"Really, I Can Have This Bible?"

He couldn’t believe it! It was as if he had just learned that he had won the lottery. “Really, are you sure?” He said. “You are giving me this Bible?” “It is mine to keep?” Pastor Me*h had come to a pastors’ conference from a remote area of Asia and cherishes God’s word. He had seen it work powerfully in his own life and in the lives of others.

I asked him how he had planted the churches he pastors. He simply said that when he had accepted Jesus Christ as His Lord and Savior he shared Christ with his family and they all accepted Christ. Then he shared Christ with his village and they all accepted Christ. Then he went to another village and they all accepted Christ. He mentioned the all night prayer meetings at his church as they prepare to reach out into areas hostile to Christians.

Pastors like Me*h often live on $20 a month with no reference books and Bibles. In contrast how many resources we have as pastors in the United States. Our personal libraries are full. Often we run out of room for our resources. Where would I put another bookshelf anyway? And with the advent of libraries on computer, a few clicks, a credit card number, and we are all set for that sermon series coming up.

Would you be able to help an under trained and resourced pastor by weeding out s few of your evangelical reference books, study Bibles and commentaries—perhaps books you have duplicates of, or you don’t use that often, or you have now on the computer as well as on the bookshelf?

ACTION has a 20-foot shipping container being prepared for shipment in the next few months. If the Lord led you to send a few books, it would be a tremendous blessing. Your help can extend your spiritual influence beyond your congregation and community, to the nations!

The address to send the books and study Bibles is as follows:
ACTION (Philippines Container Project)
Chapel Library (Mt Zion Publishers)
2603 West Wright Street, Pensacola, Florida 32505

IMPORTANT: Please do not send William Barclay commentaries or Scofield Reference Bibles.

If You hve any questions, please contact Candi Arveson, Founder's Office Coordinator, at 425-775-4800 ext. 18.

PREACHING DURING CHRISTMAS TIME!

When this time of year comes around, there is an expectation in many churches to hear sermons driven by the season. Christmas or Advent sermons. It was in my 5th or 6th year as a Pastor when I told my church that I was out of Christmas sermons. From that time on I would each year at Christmas time simply continue to preach verse by verse through the book I happened to be in, and an amazing thing happened, no one complained! It was a blessing to know that my church cared more about the Word of God being faithfully and accurately proclaimed than they did about it fitting the season.

There is nothing wrong and many things right about preaching to the season. There are many great opportunities, one for me being a Christmas eve service to preach the gospel to unbelievers. But we also do not want to feel tied to the calendar. As there becomes more and more holidays, if a preacher is not careful, they will be continualy preaching about some holiday. So brothers, preach the Christmas sermons with all of your might, but please be more concerned with getting the text right and becoming faithful expositors of the Word. Your church will thank you for it, regardless of the time of the year!

For His Glory,
Tom Crouse

Polycarp

Polycarp (c 69-155 A.D.) was a leader of the early church in Smyrna. "When commanded to [curse the name of Jesus Christ and] worship Caesar: 'Eighty-six years I have served Him [Christ] and He has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King, who saved me?' To the end Polycarp...disdained to defend himself before the mob. He was threatened with the wild beasts and then with fire, but he did not flinch. Once again his statement was memorable, as well as moving: 'You threaten me with the fire that burns for an hour and in a little while is put out, for you do not know about the fire of the judgement to come, and the fire of eternal punishment reserved for the ungodly. But why are you waiting? Bring what you will.' And so they did. He was burned alive. The issues were clear to Polycarp and [other] Christians: 'It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out' (Mark 9:43). Immediately after Polycarp's martyrdom, the local church wrote a letter describing the events, so eager were they for a neighbouring church to know of their leader's joyful and glorious end. To them and to the [non-Christians] around them such faithfulness was the best possible testimony to the truth of the gospel." (The Footsteps of God by John Legg, Evangelical Press)

DANIEL JOINED THEM!

I have always been amazed at Daniel. He was a man that was known to be faithful in the Word and prayer. He was well known enough for his walk with God that it was easy to trap him using that as a weapon. His enemies knew that nothing would keep him from his time with the Lord, be it a law or a Kings decree. But what is most amazing to me is when Daniel prays to the Lord for the people of Israel in the past, and their past transgressions. He goes to God for them and in spite of his never having committed their sins, in spite of his not have fallen with them, in spite of it being none of Daniels accountability, he prays to God as if he had done all that they had. It is an impressive example of how a man of God, a minister of the gospel is to identify with the people God has entrusted to his care.

For those of us in ACTION, that means we must see these needy pastors as we do ourselves. We must see their needs, as our needs, their joys as our own, and their tears as ours as well. The only way we can effectively minister to these dear brothers is to join them in heart soul and spirit. Would you join us as we join them? Would you partner with us as we partner with them? Would you do all that you can in prayer and practically to see that the needy pastors of the world are encouraged and provided for? It is a call worth answering. Daniel did not see himself as above those who went before him and failed. In fact he put himself in the thick of it, identifying with them. Would you do the same for the needy pastors of the world?

For His Glory,
Tom Crouse

The new Action Bible Institute in Zambia

We are really excited about the commencement of our new Bible institute for pastors in Zambia... Just so you can come along for the ride, here is a description of what we are doing...

ACTION BIBLE INSTITUTE

Action Zambia is pleased to announce the formation of Action Bible Institute (ABI). ABI is a cherished dream of AZ missionaries to serve the pastors and church leaders of Lusaka with a formal program of theological and practical training.

General Description: ABI is a three year course of theological education and pastoral training consisting of eighteen courses. Students attend class five days a week for two hours a day. They also participate with fellow students in small groups led by AZ missionaries. Upon completion of their studies they receive a Certificate of Pastoral Training from Action Zambia.

Purpose: ABI has been established to train and equip Christian pastors and leaders in the Lusaka area with the needed knowledge, skills, and character development to shepherd and lead the church to spiritual health, maturity, and multiplication. We seek to promote the supremacy of God in all things, the sufficiency of the Bible for faith and life, and the way of salvation in Jesus Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone for the peoples of all the nations.

Philosophy: Our training is geared to develop leaders in the context of their life responsibilities. We seek to accommodate them with the development of a curriculum and schedule that allows them to learn as they serve their churches and families. We have developed a curriculum plan that focuses on imparting the essential knowledge and skills for ministry with an emphasis upon learning how to exegete the Bible and develop a theology that is Biblically sound and culturally relevant. Our program also includes a commitment to build personal relationships with our students for support and encouragement in fulfilling God’s call upon their lives.

Cost & Expenses: Tuition is free. We do require students to make an investment in the purchase of their class books but we also seek to financially support our students by subsidizing some of their costs of food, transportation, and additional books for their personal libraries. We are a faith organization that depends entirely on the offerings of people who support this ministry and make no commitments beyond helping students as funds are available.

Schedule: Monday through Friday; 15:00-17:00 hours

Student Requirements:

· Fill out an AZ application for ABI.

· Upon acceptance into the program, attend 90% of class room instruction and fulfill all assignments. Excused absences beyond the 90% attendance will be allowed at the discretion of the teacher.

· Tests will be administered at the discretion of the teacher.

· Students will receive a pass or fail based on their participation in the class and small group, and satisfactory fulfillment of all other class requirements.