BEING PRESENT IN THE DEVASTATION

By Randy C. Davis
President and executive director, TBMB

Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, speaks with Tim Grooms, pastor of Riverview Baptist Church, Newport.

Ben Husser knows devastation. The vice president of the famed Cajun Navy relief organization lost his home and almost everything else in 2005 to Hurricane Katrina. When he surveyed the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene’s flooding in East Tennessee and Western North Carolina, he declared the disaster “absolutely” comparable to Katrina’s destruction.

“In fact, it might be worse,” he said.

A Tennessee Baptist Disaster Relief (TNDR) veteran of the Katrina response said Helene’s devastation was “Katrina on steroids.”

They’re right. I saw it firsthand last week after Helene ravaged the Tennessee counties bordering North Carolina. The pictures and video clips you’ve seen on social media and through news outlets hardly begin to tell the full story. It’s impossible to comprehend the comprehensive destruction, desperation, and magnitude of human suffering that has gutted East Tennessee.

This area already bore the immense burden of being one of the most impoverished locations in our state. The property damage is incalculable. Most families and churches affected did not have flood insurance. Jobs that people relied on washed away in moments. The death toll on the day I’m writing this is beyond 200, with many still missing.

Randy Davis

While on-site last week, I visited several Tennessee Baptist pastors whose church buildings sustained significant structural damage and will likely need demolishing to make way for new churches.

That’s why the message I desperately want to send to those impacted by this horrible event is this: Tennessee Baptists see you, hurt for you and with you. We will not leave you alone in the months ahead in this time of need.

There are three principles that must guide our response in serving those Helene left destitute:

Persistence

We will stick around. It won’t be easy because of the widespread infrastructure decimation in many communities, but that won’t stop us. We’ll get there and we’ll stay. This isn’t a sprint or a marathon.

With TNDR’s Katrina response as a template, we see the task ahead as an ultramarathon, committed to serving these good people for five years, maybe a decade.

Collaboration

Collaboration with other Kingdom-minded groups even beyond our own Baptist network is imperative. This is no time for territorialism or concern for recognition. Our collaboration should be viewed as emissaries of our compassionate Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. That Kingdom mindset was launched from the outset of this catastrophe, as TNDR is partnering with the Salvation Army and the Texas Baptist disaster relief group.

Some of our strongest churches have also quickly responded and engaged other like-minded ministries to bring hope and help where it’s needed. We must applaud and appreciate this kind of collaborative cooperation.

The person who gets a bottle of water or the family that receives a new roof won’t care who gets the credit. Locking arms in an unbreakable strand of salt and light, may we carry the gospel’s hope to hurting people on the wings of loving service.

Generosity

Generosity of biblical proportions must fuel our persistence and good works. The initial financial support given through TNDR (TNDisasterRelief.org) has been strong. However, will our generosity remain after the news cycle shifts elsewhere?

I believe it will, based on the history of Tennessee Baptists rising to the need for the good of the hurting. Tennessee Baptists giving through the Cooperative Program, the Golden Offering for Tennessee Missions, and directly through disaster relief, enable relief to rush toward the catastrophe.

Thank you, Tennessee Baptists, for giving. I know you’ve sacrificed, and I assure you that we at the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board will steward your every dollar with great care.

The immensity of this disaster is incomprehensible and overwhelming. However … “But God.” He can bring redemption from this devastation working through Tennessee Baptists. It’s a difficult road ahead, but nevertheless, it’s a joy to be with you on this journey.

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