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In the face of Hurricane Katrina, government officials were hapless. Hollywood stars, normally so magnetic, looked foolish and overmatched in their borrowed motorboats. But countless churches like Parkway Baptist stepped up and redefined "normal."

Hard as it is to believe, Hurricane Katrina was a minor disaster even on the scale of our own time, let alone that of world history. We will see how well churches meet the challenge of 25 million African children who will lose parents to AIDS by 2010, or a flu pandemic that could easily kill millions in North America alone. If the pattern of the earliest Christian centuries holds, it will be in disaster that Christianity either thrives or fades. Our neighbors will be watching. And our culture, for better or for worse, will be transformed.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Earlier Andy Crouch columns for Christianity Today include:

Of Wardrobes and Potters | A story about faith and fairy tales. (Sept. 20, 2005)

Environmental Wager | Why evangelicals are—but shouldn't be—cool toward global warming. (Aug. 8, 2005)

Visualcy | Literacy is not the only necessity in a visual culture. (May 31, 2005)

Compliant but Confused | Unpacking some myths about today's teens. (April 12, 2005)

Stonewashed Worship | Churches are striving to appear 'authentic'—like the rest of consumer culture. (Jan. 28, 2005)

When Backward Is Forward | Christmas may be the best argument against genetic enhancement. (Dec. 23, 2004)

Salt-and-Pepper Politics | Choosing between candidates whose consciences are too clean. (Oct. 04, 2004)

'Live More Musically' | The difference between Christian practice and a Starbucks purchase. (July 29, 2004)

The Cruel Edges of the World | There are some places that bring the distant biblical text closer to our lives. (June 07, 2004)

Pilgrims to Nowhere | Freedom isn't much good if you don't have a sense of direction. (March 30, 2004)

Glittering Images | A profound Christian rethinking of power is overdue (Feb. 17, 2004)

Before the Deluge | All of us have a sexual orientation that bends toward the self. (Dec. 03, 2003)

Two Weddings and a Baptism | It's still impossible to predict what will advance the gospel in Hollywood. (Oct. 15, 2003)

Wrinkles in Time | Botox injections as a spiritual discipline. (Aug. 11, 2003)

Rites of Passage | Self-improvement is our culture's most durable religion. (June 6, 2003)

Christian Esperanto | We must learn other cultural tongues. (June 4, 2003)

We're Rich | But why is it so hard to admit? (Feb. 20, 2003)

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December 2005, Vol. 49, No. 12