These are some additional answers The Internal Revenue Service required of CRM when we applied to become a 501 (c) (3) Non Profit Organization. Once we were granted this status those who financially support us receive a required receipt for the amount donated which they can legally deduct from their income, since this is a Registered Charitable Organization. The first two questions the IRS asked can be found on the "About" page right under our STATEMENT OF BELIEFS.
Are you a part of churches with similar beliefs and structures?
As one peruses the backgrounds of the
Board of Directors and Board of Advisors, the leadership of
CRM is intentionally ecumenical at its foundation. In
this work, they share with each other “one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians
4:5-6) CRM is not officially connected with any group of churches,
but it does share a common bond with any one who embraces "paleo-orthodox
Christianity," that is, “the orthodoxy that holds
steadfast . . . to the ancient consensus of faith,” as
Dr. Thomas Oden defines it in his book, The Rebirth of Orthodoxy.
Although there are clearly theological differences between us,
we have not allowed those differences to effect our relationship
with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. As a result,
CRM has set aside those things that divide us and have joined
in unity and mission to care for those in crisis and transition. John Wesley, the inadvertent founder and leader of early Methodism,
illustrates the ecumenical spirit that we share in a sermon entitled "The
Catholic Spirit." Although he readily admitted that he had
some real theological differences with certain beliefs that other
denominations held, he asserted that those differences should
never preclude anyone from "joining in common witness." Regardless of those various differences, it is our ecumenical commitment
to accomplish what God wants us to do, helping others, one person
at a time. E. Stanley Jones, whom many consider the most influential
missionary of the 20th century summarizes the unity we share
and the task to which God has called each of us: "Here we enter
into a fellowship; sometimes we will agree to differ; always
we will resolve to love, and unite to serve."
Do
you have a distinct religious history?
After almost ten years in the pastoral
ministry, our Executive Director felt called to leave the local
Church full-time to begin “working
the fields.” Ever since he was young, Mark has always had
a special affinity for those who live and work in the community,
particularly with those on the fringes of society and those who
suffer most deeply. You can find a summary of his life on the Leadership Page. To Paraphrase the familiar words of John Wesley, Dr. Dennis F. Kinlaw, a member
of our Board of Advisors, said to him Mark when this ministry was
initiated that "the world had now become his parish.”
Technically, this type of ministry is
called “indigenous,” where
one works, for example, among the people, rather than being in the pastoral ministry within the local Church, where one is supported financially by the local congregation itself. It is by no means a novel approach
to para-Church organizations. This is the type of work the apostle did. Not only did he work among the people as a tent maker, but he did this since he didn’t want to burden the churches
financially that he had helped initiate and plant. (Acts 18:3;
I Thessalonians 2:7-9)
With no financial assistance, Mark started
washing dishes at Three Mile Island, cleaning tractor-trailers
at Harrisburg International Airport, stocking stores in malls,
working at Pizza Hut and a variety of other jobs. An
account of this history can be found in his personal
testimony on the Leadership page.
Do you own property where there's an
established place of worship?
CRM doesn't own property, but for twelve years our
Executive Director has owned the home where many Bible Studies
have been held and informal worship continues. Inexpensive property
was also purchased by Mark and his wife personally two years
ago in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia to facilitate a ministry that
may be emerging in the Maritimes region. Click the Vision page to learn more about this.
Do you have an established congregation or membership group?
Our Executive Director has been teaching one Bible Study in
this area for twelve years. He has taught many subjects to this
group. Throughout this time, various people have attended and
have supported him in this important part of the ministry of
CRM through their presence and prayer. For example, Carl Fasnacht,
President of CRM, Thais Gries, our former Administrative
Manager, Beth Keller, our Clinical Consultant, and Jackie Neidigh,
our new Administrative Manager have attended to name a
few.
Through these years, others have attended some additional Bible
Studies Mark has taught in the local Church. Those who have participated
have appreciated his commitment in his preparation for the study and the
methodology in teaching. Although this is a testament to his
ability, Mark credits his parents, who were both professors at
Asbury College before they retired and a number of other professors
that assisted him in his formal training, mentoring him in
this area as he allowed the Lord to fan into flame this gift
that He has given him. (2 Timothy 1:6)
Mark has also been teaching an ecumenical Bible Study for three
years in Carlisle, Pennsylvania about an hour away from Hershey.
Throughout this time, Baptists, Catholics, Presbyterians, Evangelical
Methodists, United Methodists and a few other denominations have
attended. Mark has also taught another Bible Study for young
people at his home for almost ten years. The specifics of this
Bible Study are addressed in the next question.
Do you have a school for the religious instruction of the young?
Years ago, our Executive Director had a conversation with Dr.
Dennis Kinlaw, who was just mentioned. He is a former President
of Asbury College. During this conversation, they discussed one could better assist lay people in understanding THE
HOLY BIBLE. Dr. Kinlaw indicated that it would be his desire
for every lay person to have the opportunity at some time to
take three courses: An Introduction to The Old Testament, An
Introduction to The New Testament and An Introduction to Christian
Theology.
When Luke, Peter and Sarah Lynn, Mark
and Lynn's three children, were nearing High School about fifteen
years ago, the Lord reminded Mark of this conversation and
he committed himself to this task. Within a few weeks, their
children began to invite their friends. Most of them were not
raised in the Church, much less attended Sunday School or Youth
Group. As a result, Mark began teaching a very broad overview
of a book of The Old Testament each week. He also began to
introduce the connection between The Old Testament and the
New Testament which these young people found interesting. Mark
has spent a significant amount of time researching the intrinsic
relationship between the two and summarizes this relationship
to everyone that he teaches this subject with a quote by St.
Augustine: “The Old Testament is The New Testament concealed
and The New Testament is The Old Testament revealed.” After
the group finished the Old Testament, they were very interested
when he introduced The New Testament. During these years, he
also integrated some introductory theology and presented an overview
of the history of Christianity. This was a foundational time
in the spiritual formation of these young men and women. Consequently,
Mark was led to write The Bible for the Adult Beginner, a 70
page summary of their time together and it to the roughly twenty-five people who had attended this group over those years.
After this very broad introduction to the Bible, Mark concentrated
on the book of James to teach these young people how to study
a book in the Bible for themselves and also how to apply Christianity
to their lives to a world of hurt. During Advent and Lent, he
would suspend what the group was studying and focus on the
themes of these seasons. Through this time, he also taught other
Bible Studies to them.
This was a special decade in time. The
Rains’ house became
a magnet for many young people through our children's teenage years and
for some of their friends who didn't have any Church affiliation, much less attended Church on a regular
basis. Although they are all young adults now, who, for the most
part, live in various parts of the country, whenever they're
home, a good number of them still touch base with Lynn
and Mark, a woman and man who truly became parents and mentors
to many of them.
Do you have a minister or religious leader?
Our Executive Director was a United Methodist
pastor for many years before transferring his credential as
an ORDAINED ELDER to The Evangelical Methodist Church. More
information about the purpose behind this transfer can be found
on the "Leadership" page
about him. Before he transferred, he was amenable to United Methodism
and is now amenable to The Evangelical Methodist Church. He majored
in Bible and holds a Bachelors’ degree from Asbury College
which has a Level III accreditation with the Southern Association
of Colleges and Schools. Furthermore, he holds a Master of Divinity
degree from Asbury Theological Seminary which is accredited by
The Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges
and Schools and The Association of Theological Schools in the
United States and Canada. His work has also been recognized.
In 1989, Mark was anonymously nominated
and selected into The Who’s
Who in American Christian Leadership. The identical process occurred
when he was selected in the 2006-2007 Edition of Cambridge Who’s
Who Among Executives and Professionals, the 2007-2008 Edition
of Kipling's Who's Who in Leading Business Professionals and
the 2008-2009 Edition of Madison's Who's Who of Professionals, "having
demonstrated exemplary achievement and distinguished contributions
to the community." Recently, he was selected as an "honored
member" to be included in the 2009-2010 edition of Premiere
International: Who's Who Among Outstanding Professionals. All
of these memberships include a specific section of other leading
Christian professionals and it serves as a national and international
registry, but is also a valuable resource with which one can use to
dialogue, network and make appropriate referrals. There are
also two links in Mark's bio on the "About" that give a summary of his life and his
testimony.
Mark has been a Charter Member of The
American Association of Christian Counselors since 1995. He
is credentialed by The International Board of Christian Counselors
as a Board Certified Pastoral Counselor. Verification about
his credentials can be found in the "News
Archive." Further, he is a Charter Member of The Marriage
and Family Network, another division of The AACC. Still further,
he is also a member of The Society for Christian Psychology.
After working in hospitals as a pastor and an itinerant
Chaplain, specifically in the Critical Care Units, Mark will soon become certified as a Crisis Response Chaplain. Lynn, his
wife, is certified in Emergency Nursing and works at a Level
1 Trauma Center. Once Mark secures his certification and Lynn
retires, they've sensed for some time the Lord wants them
to assist in national and international disaster relief as the
need arises.
Mark is also working on a Ph.D. in Christian Counseling, that is solely based on research
and writing. One unique feature about this program gave
him the freedom to design his entire curriculum around the ministry
of CRM. Spiritual Direction in
The Carmelite Tradition and Its Relevance for us Today is the title of his dissertation, an approach
to spiritual formation he has been reading devotionally,
researching for over a decade and utilizes with a growing number in this area of his ministry.
Do you have schools to prepare ministers or religious leaders?
Another part of the vision of CRM possesses is to duplicate
indigenous ministries elsewhere, assisting others to work within
the community where they live like our Executive Director has
done. Although ordained ministers can only perform certain ministerial
functions, a good part of the work Mark does can be done by anyone
who has the proper training and credentialing in the area to where they have called and a compassionate heart. One person on our Board
of Directors has already been credentialed and another
one is pursuing training in the area of hospice, along with two
of her friends, who have expressed an interest. As this ministry continues to grow, however,
it is our hope and prayer we'll have the ability to assist others
outside our organization who share our same passion to help them
financially in their preparation, to secure the additional resources
to supplement their income, so they can begin to work bi-vocationally
at a deeper level in the communities in which they live. (Matthew
25:34-40)
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