David also girded on his sword. And about four hundred men went with David, and two hundred stayed with the supplies. (1 Samuel 25:13)

David spent a long time as an outlaw running from King Saul even after the Lord had Samuel anoint him king. During those years, he gathered a small army of “everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented” (1 Samuel 22:2). Before David was estab-lished as king in Jerusalem, his army fought several battles, two of which required some of the fighting force to remain behind and guard the “stuff” (as the King James Version translates the term).

On both occasions, David made sure the stuff was cared for since no army can exist without a steady stream of supplies. On the second occasion (recorded in 1 Samuel 30), some of the fighters wanted to keep the spoils for themselves. Their reasoning was that the guys guarding supplies didn’t do the hard work, so they didn’t deserve any reward. David would have none of it. His response became a law in Israel—and among many armies since.

“But as his part is who goes down to the battle, so shall his part be who stays by the supplies; they shall share alike.” So it was, from that day forward; he made it a statute and an ordinance for Israel to this day. (1 Samuel 30:24-25)

Three Years of Hard-Fought Battles

Regular Acts & Facts readers will be aware that for the past few years the bulk of ICR’s time, talent, money, and energy has been focused on designing, funding, and building the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History. Many of you have played a part in that, either by sharing your resources or interceding for us in prayer—or both—during this very arduous and intense time.

During late spring and summer this year, our Events department planned and held dozens of “sneak peek” presentations in the new Founder’s Hall of the Discovery Center, hosting well over 1,000 teachers, administrators, and pastors to give them an advance look at what would be available when the Discovery Center opened. Those 1,000+ have mostly since visited the center, and many of them have either brought or scheduled group tours for their students, teachers, and churches.

The Discovery Center opened on September 2, 2019, with over 1,600 in attendance. All of us are grateful for your help, your prayers, and your many, many letters and words of encouragement. Yes, there is still work to be done. We will be updating things as new information becomes available, as well as incorporating feedback from the guests, students, and vendors who are constantly coming through the doors. And yes, we still need your gifts. Thank you for your support. Thank you for your feedback. All of that has helped and will help as the days continue.

The Stuff of ICR Has Continued

However, and this really is a big “however,” ICR has not slowed down with the research, the publications, and the public presentations that have been the core of our ministry for nearly 50 years. While it may seem like ICR did nothing but build the Discovery Center the past few years, we have continued the various aspects of our regular ministry with very little pause or letup.

ICR research continues with geneticist Dr. Jeff Tomkins’ human-chimp DNA analysis, geologist Dr. Tim Clarey’s Column Project, paleobiochemist Dr. Brian Thomas’ ancient biochemistry studies, nuclear physicist Dr. Vernon Cupps’ radiometric dating research, physicist Dr. Jake Hebert’s climate and Ice Age work, medical doctor and Professional Engineer Dr. Randy Guliuzza’s continuous environmental tracking project, and zoologist Frank Sherwin’s investigations on parasites, predators, and poisons. In addition, our excellent science team has lent its time and expertise to the Discovery Center to make sure the science behind its exhibits is as informative, cutting-edge, and up-to-date as possible, as well as giving regular live presentations to Discovery Center guests.

Acts & Facts has been published and sent out every month with the latest information that was ready to be made public. Those articles don’t write themselves, and ICR’s five full-time editors, supplemented by specialty talent, printers, mailing houses, etc., have continued to produce this quality publication for you as a gift. That gift is made possible by your financial support, but we don’t require subscribers to pay for it. It is our ministry to you.

Days of Praise is the devotional quarterly booklet we provide to you without charge. Those devotions require hours each to write, and many hours more to edit and prepare so that you can join us every day to explore in-depth insights into the riches of Scripture. We know the discipline of studying and reading God’s Word is both a pleasure and a requirement for a godly Christian life. Again, that is our gift to you.

Books, Books, and More Books. During this past year, ICR published several books. The Science for Kids and Little Creation Books series continue to be sought-after big sellers. Dr. Vernon Cupps’ technical book Rethinking Radiometric Dating was released this past summer, and after Brian Thomas received his Ph.D. in paleobiochemistry, we published his dissertation, Ancient and Fossil Bone Collagen Remnants, for those who really like to think in “big” words. Several other books of a technical nature are currently in the editing process.

Functional and Operational Stuff. All of us would be completely IN-operative if our electronic and security apparatus were to fail. During the later stages of finishing the Discovery Center, we completed major upgrades to our security systems, our phone systems, and the fiber optic cabling. Further upgrades were made to our major servers with all constituent data to secure and protect our information. All our internal computers were upgraded to Windows 10 since the old suite is no longer supported by Microsoft. And, just to be sure everything works okay, we installed fiber optic “backbones” between all of our campus buildings.

Internet Outreach. ICR sends many email updates per month to existing ICR constituents, all the while maintaining compliance with PCI banking regulations and keeping a continuous intrusion detection on existing web infrastructure, maintaining security updates and patches as necessary. While this work is not among the “beautiful” things everybody likes to talk about, when it doesn’t work the “sky falls!”

Events and Donations. ICR still gives presentations to churches and schools, and offers seminars throughout the country. From January through December 2019, we were involved in 195 events. Busy! Now that the Discovery Center is open full-time, some of our science staff must be available there to give lectures—especially on weekends and when large groups attend. Henry 4 (as he is called at ICR) carried the bulk of the detail labor with the Discovery Center while at the same time keeping up with writing various letters and individual thank you notes, putting together 24 new Charitable Gift Annuities for some of our donors, and maintaining the constant tracking and recording of the thousands of gifts from those who help fund our ministry.

New and Improved but Stable and Focused

This has been just a quick look at the past 12 months at ICR. The Lord has brought about a wonderful new asset with the ICR Discovery Center for Science & Earth History. We thank you for your prayers and support that have allowed us to launch this innovative facility while at the same time maintaining our core “stuff.” Under the leadership of Director Chris Kinman, the Discovery Center is a marvelous tool that will extend and further empower our mission to showcase the voluminous research and scientific evidence that demonstrate the accuracy and authority of the Bible.

That, in simple terms, is what ICR is all about.

* Dr. Morris is Chief Executive Officer of the Institute for Creation Research. He holds four earned degrees, including a D.Min. from Luther Rice Seminary and an MBA from Pepperdine University.