A fortnight

So it has been two weeks since I've posted anything... and the last post was that peanuts character dealihoo. It isn't that I've been all that busy, I just haven't had the inspiration to write much lately. Anyhow, what follows is a brief update on the goings on in our life.

Good books-
David and Julie Skinner and family were kind enough to replace my copy of the ESV Reformation Study Bible that was lost in the storm. The previous copy was a gift from Holly upon the occasion of our 5th wedding anniversary/my 30th birthday; I had blogged about it here. Anyhow, I was excited to receive this gift again and have very much enjoyed it this week. I've spent some time reading, re-reading and reflecting on James this week. The insightful commentary that R.C. Sproul and company provide alonside the scriptures have really helped me to enjoy and understand this book. Thanks Skinners!

Insurance Update-
No news is no news. We're still waiting to hear from the adjuster/engineer/anyone. Last we had heard, the engineer was late by about two weeks getting out to do their assessment. Supposedly from the time they do the assessment it takes about another two weeks to deliver the report. We're told they finally got there on October 15th so that theoretically means that we'll hear something next week. Please continue to pray:

1. that the engineer's report is favorable for us and they'll pay
   
2. that Holly and I will continue to be patient with the situation and with one another

But please be careful, because as a friend shared with me today via email, he and a mutual friend from college "used to joke that you shouldn't pray for patience or God would give you something to be patient about".

Bay Saint Louis/Waveland Church Plant-
Heard last week at Friday vespers and again today that a pastor from Independent Presbyterian in Memphis was planning to plant a church on the coast. I dug around a little bit and confirmed that Jean F. Larroux III is indeed coming to the coast to do just that. Here's the text of his letter to that congregation:

JEAN F. LARROUX, III
Assistant Pastor

Members & Friends of Independent,

In the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah an inquiry is made by Nehemiah as to the condition of the city of Jerusalem following the exile of the Jews. He is informed of the walls being broken down and the gates having been burned by fire. The destruction of that city and the condition of his people cuts Nehemiah to the core of his being. While serving the King of Susa he is asked about his fallen countenance. Having prayed and being led by the Holy Spirit he tells the king of that city’s condition and of his passion for that great city.

The king then asked Nehemiah a very pointed question, “What is it you want?”

Nehemiah responded, “If it pleases the king and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.” (NEHEMIAH 2:4-5)

On August 29, 2005, the eye of Hurricane Katrina went ashore in the city where my fathers are buried. I have traveled to the Gulf Coast nearly every week since the storm and still feel her winds every day here in Memphis. There is a downcast part of my soul, deep with sadness and grief, but there is another part which has come to life and continues to grow.

In many ways Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has been my Ninevah, the place where I would never go. It is the place where I grew up. It is a place where most of my years were spent as an unbeliever living like an unbeliever,. If I were to list the ‘places I’d never want to serve,’ Bay St. Louis would have been after Anchorage, Alaska, or the mountains of Tibet. For the past six weeks I have been arguing with God about that list. It seems that the bottom of my list was actually the top of His.

I have requested that the session of IPC ‘send me to the city where my fathers are buried so that I can rebuild it.’ This rebuilding will be physical and spiritual. It is my desire to plant a P.C.A. church in the Bay-Waveland area. It will be a church built out of the rubble that remains. It will be built upon the Gospel of grace through ministry to the survivors as we cry, labor and sweat together to rebuild that city and their lives.

I do not consider myself to be leaving Independent as much as I am taking her passions, her loves and her people to an unlikely church planting spot in America. I can assure you that I wanted to stay in Memphis, but when I became convinced that Memphis would simply be my Tarshish, then I knew I must go.

The details of this transition are still unknown. The full Session of IPC only became aware of this calling at their scheduled meeting Monday night and their support, as you will read in the enclosed letter, has been most encouraging. Suffice to say that Kim and I are committed to the children finishing this school year in Memphis, so they will be here through at least May of 2006.

There are lots of Presbytery committee meetings to follow, funds to be raised and prayers yet to be prayed. Please pray for us and consider how God may use you in this rebuilding. We will not only be asking for the support of our church family in Memphis, but we are asking God to raise up families who will move to the coast with us to live missional lives as part of the re-building and the building of this Gospel outpost on the coast. We want to take Gospel community with us and see lives impacted by the Church. We also want to see IPC remain committed to short-term teams coming to Bay St. Louis to help rebuild homes and build relationships. In the truest sense this church plant will be a ‘daughter’ of IPC.

There is a word in South Louisiana called “lagniappe” (pronounced Lãn-yãp) it means ‘something for free, a little something extra.’ When you get 13 shrimp on a Po-boy that was only supposed to have 12, then that ‘free’ shrimp is called lagniappe. I have been dreaming of a “Lagniappe Presbyterian Church” for the Bay-Waveland area. It is a concept that many people on the coast would never connect- religion and ‘something for free.’ The concept of spirituality and something that you can’t work for or earn doesn’t come easily in a ‘works-based’ culture. The truth of the Gospel just may be that ‘grace’ has been operating in that culture for years with Po-boys and crayfish, but God has now chosen to bring the good news of His lagniappe, grace, to the people of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

It is my hope and prayer that you will respond the way the people did in the days of Nehemiah when he finally ‘unveiled’ his plan. In Nehemiah chapter 2, verse 18, Nehemiah told them of God’s gracious hand upon him and the call of God in his life. At that point the people responded, “Let us start rebuilding.” And then the text records the following words, “So they began this good work.” Beloved, Let us start rebuilding and begin this good work.

With deep affection and love,

Rev. Jean F. Larroux, III

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:1-3

This is great news for the coast. It is shameful that there are hundreds of thousands of people here and only two very small reformed congregations. Please pray that God blesses Jean's efforts and brings His people alongside Jean to do this work and that He would continue to reform the churches and restore his people on the coast.

Edward Frank Mura
Holly's grandfather passed away last week. Alzheimer's had really taken its toll on him and when that was coupled with the stresses of re-locating after the storm (he and his wife Lois lived in Metarie, LA), he succumbed. Please pray for Holly and her grandfather's family that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding would be upon them now.