In the two years since the tragedy of 9/11, Taylor Field has developed a habit of looking for ways in each moment to fight for what is right — in order to keep from fighting, later on, against what is wrong.
Field is pastor of East Seventh Baptist Church/Graffiti Community Ministries in New York City and a missionary with the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. And after washing the dust of the World Trade Center from his clothes, he set out to minister to a city forever changed by a sudden act of evil.
He has written a book called “Mercy Streets,” released by Broadman & Holman, the publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the book, based on the Ephesians 1:18 concept of “having the eyes of your heart enlightened,” he recounts stories and lessons learned from years of working in the inner cities of Berlin, Hong Kong, San Francisco and, since 1987, New York City.
In the chapter about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Field shares his thoughts about the effect the attacks would have on the world. He found help in the writings of Abraham Joshua Heschel, a rabbi who lost his family and community in the fires of World War II.
“We have failed to fight for right, for justice, for goodness; as a result we must fight against wrong, against injustice, against evil,” Heschel wrote.
That quote set in motion a prayer Field has since prayed concerning 9/11 and its implications.
“I knew in my heart that if we did not fight for what was right for the children I saw on the streets in New York, we would end up fighting against them as grown-up drug dealers and perpetrators of violent crime,” Field writes.
He concluded that in some small way, each person can be as brave as a firefighter, a policeman or a soldier overseas because each person has the opportunity each day to live sacrificially in developing the habit of fighting for what is right.
In the two years after 9/11, East Seventh Baptist Church/Graffiti Community Ministries has followed a commitment to deal with three areas of need in the city: grief and support, direct benevolence and job development.
“What I see now for people … is that the long-term effect has been a great deepening of their spiritual walk,” Field told Baptist Press. “… What I’ve seen after two years is that they say, ‘9/11 changed my life and brought me closer to God rather than drive me away.’”
He has also seen so many people drawn to help and share Christ in Manhattan and has seen people be more receptive there.
Other long-term effects Field has seen stem from lost jobs after 9/11. Now those people are being evicted from their apartments in a ripple effect of the difficulties. That’s why the benevolence and job development ministries are so important.
But some New Yorkers believe the first major test of how they’ve changed since the World Trade Center crumbled was the blackout that struck the city Aug. 14. Field said people were proud that it wasn’t like the blackout of 1977 when there was so much crime. “I asked them, ‘What do you think the difference is?’ and one said, ‘I think it’s 9/11. It’s because we realize we need to pull together in this time.’” (BP)
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