Who’s under stress? I said WHO’S UNDER STRESS!!!

Severe storms tore through this part of the world early Thursday morning. The headline in Friday’s paper read, “Tornadoes knock down what hurricane didn’t.” I confess that I’m not much of a Christian because, as the storm raged outside, I lay in bed feeling snug, thinking that my house is strong and the roof is new. Only later did it occur to me that thousands are living in flimsy, FEMA trailers. Some took a lot of damage. A friend arriving at our airport Thursday morning said it’s the first flight he’s ever had where people screamed. “The bottom would drop out and the plane would fall. It was really scary.”

Local celebrity Emeril Lagasse has been in the news, slamming his adopted hometown. I must have missed it, but according to columnist Chris Rose, Emeril was being interviewed by New York Post gossip columnist Cindy Adams. He told her, “The mayor’s a clunk. The governor is also a clunk. They don’t know (blank-blank) from a hole in the ground. All my three restaurants got hit. I’ve reopened Emeril’s, but only a few tourists come. There’s no tourists. No visitors. No money. No future. No people. It’s lost. It’ll never come back.”

Emeril was already under fire from a lot of local citizens for his absenteeism in the weeks and months following Katrina. His people said he had a heavy schedule of appearances that had been booked in advance. And now this. Chris Rose writes, “Nobody is asking Emeril or our politicians…to be civic-boosting automatons. No need to be in denial about business prospects here. No need to say what you don’t believe.” But how about a little common sense, he asks. “To tell the country’s most famous gossip columnist that New Orleans is dead is not wise. Particularly if you own three restaurants here.”

In his defense, Emeril said he was stressed out when he said that. Rose writes, “Well, this just in: We’re all stressed out. Particularly those of us who have been here and not spending time in New York City or touring for our book.”

I told some friends Friday that much of my stress is probably self-induced. I wake up in the morning, overwhelmed by a city that is almost empty and the political land-scape in disarray, the news all discouraging, and wonder what in the world I can do to make a difference. I make a few phone calls, answer dozens of e-mails, spend a few hours in the office, visit a church where volunteers from a church in another state are working, and at the end of the day ask myself what possible difference anything I did made today.


A pastor stops me and says, “You are doing an incredible job. You are so right for this job. We’re all so grateful God put you in this slot as our leader.” And I feel like such an impostor. If he only knew how little I do. I thank him and we hug or slap shoulders, and go on our way.

The Father has to say over and over something He said to me a couple of weeks ago. “It’s not about you. It’s about Me. It’s not about what little you can accomplish. It’s about what I’m about to do here.” That assurance makes all the difference. But I’m a slow learner, and He has to keep repeating it.

So, what is the Lord doing? Here are some hopeful signs.

1) Thursday on the front steps of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church–still out of business since the storm, the sanctuary stripped bare, the neighborhood dead–a diverse group of religious leaders stepped forward to say something this city has been needing to hear. Host Pastor Fred Luter and David Crosby of N.O.’s First Baptist Church were flanked by Archbishop Alfred Hughes, Rabbi Edward Cohn, Bishop Paul Morton, Michael Green, Mahmoud Sarmini, and perhaps another dozen leaders of various faiths. In their formal statement, they said, “The New Orleans we knew and loved before Katrina will never return. We are now called to build a new New Orleans on the ruins of the old. Distrust or suspicion must not prevent us from participating at the planning table.”

The statement urged city leaders to pay close attention to the recommendations of the Bring New Orleans Back Commission, to be inclusive and just, and yet “urging that our future be purified of those elements that degrade the human person.”

“We call upon our public elected officials to avoid divisive or self-serving words and actions. We ask that those elected truly lead us by embracing a wholesome vision that unites us with justice and equality for all. This is no time for political posturing. We will hold our public leadership accountable. We want them to speak the truth about which land is truly safe for rebuilding and which is not. We ask them to move beyond political concerns to seek the common good.”

Many of us have grieved as the city’s leaders have taken the path of least resistance, saying what their constituents want to hear, and wondered what it would take for them to exercise courage. Courage means telling some residents they cannot rebuild in that neighborhood, that this is unsafe and no amount of money can make it otherwise. But politicians do not get elected by taking bold, courageous stands. They take polls to learn what people want to hear, then parrot it as their own program. That’s why I was glad to see this inter-racial, interfaith group of leaders take the lead.

Perhaps when the mayor and city council see others standing out front pointing the way, they’ll have the courage to take that path.

2) Joe Kay has arrived at Oak Park Baptist Church in Algiers. This congregation has been without a church staff over the past few weeks. Joe, who now lives in Greensboro, NC, and runs an internet business, served Oak Park as minister of music decades ago when Joe Cothen and Russell McIntire were the pastors. He heard about the church’s plight, made contact with some old friends in the church, and they invited him to move into one of the church’s homes and help on an interim basis. He was by the associational office Friday morning, and I was delighted to welcome his uplifting presence to our city.

3) I’m going to omit names here. A good friend of many years has been in town the last couple of days. He and his wife and a couple from their church came down to see the city which they love and where they ministered years ago. We had lunch Friday and the talk turned to a small local church that needs help. My friend dialed up the pastor and we met him at his church an hour later. We sat on the front pews and he told us of their plight. My friend has contacts who know of this young pastor, but are evidently unaware of his considerable needs. After we prayed together and as we left, I knew the Lord had done this thing–had brought in my friends, had turned our attention to this young pastor, and had made the connections. As we say, “It’s a ‘God’ thing.” I told my old comrade, “You know how you take it personally the way someone treats your child. If you want to honor me, bless my child. That’s how I feel today by what you have done for this young minister. You are blessing him and that thrills me more than anything I know.”

Nothing banishes stress like progress. Nothing erases frustration like seeing the Lord at work, bringing in people with resources, matching them with people with needs.

It really is all about God, isn’t it. Thank the Lord, otherwise Emeril would be right when he said, “No future.” Thankfully, the Lord is here and He has great plans.

I don’t know what the future for New Orleans is, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

2 thoughts on “Who’s under stress? I said WHO’S UNDER STRESS!!!

  1. The LORD is indeed good, Praise His Name ! We have a saying in Paradis, We are too Blessed to be Stressed !

    However, I have been in stress over a different matter lately.

    I’ve been praying every day for the last six months for our Katrina $$ from FEMA to come in..

    Yet, the thought of the monthly reminders in the mail that FEMA was still ‘deliberating on our needs, how to address them, and we were still ‘under review,’ seemed to be stressing me out.

    About mid-November I decided those letters were a stronghold, — I was NOT at peace inside of myself KNOWING that I would probably be denied, So as the letters came for Nov, December and January, I tossed them in the trash.

    I don’t know what came over me, as today I received yet another FEMA letter, this one was a bit thicker, ha, but I have been there before ! I prayed over this letter, asking the Lord if I SHOULD open it , or toss it — well, I opened it — low and behold, there was almost $750 that had been deposited in our bank account I did not even know about last week.

    God is good ALL the time. You would not think such a small white envelope would make me think otherwise, but until I let it go, and moved onward, did the stronghold go, and I was blessed.

  2. Dear Dr. Joe,

    I am deeply saddened to hear about the severe storms experienced late last week. I try tune into CNN once a day but have not seen any coverage on them. I sincerely hope this does not mean there was no coverage to highlight the plight of the locals.

    It was good to hear Jimmy Carter speaking about Katrina today on CNN.

    I just wanted to express my concern over your well-bring. Only you know the true immense needs, but please try not to compare your input against this mountain. I receive quite a few Christian subscriptions and you are the only person who has faithfully sent detailed updates. For someone in another country, that has been incredible for me. It is so distressful that areas/people who have experienced a disaster fade away so quickly from the media.

    What I have tried to do over the months on receiving your updates, was to try put myself in the situation you were describing in an attempt to remove the ‘distance effect’, so that I could pray effectively and ‘try’ to get a sense of how people were feeling etc. and not move on with my life, forgetting about a city that had been brought to it’s knees, because rebuilding lives and cities are such a huge task and the toll on the residents and the volunteer community would be so great.

    Even though we may feel our contributions to a need are inadequate compared to an immense need, be assured that we will bring Glory to our Saviour’s Name. It is incredible grace that God wants us to work alongside Him even though He does not need our help. Isn’t it amazing how our loving Heavenly Father uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things! You spoke about a Portuguese? Ministry that had suddenly come into the area after the Community had battled so long to put one in place. I just chuckled when you spoke of how powerful God is and that He does it all on His own.

    I don’t see you as an ordinary person, although I think you may disagree with me. You have blessed with a humble heart. It holds the key to Jesus’ heart. How blessed you are!

    I appreciate you so much!

    Much love in Christ

    Michelle

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