Katrina and the Need for Revival in the American Church

By Jerry Bass

What is it going to take to revive the American church and usher in a spiritual awakening in the country? The author was trapped in a downtown hospital in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. From that experience, Jerry Bass believes that God allowed this disaster in order to wake up the church from its spiritual lethargy. This book was written with an overwhelming conviction that revival in the American church is needed.

Endorsements "Reading Jerry's book brought about different emotions in me. My first emotion was painful memories of a very difficult time in my life living in a city that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. My second emotion was one of hope as Jerry called for revival in our city, state, and nation. Ladies and gentlemen WE NEED REVIVAL in America, and it MUST start in our churches!" Fred Luter, Jr., pastor, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, Louisiana, president, Southern Baptist Convention

Ive never seen the need for revival in the Church like I see it now. I pray for revival every day. I did not pray for revival before I read this book nor understand the difference between a revival and evangelization. I have also realized that 2 Chronicles 7:14 is directed to Gods people (that includes me!) and not to unbelievers. I believe that many American Christians will be touched by Gods Spirit as they read this book and glean from it that revival must start first with them. Bob Leaman, LSU Health/Director of Continuing Dental Education

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: May 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490819174

Jerry Bass

Jerry Bass was a chaplain at Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana for twenty years. A Georgia native, he was educated at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He has pastored churches in New Orleans for twenty years, where he and his family presently reside.

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Copyright © 2014 Jerry Bass.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible: King James Version, published by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville, Tennessee, 1982.

PHOTO CREDITS

CHAPTER 1

Figure 1. Photograph by a sailor or employee of the US Navy, taken September 1, 2005, during the course of the person’s official duties. The image is in the public domain. en.wikipedia.org.

BACK COVER PHOTO

Image (c) copyright 2013 Elisa Carlisle

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ISBN: 978-1-4908-1918-1 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1919-8 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-1917-4 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2013922392

WestBow Press rev. date: 05/05/2014

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 – Living through the Great Storm

Chapter 2 – How I Became a Chaplain

Chapter 3 – An Interpretation of Katrina

Chapter 4 – The Real Need in America and in the American Church

Chapter 5 – A Return to Worship

Chapter 6 – The Holy Spirit

Chapter 7 – What Happened in Nineveh and at Pentecost

Chapter 8 – The Messages to Ephesus, Sardis, and Laodicea

Chapter 9 – What Might Have Been

Closing Remarks

Postscript

Notes

Selected Bibliography

About the Author

This book is dedicated to anyone who reads it and experiences

personal revival or is inspired to pray for Revival in the American Church.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I thank the Holy Spirit, who nudged me from day one to write this book.

My wife, Sandy, who spent long hours helping me make corrections to the manuscript. This book would not have come to fruition without her assistance.

Kathleen Burns, my local copy editor, whom I met only a couple of years ago, believed in this project and was an encouragement. She made many helpful suggestions in the manuscript.

My heartfelt thanks go out to all those who read the manuscript along the way: Bob and Jamie Leaman, my fellow church members in Metairie, Louisiana; Dr. Jerry Pounds, professor at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; Dr. Roxanne Townsend, former CEO at the Interim LSU Public Hospital in New Orleans, who read sections of the manuscript; Dr. Fred Luter, pastor of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention; Steve Reed, my friend from Texas; Carol Gonzales and Donna Earles, my fellow employees at the hospital, who also read parts and made helpful comments; and the others I’m sure I’m leaving out.

Last of all, I thank WestBow Press for agreeing to publish the book.

May God use this book to speak directly to the hearts of people.

Introduction

I am a chaplain who served in a downtown hospital in New Orleans since 1992, and I was in the hospital on August 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit the city of New Orleans. I spent a total of six days in the hospital during that awful week. I have been the pastor of two evangelical churches in the Greater New Orleans area and have lived here for over thirty-five years, so I feel that this is my home. Originally, I am from a small town in southern Georgia.

Why I Wrote This Book

Being a hospital chaplain and an evangelical preacher caused me some confusion, for I live in both worlds and they aren’t always the same. Many of the points I emphasize in this book reflect the preacher in me. But from the time Katrina hit, and even before, there has been a fire in my bosom to write this book—much like what you read about the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament. I could probably write another book about my experiences as a hospital chaplain as well.

This book is about the need for Revival in the Church in America, which could lead to a spiritual reformation in our country. Please note the phrase Revival in the Church rather than revival in America. The kind of revival I am calling for won’t result in legalism. It will be a balanced approach to the Christian faith that reflects the Spirit of Christ. Additionally, such a revival won’t result in self-righteousness among Christians. More will be said about this later. I will first relate my experience of enduring Hurricane Katrina and my interpretation of that event as it relates to revival.

Admittedly, this interpretation is spiritual in nature because I am a Christian minister. My target audience is Christians, but I am certain that there are many from other faiths who recognize the need for revival. We will study the book of Revelation and examine the condition of three of those famous churches in Asia Minor. We will review what they needed in order to be revived and then reveal its application to the American church. In every generation there is a need for revival and spiritual awakening.

I would also like you to glean from this book the spiritual resources needed in order to face a storm, much like the ones I used to face a literal one. By the time you finish, you will see what our country needs and what we each personally need. When we go through a personal storm, read the newspapers, or take in media, it can be overwhelming. Can we make it? Well, I made it through one of the worst storms that has ever visited a coast of the United States—so yes, I think we can make it. Is there a way for our country to experience a spiritual awakening? Yes, I think it can, but there is only one way: through a Revival in the American Church.

Again, my target audience is primarily Christians. As a Christian reading this, let me help you prepare for your daily battles, whether personal or national. If you are not a Christian and happen to stumble across this book, let me direct you to the one person who can help you through the storms of life.

There are millions of people along the Gulf Coast of the United States who lost so much during the great storms of 2005. I believe that they will be able to relate to some of this book. I did not lose my home, but I lost my job. Yet my job was restored six months after the storm. Many books have been written about Katrina, but not as many addressing the why of the storm. I will address that issue in this book too. I write more about New Orleans because it is where I live and work. But other areas suffered just as greatly. I name Katrina in the title because I have been in the midst of this disaster since day one.

This is my first book. Let me state the reason I wrote this book and expand on it somewhat. A. W. Tozer said it best: The sight of the languishing Church around me and the operation of a new spiritual power within me have set up a pressure impossible to resist. Whether or not the book ever reaches a wide public, still it has to be written if for no other reason than to relieve an unbearable burden on the heart.¹ That is the sentiment of my heart in writing this book.

I wrote this book on weekends, and it has been a slow, tedious process. (That should explain any discrepancies when I make reference to certain months and years.) I was tempted many times to give up due to fatigue and the nagging feeling that I wasn’t qualified for such a project. However, I forged ahead, because I felt the Spirit of God nudging me to do so.

When I refer to the church, I mean the whole body of Christ throughout the world, but especially in America. Many recognize the need for a spiritual revival in our nation. There are only a few who know how to go about having one. Some advised me not to use the word revival in describing our need. The words spiritual awakening could also be used. There are many that believe that a spiritual awakening is a by-product of a revival. This is the message of this book.

I have experienced a personal revival in my own life in the last few years. This has involved repentance from sins, instantaneous obedience to the Holy Spirit, more private worship, and a greater emphasis on the Trinity. So I have taken myself the medicine I prescribe to others.

If I am right in my assessment of the situation, I would like for you to join me in praying for a great Revival in the Church. I think this is not simply a hope for our country—it is the only hope. I also pray that when you finish reading the book you will have experienced a personal revival in your life.

—JERRY BASS

New Orleans, Louisiana

November 2013

Living through the Great Storm

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I would hasten my escape from the

windy storm and tempest.

Psalm 55:8

It was Sunday, August 28, 2005, and I was scheduled to work at the hospital. We knew there was a storm brewing in the Gulf and perhaps heading our way. We watched all of this on television that afternoon on the second floor of the hospital. This was nothing new. Part of living in New Orleans is facing the possibility of having a hurricane. It comes with the territory.

Mayor Ray Nagin had, a few days before, evacuated a large portion of our city. This is the first time in the history of New Orleans that an order to evacuate was mandatory. I don’t think the mayor has been given credit for how large a number of people he got out of the city that weekend before the storm. My wife, son, in-laws, and dog were part of the weekend evacuation before the storm hit on Monday. They drove on Interstate 10 via the contraflow of traffic lanes going west to Baton Rouge and then north to Jackson, Mississippi. I was basically left alone in the city to face the storm, as far as family being present was concerned. My plans were to ride out the storm in the hospital, as I had done in years past, and be back in our home in a day or two. As I said earlier, I remember watching the storm develop on CNN that Sunday afternoon and preparing for the worst on Monday.

August 29, the day of the storm, came, and I watched the wind and rain outside of our chapel on the second floor of the hospital. It is funny how I remember the details. I was in the foyer near the chapel when my sister called me from Georgia. A family member of one of the patients, who was standing with me, had a cap on his head with the word Jesus on it.

As I watched the storm outside of the chapel, I became concerned that the windows might break and water would come pouring in. I could see part of the hospital roof from inside the chapel, and it was beginning to be covered with large pieces of what appeared to be tin and metal objects. Probably some of the sign atop the hospital had fallen on the roof. So I locked the chapel and went toward the building’s interior for safety. Surely, I thought, tomorrow the sun would be shining and this would be all over, as it had in past years.

The Day the Lights Went Out

The ironic thing about Hurricane Katrina is that New Orleans survived the winds and rains and did not get a direct hit. The storm actually made landfall east of New Orleans. Can you imagine what would happen if we did ever get a direct hit, despite the billions that have been spent in the last seven years to upgrade our levees and city?

It was nearing a Category 2 storm by the time it came ashore at 6:10 a.m. on August 29, 2005. Wind velocity was clocked at 112 miles per hour. The local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, carried a story on Tuesday stating that we had again dodged the bullet. It appeared to me that by Tuesday, this storm would be like most of the others, and we would soon be home. I think it needs to be said, at this point, that probably all of this was communicated to the state and federal authorities, which may explain why the official response was so slow. In a November 2010 interview, former President George W. Bush was asked about Hurricane Katrina. He said, The lack of crisp response was a failure at all levels of government.¹ Some of that may be because we had been told that the bullet had been dodged. I don’t, however, want to argue that case here. That is a job for someone else.

Now, when the lights went out Monday at 6:30 a.m., that meant the electricity was gone. All of a sudden, the building became very dark and hot. The temperature was in excess of one hundred degrees and that lasted for a week. It was a wicked heat. It was almost unbearable. I can still feel it.

The national news carried the story of accusations of euthanasia being brought against an LSU doctor and two nurses over in Baptist Hospital (where my son was born). They were later exonerated. Again, this story made national and international headlines. But as a person who was in a similar situation and seeing all of this firsthand, my heart went out to the accused. It is hard to explain such an experience until you have been there.

Even at this point, I was thinking that any day now I would be going home. Who would have guessed that I was right in the middle of one of the worst natural disasters in American history? It would be weeks before I returned home.

The Day the Levees Broke

I think it was on Wednesday of the week of the great storm. I had been sleeping now for three nights in our Pastoral Care office on the second floor in the dark and listening to broadcaster Garland Robinette on WWL radio. I was given a candle by one of our nurses, and that was my light along with a flashlight. It was really hot in that windowless office. I could have transferred to another location, but I had privacy. The hospital had become dark and scary. Based on experience with previous storms, I really thought I would be going home that day.

I remember it was 7:30 a.m. and I had slept pretty well, though it was rather humid. I read my Bible and prayed early that morning. As on previous mornings, I decided to go down to the basement for breakfast in our cafeteria. I had a flashlight that was low on batteries but proceeded to the basement floor. I could hardly see by the time I got down there, so I decided to go back up and look for some newer batteries, which a nurse secured for me. Approaching the basement for the second time, I noticed a strange thing. There was water all the way up to the first floor. It then occurred to me that the basement was inundated with water. I knew then something was amiss, but I didn’t know what exactly had happened. It is a good thing I found some new batteries on my second trip down to the cafeteria or I would have stepped into what I learned later was toxic water. Eighty percent of the city was in the process of flooding due to the breaching of several levees. No other American city had ever experienced such a thing.

Let me say, parenthetically, that another reason I didn’t know what had happened was the communications blackout. The loss of communications is another big part of this story. Katrina had destroyed many of the cell phone towers in the city, so we had no usage from them. No computers were functioning. Landline telephones didn’t work, except one that was for community use in another building. I used the only landline to call my wife on Wednesday. A few televisions worked when we got some generators on line; only then were we able to hear Governor Kathleen Blanco’s press conferences. We would all rush into someone’s room when the governor came on the television. I don’t think too many American metropolitan cities can identify