David Crosby’s August 18 Update

Periodically, Pastor David Crosby of New Orleans’ First Baptist Church e-mails his take on the local situation to his church members and friends across the country. His update for Friday was so poignant, the metaphor so creative and right, and his analysis so on-target, I want to share it with a wider audience.

“A View from Sea Level”

“My home is near the mammoth Lake Pontchartrain. I walked over the levee this morning and enjoyed a stroll along the shore. Schools of fish often announce their presence by rushing to the surface when predatory redfish circle below.”

“This morning what got my attention was a lone pelican diving again and again into the same water. I climbed the small pile of rock near the shore and stood up for a good look. The water was boiling with schools of small fish. Apparently, the speckled trout and redfish were feasting on the slow ones. Sometimes the small fries would launch out of the water completely in their efforts to avoid being eaten.”

“Unfortunately for the prey, this pelican had discovered their distress and managed to gorge himself before moving on.”

“I thought about the plight of those small fish. They were being attacked from below and above. They found no safe haven.”


“Not a dime of the $6.2 billion approved by the U.S.Congress in January for devastated homes in the New Orleans area has reached a single homeowner. The pelicans at the state level are diving in to gorge themselves.”

“Homeowners who have moved forward to secure contractors and begin renovation are discovering that prices have soared for materials and labor–up 30 percent at least in the last year. The big fish are gulping.”

“Lots of people in New Orleans feel like little fish who haven’t got a chance. Our public institutions, so long inefficient and ineffective, are not delivering for us in our time of need. And private interests are circling like predators, looking for those who are slow or not paying attention. This is part of the picture at sea level.”

“God’s people, on the other hand, continue to do their good works of love and kindness like a continuing army of loving hands and hearts. If you look around New Orleans today, you will see that churches and ministries are leading the way in relief and recovery.”

“When dignitaries arrive in New Orleans to see the progress, they are invariably escorted to Alvar Street where the Baptist Crossroads Project has created the most hopeful scene in the city. Three thousand volunteers, mostly from Baptist churches, have joined together to raise 30 new homes (we are still working toward the 40). Mud-out crews from the churches have cleaned dozens of homes in a strategic effort to resuscitate this flooded area. And the Upper Ninth Ward is literally full of life.”

“The Louisiana Baptist Convention, under the direction of David Hankins, has stepped forward to fund for another year the Home Recovery Ministry headquartered at First Baptist New Orleans. We have deployed more than 7,000 volunteers to clean 750 flooded homes in the past 11 months, and we have become the go-to ministry for public and private interests who need clean-up done but cannot afford it. We continue to work on a mud-out list with 400 families still waiting.”

“We are now praying through the prospects of a continuing partnership with Habitat for Humanity in the Upper Ninth Ward and beyond. I am asking God to help us be bold and full of faith. I am anxious for the church of Jesus Christ to continue to demonstrate the love of God and bring Him glory through our good work in New Orleans. I am hopeful that every church in the Southern Baptist Convention will bring a mission team to New Orleans during the next five years. We are committed to the coordination of volunteers long-term, and to the rebuilding of our city on a new foundation.”

“Join us in praying that God will bring forth in this city a might work that is worthy to bear the name of Christ and effective in the advance of His Kingdom.”

“Go to www.firstbaptistneworleans.com to find out more about the Baptist Crossroads Project (Habitat Partnership) and the Home Recovery Ministry.”

“Joyfully Recovering,

David E. Crosby, Pastor

First Baptist New Orleans”