Miles Joseph Stanford was a writer
of Christian materials and one of the most outspoken proponents of his day
on the subjects of Dispensationalism and the Growth Truths of Romans
6-8. He was fully committed to this ministry and faithfully served the
Body of Christ for nearly 50 years, until his home-going on September 21,
1999, at the age of 85. He is survived by his wife, Cornelia; by two
brothers, Art and Robert; and a sister, Bettie Sundine.
Untold numbers of believers have
been impacted by Miles' ministry, through his books, papers, tapes, and
personal correspondence. Included in the nearly 20 books he wrote are
such titles as: The Principle of Position, The Ground of
Growth, Abide Above, The Reckoning That Counts,
and The Line Drawn. His best known publication was
The Green Letters,
which was first published in book form in 1964, and has since been translated into nearly
a dozen foreign languages. Another major work, The Complete
Green Letters, which combined the five earlier books in one volume,
and was published by Zondervan in 1984.
Because he put so much of his
material in writing, and because his writings are now available on the
Internet and in compact disc form, his influence will extend well into the
future. Miles would have told you, however, that the far-reaching
effect of his ministry was not because of him, but because of the Truth that
he was proclaiming.
Miles, whose first name was his
mother's maiden name, was born in Wheaton, Illinois, on January 4,
1914. His early life
centered on the golf course and baseball diamond. He had little or no
Sunday School background, and had never heard the Gospel, not even knowing
John 3:16. But in spite of this, he began to realize, at age 27, that
God was holy and that he was a lost sinner. He later said that
this was "Our sovereign God at work!" His conviction of sin
continued to deepen, and on September 19, 1940, while alone in his room, he
finally received the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
The following year was spent
getting used to church and to Christians at Wheaton College Church, while
studying the Bible eight to ten hours every day. Then, in 1942, the
Lord placed him in the Army Engineers as a cartographer (a map-maker)
sending him overseas for a year in England and nearly two years in
Germany. During this time a ministry of correspondence with other
Christians developed, so that upon his discharge in late 1945, he was
writing to nearly 200 individuals.
In the mid-1940's, due to a deep
heart-hunger for spiritual growth, he became dissatisfied with the Wheaton
churches. After waiting on the Lord for a time, the Lord settled him
in a room in Brooklyn, New York. There, he continued to study God's
Word, along with numerous authors, which he would later frequently quote in
his writings. At the same time, the correspondence ministry continued
to expand.
After five wonderful years of
study, he said the Lord gave him an even more wonderful wife. He
married Cornelia Schwab on January 20, 1951. The
Lord had given Cornelia a similar heart-hunger for growth and to help other
believers develop spiritually, and they began holding weekly evening
meetings in a home, for those who hungered to go on with the Lord. The
first two volumes of Ruth Paxson's Life on the Highest Plane was
their textbook for what they called the "Paxson Meetings," which
went on for five years.
The Lord then moved them back to
the Wheaton area in the Spring of 1955. During the following
seven years, the correspondence ministry expanded, many home meetings were
held, and they had heavy responsibilities in a Bible church. Then, in
1962, they moved to Colorado Springs.
In 1973 Miles introduced the Spiritual
Sharing Service. This "Tri-S Series," as it was
called, covered much of the spiritual growth realm, including information
concerning various Christian writers. In the late 1970's, he also
wrote a series of devotional booklets, known as None But the Hungry
Heart, and published The New Birth Explained,
designed for the unsaved, as well as for new Christians.
In 1979, after 17 years in the
Springs, the Lord moved Miles and Cornelia to the Denver area. There
they became more involved with Miles' sister Bettie and her husband in the
unique ministry of "Ed & Bettie's Christian Books." This
bookstore became the center for their mail-order operation, and also
provided a large meeting room in which Miles led growth classes.
In 1984 he began to prepare a
series of "Position Papers," extracted from the best books
in his library. These
were shared a few at a time in correspondence, and were eventually published
in a three-volume set entitled Position Papers - A
Spiritual Anthology. In
the fall of 1985, Miles and Cornelia moved back to Colorado Springs, which
they loved so much.
In late 1996,
Miles' website was established by a long-time friend, Dan Smedra, and later Miles
entered the universe of E-mail and the World Wide Web. Then, in early 1997, the mail-order
ministry was placed in the hands of Michael and Donna Doyle. From that
time, until the day of his home-going, the heart of his outreach continued
to be personal correspondence and e-mail with believers who were hungry to
"grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ"
Like many others, my wife Jane and I first heard of the Miles through one of his books, The
Green Letters, back in the mid-60's. We then met Miles and
Cornelia in the mid-1970's when we started to attend Mesa Hills Bible
Church. They have both had quite an impact on our lives, and we
appreciate them deeply!
Over the years, we found Miles to
be an exceptionally hard working servant of the Lord, totally dedicated to
his ministry. He was a man of strong character, and he had an
excellent sense of humor. He will certainly be greatly missed by his
Cornelia; by Art, Robert, and Bettie; by his friends, and by the many, many
people to whom he ministered.
In the last week-and-a-half,
Cornelia has been a living testimony to the enabling power of the Lord. She
asked me to read something that
was enclosed in one of the sympathy cards she received. She said that
the words clearly reflect her testimony--the way she feels--and why she can
rejoice at such a time as this.
Jim Wince