I've come to see there are two ways evaluate how well a church lives up to the example of Jesus. These are whether an action improves mental health and whether it builds community.
Daniel Aldrich moved to New Orleans a few months before Katrina hit. It was a neighbor, not the government, that urged him to evacuate. If he had waited for the government, he would have been trapped in the city within the mess that became.
That experience shaped his political science research. He went to various disasters around the world to find out what kind of people were most likely to survive. It wasn't those with the most money, the most power, or the most access to government services. It was those who were most socially connected -- those who were a part of a vibrant community.
It is the community that knows who needs the help and cares enough to provide it right now. It is the support of community that can get a neighborhood rebuilt.
Bumbling bureaucrats can severely damage community if they don't recognize it. Before the Southeast Asia tsunami in 2004 fisherman worked in teams. Afterward, organizations gave out boats to individuals. Teammates became rivals.
Communities are the sum of their relationships, not their buildings and roads.
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