About Miles

Introduction & Personal 

 Testimony 

  of 

Miles J Stanford

 

 

In that there are inquires such as, “Who are you?” (or even, “Who do you think your are?”), it seems fitting to share a brief word of our Lord’s glory. My dear bride and I have sought to serve the Body of Christ for some 47 years–and the end, by His grace, is not yet!

 

1914-1940– Born in Wheaton, Illinois, my life centered on the golf course, and baseball diamond. I had little or no Sunday School background, had never heard the Gospel, not even knowing John 3:16. Despite my total ignorance, I began to realize, at age 27, that God was holy and that I was a lost sinner. (Our sovereign God at work!) As the conviction of sin relentlessly deepened during the summer of 1940, I finally received the Lord Jesus Christ as my Savior on September 19th, while alone in my room.(Alone?)

 

1941-1945– The following year was spent getting used to church and Christians at Wheaton College church, while studying the Bible eight to ten hours daily. Then the Lord placed me in the Army Engineers in ’42–overseas for a year in England and nearly two years in Germany.

During this time a correspondence developed with other Christians, so that upon discharge in late ’45 I was writing to nearly 200. The needs of my spiritual growth, coupled with those encountered in correspondence, pressed me to the growth truths of Romans 6-8. William R. Newell’s Romans, Verse by Verse was a vital help for years, mainly due to its doctrinal teaching concerning our identification with Christ in His death, resurrection, and ascension.

 

1946-1955– Due to a deep heart-hunger for spiritual growth, I became dissatisfied with the fare of the Wheaton churches. After waiting on the Lord, He graciously settled me in a room in Brooklyn, Ny–a far cry from Wheaton! There I studied God’s Word, along with numerous authors now quoted in our book, The Green Letters. At the some time, the correspondence continued to expand. Body and soul were kept together (barely) by manning a restaurant dishwasher.

After five wonderful years of study, the Lord gave me an even more wonderful wife (Jan ’51), and thereby got me out of the bachelor’s quarters. He had given Cornelia similar heart-hungers for growth and to help other believers develop spiritually. While she worked as Church Visitor in a Brooklyn church, we held weekly evening meetings in a home, for those who hungered to go on with the Lord. Ruth Paxson’s Life on the Highest Plane (Vols. I & II only) was our textbook for the “Paxson Meetings.” These went on for five years.

 

1955-1979– The Lord moved us to the Wheaton area (Warrenville) in the Spring of ’55. During the following seven years the correspondence ministry expanded, many home meetings were held, Cornelia was an executive secretary at Scripture Press, and we had heavy responsibilities in a Bible church.

In 1960 The Green Letters series was begun. These “letters” went to our 1,500 correspondents, every other month for three years.

 

1962-1979– In order to expedite the growing ministry, we dispensed with our Illinois home and moved to Colorado Springs–into a fine mobile home, for streamlined living. Upon completion of The Green Letters series in ’63, there was nothing to do but publish the material as a book. Since then it has been produced by several publishers, and in more than a dozen foreign languages.

Over the years the has enabled us to publish others books, such as The Principle of Position; The Ground of Growth; Abide Above; The Reckoning That Counts; and The Line Drawn. In ’84 Zondervan Publishing House produced the first five of these in a single volume as The Complete Green Letters.

In ’73 we introduced the Spiritual Sharing Service. Thus far, this “Tri-S-Series” is comprised of 19 issues in notebook form. This covers much of the Spiritual growth realm, including information concerning Christian writers.

There is also a series of twelve 31-page devotional booklets, known as None But the Hungry Heart. In ’79 The New Birth Explained was published, designed for both the unsaved, and new Christians.

 

1979-1994– With 17 quiet writing years in Colorado Springs behind us, the Lord moved us to the Denver area (Wheat Ridge) in the fall of ’79. This enabled us to become more involved in the unique ministry of “Ed & Bettie’s Christian Books” in nearby Lakewood. (Bettie Sundine is my sister.) To help ease our work load, the mail order operation was made an extension of the Store ministry.

From ’80 to ’82 we had tree years of r fine growth classes, gathering in the large meeting room at the Store. This included a Tuesday noon group of Christian businessmen, which still continues, under new leadership. Cornelia taught her “2:20 Group” (Galatians 2:20), a weekly evening class for young women.

In ’84 and extensive series of “Position Papers” was begun, extracted from the best books in my library. These were shared a few at a a time in correspondence. They are now available in a three-volume set titled Position Papers-A Spiritual Anthology. This totals 750 pages, with an index of over 700 titles. We also have a 24-hour set of cassettes concerning spiritual growth, composed of several titles.

In the fall of ’85 Ed and Bettie terminated 13 years of Store ministry, but continued with the mail order outreach. At the same time we moved back to our beloved Colorado Springs–all beyond our fondest dreams, including the warm fellowship of Mesa Hills Bible Church.

In early July of ’87 I was hospitalized due to congestive heart failure. Hence my activities are now curtailed, while the Lord enables day by day. On the 23rd of October our Father took His dear servant, Ed Sundine, Home to be with Himself. Our Father has first choice; Ed’s great gain, our great loss. Bettie faithfully carries on the mail order ministry.

 

1997– In February I entered the universe of E-mail and the World Wide Web. The end of March signaled Bettie’s entrance into a fine retirement home, with the mail order ministry placed in the capable hands of Michael and Donna Doyle. The hear of our bit of outreach continues to be personal correspondence, both via “snail mail,” and e-mail, with believers who are hungry to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18).

Resting in Him,

Miles

April 1997