“I’ve learned one thing from this whole Katrina experience,” said Dr. Chuck Kelley Saturday morning. He was addressing members of the NOBTS Foundation Board in their annual on-campus gathering. “What I’ve learned is this: Do Not Be Afraid.”

Dr. Kelley said, “Tragedy dogs the footsteps of every great Christian through the centuries.” He backed that up with stories of the hardships various saints have been called on to endure. And in our time, we are called upon to deal with the destruction and rebuilding of this city.

The gentleman who prayed the benediction said, “Lord, we thank you for Katrina. It was your will.” That was a sobering thought, and one I’ve never been bold enough to make. Once we claim that, immediately loved ones of the thousand-plus who lost their lives in this hurricane/flood demand some answers from us. If it is true, however, it means the Lord does not put the same value on houses and furniture that we do. For starters.

I sat in the meeting jotting down the lessons I’ve learned–and that I think our people have learned–from this Katrina experience.

1) We need each other.

2) We need our denomination.

3) God is always at work in these things.

4) Christ is sufficient in all these things.

5) We are to look to the future, not dwell on the past.

WE NEED EACH OTHER. That was the first lesson from September 2005 as our pastors drove long distances and met at a church in Jackson, Mississippi. There were tears and hugs and prayers, questions and needs and burdens. We began learning that day what it means to “bear one another’s burdens.” Ever since that first gathering, our ministers have continued meeting each Wednesday morning, and the emotional impact of our coming together has not lessened.

I think of Acts 4 where Peter and John were imprisoned and threatened against preaching in Jesus’ name. Upon their release, their first act was to assemble the congregation for a time of prayer. They needed the body. So do we.

WE NEED OUR DENOMINATION. The tragedy that befell our part of the world was far greater than the ability of our people and our churches to “pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps.” Thankfully, Baptists at every denominational level–from the SBC to state executives, to the association and pastors and laypeople–stopped what they were doing, put their lives on hold, and came to help us. And miracle of miracle, they’re still coming.

One of the saddest phenomena in all this is the isolated churches that had no denominational partnership to come to their aid. So, our people have reached out to churches of other or no denomination.

I think of the famine in Judea in Paul’s day. He knew this was far bigger than anything the local believers could handle, so much of the New Testament tells of the great apostle’s promotion of offerings to send toward Jerusalem. If we need a biblical precedent for the denomination coming to the aid of local churches, that has to be the one.

GOD IS ALWAYS AT WORK IN THESE THINGS. We’ve reported here previously the story of our Baptist friend who was in charge of the medical unit for the National Guard at the Superdome during those critical days in and around the hurricane. In giving her testimony, Dr. (and Colonel) Patricia Prechter said, “In 1978, as soon as I received my nursing degree, God led me to join the National Guard so I would be at the Superdome for those 10 days in 2005.”

Likewise, we in this part of the world have seen untold numbers coming to Christ because a) their lives were uprooted, b) they were in a crisis situation without their familiar supports, and c) someone came to help them, and d) in the course of ministering to them, that person introduced them to Jesus Christ. As a result of this disaster and the faith response of God’s people, many thousands who might otherwise have died in unbelief will now spend eternity in the Father’s House.

Everyone’s favorite verse–Romans 8:28–comes to mind: “God causes all things to work together for good to those who love the Lord, who are the called according to His purposes.” Whether He sent the storm or not, He knew it was coming and went to work in it, through it, and after it. He’s still at work.

CHRIST IS SUFFICIENT IN ALL THESE THINGS. I will hazard a guess here that every minister of the gospel in our area, no matter the brand name, wakes up in the middle of the night filled with anxiety. How is he going to help his people? Many of them are still scattered everywhere? The church building needs a lot of help. The congregation is smaller and the offerings are less and the needs are overwhelming.

He quickly arrives at two huge considerations: a) I am in way over my head. b) This looks like a job for Superman! (Sorry. My 1940 radio serials kicked in there.) The point being: I’m inadequate; only the Lord can handle this. Which is of course what II Corinthians 3:5 says: “Not that we are adequate to think anything of ourselves, but our adequacy is of God.”

Every believer–if he or she is to grow–sooner or later makes the discovery that the Heavenly Father delights in putting His children in situations for which they are woefully inadequate. That lesson can be traced on practically every page of the Bible. Think of Abraham commanded to have a baby at his and Sarah’s advanced ages. Think of Joseph in Egypt. Think of Moses commanded to bring Israel out of Egypt and answering, “Lord, who am I?” Think of Israel in the wilderness dying of thirst, then hunger, then fear of one thing or another. Gideon before the Midianites. David before Goliath. Elijah on Mount Carmel. Daniel in the lion’s den. Joseph and Mary. Paul. You. Me.

WE ARE TO LOOK TO THE FUTURE, NOT DWELL ON THE PAST. This is a hard lesson to master in this city. Drive down any street and your eyes want to focus on the boarded up buildings and ruined houses and closed stores and empty neighborhoods. But the lesson the Father is sending us is that we are to focus on what is being rebuilt, newly built, envisioned, planned, and yet to be revealed. “Forgetting those things which are behind,” Paul reminds us, “we are to reach forward to what lies ahead.” (Philippians 3)

God is doing a new thing here and my hunch is He’s not real happy with those of us who persist in crying over the loss of things that used to be. Every brother and sister in Christ from across America who comes to our city to lend a hand is an eloquent reminder that a) God has not forgotten us, b) He has plans for us, and c) He’s counting on us to claim that future and to be faithful-to-the-extreme in these days. This is no time for business as usual, routine worship, rote prayers, or weak giving.

It’s all about focus. Today at the foundation meeting, someone quoted this verse which immediately set several of us scrambling, trying to locate it in the Psalms. “I have set the Lord continually before me. Because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” (Turns out it’s Psalm 16:8–and a real keeper.)

After the seminary foundation board meeting ended, I took in the movie “Amazing Grace.” Dr. Kelley had seen it recently and he raved about it. My son Neil’s family saw it last night. Ten-year-old Erin said some of it was boring, but that was because it was far over her head. I sat on the same row with local pastor and televangelist Jesse Duplantis, surely one of the most unusual preachers and delightful personalities anywhere.

This was the kind of movie cinematography was invented for. When it ended, I sat there for a while with so many emotions crowding my mind. For one thing, I wanted to run up to every Black person I saw and say, “I’m so sorry.” Which I am. Profoundly. It’s hard to escape the notion that the Civil War’s tragedy was God’s judgment on this nation’s sin.

The major lesson of “Amazing Grace” is the difference one man can make, even against overwhelming odds, so long as he is right in his object, strong in his faith, and persists in his efforts.

Lord, help us to be just as faithful in the work You have assigned to us in our generation.