Almost alone, Texas Baptist blogger Spiritual Samurai is reporting that a Valleygate-related lawsuit has been filed against the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Texas Baptist Standard ecclesiastical newspaper, himself and others.

"Valleygate" is a term coined by Spiritual Samurai to describe a Rio Grande Valley church-planting program which was distinguished by its cost, lack of accountability and questionable results.

As the Baptist Standard described it in an April 11 "please stop talking about this" editorial, the BGCT gave $1.3-million to three pastors to start 258 churches, some 98 percent of which did not exist when the program ended, and a number of which never existed at all, save on paper.

Ethics Daily has argued, and I agree, that had Spiritual Samurai not beaten the blogosphere drums long and hard, the Valleygate investigation and report might never have come to pass.

I suspect there might simply never have been a move to clean up the mess. In fact the investigation and such cleanup as have occurred appear to have started down an unproductive path. Montoya argues that questions raised via his blog led to a decision hire an attorney for a full investigation, instead of an accountant who had a personal relationship with the BGCT executive director.

Spiritual Samurai is actually David Montoya, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Mineral Wells,Texas. Like many a crusading blogger before him, Montoya now finds himself short on resources to continue to pursue the issue, even though he believes it should be pursued.

On August 12 he wrote:

... if anyone knows an attorney who has the time, resources, understands that the samurai lives from paycheck to paycheck (keeps one’s prayer life active), and who would like to get to the bottom of this (he will have subpoena power) then please have him contact me.

Is anyone down Texas way interested in helping a pastor with a sword?