How does one measure the impact of
Harvey? What measurement adequately describes what the nation witnessed this
past week? Scientific exclamations of millennial flooding do not capture the
heart of Harvey’s devastation; economic forecasts even less so. It is rather
the stories we are witnessing that tell the tale.
Witness.
It’s a funny word in some ways. A
biblical word but not one we Presbyterians are very good at using; or perhaps
it’s just we are not very comfortable using it. We often think of witnessing as
a synonym for evangelism, yet its connotations merely suggest a willingness to
speak truth regardless of the situation: to bear witness.
We bore witness to pain and
devastation this week. And we bore witness to the indomitable human spirit
among those who had lost everything they owned, the fathomless wellspring of
human compassion in neighbors, and the undaunted courage of first responders.
How does one measure the impact of Harvey? Let me respectfully suggest we
measure it by bearing witness.
My wife’s cousin, Travis, lives in
Kingwood, Texas where flood waters rose to the bottoms of STOP signs. Travis
posted a video of him taking his jet ski through the streets in search of
people in need of help. I bear witness to Travis.
Our friend Shirine’s home was
flooded, but neighbors helped her escape to safety. I bear witness to Shirene’s
neighbors.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
has sent out a link through which you and I can give to help the flood victims
in South Texas (pda.pcusa.org). The American Red Cross will make more headline
news in Houston but PDA will be there long after the Red Cross have closed up
their emergency operations. It’s just how PDA rolls. I bear witness to PDA.
Last week I introduced the
distinctions between different kinds of metrics from Gil Rendle’s book, Doing the Math of Mission: inputs (the resources we put in: money,
staff time, etc.), throughputs (the
things we do: worship, Bible study, mission project), and outputs (the numbers: people who attend). The metric that matters
is outcomes: what change is affected
by our inputs, throughputs, and outputs? How are our people different? What
impact is made on the community?
Many will measure the outcome of
Harvey by the numbers: economic indicators, meteorological records, or,
tragically, its death toll. All these metrics are fair enough and valid in
their own way. Yet I choose to measure Harvey according to the response it
evoked in the human spirit: to care and to share, to pray and then to act, to
grieve and yet remain unbroken. I bear witness to these things. I bear witness to you.
Knowing you will step up,
Brad Munroe
Brad Munroe
No comments:
Post a Comment