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October 29, 2002 |
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THE WANTED MAN NEWSLETTER: 1. Letter From The Wanted Man Howdee All, Today is October 29th, and as I write to you this month, I am happy to report that my CD is now available. The "First Thing I Pray For" CD and cassettes are shipping now, and I am pleased to announce that they are available at Banner Books located at 2913 Niles Avenue, in Saint Joseph, MI and also at the Chuck Day Music Center located at 48 North Saint Joseph Avenue, in Niles, MI. This month I must ask you to pray for my sister-in-law, Kimberly. She is the Family Ministry Director for The Wanted Man website. She has been unable to add new articles the last few weeks due to some personal health difficulties she is going through, but she is back. She has written a wonderful letter our readers, and it can be found at: http://www.thewantedman.com/Family_Matters/when_is_god_with_us.htm I will be traveling to Lansing, Michigan on November 5th for a meeting of the Michigan Gospel Music Association, and on November 17th I will be doing an evening concert at the Harmony Baptist Church in Burton, MI. if you're in the area, come on by and join us. I am currently in discussions with a record company which may lead to a recording contract, so I ask that you put that on your prayer lists, as well. On a strictly personal note, we are getting really excited around here at the Cromwell home. The time is soon coming when our second child will be born. Brenda is doing all the things that expectant mothers are expected to do to get ready for a new baby, Elizabeth is practicing taking care of her new little baby brother or sister (using her stuffed animals and dolls to practice on), and I am trying to imagine how I could be so blessed to have a family like this to share my life with. God just keeps pouring blessing on top of blessing in my life, and I appreciate your letting me take time to share that life with you. Thanks for spreading the word about http://www.thewantedman.com, and this newsletter, and know that we appreciate your cards, letters, emails, and prayers as we continue in this growing ministry. We pray that God will bless you, and many others, through our ministry efforts. In HIS Service, Rev. Derek L. Cromwell, Music Evangelist The Wanted Man Phone: 260-248-9791 Email: derek@thewantedman.com WebSite: http://www.thewantedman.com Derek Cromwell is a music evangelist with 18 years experience in the ministry and over 25 years in the music industry. Originally from the hills of Kentucky, Derek resides in Buchanan Michigan with his wife Brenda, and their daughter Elizabeth. Derek is the Staff Evangelist for the First Baptist Church at Berrien Springs, Michigan. For booking Information, call 269-422-2029 or 260-248-9791, or by email at bookings@thewantedman.com. ***** 2. Featured Story My Quilt As I faced my Maker at the last judgment, I knelt before the Lord along with all the other souls. Before each of us laid our lives like the squares of a quilt in many piles. An Angel sat before each of us sewing our quilt squares together into a tapestry that is our life.
But as my angel took each piece of cloth off the pile, I noticed how ragged and empty each of my squares was. For the complete story: http://www.thewantedman.com/Stories/Story.asp?title=My Quilt ***** 3. Featured Bible Study When was the last time you said, “Thank you, God” for anything? Do you thank Him for your family? Do you thank Him for your food each time you eat? What about your clothes, your home, your automobile(s), do you thank Him for all these? You may say, “I’m the one who paid for all those things. Why should I thank God?” For the complete Bible study: http://www.thewantedman.com/BibleStudies/BibleStudy.asp?title=I Am Somebody (Chapter 3) (Week 7) Read other online Bible Studies here: http://www.thewantedman.com/BibleStudies/BibleStudies.asp ***** 4. Featured Interview A few months ago we published an interview with Tony and Jamie Lynn, who were leaving the states as Missionaries. On October 8th, 2002, I received this update from them, so this month, since many of you expressed interest in their work after we ran their interview, instead of an interview, I am sharing this update with you. ***** Hello from Paris, Thought I would drop a line or two about the latest in our lives. I’ll simply list some of our recent experiences. Please, feel free to share these recent accounts in your prayers meetings or Bible study classes as a means to join us through the wonderful ministry of prayer. Going Deeper: To begin with, Jamie and I are making unexpected strides in re-using our French. We distributed some Jesus films in three different African dialects three weeks ago. Now, we are going to send out letters this week asking the recipients to meet with us again. We want to deepen our relationship with them so that we can move to starting Bible studies that will ultimately develop into churches. The community where our new West African acquaintances live is in a sad part of town. My heart was heavy after spending a long afternoon there. Let me describe to you what I saw and felt. The building they live in is over crowded and run down. The walls are stained with years of neglect. The building is surrounded by a noisy highway to the west, a cemetery to the north, a sports stadium to the south, and a small street that allows them passage to their home, a run down apartment building. One of the saddest evidences that we serve in a more dangerous and dirty world, comes from what I saw. When revisiting the area, I saw one block from where this community of West Africans live, a major thoroughfare where three prostitutes were working the streets between the hours of noon and 2 in the afternoon. One restaurant worker, from whom I purchased some coffee, said that their presence was as normal as the postman passing by to deliver letters. The women were working in front of a high school and among all kinds of normal activities. After I was on my way home, I realized that I was getting a headache from needing to weep, but I couldn’t allow myself since I was surrounded by so many people on the train, in the buses, and on the streets. The experience was heartbreaking. Speaking French: We are happy with our progress in French. We started our refresher course in the language yesterday, 7 October, and we are glad about that. Currently, we are doing fine with our daily conversations and normal business activities, but it will be nice to move to a better level of French. We know that the language is the only real way that we can speak about the deeper things of God. Jamie and I ended up in the same course, with the same teacher. We are in school one half-day, Monday through Friday. We spend about 45 minutes on the subway riding one way to school each day. Making a Home: We currently live in a cute one bedroom apartment, about one fourth of the size of our ranch style home in Michigan. Ultimately, we would like to move from our temporary housing on the east side of Paris to a permanent apartment in the center of Paris. We would like to make the move sometime in January 2003. Our accessibility to our new West African friends would be greatly improved, if we were in the heart of Paris. Their communities are often placed around the entire perimeter of the city’s outskirts. We already have inroads to West African communities in the northwest section, the north section, and the east side of Paris. Starting Churches: After only four weeks in Paris, progress is already being made in the area of church work. The Lord is helping us to use our 6 previous years of French and our African experiences. Some critical visits were made last night (7 October) on the east side of Paris. We are building on the previous work of an ISC couple who served with the International Mission Board as short term missionaries. Because of what the Lord did through Eric and Chrissy, the ISC couple, we now have an African Christian friend, who has the heart of an evangelist. After sharing a panoramic view of our vision for West Africans in Paris, he is allowing us to use his apartment in order to start the birth of our first house church. I will pick up a key for the apartment on Wednesday (9 October). In addition, we already have 3 other men who have indicated interest in becoming a part of the meetings. One of those men came to accept Christ by watching the Jesus video in his own African heart language, the Soninke language. We hope to put into practice the great Church Planting Movement principles we learned about during our training time at the Missionary Learning Center near Richmond, VA. Obviously, we’re pumped about the possibilities!! Gospel Flashing: Let me say to begin with that I always want to open doors for ongoing witnessing and I try not to do anything that would give a bad impression of Christianity. But the other day I may have stumbled in my effort. I witnessed to a French business woman, with Jamie present, during a first time encounter. After hearing about the encounter, one of our colleagues described what had happened by saying that I "Gospel Flashed" the lady. Here is what happened. She had asked what "type" of Christian I was. She wanted a "one" word answer so that she could put me in one of her neat little categories. Fearing that I might never see this business woman again, I rushed into a French version of my testimony and I stressed my daily relationship with Christ, rather than my denominational label. At the end of it all, and after she had politely listened, she tilted her head and stared at me as if I was an alien from outer space. She snapped back with the words, "Well, I didn't ask for all that explanation." What she meant was that I had shared a whole lot more about myself than the French are use to hearing from a new acquaintance. I knew that she hadn’t asked for it all, but I thought I felt a nudge of the Holy Spirit to unload all that I could. At least now, she had something that the Holy Spirit could bring to her recollection the next time she laid her head down to sleep. But with all sincerity, we want to be sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit at all times. One final word regarding the French lady; we saw here five days later for another item of business and everything between us seemed fine. Well, I've said enough, or perhaps too much. We appreciate your prayers. They empower our ministry and our daily lives. All our love, Tony and Jamie ***** Please keep Tony and Jamie, and the work that they are involved with, in your prayers. ***** 5. Feature From Family Matters Families are the backbone of society; societies literally stand or fall under the strength or weakness of and value or disregard for their family units. Nationwide, both within the church and without, the family is in grave danger. More than half of all first-time marriages end in divorce, and the numbers rise significantly with subsequent marriages, leaving both husbands and wives emotionally and spiritually wounded and children (if any) in broken homes. The Lord values our marriages and families. He designed the covenant of marriage before He created the world. The world, itself, depends on the institutions of marriage and family for continued life and generation. If God, Himself, so values our marriage and family, we as husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, should also value its well-being and preservation. For more on our Family Matters: http://www.thewantedman.com/Family_Matters/family_matters_topics.htm ***** 6. God's Plan of Salvation 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. ***** 7. Conclusion Well at long the last the CDs and cassettes for "First Thing I Pray For" has arrived. If you want to hear clips of each of the songs on his latest release go to http://www.thewantedman.com/discography.htm To purchase his latest release or any other merchandise go to http://www.thewantedman.com/store/merchandise.htm We ask for continued prayer for our ministry and that God would bless you in all of your endeavors as well. In Christ's Name Debbie Dixon
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