I Hope to See More Floods
The Cumberland River crested at 52 feet above flood stage. Nashville and the Middle Tennessee area were hit with destruction not seen since the Civil War, potentially the most costly inland disaster ever to hit the nation. To be a citizen of Nashville during these days has shown me a side of a city that gives me confidence in my fellow humans. Rather than massive looting, heavy military presence, and selfish headline posturing, we’ve seen a city of people step forward to serve their neighbors.
And right in the middle of it all, the students of Trevecca Nazarene University found their way to the poorest section of the city, rolled up their sleeves, and started working. They helped staff shelters around the clock, starting on Sunday evening; they helped clean up a church that had been flooded; they have helped families clean up damaged homes; and they have gathered and delivered supplies. All of this is happening as Trevecca students take final exams, prepare for the graduation of 948 on Saturday (with their 7,000 celebrating guests), and move into a major clergy conference on campus on Monday. At the heart of this work is a young leader and professor on the campus. Jamie Casler, the director of the J. V. Morsch Center for Social Justice. Now in its second year, the Center is preparing a generation of students to address human need with skill, compassion, and experience.
Floods and other crises call for response. Sometimes the need is immediate–rescue a child from a submerged car or get water to a thirsty person. But full recovery requires leaders who know how to assess the need, organize the response, and deliver the help. Compassion alone can never skillfully address massive human need. At Trevecca, social justice means doing the work of Jesus with the heart of Jesus in the most highly skilled way that addresses the true need.
While the words social justice have taken a beating in recent days by irresponsible commentators who try to link them to communism, liberal political thought, and forced distribution of wealth, at Trevecca we reclaim those words for their truest meaning—doing justice throughout social networks and neighborhoods in the name of Jesus. It is required of us that we do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with our God (Micah 6.8). That’s exactly what we mean by social justice. To be moved by compassion is the beginning of the Christian response, but to become skilled in doing justice to humans is the higher calling. Justice is the work of making things right, as God intended it to be.
I hope to see more floods. Not the kind we saw in Nashville this weekend, but the kind imagined by the prophet Amos: “Let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5.24 NRSV).
10 Responses to “I Hope to See More Floods”
A Student
May 6th, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Thanks for this. I’m seeing firsthand how the people of this campus are stepping up to help those in need. How encouraging! The people of this city have a need…and I feel it is our responsibility as the Community to help see that need filled.
So thanks, all of you Treveccans, who are stepping up to that.
An Alumnus
May 7th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
To Dr. Boone, but especially to the current student body.
The alumni are proud of you.
Many of us have graduated, moved away, and keep an eye on our alma mater from afar. When I read how the students organized themselves to help out in the community, I was overcome with Trojan Pride. May we continue to help form students with a keen awareness of social justice and Christian charity.
Margaret Levitt
May 7th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. It is a great blessing to know that I have sent my daughter to a school of this caliber.
Thank you for the great work you are doing for and through our children.
Margaret Levitt
Jackson, Mississippi
Tommy
May 7th, 2010 at 11:55 pm
Thank you Dan for these words. Micah 6:8 is one of my favorite passages. It says so much about who and how we are suppose to be
Kyle Morsch
May 9th, 2010 at 1:51 am
Thanks for sharing how it is the Trevecca family has responded to one of the greatest visible and public opportunities to share Christ’s love that it has ever seen. I am thankful that our Lord and Savior allows us to be part of His redemption process. Let us bring Jubilee and His Kingdom Come on earth each and every day. Continued Strength and Peace to the Trevecca Family!
Scot M. Hill PA-C, MPAS
May 9th, 2010 at 9:47 pm
Thanks Dan for this timely word. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you there in Nashville. I remember with great fondness all the events of Commencement each year at Trevecca. The response of students and faculty to the crisis in Nashville coupled with Commencement illustrates the finest Christian tradition. The full engagement of our minds and our bodies to the service of Christ and our fellow humans is our high calling. For those of us who are watching this crisis from the sidelines, I issue a challenge. Look around your world. Someone very close to you is likely being swept away by flood waters coming from a very different storm. Will you join me in pledging to be a first-responder in their crisis? Will you commit your resources to the crisis commander Jesus and take His assignment for service? The flood victims are waiting…
P. Stewart
May 23rd, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Great work on the part of your students. Christianity in action, for sure! Bravo!
However, I have to point out that it’s not “irresponsible” to link the term “social justice” with historical marxist and socialist philosophy. Read this for a long, long list of the historical use of this term going back decades, and it’s link to various forms of economic theory.
http://porres.org/DLIS/dmurph/History%20of%20Social%20Justice.pdf
I dare say, with great respect Dr. Boone, that your calling this connection “irresponsible” is kind of irresponsible on your part!
Peter Migner
May 23rd, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Dan,
Well said. The new Social Justice major is not a new term in higher education, but it may very well have a new meaning today from even 5 years ago. My wife has a minor in Social Justice from her masters degree in social work from over 25 years ago. Back then it meant advocating Justice for the victimized in the system. Today it seems to have broadened its scope and has been adopted by the left for perhaps another agenda. I am sure glad you spelled out what “Social Justice” means for TNU and I hope it always means serving others with the gospel, Having left Nashville a few days ago I was amazed at the residual effects still there from the Flood. Hearing about it is one thing, but being there and seeing it, is another.
A Grad
September 10th, 2010 at 6:37 pm
You lost me at “Beetles”.
John Henderson
July 1st, 2011 at 1:33 am
It would be nice if that was all that was meant by “social justice.” Unfortunately, it was coined by the Marxist socialists and not by Christians and it was intended to mean what the Marxist socialists say it means. We can actually do better with terms that explain Christian outreach and their meanings would not be confused with socialism. Why not try it if that is what you mean? I spent years in Christian social ministries and never once used that term to explain it.
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