Who can forget 9/11?

When hijacked jetliners were flown into the two 110-story structures on Sept. 11, 2001, they burst into flames and within two hours, the World Trade Center 's Twin Towers collapsed like an accordion, leaving a pile of twisted steel and concrete dust. Those images are burned indelibly into our minds.

But how many of us remember the building up of the Twin Towers ? When were they built? How long did it take? How many workers did it take?

Making Plans

The idea for a World Trade Center in New York began in 1946, just after World War II. But it wasn't until 1960 that it became feasible to build a World Trade Center . The New York and New Jersey Port Authority began planning the project. The Port Authority's initial proposal for a World Trade Center was made in March 1961.

Public relations expert Lee K. Jaffe wrote a memo that stated, "Incidentally, if you're going to build a great project, you should build the world's tallest building." The idea caught on, and the job of designing it went to Japanese-American architect Minoru Yamasaki.

Yamasaki designed the 110-story Twin Towers (which were the tallest buildings in the world until the Sears Tower in Chicago surpassed them in 1974). The plans for the Twin Towers were revealed in January 1964. There was a certain amount of protest and construction was delayed until 1966.

"Before anything new could be constructed, old buildings had to be demolished and the land cleared" ( Twin Towers by Angus Gillespie, p. 81). It took 20 months to demolish the buildings and excavate the site before the first part of construction could be done.

Construction Begins

At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 6, 1968, the Karl Koch Erecting Company began its work by placing the first steel grillage on the southwest corner of the North Tower .

"It was a significant step. A grillage is the framework of crossing steel beams that is used to spread heavy loads over large areas. A gang of workers guided the grillage, a key component in skyscraper construction, gently and precisely onto the concrete slab or footing 70 feet below street level. Thus this step represented the transition from foundation work to erection work" (Gillespie, p. 100).

There were four steps to the construction. First was the center core where all the elevators were. Each tower had 23 express elevators that carried 55 people at a time. The building was divided into thirds and the express elevators only stopped at these main lobby areas where passengers got off to take a local elevator to their floor. There were 72 local elevators that served only one third of the building at a time. They shared the same elevator shaft as the local elevators above and or below them. And there were nine freight elevators that serviced 116 floors—110 stories above the ground and six basement floors. All these and a central support structure were built in the center of each tower.

To build a skyscraper, the builders needed cranes taller than the building. But there were no 110-story cranes. To solve this problem, they imported cranes from Australia , nicknamed "kangaroo cranes." These had a long leg that fit inside the elevator shafts. As the building rose around these cranes, they had diesel motors and hydraulic lifts that allowed them to rise up three stories taller than the current floor. These cranes rose with the building.

The second part of the construction was the exterior wall, which supported the weight of the entire building. The wall was put up in prefabricated sections. The vertical columns were already welded to horizontal beams. Each piece weighed 22 tons.

Third was the installation of the floor. These pieces stretched from the center core to the outside walls. The floor sections had 32-inch deep metal trusses topped with corrugated metal to accept the poured concrete for the floor. Air ducts were installed in the trusses under the floor and ceiling tiles covered them.

Fireproofing was attached to the outside steel structures and then they were covered with an aluminum skin and stainless steel trim. Bronze-tinted heat-reflective glass was ordered for the 43,600 windows. The windows were recessed 10 inches to shade them from all but direct sunlight (Gillespie, pp. 107-108).

During peak construction times, about 3,600 workers were on the job site (Gillespie, p. 84). "Material requirements for the project called for 200,000 tons of structural steel. Some 1.25 million man-hours of work would be needed to excavate 1.2 million cubic yards of earth and boulders, not to mention about 45,000 yards of bedrock prior to laying the foundations. The World Trade Center would require six million square feet of masonry walls and five million square feet of painted surfaces. Also needed would be 1,520 miles of wire, 400 miles of conduit, and 200,000 lighting fixtures. Toward the end of the project, ceiling workers would install seven million square feet of acoustical tile. Similarly, floor installers would lay seven million square feet of floors" (Gillespie, p. 59).

Up to 30 truckloads of steel arrived daily at the site. The floor sections were too big to be hauled by truck and had to be ferried by tugboat across the river.

On Oct. 19, 1970, the World Trade Center became the tallest building in the world as it surpassed the 1,250-foot high Empire State Building .

On Dec. 22, 1970, the north tower was "topped out." The south tower was topped out July 19, 1971, 10 years after the Port Authority's initial proposal to build a World Trade Center .

The official dedication was April 1973, but by then the buildings were more than half-filled with rent-paying tenants.

What did it take to build the World Trade Center ? A lot of time—about a decade. It took a lot of people working together—3,600 people working at one time. It took cooperation and coordination and planning. It took all types of machinery and vehicles from sledge hammers to paint brushes to kangaroo cranes and tugboats.

Quick Destruction

What did it take to destroy these buildings? Less than a dozen men. With what tools? A few box cutters placed at the throats of an airline crew.

How long did it take to destroy the World Trade Center ? Not long. Just minutes. The north tower was hit first at 8:45 a.m. EDT. It collapsed at 10:28. The south tower was hit at 9:03 and collapsed at 10:05, just about an hour later.

It took years and years of hard work to build. But it only took minutes to destroy.

It takes a lot of time and effort to build something great. Isn't it sad that all that effort can be destroyed so quickly and easily?

Another Building

There is another building, one that has been under construction for nearly 2,000 years. Work began A.D. 31, and today, in 2005, it is still incomplete. It is a spiritual building. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone; the apostles and prophets make up the foundation (Ephesians 2:20). That building is the Church of God (1 Corinthians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21).

What role do we play in this spiritual building? Are we like the 3,600 workers on the job site who built up the Twin Towers ? Or do we do things to tear down and destroy the spiritual building like the hijackers? Are we doing all we can to help build up the Church? Or are we sometimes, without realizing it, doing things that can harm the Church?

We Should Build Up

In 1 Corinthians 14 the apostle Paul addressed the issue of speaking in tongues. The people in Corinth sought spiritual gifts, and the gift they especially wanted was speaking in tongues. Paul told them this gift that they wanted the most was not the best one. Why? Because speaking in tongues edified—built up—the speaker but did nothing for the Church as a whole (1 Corinthians 14:4). Notice how many times in this passage Paul said we should do things to edify—build up—the Church:

"But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men" (verse 3, emphasis added throughout). What do these three words mean? To edify means to build up. To exhort means to urge, advise or caution earnestly. Comfort means to soothe, console, cheer, to make physically comfortable, to aid or encourage. These things unify and build up the Church. "He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church" (verse 4). Our focus should be on building up the Church, not ourselves.

"I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies is greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification.. . Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel" (verses 5, 12). We should use our spiritual gifts, whatever they are, to build up the Church.

"Let all things be done for edification" (verse 26). Everything we do should be to build up the Church.

In Romans 14:19 and 15:1-2, Paul wrote about not offending people when we eat. One principle we can learn from this discussion is that those who are spiritually stronger at the moment should help build up those who are weak at the moment. (We all have our strong periods and our weak periods.)

In Ephesians 4:11-16 Paul tells us that it is primarily the minister's job to edify. It begins with them. But notice verse 16: "From whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love." Every joint and every part supplies something. It is not just the minister's job. Every Church member also must supply something.

What to Do?

What can we do? We, in the Church, should consider each other our friends. How do friends behave toward each other?

Wilfred A. Peterson, in The Art of Living, writes: "To be a friend a man should strive to be 'like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land,' to be a source of refuge and strength to those who walk in darkness.

"To be a friend, a man should strive to lift people up, not cast them down; to encourage, not discourage; to set an example that will be an inspiration to others.

"To be a friend a man should practice the companionship of silence and the magic of words that his speech may build and not destroy, help and not hinder" (pp. 30-31).

These are some good general guidelines. But are there specific actions we should take? What specific things can we do to build up the Church?

Here are a few things mostly garnered from biblical examples and commands that would help build up the Church:

1. Pray for each other and for the work of the Church.

2. Write cards to the sick.

3. Attend services whenever possible.

4. Volunteer to serve when there's a need.

5. Compliment each other.

6. Use talents to serve God and the brethren (accompany hymns, perform special music, share talent in a fun show, etc.).

7. Offer wise advice.

8. Show kindness and gentleness to one another.

9. Sing psalms.

10. Look out for interests of others.

11. Invite the brethren home for a meal and fellowship.

12. Wives submitting to husbands, and husbands loving their wives and their children.

Construction of the Twin Towers took years and years to accomplish. But they were destroyed in just minutes. The Church of God has taken nearly 2,000 years to build. Yet it, too, has suffered devastating attacks.

Thankfully Jesus Christ said the gates of hell will not prevail against His Church (Matthew 16:18). That doesn't stop Satan from trying (Revelation 12:7-10, 12-17).

We must be careful we don't unwittingly become a box cutter in Satan's hand as he attempts to damage the Church of God and destroy its members.

Things to Avoid

What specific actions might help tear down the Church?

1. Gossip.

2. Complaining and murmuring against Church leadership.

3. Staying home from services for no good reason.

4. Making fun of people, cutting them down.

5. Lying.

6. Foolish talking and coarse jesting.

7. Spreading our own ideas that are not Bible-based and are contrary to what the Church teaches.

There are probably hundreds of things we can do to build up the Church. And a lot of things we should avoid as well, because they hurt unity.

Before we do or say things, let's ask ourselves, will these actions or these words help build up the Church or will they harm the Church?

None of us would knowingly do anything to harm the Church. But we could do something without realizing the harm it may cause. We need to be alert to the results our words and actions can have.

Instead of even accidentally causing harm, let's strive to be like the thousands of workers who built up the Twin Towers . Let's build up the spiritual temple of God . UN

The author is a member in Cape Girardeau , Missouri .