Voices: Five essentials to move past disaster rescue and relief to recovery

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In April 2020, I compared the pandemic to other disasters. At the time, I was hoping to discourage the premature use of the phrase “new normal.” Many were using that phrase too early, which unintentionally suggested we should get accustomed to isolation, illness and loss.

At that point, we were only in the early phases of recovery, and it was important that we not settle there and become too comfortable. We had to keep moving forward. Even though it felt like rolling a boulder uphill, we had to keep at it.

Phases of disaster response

Although each disaster is unique, disaster response generally follows a three-phase pattern of rescue, relief and recovery.

Immediately after a disaster, the first phase involves rescuing injured, trapped or stranded people. Then, in the relief phase, volunteers and trained responders help the affected people get what they need to survive. Finally, the recovery phase involves rebuilding, reconnecting, counseling and healing, all of which can take a long time.

The COVID disaster is different than most, but as we go through it, we experience all three phases. The significant difference is the timing of the phases.

Usually, a catastrophic event happens quickly, and then the rescue phase begins immediately. With COVID, the catastrophic event is unfolding so slowly, the three phrases are being stretched out and are overlapping. A year ago, I thought we would be well into the recovery phase by now, but we have not made much progress through the first two phases yet.

The first two phases—rescue and relief—have overlapped in such inextricable ways, we cannot find a sense of progress that usually helps spur people along in their recovery. We still have victims dying or in desperate need of medical attention.

All the while, the relief stage is underway with measures like closures, masks, social distancing and vaccines.

Since this disaster is worldwide, and since there is not yet a clear end to the rescue phase, there is no way to determine how long we will be in the relief stage, and when we will be able to move to the final phase—recovery.


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The delta variant has many people feeling like the boulder we have been rolling uphill for the past year and a half just rolled part of the way back down the hill. So, we have to back up and start our journey again. Churches, in particular, are struggling with the same difficult decisions we wrestled with six months to a year ago.

Five essentials for recovery

I am convinced we can get through this, but there are five elements that will be essential to our recovery.

1. Visionary leadership

Politicians say, “Our opponents are the cause of our problems.” Managers say, “Here are the problems we need to solve, and here are the resources we have to solve them.” Visionary leaders say, “This is where we want to go, and this is how we can get there.”

The time for politics long has passed, and managing this pandemic is not enough. We need national, state, local and spiritual leaders who can see a better life ahead and discover the path to that destination.

2. Hard work

I never have worked as hard as I did after the explosion in West, Texas, in 2013. There were days I thought I had done my share, and I did not have any more to give. I was exhausted and frustrated, but I also knew the job was not finished until there was no more work to do.

Today, many of us feel like we have done our part, we made all the sacrifices we should have to make, and we are ready to stop dealing with the chaos. The reality is, we still have much work to do. Our job is not finished.

3. Cooperation

One of the key components that conspicuously has been missing from this recovery is cooperation. When a local community faces a disaster, members of that community normally find ways to work together to accomplish their shared goals of restoration and recovery.

In this over-politicized and global disaster, we are inundated by issues, practices and labels that divide us. Until we find ways to cooperate with each other, we cannot expect our recovery to happen smoothly or quickly.

4. Hope

The primary source of strength in any recovery is hope. Hope is the driving force of perseverance. Hope encourages the weary worker to continue, the wounded person to seek healing, the impoverished to keep trying, and the community to strive together for a better future.

In this current experience, we need to be beacons of hope to one another and to the world around us. According to Peter, believers have been given “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 3:15). We are blessed people indeed, for we have a living hope.

5. Gratitude

Although our current circumstances are not good, we can learn to find things for which we can be grateful. For example, the pandemic would not allow our churches to continue in the ruts we dug for ourselves over the years. We had to learn new techniques and do things in ways we never would have thought possible otherwise.

For many churches, this past year and a half has provided us with the opportunity to be shaken from our slumber and to reach more people in more ways for God’s kingdom.

We eventually will get through this difficult time. We will recover, but we could do that more quickly if we remember to be grateful people of hope who work together to accomplish great things.

John Crowder is pastor of the First Baptist Church in West, Texas. The views expressed are those solely of the author.


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