When the prospect of placing the man under discipline and removing him from membership arises in a members meeting, several people voice concerns: “What right do we have to judge him? Isn’t his relationship with Jesus between him and God? How is discipline consistent with the free grace of God?”

“Do you ever feel like you’re just waiting for the other foot to fall?” A church member asked me this question a few weeks ago. By modern church planting standards, Harvest Church was checking all the boxes. In our first year and a half of existence, God had blessed us with another pastor to share the load of leadership and deacons who serve with humility. Our members were regularly engaging both the church and our community. We baptized a new believer. We multiplied groups. The Lord had been generous to us. But personally, the other foot had already fallen.

The last two weeks have been full of opportunities and challenges. In the aftermath of hurricane Ida, much of southeast Louisiana was left without water, power, and basic resources. Our family evacuated New Orleans the Saturday before the storm and returned Wednesday of the following week. As we drove into the city, an eerie feeling settled on my heart. The damaged buildings, mangled signs, and scattered debris were obvious, but the real strangeness came from what was absent. The hustle and bustle of the Big Easy was gone. Looking out over the city at night, I saw nothing but darkness.