I just returned from a 4-day deployment to Moore, Oklahoma as a Chaplain with the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN). I'll be headed back next week. Prior to Moore, ADRN had been deployed to the West, Texas explosion. In both these disastrous situations, those who offered relief came as one part of a mighty army, an army offering hope, comfort, order, assistance in any way we can. Survivors of these incidents are often left with nothing - no clothes, no house, no car, no job. In essence, they find themselves about to eat an elephant, a task that can only be accomplished one bite at a time. Relief agencies and people of faith gather in an effort to walk them through the process. It's horrible and glorious at the same time.
In Moore, those offering relief included the Red Cross, Islamic Relief, St. Vincent DePaul Society, Buddhist Relief, Knights of Columbus, Samaritan's Purse, Goodwill, the Salvation Army and many more. There were Muslim women wearing head scarves, priests in black wearing clerical collars and volunteers wearing, Asian Buddhists bowing at the waist, all sorts of colorful t-shirts and vests representing their nationwide organizations.
The banner over us? Love, compassion for the brotherhood of man, the majority motivated by our love and obedience for the one God and Father of us all. That might sound New Agey, or like Universalism to some, but it's either true or it's a lie. Sorry, but my experience has been that massive power stems from unity. When I ask disaster Survivors what the most significant part of this ordeal was to them, the response generally has to do with the outpouring of love and assistance they are receiving from so many. One woman in Moore said, "I have never experienced so many helpful people in my life!" On another occasion, a Muslim worker had encountered a "client" who was crying. An ADRN Chaplain was called over and he, the Muslim and the client held hands and prayed. A Muslim worker asked me if I would help a man who was shaking and tearful and introduced me to him. One evening, our ADRN group interrupted our own debriefing session to applaud and cheer the Buddhist group of Asian men and women as they headed toward their cars, waving and smiling at us.
Isn't it a shame it so often takes a tragedy to unite people? How sad it is that, even within The Body of Christ, Sunday is, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "the most segregated day in America"? As Followers of Christ, why can't we unite against our common enemy, the devil? Why can't we purpose in our hearts to resist such things as division and dissension with all that is within us and, instead, embrace the heartbeat of the mission of Christ? The world will know we are Christians - followers of the Lord Jesus - by of our love for one another. Sadly, too often, that isn't what they see at all.
The critical question is this... ready? Are we so motivated by our love of God that we are willing, able, to set aside those things that so easily set us apart and against one another? Are we willing and able to say 'no' to the traditions that serve only to usher in strife, division and sectarianism rather than love, unity and, subsequently, the power that can turn a community upside-down?
It's actually O.K. to wait for the next disaster to bond together and help others, so long as we remember that calamities will come DAILY in the form of cancer, divorce, death, workplace accidents, natural and manmade disasters, terrorist attacks, mass shootings, broken homes and broken hearts. Are we willing to set aside our own comfortable version of our faith and advance God's Kingdom at all costs by coming together and loving those who are hurting? Here's a tip: more people are hurting than are not! They may be wearing masks to hide that fact, but it's true. And even though you may not have a shirt with "Chaplain" across the back in 3" letters, you are STILL one who can bring The Church to the people. The same Holy Spirit is in you as is in me; the same One who raised Jesus from the dead.
Those who came to render aid have one thing in common with those whose world as they knew it has just ended; they have ALL experienced the grace of their mutual Creator; they have had an encounter with God. That experience can serve as a springboard, launching them into the rest of their lives, or it can be nothing more than a stumbling block from which they never recover.
As we can plainly see, disasters are on the increase. Jesus said there'd be days like this. How would He react to the Oklahoma tornado aftermath? He taught and modeled love, doing just as He was instructed by the Father. Should we do anything less?
If you are interested in assisting in these disasters, avail yourself of training and certification. I suggest you check out the ADRN and visit ADRNTX.org for class schedules. Until then, your financial support will help ADRN to bless Survivors with Gift Cards. We can only give away what we receive from people like yourself! You can DONATE at ADRN.TX.org. Thank you!
Every blessing,
Michael Tummillo
Founder, The Church @ Work
NOTE: Michael Tummillo submits this article to you only as a Christian writer, for your personal information, not as an ADRN Representative, and receives no compensation for this message.
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