Remembering 9-11 | 15 Years Later

15 years ago, I woke up in my home 40 miles from the Pentagon near Washington, DC. Almost 3 months earlier, my wife, Sandy, gave birth to our 11th child, Tabitha. Our oldest daughter, Rachel, had just returned from a year on the mission field in Brazil. We were integrating a couple of "new normals" into our very large and active family. I got a call from a friend notifying me of the attack in New York at the World Trade Center. I, along with my family, the United States of America and the world watched in disbelief as person after person perished in this horrific terrorist attack on our soil.

Being the head of a disaster relief ministry, my phone began ringing from people telling me that Christ In Action needed to get to New York and help the people there. I felt God telling me differently. I heard Him in my spirit saying, "The Pentagon is your 'Jerusalem.' The Pentagon is in your backyard." We began making phone calls and ended up on the south parking lot of the Pentagon. We cooked and served over 55,000 meals to the recovery workers at the Pentagon. Two of my daughters, Bethany and Melody, ages 17 & 15, respectively, were in charge of the breakfast meal. They needed to have 5,000 breakfasts cooked and ready to serve by 7:00 AM. I was personally appointed to "counsel" the workers that were tasked with bringing out body parts from the rubble. I was blessed to share my personal testimony and the plan of Salvation through Jesus with the entire Joint Chiefs of Staff, with countless U.S. Congressmen, U.S. Senators, and dignitaries from around the world.

Following our time at the Pentagon, we were asked to transfer our ministry and equipment to Ground Zero in New York City. We worked in Lower Manhattan until 3 days before Christmas. We served another 45,000 meals and ministered hope through Jesus to hundreds of first responders and recovery workers. My two daughters, Bethany and Deborah, ages 17 & 13, respectively, were part of the core team to cook and serve these meals. I counseled countless people who were there watching others jump from the towering inferno to their death. We prayed with so many people to receive Jesus as their Savior and make Him Lord of their life. Police officers, fire fighters and so many more came to know Christ!

Now 15 years beyond that tragic day, My daughter Tabitha is about to get her learner's permit to drive. The three daughters that were on the Pentagon and at Ground Zero are now married and have children of their own. The aftermath of the terrorist attacks is part of their lives and the lives of their children. The War on Terror has stretched the entire lifetime of my younger children--it's all they know. This is the "new normal" in America.

America was attacked from the outside but now seems to be crumbling from within. On September 10, 2001, God was just a second thought. September 11, 2001, God was the most popular guy in town--any town. Every church from coast to coast, from Canada to Mexico was filled on Sunday morning; they were all turning to God for answers because the problem was bigger than anyone could imagine. Today, 15 years later, God is not the most popular guy in town; in fact, it is now politically correct to bash Christianity--to mock those who follow Jesus. What has happened? What did those thousands of people who went to church following the terrorist attack find; did they find the love and salvation of Jesus or did they find a social gospel? Did they find the outstretched hands of a loving God or the rules of a religion that has no hope? America has lost her moorings; she has been bogged down by political correctness. People are looking to the political candidate for their answer, when Jesus holds the answer for each individual person and this great nation as a whole. Let us turn to Jesus for our hope and answers.

My memory and interaction with the whole of 9/11/01 has a different perspective than most people. The staff and volunteers of Christ In Action who labored 24-hour shifts through those dark times with me have a different perspective on those events. As horrible and devastating as they were, as many times as I shed tears with and for others, I remember how God showed Himself in so many powerful ways and how He used me and our volunteers to reach so many people who were wandering aimlessly through those dark days. God has forged life-long friendships for me as we came alongside other folks and walked through the emotional and spiritual rubble and debris of those terrorist attacks.

My wife, Sandy, and I have been walking on that same road for these past 15 years--still serving others, still reaching out to thousands of people in their darkest hour with the hope of Jesus. Our life, our ministry and our resolve are stronger than ever before, knowing we are carriers of "the cure" for the "sickness" of this nation.

THANK YOU to every one of you who prays for me, my family and the ministry of Christ In Action! THANK YOU to every one of you who volunteer with us. THANK YOU to every one of you who support my family, our staff and the ministry of Christ In Action with your hard earned dollars! We will continue to reach out to this nation as long as we can to bring the Hope of JESUS to this generation.