Rick Warren on Katrina

Rick Warren's e-mail letter to his Pastors.com list...great stuff:

The Church is the only network large enough to handle a disaster like this. Media attention has been focused on the thousands of people who have taken refuge in the Astrodome. But more than 150,000 other people are being cared for by churches. There is amazing organization at the local church level...

It’s time for the church to shine. Disaster presents Christians with unprecedented opportunities to mobilize the Church and become the hands and feet of Christ. We need to become audio-visual Christians – not just talking about it, but doing it.

I believe that in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina God has given us an opportunity for what could be the Church’s finest hour. God specializes in bringing good out of bad. He loves to take the broken things in our lives and turn them into something really meaningful. He loves to take our greatest hurt and turn it into our greatest opportunity for ministry. The wonderful truth of the Gospel is that, even in the bad things of the world, God is able to make something good.

Hurricane Katrina was the greatest natural disaster in the history of America. More people have died because of this than died from any natural disaster in American history. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost literally everything they own. More than 1 million people are without a home. And the storm caused more than $100 billion in damage.

How does God bring good out of that?

In every crisis, there is an opportunity for God to show his love. He shows his love by working through his people. A few days ago, when I was at the Astrodome where 20,000 people were lying on cots because they don’t have anywhere else to go, I saw hundreds of volunteers. I saw God everywhere – working in the hands and hearts of people.

Do you see what God is doing? Do you realize the opportunity God has given us?

God is using the tragedy of Hurricane Katrina to give the Church an opportunity to be the Church. He is bringing displaced people into our communities – people who are homeless and need help and love and care and concern. Their lives have been shaken and they are asking the most important questions of life: Who is my family? What is the meaning and purpose of life? What is church? People are more open to Christ when they are in a tough time than at any other point in their lives. Read the whole column here