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Diane & Dan Smedra
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Thank you for your interest. The heart of our modest ministry is personal email correspondence with Christians around the world who are hungry to grow in their spiritual life and service. While Diane continues full-time employment, I was led into early retirement in 2007 due to various medical problems. Together, we continue to joyfully serve in this ministry designed to provide spiritual growth resources to born-again members of Christ's Body.
Having walked with the Lord for nearly 40 years, my heart's desire is to see believers, both young and older, established in sound foundational basics and able to navigate today's doctrinal 'minefield'. withChrist.org seeks to prepare believers for subsequent spiritual growth with the goal of ever-deepening fellowship with God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Our corresponding goal is to stay quietly in touch with the Lord, being prepared by Him to share with those who reach out in need.
Our goal is for a life-giving ministry (2 Cor. 4:12). We claim nor assert any earthly "authority." We view ourselves as directly accountable to the Risen Lord Jesus Christ by the power of God the Holy Spirit, and acting within the context of 19th to 21st century expressions of evangelical Christianity. Our desire is to supplement, not supplant, the role of the doctrinally safe-and-sound local church. Those who visit and read material published on this website are humanly free to ignore both us as well as this ministry. This type of relational ministry is not for everyone.
Therefore, in an effort to be good stewards of our time and resources, we respond to those who demonstrate spiritual hunger and a teachable spirit. We're not interested in debates or arguments. Further, efforts to censure or silence us, or email that is rude, ranting, belligerent, or repeatedly disingenuous in tone will be ignored or potentially blocked pursuant to the Scriptural admonishment of Titus 3:10,11.
Important Notice:
We do not provide formal psychological counseling, therapy, or conflict meditation. We share wisdom; please read Proverbs chapters 1 & 2.
We are not a source of material goods, financial aid, nor are we interested in entering into any "partnering" or "affiliation" arrangement with other ministries, domestic or foreign.
Other than the cache of resources on our websites, we do not provide free literature, books, etc. This ministry operates on less than a 'shoestring' budget.
Lastly, we only accept small 'grassroots' donations via PayPal (see button below). All donations specifically go to the costs of website hosting, spam filtering, or software and hardware upgrades. Historically, donations have never exceeded these costs. For more detail, see the Ten Year History Newsletter below.
We seek to guide believers into study suited to their unique circumstances and further strive to see them become "established in grace" and on their own with the Lord as soon as possible (2 Peter 3:18). Our expectation is for correspondents to eagerly study the Word of God (sixty-six canonical books of the Bible) as well as recommended Christian literature--understanding that the goal for believers is to be anchored in truth and advancing in a more intimate knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each must learn to depend upon Him, the Head of the New Creation, not us.
Our approach to Scripture is to focus on those sections of the Word specifically written to New-Creation Christians--Paul's Epistles. When adequately established in the basic Christian tenets, the believer can safely study and understand other portions of both the NT and OT. As shown is the graphic below, the believer's focus should be upon Paul's Epistle (the blue dot in the center), then, move outward to incorporate the remainder of the NT (the inner green ring). Finally, the believer can safely incorporation and understand the portions of the OT (shown by the outer tan ring). Using this approach helps ensure that students of the Word aren't overwhelmed by the seemingly mundane details found in the OT.
Other key marks of our ministry include:
emphasis upon the supernatural "new birth" as the exclusive portal to genuine Christian experience,
reliance on the Bible as the ultimate authority,
salvation by grace through faith--never the other way around,
concern for the born-again believer's 'spiritual growth' including conformity to the mind of Christ,
focus on Christ's redeeming work in His Cross, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension, and secondarily,
the reasoned and consistent application of these truths to the broader spheres of cultural life.
While not adverse to scholarship or copious footnotes, our material is presented from the perspective of the non-academic and layman who nevertheless enjoy passionate thinking. While our ministry does include observations both sociological and psychological, our primary focus is theological and doctrinal truth. Here you will find candid discussion, frank evaluations and unvarnished reviews, in contrast to the 'seeker-sensitive' messages so in vogue today. "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths." 2 Tim. 4:3,4.
We believe that Jesus Christ is eternally God the Son, the Last Adam and source of New Life for a New Creation, Savior of sinners, Head and Bridegroom of the Church--His Body, as well as Israel's coming Messiah and King. We view Scripture through a sovereign grace, classic Pauline dispensational framework. We believe God the Father has one grand purpose (plan)—to glorify Himself in Christ. This involves glory in two spheres—the earthly and the heavenly. While the Apostle Paul wrote Romans to Philemon, these Epistles are nothing short of inerrant revelation (communication) from the Lord Jesus, the Risen Christ, who is currently seated in the Glory.
We believe, that over time, the content of a person's beliefs affect all realms of life--or put simply, "ideas have consequences." "For as he thinks in his heart [mind], so is he" Proverbs 23:7.
Many thanks to those who provide prayer and encouragement.
Biblical Love: In Relation to Doctrinal Error and Those Who Hold It
We endorse the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
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WithChrist.org (originally TrueBranch Ministry) was established in late 1995 and has been supported primarily through our personal sacrifice, labor, and funds. Since the start, hundreds of hours have been spent each year creating and maintaining these websites, as well as time spent in correspondence with those who write from all over the world. In addition, both Diane and I are employed in demanding, full-time jobs--for the past 30+ and 35+ years, respectively. The Apostle Paul is our model (2 Cor. 6:3-10).
Believers who benefit from this ministry regularly ask how they can participate and help support the websites (Timothy 5:18). Donations can be made, using the PayPal link below. Using a PayPal account or a credit card is similar to other e-commerce transactions. Canadian dollar, Euro, Pound Sterling, Yen, and Australian dollars are accepted. You don't have to establish a PayPal account to transfer funds. It is easy, safe and secure. At this time, your donation directly goes to cover the costs and maintenance of hardware, software, and hosting service subscriptions. WithChrist.org's financial stewardship is modeled after 1 Kings 17:3-6. We deeply appreciate the "ravens" who continue to answer God's call and sustain this ministry.
At times, our burden is to speak spiritual truth to both religious and secular power. This includes publishing opinions on "Christian" leaders and movements; social, political, and spiritual issues; including the possible endorsement of political candidates. WithChrist.org is not organized under U.S. Code 501(c)(3) as a "qualified charitable organization." According to the IRS, your donation to our ministry is officially not tax-deductible... but of course still deeply appreciated. We know you'll understand.
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As a current request, we are looking to hear from any bilingual believers (particularly those fluent in Persian, Farsi, Arabic, Hindi, Italian, and French), who will facilitate the translation of select articles and publications. We also are interested in locating someone with artistic and computer animation skills to help in building a key, online instructional module. Please write us. |
Dan also serves as the WebCurator for and by request of the late Miles J. Stanford. In early 1996 and before Miles homegoing, Dan began to develop the initial MJS website. Ever so cautious, Miles wanted to start small and opted to access the Internet via WebTV rather than become involved with any of those "fangdangled computers". Within weeks, email was arriving--and Miles was praising the advent of electronic correspondence! Brief descriptions of those early days can be found at the bottom of our 1996 What's New page.
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After nearly 50 years of ascension ministry and at the age of 85, Christian growth author Miles J. Stanford stepped into the Lord's glory on September 21, 1999. In addition to his prolific writings, he maintained correspondence with scores of hungry-hearted believers around the world, typically signing his doctrinally rich letters with "Resting in Him." |
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