Our pastor said it very well: “It’s been a long, hard week in America.”
The flag at our office hangs at half-staff. In the two-mile stretch between my home and the office, at least half of the houses are now displaying the stars and stripes. One family in the neighborhood is from England, and many United States flags are bordering that family’s property.
On Sept. 11 at 6:40, our Tuesday morning prayer group gathered at Dawson Memorial Baptist Church with Pastor Gary Fenton as usual, but the number of participants was larger than usual. Among the prayer needs mentioned was the Middle East.
The prayer list for the day included a church member who is a pilot for a national airline. We prayed not only for his Christian witness but also for his safety in the air. Less than 30 minutes after we dismissed, there came the horrible news of terrorists attacking New York with hijacked planes.
Later in the day, Marion Association held its annual meeting at First Baptist Church in Winfield. Marion Association’s director of missions, Daniel Knight, pointed out that despite “the terrible tragedy in our nation, the attack upon our people … God is still with us, and we can abide in Him.” Host pastor Charles Ballew noted that the tragedy “shows the depravity of mankind and the need people have to know Christ.”
Also attending the annual meeting was Roberta Thomas, a member at First Baptist, Winfield. Her son Kerrick and his wife, Lorie, began work as church planters only last month about three miles from the World Trade Center. Mrs. Thomas had already received word the two were all right. (Another of her sons, Steve, is pastor of Wilsonville Baptist Church in Shelby Association.)
As was true with many churches last week, the Wednesday night crowd at our church was larger than usual. Familiar words in the praise songs seemed to have a special urgency that evening: “We cry out. We need Your help. Come back to our land.”
John Pritchett, pastor since January at New Hope Baptist Church in Hale Association, said attendance at New Hope last Wednesday “was the largest we’ve ever had.”
On Sunday, Bro. Gary reminded Dawson members that God can bring good out of terrible situations. Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery, meaning to do him harm, but God used that evil act to save and multiply His chosen people. Religious leaders of Jesus’ time conspired to take His life, but God used their evil deeds to fulfill His plan to save us from our sins. God can bring good even in this new tragedy, Bro. Gary noted.
In Billy Graham’s daily devotional guide Unto the Hills, the title for Sept. 11 is “Salvation is free, not cheap,” and the Scripture passage for the day is 2 Corinthians 11:25–30, NIV. Paul lists dangerous situations he has faced. Among them is “danger in the city.” The book’s suggested prayer for Sept. 11 is: Our Father and our God, Your Son left all the glories and wealth of heaven to die for me. Help me to leave materialism behind to follow Him with my whole heart. Give me contentment in whatever situation I find myself, whether poverty or wealth, sickness or health, persecution or peace. Build up my faith through Jesus Christ, in whom I pray.
During the devotional time ending our choir rehearsal Wednesday night, Jeanne Wear asked our heavenly Father, “Help us to pursue good with the same passion that others are pursuing evil.”
And all the people said amen.
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