So what does a bishop do when in short succession two of the greatest American natural disasters of modern times—Hurricanes Katrina and Rita--devastate great swaths of his/her synod?  A good one, like Bishop Paul Blom of the ELCA’s Texas-Louisiana Synod, does what bishops always do—goes visiting.  God in the Raging Waters is Bishop Blom’s “travelogue” in which he chronicles multiple episcopal visitations—his own and those of neighboring colleague bishop Ronald Warren.

Blom’s central claim in the book is straightforward and oft-repeated throughout: “When disaster strikes in any form—flood, famine, draught, fire, war, plague—God comes calling.  God comes in the form of those who respond to a divine nudge to do something in response to the disaster.”  Story upon story is told about efforts great and small, halting and heroic, which have contributed to rebuilding homes, work places, schools and most importantly, people’s lives.

Since he’s been a good friend for more than a dozen years, I can vouch that Paul Blom writes like he speaks—calmly and often understatedly, but clearly and even at times elegantly.  Raging Waters is neither self-aggrandizing nor Pollyannaish in praising Lutheran Disaster Relief and the many other faith-based humanitarian organizations which have supplemented and often surpassed governmental relief efforts.  He acknowledges that imperfect responses were made in some cases, and that even the strongest congregational cords can fray in the wake of devastating flood waters.