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About the Book
"Tortured for Christ" is a memoir written by Pastor Richard Wurmbrand about his experiences enduring persecution and torture for his Christian faith while imprisoned in Communist Romania. The book documents his resilience and unwavering faith in the face of immense suffering, and serves as a testament to the power of faith and hope in the darkest of times.
Manny Mill
Manny Mill, Executive Director of Koinonia House® National Ministries (KHNM) delivers a passionate, urgent and biblically prophetic message, in English and Spanish, around the United States as he preaches the gospel – Christ, and Him crucified – in churches, colleges and universities, seminars and conferences, and behind prison walls! Koinonia House® National Ministries, Inc. is a post-prison ministry equipping the body of Christ (today’s Christian Church) to “love” their Christian neighbors coming out of prison. Manny says the reason KHNM does this ministry is not driven by need alone but because it is the biblically right thing to do. Therefore, Manny does not come to preach about KHNM, rather Manny comes to preach the gospel of redemption in Jesus Christ, which reaches across social, gender, racial, cultural and denominational barriers. Manny’s desire is to present a “colorful Bride” to Jesus, the Groom. It is this very pattern of diversity modeled by Jesus Christ that compels Manny to reach across in the same way.
A self-proclaimed Biblicist, this Cuban-born evangelist possesses the unique skill of being able to adapt to any situation and audience – even Spanish! Because of Manny’s love for God’s holy written and living word - the Bible, he is able to present the gospel with clarity and an infectious enthusiasm. Manny says, “Jesus is the real deal” and therefore it is his mission to make sure that people are introduced to the gospel of Jesus Christ in every one of his sermons. Manny has come from a very colorful past life apart from Jesus. In 1986, while he was running from the FBI to Caracas, Venezuela, Manny met and trusted Jesus Christ. After surrendering his life to Jesus, he returned to the United States and served nearly two years in federal prison. In 1988, he received one of the first Charles W. Colson Scholarships awarded to ex-prisoners to attend Wheaton College. There he earned a BA in Biblical Studies (1989) and an MA in Theological Studies (1991). Manny was ordained to the work of the Gospel ministry in May 1991. The first Koinonia House®, organized in late 1990, was the result of Manny's sharing with a few others his vision
and personal experience of how the local church provided spiritual and physical help to him upon his release from prison. Today’s family-home-based model of post-prison ministry was developed at the first house in Wheaton, IL, and Koinonia House® National Ministries, Inc. was formed in 1997. In addition to establishing local Koinonia House ministries, the Meet Me at the Gate™ initiative was developed to provide an opportunity for churches to meet the needs of Christian neighbors coming out of prison where the establishment of a complete house was not yet possible. Manny and his wife, Barbara are trained instructors for Prison Fellowship's In-Prison Seminars. Manny also works as an advocate for the church in prison. He challenges the church outside the prison walls to support and embrace Christian inmates while they are in prison and upon their release. He was instrumental in developing a resolution entitled The Church's Responsibility to Prisoners which was adopted by the National Black Evangelical Association, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Salvation Army and Prison Fellowship Ministries in 1997.
In September 1994, he received the "Good Neighbor Award" presented annually by the DuPage AME Church in recognition of service to the community. Manny served as president of the West Suburban Evangelical Fellowship (WSEF), a local association of the National Association of Evangelicals, from 1995-1996. In August
Why Not Giving Can Hurt You
I have this one friend, everywhere she goes, she gives gifts. Roses to teachers, journals to me, and flowers to so many. She is gifted in gifts. Is she trying to make me look bad? She is so impressive! I am normally the one loaded with 2 kids, a purse loaded with the rock of baby wipes and a to-do list times one thousand. Getting out to buy gifts feels as impossible as moving a herd of animals through the eye of a needle. Giving is something I always want to do, but it takes a back seat to my life. It's something that I love to get, but have a hard time extending. I know it blesses, but it also heightens my stresses. Yet, research has proven that giving: - increases the health of those with chronic illnesses (Stephen Post, Why Good Things Happen to Good People) - decreases the risk of dying in the elderly after volunteering (Doug Oman, University of California, Berkeley) - lowers stress and blood pressure. Clearly giving is a great thing. The more we outpour the more that inpours to us. A woman came with a special sealed jar. It contained very expensive perfume made out of pure nard. She broke the jar open and poured the perfume on Jesus’ head. Mk. 14:3 This woman outpoured a ton - a year's worth of salary. Her deep sacrifice was a true outpouring of her heart. There is no mention of the kids screaming at home, the wipes in her bag or the lists of things she had to do, she just poured out. When we keep our eyes on Jesus, suddenly our excuses grow small and our causes grow big. This woman poured out great love through this great gift, a great sacrifice for a great God and a great example for the great, great, great...grandchildren of Jesus today. What would happen if we poured out like she did? Might Jesus say to us: She has done a beautiful thing to me... Mark 14:6 Might our name be more greatly etched into the world and eternity? What she has done will be told anywhere the good news is preached all over the world. It will be told in memory of her.” Mk 14:9 As she stood...weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. Lu. 7:38 When we pour, like this woman and then our hearts melt like wax. The wick of our pride, selfishness and complacency melt down to the ground, leaving us on our knees, where we receive and give our very best. We take our hair and we wipe the feet of others. We get into the nitty gritty of grime, into the places where it feels uncomfortable, into the places where we prepare others for a new life. It's in the offering of our greatest - in the wiping of the dirty - that we get to kiss the feet of the one who walked into desolate dry hearts to make abundant new life. When we touch these needy, unseen and untouchable places with our greatest gift, love, we find our hearts are restored. We find it's so much less about the other and so much more about Jesus reconfiguring our vision. We find deeper connection with the recipient and with the one who is all sufficient. Giving is the only gift that hands back more than we could ever hand out. It's one of the only ways to get more than you ever asked for. Kelly Balarie