Yesterday, as I write this, the Upper Room Daily Devotional featured an article written by a person who lived near the World Trade Center Towers in lower Manhattan and described the horror they experienced on 9-11 twenty-two years ago. I happen to chair the Upper Room’s board of directors and so I was talking with a staff person yesterday morning. I was shocked to learn that a number of persons responded to the devotional claiming 9-11 was perpetrated by the U.S. Government. Upper Room staff had to spend time removing conspiracy messages from the ministry’s site.
I was drop-jawed when I heard this. Why? Because the evidence of foreigners conducting the terrorist acts seemed so clear to me, so un-refutable. Upon reflection, this made me consider those who are dismissive of God and who consider Christ as a historical figure and that’s it. Because Christ is so real to me, the evidence of God and the Holy Spirit so clear to me, it’s difficult for me to understand how a person could think otherwise.
So, what do we do when we meet someone who embraces 9-11 conspiracy theories? What do we do when we are with someone who dismisses God and the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit? I’m not exactly sure, but I believe Christ wouldn’t dismiss them, but would listen to them, try to understand what the world looks like through their eyes and then meet them there. Help us, Lord, to just that!
Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director of Church Development
