We Are Nashville

Hopefully by now many of you have heard about the record flood that covered Nashville this past week. If you haven't, stay under your rock; we've got it under control.

It took a while for the media to pick up on it. But eventually Jon Stewart did a spoof, the news outlets picked it up and even Anderson Cooper paid a visit. I will say, "Thanks, Anderson. Really. I mean it. You finally called attention to a big problem that many people were overlooking." There was even this article in Newsweek about the media's almost dismissal of the gravity of the story. Find it here: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2010/05/06/why-the-media-ignored-the-nashville-flood.aspx

Still, what is most amazing is the community within Nashville that rose to the occasion, pooling resources to help their neighbors. And I can't even narrow it down to say it was solely the Christian community that rose to the occasion, though certainly Christians and churches were among those present. It was all kinds of people from all walks of life chipping in. The first responders were the everyday people offering their boats to get through floodwaters to rescue those stranded and filling sandbags to hold the water back. What selfless response!

I'd like to say I wasn't surprised by the response; that I knew Nashville had it in them. But I was a little surprised. Maybe because it's rare to see a city pull itself up by the bootstraps in the midst of rising waters and start working. No chaos, no turmoil, just work. Now I look back over this past week and I think, "Yeah, these are good people."

"We Are Nashville," the city's new rallying cry. At a time when it looked like the rest of country only wanted to talk car bombs and oil spills (two very serious issues) and seemed to miss the dire need and tragedy in Nashville, the city and its people were going to be OK.

What a lesson for others to take away!

So, are you ready? Is your station ready? Is your church ready? Is your community at large ready to be the first responders in a crisis? Are you ready to jump in and get to work, alongside any number of people that don't look like you or believe like you?

What is your personal crisis response look like? What does your station's response look like?

Severe weather can hit strong and fast. Floodwaters can rise quicker than you can imagine. Be ready so you can say, "We Are [City Name Here]".