RECOMMENDED AS A MINISTRY RESOURCE BY WILLOW CREEK CHURCH AND WILLOW CREEK ASSOCIATION (2007)

"Marks the power of faith in helping rebuild our souls, lives, and communities after national and personal disasters."
-Publishers Weekly

Still reeling from the chaos of Hurricane Katrina-and the death of his grandmother as well as his divorce that same year-former investment broker, minister, and first-time author Bruce Lee Smith began to collect his thoughts on faith, survival, and recovery. The electrifying result is Soul Storm, a carefully crafted narrative utilizing examples from the Bible, art, literature, business, and history demonstrating how different people throughout the ages and the world have used disastrous circumstances as a launching point for rebuilding their souls and reconstructing their lives. Reflecting on his own personal disasters, his stepfather's death at age twenty-seven, a back injury that resulted in his sacrifice of a tennis career, his divorce, his grandmother's death, and other catastrophes, as well as national disasters that affect the country's spiritual and emotional wellbeing, Smith asks the difficult questions: Is God involved? Is He good? Is He speaking to us through these events? Can any good purpose come from such events?

Soul Storm: Finding God Amidst Disaster is not a typical motivational book. Offering Hurricane Katrina as both a symbol and a practical reference point, Smith taps into the fear we all wrestle with when faced with overwhelming, sudden life changes. Smith's ability to see God's bigger plan above the rubble is a gift to all of us, whether we are trying to survive the aftereffects of a hurricane, an illness, or any type of calamity. As he unravels the issues of politics, religion, race, psychology, justice, science, compassion, humanity, love, and restoration bound up in this recent disaster, he takes us on a journey that ultimately leads us back to God.

Twenty-five percent of the author's profits will be donated through faith-based organizations to New Orleans rebuilding efforts. The book is packaged with an optional CD, After the Storm, a compilation disc of music and stories of Hurricane Katrina survivors, produced by Music for the Soul, a Christian organization that creates issue-specific CDs combining song and spoken word.