Journal: Journal for Baptist Theology & Ministry
Volume: JBTM 04:1 (Spring 2007)
Article: Hurricane Katrina, Gulfport, And The Second Commandment
Author: Chuck Register

JBTM 4:1 (Spring 2007) p. 58

Hurricane Katrina, Gulfport, And The Second Commandment

Chuck Register

Pastor of First Baptist Church
Gulfport, Mississippi

The Impact Of Love

“Look again. The information you are sending me cannot be true, it is impossible! It simply cannot happen. You have made a mistake, look again!” On August, 29, 2005 that was the message my brain was sending to my eyes. “Look again, that is impossible, it cannot be true!” But it was. The images of destruction and devastation transmitted by the cable news networks to my eyes and on to my brain were surreal, but sadly and tragically, they were true. Hurricane Katrina, with her winds in excess of one hundred seventy-five miles per hour and her storm surge in excess of thirty feet, had destroyed a significant portion of Gulfport, Mississippi, the city in which I live and serve as the Pastor of First Baptist Church. In the days immediately following the landfall of Katrina, the nation learned the massive scope of her destruction. Much of the Gulf Coast, from New Orleans, Louisiana to Mobile, Alabama, lay in ruins. While my knowledge of the destruction of the region is limited, my knowledge of the destruction of Gulfport, Mississippi is both personal and complete. From “D-Day plus 2, ” I, along with my fellow citizens, have lived the story of “relief, recovery and rebuild” along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. For the residents of Gulfport, this is not a story of governmental assistance or a failure of governmental leadership. This is a story of love overcoming the worst natural disaster in our nation’s history. In this article you will find no ivory tower prose, no academic jargon, none is intended. This is one pastor’s personal account of the Christian Church in America fulfilling what the Lord Jesus gave as the Second Commandment – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) – and the account begins with a lady named Katrina.

A Story Of Destruction

Gulfport’s “Katrina Story” actually began on Friday, August 26, 2005 when Katrina wobbled to the north and Mississippi found itself inside the “cone of landfall probability.” As the weekend passed the storm grew and by Sunday morning Hurricane Katrina had reached “Cat 5” in strength. The experts from the National Weather Center were predicting a direct hit on the Louisiana-Mississippi Coast with Gulfport being in the northeast quadrant of impact, the quadrant of destruction. As Sunday unfolded most of our residents completed the task of boarding their homes and businesses and evacuated the city. Some, regrettably, being either novices to the dangers of hurricanes, or having been survivors of Hurricane Camille in 1969, decided to ride the storm out at home; a decision most w...