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Alcorn's books have reached a growing audience. He has spoken to wider and more influential audiences across the country, sticking to his passions of generosity, missions, and defending life. It has been years now since epm needed contributions to pay its modest expenses; instead the organization has become a de facto foundation, passing on all royalty checks to mission causes. In the last three years epm has given away $500,000.

Meanwhile the Alcorns live and do business in the same modest three-bedroom home. (Four years ago they added an office to the garage.) They drive used cars that are donated to the organization. Alcorn still receives the minimum wage, plus speaking honorariums. He has not used an atm or written a check since 1990.

The clinic still has eight years in which to collect on the $8.2 million judgment against Alcorn. The Alcorns don't much care.

They do not see themselves as heroes and are quick to say that they have made few if any sacrifices. They also emphasize that not everyone would be able to follow the same path. "It would be a lot harder for a carpenter."

The Alcorns more often talk about all they have gained. "It would have been very difficult to leave the pastorate to become a writer and speaker," Alcorn says. "Suddenly I had no choice."

Though he suffers some nostalgia for the pastorate, he approaches his current work with gusto. He loves writing. He loves giving away money to ministries far and wide, and he loves his chance to influence people nationally.

Furthermore, he feels obvious pride in his grown and married daughters. They gained a lot, he believes, from living through difficult choices. For one thing, "our kids are givers, and I don't think we ever could have lectured them into that."

Last year author Alcorn began revising his book Money, Possessions, and Eternity, which came out just as he became involved in prolife rescues. "In pastoral ministries you sometimes have to preach on things that you haven't learned that well. If you're going to preach on prayer, you better do some praying this week!"

The same principle applied to his writing on money and possessions. Fourteen years haven't changed his mind on much, but as he reread his own words he recognized truths he had not much experienced at the time he wrote of them.

For example, he wrote, "I may 'know' that I will receive a promotion and pay raise in September, but God has not guaranteed me that. Plans change … " They do indeed. Within a year of the book's publication, Alcorn had lost his job and "owned" nothing beyond his clothing.

"It used to be we would say that my name was on the bank account, but God was the owner. Well, now my name's not even on the account. There's not even an illusion that anything belongs to me."

There's another noteworthy line in the book: " 'All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—Great is thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!' We sing it, but do we mean it?"

In the book that question relates to the question of a lifestyle built on debt. It might, though, have served as a more general question for the Alcorns, as they stood unknowingly poised on the edge of an abyss.

The question can be answered now. They sing it, and they mean it.

Tim Stafford is a CT senior writer.

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

A ready-to-download Bible Study on this article is available at ChristianBibleStudies.com. These unique Bible studies use articles from current issues of Christianity Today to prompt thought-provoking discussions in adult Sunday school classes or small groups.

The official site of Eternal Perspectives Ministries has more information on Alcorn and the organizations' mission.

Alcorn's books, including Money, Possessions and Eternity, ProLife Answers to ProChoice Arguments, and The Treasure Principle are available at Christianbook.com.

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April 2003, Vol. 47, No. 4