Reality Check for Doers

On the way home today I spent some time on the phone with a good friend of mine named Earl Wheatley. Earl and I met in college and he has always been one of the men I most admire for their spiritual wisdom and insight. For most of the last five years we have served together in national leadership for the Church of God. Earl is a native of the Atlanta area and has spent his entire ministry in the South. He has pastored two churches. His current pastorate is in Meridian, Mississippi. His previous pastorate was in New Orleans. One church is destroyed and the other is in the last town standing in the southern part of Mississippi. "South of us is a third world country", he told me today. They are becoming a staging point for movement south into a land with no electricity, water, a/c, food, toilet facilities, or standing homes. The city of Meridian (70,000) is expecting 10,000 refuges from the southern part of the state and from New Orleans. They will be walking up Interstate 10.
"We are mostly in need of basic care packages - the kind Samaritans Purse puts out". Samaritans Purse suggests that you get an old shoebox, fill it with personal items (toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, washcloth, bottled water, flashlight with extra batteries, socks, ball cap, hard candy, granola bars, etc.). We will find a way to ship this to Earl and his church in Meridian (now that power has been restored to the church they are a designated Red Cross center and a staging point to go further south to the devastated communities of Gulfport and beyond). "If you send people, remind them that can have all the expertise in the world but they have no access to power, electricity, gas or the like. People in Meridian are waiting 3 hours in line for a bag of ice".
The Church of God Campground in Louisiana has become a refuge camp. They already have nearly 60 families staying there. They have the capacity for 90 families. Church of God Ministries has already sent $3,000 to help with food. I will try and raise twice that much or more through the Churches of God in Central California. Giving to the Red Cross is a great idea and I am excited to see so many doing so. However, when some of your own are on the front lines helping to minister to the human carnage that is going on in that region, give to them directly and they will help those who need it the most - right there where they are.
I don't think I have ever been more embarrassed by our politicians than I have been the last few days. Instead of pulling together to do what needs to be done they have gone to the microphones and the airwaves to politicize and criticize. May I suggest that we all stop talking about the problem and start doing something to make a difference. That is what the church is all about, isn't it? Doing instead of just talking? Acting not just speaking? Making a difference and not just making a point? People will only be helped by those who do. Let's be doers of the Word and not just hearers.