 
|
July 29, 2002 |
|
|
| ||||
|
THE WANTED MAN NEWSLETTER: July 29, 2002 Volume 1 No. 5 Archived copies of previous newsletters can be found at: Table Of Contents: ***** Howdee All, I write this letter on the night after Elizabeth's 5th birthday party. I am so blessed to have such a wife and daughter. We had a lot of friends over, and I did the cooking on the grill. I knew the food would be good, because I burnt half the hair off of my right arm turning hamburgers. That meant that the flame was just right! This month was marked with the sudden death of my father-in-law. The day before I was to go out of town to record my latest project, he had a heart attack. When we went to the hospital to visit him, I I decided to reschedule my recording time, but he encouraged me to go on. He wanted to hear the CD when I got finished. Five days later, he went to be with the Lord. It was an honor for me to sing Amazing Grace at the funeral, since it was one of his favorite hymns. He will be sorely missed by family and friends. I did get the recording finished. I went into the studio on July 15th and what a time that was. I still feel like I have been in a revival. Not only did the music come together incredibly well, but I made some great new friends. As I told you last month, Mark Goodman (of Blackwood Brothers fame) produced the project. Rex Wiseman (Steel Guitarist for Clay Walker) played acoustic rhythm and lead guitar, electric lead guitar, steel guitar, and mandolin. Hank Rose (an incredible studio musician) played bass guitar, and Peter Young (highly sought after in Nashville) played drums. The project will be called "First Thing I Pray For," and will be available for purchase at the beginning of September. We are planning a release party on September 7th, 2002. The Wanted Man website continues to win awards. In the last couple of months we have been awarded the Farland Music Site Award, the Inspiration Teaching Award (from School Assemblies for Busy Teachers, a Christian teaching group from England), and the Diamond Award of Excellence (a ChristianWeb WebJewel Award). The Lord continues to bless our ministry, and I praise God for that. With all that has been going on, some of what we had hoped to have online by now has been delayed, but plans are still moving forward. All the proceeds from my concerts this year are going toward this project. If you would like for me to do a concert in your area, you or your church can contact my Booking Coordinator, Carlotta Shelton, at bookings@thewantedman.com. Also, cassette and CD sales of "The Dawn Will Come" are going to finance the next project, so if you would like copies of that project you can email me at derek@thewantedman.com. Cassettes are $10 and CD's are $12, plus $2 for shipping and packaging. As always, thanks for spreading the word about http://www.thewantedman.com, and this newsletter; and thanks so much for your cards, letters, emails, and prayers as we follow the leading that God has placed on us with this ministry. We pray that God will bless you, and many others, through our ministry efforts. In HIS Service, Rev. Derek L. Cromwell, Music Evangelist Derek Cromwell is a music evangelist with 18 years experience in the ministry
and over 25 years in the music industry. ***** BELIEVER'S ALPHABET ***** How God equips us for His work We can never "improve" ourselves. It would be similar to "lifting oneself by his own bootstraps". It cannot be done! As there is no self-made millionaire, there is no self-made man. There are millions of outside influences, but it is the Inside Influence (Jesus Christ) that we need. For the complete Bible study: Read other online Bible Studies here: ***** This months interview is with a couple that has meant a lot in my life. Rev Tony Lynn and his wife Jamie were at the Oak Hill Baptist Church in Sonora, Kentucky directly after I had surrendered my life into the ministry. As my pastor, Tony licensed me to preach in 1982, and he joined me in delivering food and toys to underpriviledged families in the hills around our church at Christmas, and Jamie and I sang in a trio with another friend. In in 1991, Tony preached the message at my ordination service. I was truly sorry when they left for Africa for their first mission assignment, but in the following years, I grew to understand and learn from their example of unconditional surrender to God's leading. I had the honor of being present and singing their first service back in the states as Tony was installed as Pastor of the Dundee Baptist Church in Dundee, Michigan. This past September, Tony brought the morning message at the Oak Hill Baptist Church Homecoming service, and that afternoon, Jamie and I performed a "reunion" duet during an afternoon concert. It was just like old times. Now, they are returning to the international mission field once again. This time, however, I will bid a fond farewell with hope and gladness, and with this interview so that friends, family, and fans of "The Wanted Man" can place their ministry on prayer lists around the country and lift them up to God daily in prayer. And now, the interview: The Wanted Man: In way of introduction, please tell our readers a little about yourselves. Tony and Jamie Lynn: We both grew up outside of the large city of Flint, Michigan where our fathers worked in the car factories. Jamie and I both grew up in Christian homes. Early in our lives we learned the value of hard work and the Golden Rule. We met one another in a local Southern Baptist church while we were both in high school. Not only did we date for three years during high school, but many of our times were spent together at church activities, including visiting prospects for our church along with our pastor. For some unknown reason, we loved serving God even early in our relationship. That set the foundation for our shared ministry today. TWM: How did each of you come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior? T&JL: Jamie and I both came to know the Lord through the ministry of small Southern Baptist churches in Michigan. Yes, there are Southern Baptist congregations in Michigan! The pastors who shared the Gospel message with us are not famous by the world's standards, but these men of God were faithful and earnest in their service to the Lord. Both of them have since heard the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." TWM: What started you into the area of missions service? T&JL: If it wasn't for the effective missions training of the Southern Baptist Convention, we may have never come to know the wonderful joy that's to be found in following God to the edges of the world. Jamie first sensed her calling to missions when she was a little girl in a retreat setting in Michigan. As she grew into adulthood, her participation in the church's missions organization challenged her to get involved more and more. The point of no return into foreign mission service came when Jamie went on a volunteer mission trip to the former Soviet Union within weeks of its demise. Jamie gave her testimony and sang standing in the Red Square of Moscow. Four weeks earlier and she would have been arrested for doing such and there she was handing out Scriptures to the spiritually hungry people of the Soviet Union. Within weeks of her return from Russia, I heard a missionary ask this simple question during his message to a group of pastors, he challenged all of us by asking, "Pastors, knowing that 20 men would stand in line tomorrow to lead your church here in Michigan and that there are 20 places overseas without a preacher, why won't you go?" That simple question shook the foundations of my plans for my life. It was that same day that Jamie and started pursuing our service overseas. TWM: What kind of Christian work have you been involved with before coming to where you are now? T&JL: Jamie and I have always enjoyed our lives the most when we were serving the Lord in a venture that challenged us to depend on Him. We have served Him at a children's home in Kentucky. I have served as an associate pastor and as a pastor in two states. We have served as Southern Baptist missionaries in West Africa by witnessing to Muslims in a country on the edge of the Sahara Desert. We started some revolutionary methods of evangelism and church planting in that Muslim nation that are still having their affect. The goal of our past 25 years as husband and wife has been to fulfill God's desire for our lives. We want to be poured out for His glory and honor that all might know Him through Jesus Christ His Son. TWM: What methods of ministry are you using to impact lives in your ministry today? T&JL: Jamie and I try to always do the same three things no matter what ministry we are involved in. First, we witness in order to see others profess faith in Christ. Second, we challenge the new convert to develop in their new found faith by serving the Lord with all of their heart and life. Third, we know we've accomplished our goal when we see our former convert now witnessing and challenging others as we did them. It means so much to see God extend our ministry through the lives of others when they continue our work in their own lives, in their own style, and in their own way. TWM: I understand that after several years on the mission field, and back to the states in a pastorate role, you are again going to the international mission field. How did you come to the decision to do this? T&JL: During this last year of our lives, while our children were transitioning from high school to college, we spent some time in deep reflection. We compared the reality once again that in America there are many churches and opportunities where people can hear the Gospel. But overseas there are people groups and countries where many have never heard the good news of Jesus Christ. We felt a growing burden for those who haven't heard and we knew that we had to let God lead us in our future. We received a peace when we surrendered to His calling overseas once again. TWM: What hopes do you have for this return to the mission field? T&JL: We hope to see many come to know Christ and to establish a ministry where the new converts will develop into devoted disciples and active apostles who will share their vibrant faith with the lost around us. We hope to develop a network of dedicated co-laborers where Christ is premiere. TWM: If the Lord tarries, what do you see in store for your future ministry efforts? T&JL: You know the older we get (we're in our early 40's now), the less we know about our future. We want the Lord to lead in all that we do. We don't have plans. We simply want His Holy Spirit to direct our course, daily and ultimately. TWM: What words of advice or encouragement would you offer to anyone interested in ministry or missions, but unsure of the impact they could make for the Kingdom work? T&JL: I would ask anyone considering overseas service for the Lord to contrast this image. Would it be better to be one flickering, warm candle in a room bursting with light or a single, flickering candle in a room full of darkness where people are groping in their blindness? I would challenge them to make difference by being different then the rest of the world. TWM: Are there any other comments that you would like to make? T&JL: A Bible text that has recently spoke to our hearts in a new way is Acts 20:24, "I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God." TWM: Thank you, Tony and Jamie, for granting this interview. I know as you prepare for your assignment, time is very precious in your busy schedule. May God richly bless your work, and I look forward to our next meeting. Tony and Jamie will be leaving for their new mission appointment the first part of September. Please make a point to pray for them as they take the gospel to people overseas. ***** Did you know God has a plan for you? The plan He has is called Salvation, and it is a free gift from the God of Creation to YOU through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ! Why You Need Salvation! Romans 3:23 tells us that; ". . .all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." And 1John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Do you believe in heaven and hell? Matthew 25:31-34 and Matthew 25:41 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides [his] sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, `Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:' Then He will also say to those on the left hand, `Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:'" Did you know there's only one way to heaven? John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'" 1Tim 2:5 "For [there] [is] one God and one Mediator between God and men, [the] Man Christ Jesus." So, how can I be sure I will go to heaven? John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." If you feel God is speaking to your heart right now, please pray this prayer "Jesus, I believe You died on the Cross for me and that God raised You from the dead. I believe You took upon Yourself the punishment for my sins and my guilt. I know that You are the only Way to Heaven, and now I ask You to forgive me of every sin and come into my heart. Jesus, I now make you LORD of my life... I will love You, serve You, and obey You all the days of my life. Thank You Jesus, for dying for me and giving me a new life in You. AMEN" If you have sincerely prayed this prayer for salvation in faith, believing that Jesus is the Living Son of GOD, the Bible promises that you now are a Child of God, and a joint heir with Jesus Christ. Please locate a local church and speak to a Pastor. Also, please email The Wanted Man at testimony@thewantedman.com and tell me of your salvation experience. I want to rejoice with you and pray for you as you begin your walk with Christ. ***** There have been several new items added to the website recently. The awards that Derek mentioned in his letter can be found under the Website Awards option. Also under the concert pictures a new caricature of Derek from our trip to King's Island. You can also find pictures of Derek during his time in the studio. The most important new addition is the Family Ministries. This section of the website will be devoted to helping the family, as the primary root of society, to cope with the pressures and challenges that everyday life exerts on the family today. We are very excited about Kimberly's work and know that God will bless those who will read this through. You can get to our new addition through the following link: http://www.thewantedman.com/family_ministries.htm! We hope you check out all the new items soon and again if you have any ideas for the newsletter, let us know at editor@thewantedman.com. In Christ's Name Debbie Dixon ***** To unsubscribe to this mailing list, send an email to Newsletter-Remove@thewantedman.com. To subscribe or to re-subscribe to this mailing list, send an email to Newsletter-Add@thewantedman.com. We encourage you to forward this newsletter to friends and family, and only request that you forward it in its entirety. If you have received this as a forward from a third party and wish to subscribe to this mailing list yourself, send an email to Newsletter-Add@thewantedman.com. Do Not write messages in Emails to Newsletter-Add@thewantedman.com and Newsletter-Remove@thewantedman.com. These addresses are processed automatically and are not read. If you wish to send us a message, email us at info@thewantedman.com. Copyright (c)2002, The Wanted Man |
|
|
