Gov. Jindal, Pay Your own Way To Church

From the Advocate in Baton Rouge:

A national group that lobbies Congress on religious issues asked Gov. Bobby Jindal to apologize and reimburse taxpayers for the state-funded helicopter trips he takes on Sundays to visit churches.

The Rev. Welton Gaddy, who is the president of the national Interfaith Alliance, said Jindal is overstepping the line of separation between church and state.

“If you were traveling to these churches to worship with the various congregations, you should have paid your own expenses to get there as did the other worshippers,” Gaddy wrote to the governor in a Sept. 1 letter.

“It appears you owe the people of Louisiana an apology and the treasurer of the state a reimbursement of at least $45,000,” Gaddy wrote. “No taxpayer money should have been used for your travel.”

What the Rev. Gaddy says sounds about right to me. Here's a link to the text of the entire letter.

Gaddy also is pastor of Northminster Baptist Church in Monroe.

I am somewhat surprised that the president of the Interfaith Alliance pastors a church in north Louisiana. I checked out the church's website, and it is, indeed, quite an interesting community. From a sermon by the Rev. Gaddy:

As you may know or surmise, here at Northminster Church, generally the biblical texts that drive Sunday sermons are taken from scripture passages recommended by the Common Lectionary. Such a discipline ensures that a preacher deals with the whole sweep of biblical literature and does not just always gravitate to personal favorites among texts and themes.

From Northminster's church covenant:

The freedom of the individual, led by God's Spirit within the family of faith, to read and interpret the Scriptures, relying on the historical understanding by the church and on the best methods of modern biblical study.
....

The servant role of leadership within the church, following the model of our Servant Lord, and to full partnership of all of God's people in mission and ministry.

As you see, not all Baptists are cut from the same cloth. I lost my focus in the middle of the post, because I was caught up in exploring the church's website, where I found much to admire.

Back to the Advocate:

The Alliance, which Gaddy heads, touts itself as a celebrator of religious freedom and a counter to the “radical religious right.”

"...touts itself"? What does the writer, of the story, Ms Millhollon, imply by that phrase? She sounds a tad doubtful that the group is what it claims to be. What about that Ms Millhollon?

Anyway, I'm with the Rev. Gaddy. Jindal should pay his own way to church. That he schedules a meeting with local officials while he's in town, seems more like following the letter of the law rather than the spirit. One wonders how much of Jindal's helicoptering around the state is really campaigning, which seems a never-ending activity for the governor.