By Will Hall, Message Editor NEW ORLEANS – A decade ago, it was difficult to see anything more than the devastation that accompanied Katrina as she swept across Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. But looking back now, it’s possible to see the triumph that emerged from the tragedy. After passing over the Florida panhandle as a moderate Category 1 hurricane, then weakening to a tropical storm, Katrina grew in ferocity fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, growing in intensity to a 200-mile wide Category 5 tempest. But before it made a predicted direct hit on New Orleans, dry air from the Midwest absorbed some of its energy, dropping it to a strong Category 3 system and causing it to shift direction, making landfall about 25 miles east of the city according to the Houston Chronicle. Moreover, the winds over New Orleans (where the weakest part of the storm passed) reached only Category 1 levels and the storm surge failed to top the levees as predicted. But, where a natural disaster of the predicted magnitude failed to materialize in New Orleans a manmade one burst forth. Levees along the Mississippi River held, but some holding back Lake Ponchartrain, Lake Borgne and the waterlogged swamps and … [Read more...]

By David Crosby, pastor, First Baptist Church New Orleans NEW ORLEANS – Genesis 1:2 recounts: “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Here in New Orleans nearly 10 years ago, shapes were buried in the water; large colorful forms distorted by shimmering waves lined the neutral ground of West End Boulevard for miles. Ahead was the ribbon of Interstate 610 with the facilities of First Baptist New Orleans just beyond. We would soon set down the helicopter on a section of the parking lot that had emerged from the flood. Eleven days after the storm the church facility was an island in the sea. To the right was the 17th Street Canal that failed in the storm. Lake Pontchartrain lay behind us to the north. To the left, looking east, the city of New Orleans glistened in the floodwaters as far as the eye could see. A parade of military helicopters thumped the air along the perimeter of the south shore of the lake. Enormous bags of sand swung beneath them, part of a futile effort to plug the hole in the levee and stop the sea’s invasion of the city. “Cars,” I said to myself and then to the pilot over the headphones. “Those are cars … [Read more...]

By Dennis Watson, Senior Pastor, Celebration Church NEW ORLEANS – On the weekend before Hurricane Katrina we had 2,051 people in worship. God was blessing our ministry and we were growing significantly. Then Hurricane Katrina came. Both of our campuses were inundated by the waters of Hurricane Katrina. Our largest campus on Airline Drive was hit with a seven foot wave of water. It was under water for two and a half weeks. We lost everything at that campus. Our smaller campus on Transcontinental Drive that we had just procured was also flooded. Fortunately it was flooded by the rainwater of Katrina— the fresh water not the salt in the sewage canal that flooded our Airline campus. We were able to get in quickly and gut out the facility with the aid of volunteers from around the nation and resume services one month after Katrina. The day that Katrina hit, I was in Lafayette. I had said I would never evacuate for a hurricane, but my daughter and my son-in-law came to me with my two little grandsons and said ‘we’re not leaving if you don’t leave.’ I couldn’t imagine those two little boys having to swim out. One was just a tiny baby, and I couldn’t risk them. So we all evacuated. I saw the satellite images of the … [Read more...]

By Fred Luter, pastor Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans NEW ORLEANS – Ten years ago our lives were drastically changed by Hurricane Katrina. Not only did it impact our city physically, but it impacted us spiritually and emotionally. It was a time we will never forget. It was a test of our faith. It was a test of our belief. It also was a test of our willingness to come back and rebuild. I don’t know anyone who wasn’t determined to come back and rebuild. It took us 2 ½ years to get here back in the church. In the meantime we worshiped at several campuses – First Baptist Church in New Orleans, Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge and First Baptist Church in Houston. Before Katrina we were the church gathered. After Katrina we were the church scattered. Now we are back. However, there are still a whole lot of folks who are still displaced and would love to come back home, but have not had the opportunity. I have great hope that things will continue to grow and our city will continue to be impacted and grow. We will never be the city we had before. But I think God has great plans for us in the city of New Orleans. Always committed to returning Once we … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever NEW ORLEANS – From the divine perspective, 10 years is a blip, one nanosecond in a timeless eternity. For us earthlings, it’s one-eighth of a life expectancy. Even so, it’s a convenient time to pull over and take inventory. Since Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina changed New Orleans forever, everyone wants to know: “What is God doing in this city? How are things now?” For one day, New Orleanians thought they had “dodged a bullet” as the hurricane’s primary damage lay to the east, along the Mississippi coastline where entire communities were destroyed. Then, the levees protecting this sunken city broke under the strain in several places. Soon this great city was literally drowning. One million residents were evacuated voluntarily or otherwise from the hurricane’s onslaught. Over 1,800 who refused to leave were drowned in their homes. Entire neighborhoods ceased to exist. Several church buildings would never be found. And now? Almost anything you say about New Orleans at this moment would be correct to some extent. The city is better off in places. The old housing projects, breeding grounds for crime and human misery, have been razed and multi-income-level housing erected in their … [Read more...]