I am excited and perhaps anxious–no, eager (be anxious for nothing :-)–about the rumblings of a different storm; one that may be finally passing over. I am not sure that I have read you correctly, but I hope so. Because a cloud that has been hanging over western Christianity has been spewing acid rain about heaven as a place we go to escape this rotten old earth. My excitement comes from seeing myself and others making life-impacting decisions because we realize there is an intentional continuity between this life on earth now and another one, one in this earth restored.

I also hope I am wrongly assuming there is not much warmth between a Southern Baptist preacher and a former Episcopalian bishop, because I think I hear harmonious notes in your words and the words of Tom Wright. His “Surprised by Hope” encourages us to live as the intersection of two thinly separated worlds that will someday be one. (That’s a very poor and incomplete swing at his book. I hope you and he will pardon me!) What I like in particular about the similarities I think I’m seeing is, if those similarities are true, then I believe we may be witnessing a bit of real restoration today. Episcopalians and Southern Baptists working in a similar direction? That’s heaven on earth!

Oh, to see Biloxi restored according to the plans of The Great Architect himself! My heart breaks for you and your neighbors as it soars in anticipation.

My heart resonated with yours in both this article and the one on Glen Beck. These were my first experiences with your writing. Well done! Not just because they are written well, but more because I hear a God-entranced heart oozing throughout each article. As a pastor of some years myself, and from the south (Richmond, VA), a certain sentimentalism creeps over me from time to time. (I know, “deep south” southerners don’t consider Richmond all that southern!) I don’t long for the old days, but do so very much appreciate them. I’ve been ministering up north for over 25 years and love it, though there are marked differences. There are far more pine trees down south!

To your previous responder, Jared, I would just say, I understand what you mean from the depths of my heart. I try to remember (or my wife reminds me) that God always has his own on reserve (1 Kings 19:18) when we think that we are the last one (Elijah), or among the few remaining. Again . . . understandable these days.

My prayer, yes, our church’s prayer is for revival–a revival within the seminaries and in the pulpits, a resurgence of trust in the absolute authority of the Word of God and in the Spirit of God to drive the truth home to lost and saved alike, a revival that does not seek to be “cool” to gain people’s ears, nor depends upon the latest techniques to fill the seats. Revival is about coming back to life, not focusing on how many coffins we can move around.

Thank you, Russell, for your equanimity in terms of this world versus the next. It’s reminiscent of Randy Alcorn’s “Heaven” in that he lands so firmly on a renewed earth, a place. (I imagine a sloping, grassy backyard leading to a brook, with perhaps a gazebo in which to sit and enjoy the birds). Memories set off heaven in stark contrast, creating longing. Richmond was destroyed during the Civil War, but that’s nothing compared to the loss you’ve sustained in Biloxi. Almost unbelievable!

I feel for your loss, but love your gain. And that’s what you’ve managed to accentuate with hope and longing. God bless you and your shy wife!

Often times as was the case with Katrina there is a subsequent pointing of fingers by leaders in both the secular and religious as to the reasons for the disaster. Take for example New Orleans, there were many who claimed this was the Lord’s judgment for New Orleans’ sins of hedonism and others.

As I contemplated this post, it struck me, the fact that, the reasons for disasters like these is irrefutable. It is in fact, sin that was the original source of this tragedy, but not, I would argue, just the sins of the people of New Orleans or the rest of the Gulf Coast. It was our sin. The sin of the entire race of humanity, encapsulated in the act of our ancestor Adam.

Too often we find ourselves forgetting the words and actions or our Lord Jesus and once again bring the prostitute before Him and throw her at His feet. We do this out of a false sense of righteousness that rises out of fear.

This fear has its source in witnessing the destructive nature of sin. We see, as believers, these terrible things occurring and become afraid. Afraid that these tragedies could happen to us, and so we deceive ourselves with self-righteousness. Believing because we are righteous we will not be harmed and it was because of some sin, that we are not guilty of, they were judged.

The discrepancies over the reasons of such a tragedy are irrelevant. Perhaps it was a specific judgment for a specific people, as has been the case in certain moments in scripture, perhaps it wasn’t. But this does not refute the fact that, even in cases of specific judgment, it is sin that is the reason. Sin that we unleashed in the world and the curse that we unleashed through our rebellion against God through Adam. We, as humanity, are the reason for such tragedies.

This fact fills me with an even greater sense of gratitude to my savior Jesus, who is making new what I destroyed, restoring what I lost, and filling in the gap I was incapable of filling. Our home is no longer of this world, thanks to Him, and because of that let us no longer succumb to the fears of this world. Fears rooted in the belief that this world is our home. If we as the Body of Christ will accept what the Lord has spoken as true, and what He has spoken over us, then we as His people will be able to stand even in the face of tragedy knowing that Death no longer holds sway over us. Armed with this truth we will then stop playing the role of the pharisees and sadducees, pointing fingers with puffed up self-righteousness, but will come as a humble people bearing the fruits of the Spirit and exemplifying our Lord Jesus to a fallen world. We will come bearing the message of hope and truth, the message of the gospel of our Lord Jesus, that in Him is the salvation and the restoration of God’s house and our new home.

Thanks for restoring my faith in knowing that there are those out there who are carefully handling the bible in an intelligent way. I’d come to believe that there was none left.

Blessings.

I felt that same sense of loss when I went back to Biloxi after Katrina. I graduated from Biloxi High School, the old one. I graduated college from Phillips Business College, the one no longer on the Gulfport beach. I was married in Cedar Lake Christian Assembly in the Woolmarket area.

My family and I went back in 2007 to visit my mother who still lives there. We took our GPS to help us find my mother’s house. Well, that was all but useless since the maps stored were pre-Katrina. It was surreal to have the “lady” tell us to turn down a road that was no longer there.

It was devastating, but I am truly thankful that we have the hope of a Risen Savior and the ultimate “home” of Heaven to look forward to. Thank you for sharing your experience. I just happened upon it in the pastoral section of Crosswalk.com. Bless you as you continue to serve our God.