INTRODUCTION
This month marks the fifth anniversary
of the most significant event of this millennium. I was just
pulling out of my driveway, on my way to the office the
morning of September 11, 2001, when I received a frantic
call from my daughter, who had just seen the first
television pictures of the World Trade Center after a
'small' plane had hit one of the towers. My first reaction
was that it must have been an illegal joy rider who crashed
by accident. By the time I got to a TV, the second plane had
hit, and it was then obvious that what was happening was a
diabolical terrorist plot that would change the world
forever.
FDNY
Many of our church leaders in the New
York, New Jersey region lost some of their people when the
towers collapsed. City Covenant Coalition leader and New
York City Fire Department (FDNY) fireman, Pastor John
Picarello, almost lost his life when the towers came down
that day. According to Charisma magazine's September
article, "God at Ground Zero" by Peter Johnson, Picarello
was in the Marriot Hotel, between the twin towers, when
debris from the collapsing south tower ripped through the
hotel.
Saved from that first calamity, he
escaped the north tower implosion 29 minutes later by diving
under an abandoned truck. He was one of only two survivors
from his group of 50 that day. Pastor Picarello has shared
his testimony all over the United States. "God didn't spare
me for nothing," he says. "There is a purpose for me that
has not been accomplished."
SILVER LINING
It is an ill wind that didn't blow
some good! Although church numbers in the region swelled in
the months after 9/11, today they have settled back to
nearly normal. However, there has been a shift that has seen
a strengthening of relationships among church leaders. The
days of fierce independence and competition in the city are
changing. In the same Charisma article, I was quoted as
saying, "Out of all the adversity, we have seen a growing
cohesion among key church leaders."
IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH
The forces that brought about 9/11 are
entwined in a monumental battle over the soul of the world.
The outcome will determine who will be worshipped - Christ
or Allah! Fear (terrorism) is the tool employed. If
terrorism succeeds, all choice to worship God in spirit and
in truth will be stripped away, replaced by a religion that
forces you to worship its god or die!
Concluding the Charisma article, I
said, "I am not going to let fear stop me from what God
wants me to do. My times are in the Lord's hands and not
some terrorist's hands!" #
