In the days following Hurricane Katrina’s devastation to our part of the world, I began calling on pastors and churches to see who was still in business and who needed our immediate help. At the First Baptist Church of Luling, Pastor Todd Hallman gave a brief tour of his fellowship hall which they had turned into a distribution center, supplying necessities for storm victims. Boxes and boxes of clothing and supplies sent from all over the nation were stacked along three walls. In the hallway, small refrigerators lined one wall, gifts from a California hotel that was being renovated. Volunteers were everywhere and a constant stream of people flowed in and out of the buildings, entering empty-handed and leaving heavily laden.
Todd said, “One of our leaders returned from evacuation and saw all this and became indignant. He wanted to know who gave me the authority to turn the church into a distribution center.”
He smiled. “I told him it was a no-brainer.”
That’s as good an answer as any, and probably all the man needed. Some things do not need explaining, discussing, or being voted on. You just do it.
Over the past three years since the August 29, 2005, hurricane, we have found ourselves confronted by a number of no-brainers.
Among them are these….
1) This city and its businesses need strong visionary leadership if we are to make a comeback.
Some sectors of the city have been led capably; others not at all. For the most part, what we have received from our elected leadership has been promises, pronouncements, controversy, and blame, but very little in the way of courageous leadership.
2) We need outside help in extreme measures to recover from an emergency of this size.