Disaster require charity,
not another 'New Deal'

"Across the Gulf Coast ... we are seeing a core of strength that survives all hurt ... a faith in God no storm can take away ... and a powerful American determination to clear the ruins and build better than before."

– President GW Bush

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Katrina touched America's heart, but let's make darn sure our government's response doesn't break the bank for our children and grandchildren with billions in fresh public debt. It will take more than a new "New Deal" spending plan to mend the Gulf Coast.

Interestingly, the name "Katrina" means "pure." In fact, it's turned into a pure "blessing-in-disguise" for thousands of displaced New Orleans residents. Just ask Elaine, one of 300 Katrina refugees taken in by the L.A. Dream Center featured on "Dr. Phil" last week.

Dr. Phil spoke with evacuees who survived and are now starting over at the Dream Center, and with pastor Matthew Barnett – a servant-hearted young man I've known and loved for nearly 20 years.

Natural disasters requires super-natural charity.

My heart flooded with joy as Dr. Phil turned to Matthew as he got word a pastor in San Bernardino would make a two-bedroom, two-bathroom house available for Elaine and her family's relocation. You see, Elaine's crisis became a golden opportunity to start over, to rebuild her and her family's life upon a more solid foundation provided by private charity, instead of our dysfunctional public welfare system.

Elaine's story is one of hundreds – perhaps thousands – that illustrate the exciting opportunity people of faith have to serve hurting people today by stepping out in faith and taking action. Even the liberal Los Angeles Times applauds the L.A. Dream Center and their "message by works, not words" strategy:

Within hours, David Mince, a N.O. marine electrician arrived in L.A., where he was offered free room, board and medical care for a year. He picked out a free wardrobe of new clothes. A Dream Center volunteer then helped him look for work. All the while, Mince said, he waited for a catch. But it hasn't come. There have been no mandatory church services. No required Bible studies. No religious tracts or talk of Jesus.

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"The proof is in the pudding. They haven't stopped giving to us. They put dreams back in my life," says Mince. "Assisting victims of Hurricane Katrina is an extension of the Dream Center's philosophy of spreading the Christian message by works, not words."

This silent form of evangelizing has helped fuel the church's rapid growth – from a few members in 1994 to the more than 7,000 worshipers who attend several services throughout the week, about 400 volunteers and an annual budget of more than $6 million. It has also made the Dream Center a national model for other churches, which have found that younger Christians often want to see the tangible results of their faith.

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Yes, the Dream Center is a true model for thousands of faith-based outreaches which have prepared for such a time as this – similar to the Old Testament prophet Nehemiah who called his nation to rebuild after the walls of Jerusalem had been destroyed during Babylonian captivity. The Nehemiah model for rebuilding a city or nation is fourfold:

1. Take time to pray to God first for direction and strategy.

2. Express loyalty and encouragement to existing leadership.

3. Be truthful to address the root issues of the problem directly.

4. Rebuilding a city requires healthy families as the basic building block.

The big question now is: How can we really help in rebuilding people's lives (and the infrastructure in New Orleans) on a better foundation – that is, minus the corruption, complacency, welfarism and hopelessness that was so rampant in the city before Katrina?

The man-made consequences of "New Deal" welfarism

The man-made disaster we witnessed in New Orleans did not happen over four days in late August and early September, it happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed to public view the man-made disaster of how widespread the public welfare mentality has become today.

Katrina exposed for all to see the psychological consequences of the modern welfare state. What most consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is only found in those with strong moral values and who take responsibility to pursue and protect them. Sadly, many of the media images portrayed during the crisis were just the opposite.

Today's world lacks a fundamental understanding that government must start at the bottom. The individual and family should be first, then local government, then state, then, as a final resort, federal government – not the other way around.

At the root, pollster George Barna "recently announced that only 4 percent of Americans have a basic Christian worldview. Among Protestants, it's 7 percent. Even among senior pastors, it's only 51 percent! Those numbers are too tiny to maintain the Christian flavor of our culture."

According to James Rutz, fellow WND columnist, friend and author:

Just maybe, the next explosion of growth will be in the New Orleans area, which has lost 340 church buildings. We in the house-church movement are now mobilizing to reach out to New Orleans and help them create thousands of grass-roots, interactive churches meeting in homes and raising up a new breed of responsible Christians who can lay the spiritual foundation of a whole new type of city, a "shining city on a hill" ... or at least above sea level.

Three suggestions for rebuilding New Orleans, or any other city on a more solid foundation:

1. Support your favorite house of worship or private charity with prayer, word and deed. I can personally recommend the L.A. Dream Center. As Matthew Barnett's father (and my pastor) Tommy Barnett often says, the role of every single believer is to "find a need and then fill it"!

2. Make sure you're personally prepared for a disaster – that means having an emergency kit for your household, a communications and financial plan ahead of time.

3. Understand the five basic spheres of government. I recommend "Five Principles for Rebuilding Nations" or a free CD that will help you understand your own worldview.

In the end, the pure of heart – not the federal government – should be on the front line of rebuilding broken lives, cities and nations, one heart at a time. Keep in mind that often through the struggle that we gain the strength to grow in personal responsibility and our work ethic.