. We may have lost 30 or more churches from the hurricane, but we just gained one! (We’ll deal with the details at another time, and explain how one goes about becoming a member church in the SBC.) He brought a laugh of understanding when he added, “I would have been here a couple of years earlier, except I was waiting for one key deacon to go to Heaven.”
After prayer time, our two-hour-and-a-half meeting was jam-packed with one person after another rising to address the group. Disaster relief workers talked about cleanup, building people about permits, and financial people about insurance and loans. One pastor gave a report that Franklin Graham will be leading a two-day festival at the New Orleans Arena, next to the Superdome, on Saturday and Sunday, January 28 and 29. Another spoke of plans to invite all the “first-responders” to a banquet or barbecue to show them proper appreciation for all they did to secure the city. Others told of the counseling available for those having trouble dealing with this crisis. On and on it went. I felt sorry for Lynn Gehrman, trying to get it all down in the minutes.
The First Baptist Church of Covington, on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, has invited our ministers and spouses to have our Christmas banquet in their facilities, as their guests, no charge. We gladly accept and agreed on Monday night, December 5.