Hope, A Lever, and Persistence

This has been one of the most remarkable weeks in American history. We have watched awestruck at the tragic aftermath of Katrina, feeling helpless, feeling weak and small and powerless. Add to this the death of a remarkable Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Yet in the midst of confusion, pain, suffering, and loss, there is now Hope.

I have learned more of my friend, Pastor Mike. He is now in Tucson with family, and will likely be heading back to New Orleans as soon as is practical. When I hear from Mike you will too. The effort is underway for his church, and you can give, right here. Click the Paypal button.

My friend Mark Roberts has spoken with Mike this week, and was impressed. Mike really just wanted to talk about the church's opportunity for ministry in the city, even though their church itself may be severely damaged, even though his own home may be destroyed. Selfless, caring for others, looking for hope. That is what Mike is like. I am blessed to know him.

Now lets see if we can do two things. First, lets make a gigantic lever. Those of you who were not asleep during high school physics class will remember that... "it is possible, as a result, to overcome a very large force at a short distance from the fulcrum with a very small force at a great distance from the fulcrum. Archimedes is supposed to have boasted, having the lever in mind, that given a place to stand he could move the world." And so it is, that those of us many miles from the Gulf Coast can apply our leverage to move things a great distance away. Lets give, and pray, and most of all, persist.

As a nation, we seem to have the attention span of a knat, or perhaps on our best days that of a hummingbird. Fashion tastes only last for a season, the initial run for a TV show is 13 weeks, and fast food is our nourishment. This challenge will require real persistence. To persist is to 1) to be obstinately repetitious, insistent, or tenacious. We must all persist in this effort. Together.

This effort is going to take weeks to dry out, months to repair and replace, and years to rebuild. We have the Hope, we have a great Lever, we must have Persistence. With these tools, we can move mountains, and again, hold back the waters.