Kairos Closing

I know there are restrictions of some kind on communicating with residents, but I wanted to express my reactions to the men who attended Kairos #8 at Sterling Correctional Facility. Here is what I wrote to the men and organizers there:

My wife and I attended the gathering on Sunday night in Sterling. I had not attended one before, though I had heard great things about Kairos from friends in Maryland and Colorado who have "teamed" a weekend. My own ministry is men's ministry, though part time as I finish off my working years. I understand men and praise God for my ministry. I took the mentor training program offered in Maryland by Prison Fellowship and mentored a prisoner before I left Maryland. I have attended and teamed Walk to Emmaus weekends in Maryland and Men's events in Maryland, DC and Colorado. In that context, I planned to feel comfortable at your closing. I was.

However, I have an observation about attending that I wanted to share with the men, or maybe just with you if the rules don't allow. Here is what I observed.

Men are usually guarded with each other. They are raised to be competitive and they are made that way by God, also. This means that they usually posture or pose to each other. In prison, I would imagine that this would usually be "tough" or "dangerous" or "insane" kinds of behaviour, to warn others to keep their distance. This is true even among men in the outside. They pose as "successful", "gruff", "smart", or "tough" to each other. This keeps them apart, alienated from each other. My observation is that the men of this weekend had largely dropped this. Especially in the brief opportunity that the community had to congratulate them and bless them in their closer walk with Jesus, these men were vulnerable, with the strength of certainty that they belonged with this group, and even possibly with the larger assembled group of believers. The humility and openness was tangible. Not all had it, but most. These men were open enough to receive and to give love. They were strong in the Lord and exhibited the presence of the Holy Spirit. I've been to more weepy Walk to Emmaus closings. I've been to more ardent worship. But I've not been exposed to a more solid group of open believers, waiting for what Jesus was going to bless them with next.

I bless you and pray for the continued success of this program at Sterling and across the nation. Prison is a perfect place to meet Christ. The bible is the perfect book for the incarcerated to read about God, since so many of the men of the bible were fallen sinners, often convicted in their own sin by circumstances, by brothers, or by Jesus himself. My family will support your ministry fully. We praise God that He has shown us this great ministry and invited us to participate. We will.

God Bless you, mightily. I know it is hard, but stay the course. Your ministry is vital to America and to the world, but mostly to the building of the kingdom. The most ardent Christians I have ever met came to Christ in prison. It is a minstry that is important to Him.

Praise the Lord.