The day after the tornados hit Murfreesboro, I was encouraged by my friend Dave to drive down with him and help the people in the Blackman community with the recovery effort on the homes. Since one of our Small Group members was in that community, it was a no brainer to go help a sister in need.
I also brought along my kids so that they could learn something that day. My son is 11 and my step son is 16, so valuable life lessons mean alot when they come. I know that time will fly and they will be gone from me soon, so I took the opportunity to share this with them.
When we got to the house, our biggest goal was to take down trees that had fallen and you could hear chainsaws running everywhere. It was almost like a Texas Chainsaw Massacre fan convention, except trees were getting taken apart and not people (thank God for that!)
I noticed that the tornadoes brought something with them beyond destruction. The tornadoes brought perspective. Sometimes neighbors live their lives with very little interaction. Sometimes they complain to each other about how the yard looks or how loud the noise is, etc. Really, none of that mattered that Saturday. I saw people from a number of different churches giving their time and efforts to help others. I saw neighbors helping neighbors. I saw people praying in the front of houses. It was a great moment.
The tornadoes brought destruction and killed two people. The response it left behind, brought an outpouring from the community. A business donated pizza and many people were walking around handing out water as we worked. People were sharing lunches and they were worn and tired only because they wanted to help.
The question that hit me was, "Why does it take this for such an outpouring to happen?" Don't get me wrong, it was amazing! In fact, it was so amazing that I wish I saw it every day! I wish it happened in stalled traffic, in long lines, at work places, sporting events, restaurants, in legal disputes... You get the picture. The perspective given to me was a wish. For a moment in time, things that seemed important before were not that important now. There was a new priority.
New Vision opened their church for those without power and for those who were homeless. Church groups gave so much and differing doctrines really didn't matter. It was the Church (with a capital "C") being the Church! I think the Church should be this active in our community every day! We shouldn't focus on trying to fill churches or auditoriums, but we should take the heart of the Church TO the people. It is a much more important mission than attendance. My pastor at World Outreach says that going to church makes you a Christian as much as going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger. I think he's right.
Maybe I am a man with a dream of revival and a better community. Either way, I was given a perspective last Saturday... a glimpse of a dream inside my heart. I hope every day, we treat each other like the people did that day in that community. Our community would be different if we did. I'm not saying that it doesn't happen. I just don't think it's happening enough.
God bless,
Dave
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