Why is the church so strong in the prison?
I am devoted to prison ministry. I've been a mentor to a man in Maryland through Prison Fellowship, and that was educational. I've been a Kairos volunteer in Colorado for a number of years and love that ministry. Both do good work, and we support both of them. Why? You can look it up at Matthew 25: 31-46.
Kairos puts on a four day "Short Course in Christianity" over the weekend in most prisons twice a year, sometimes more. It is lay lead. In the Sterling Correctional facility where I volunteer, we invite 42 to join the 30 of us and about 15 inmate graduates who serve snacks and meals and pray-up each talk. We form six inmates to a table of nine, to form families during the weekend named after apostles and saints (the table family of St. James, etc). Each table stays together during the weekend, learning to help and be brothers to each other as they learn about the love of Jesus and his forgiveness and his offered salvation. We come from all denomations and from community churches, usually vital churches where men do not sit, they do.
The prison has informed us that our work is successful and that lives are being changed. So do the inmates. So are the lives of those volunteers who get the honor of interacting with them. We come back a week later for a Saturday extension to show how to do table fellowship in our absence. Then we come back every month to a reunion to meet the church as it develops around the chaplain and other programs inside.
I've been giving some thought lately as to how and why Kairos works. I think it is a combination of the power of discipleship and the development of true Christian community inside. When men submit, it is a big thing. If not followed by discipleship, they will wander and back-slide. Jesus has been very clear about this, saying that where two or three are gathered together in His name, he will be there also. That is the truth. I've seen "Lone Ranger" Christians fail many times, but those with whom they fellowship love them back to faith when they fall, by helping them understand what the leading is in God's word, and supporting them as they recover and try again. It is the same reason that gangs are successful. Peer support shows the power in that we are all made for community. If we put Christ in the center of that community, it is a beautiful thing to see.
How do you make friends inside? You prove to be a friend, just like the Boy Scouts taught you. You develop the character traits worthy of trust. You are trustworthy because you are loyal, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Discipleship aims at aiding the Spirit of Christ to be formed in you....fully as shown by these gifts. This is true transformation, transformation to a reflection of God's presence.
It appears from the inside that Christ came especially to prisoners. After all, he died in His century's version of the electric chair, convicted of a crime He did not commit, after a trial full of lying witnesses and corrupt judges. He was prepared for his death by sadistic guards, scourged with a whip that tore His skin off in strips, abandoned by His friends, nailed to a cross and speared in the heart. In short, he was a criminal, dying a criminals death. But look over the rest of the bible. What of Joseph? Moses? Paul? David? The giants of our bible heroes were flawed men, including killers and prison leaders, escaped murderers, and adulterers. Many, besides Jesus, were wrongly convicted and imprisoned. All but one of his apostles were killed by the establishment of the church and their political keepers.
I have a friend inside who occasionally shows up at our monthly reunions with a very ripped and discolored bible without a cover. He calls himself "the angry Christian". His incarcerated brothers agree and this bible is his evidence. He refers to it as his "throwing bible". He reads, reflects, and then...exasperated, throws the bible at his cell wall with the epithet, "Got me again, Jesus". I've been to countless reunions where the topic was, "Thank God for Jail". Is it any wonder that "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is one of the most requested hymns in prison.
If you can find it in your heart to obey Matthew 25: 35 - 41, come join us. You'll get no thanks, Kairos forbids it. We believe that we are truly blessed to do God's work. The whole program is considered to be His work. Why is prison ministry so transformative? Because the body of Christ is there, inmates are filled with God's word and the Holy Spirit, and because of the discipleship time available through Kairos Prison Ministry, Prison Fellowship and many other Christian ministries available there.
Kairos puts on a four day "Short Course in Christianity" over the weekend in most prisons twice a year, sometimes more. It is lay lead. In the Sterling Correctional facility where I volunteer, we invite 42 to join the 30 of us and about 15 inmate graduates who serve snacks and meals and pray-up each talk. We form six inmates to a table of nine, to form families during the weekend named after apostles and saints (the table family of St. James, etc). Each table stays together during the weekend, learning to help and be brothers to each other as they learn about the love of Jesus and his forgiveness and his offered salvation. We come from all denomations and from community churches, usually vital churches where men do not sit, they do.
The prison has informed us that our work is successful and that lives are being changed. So do the inmates. So are the lives of those volunteers who get the honor of interacting with them. We come back a week later for a Saturday extension to show how to do table fellowship in our absence. Then we come back every month to a reunion to meet the church as it develops around the chaplain and other programs inside.
I've been giving some thought lately as to how and why Kairos works. I think it is a combination of the power of discipleship and the development of true Christian community inside. When men submit, it is a big thing. If not followed by discipleship, they will wander and back-slide. Jesus has been very clear about this, saying that where two or three are gathered together in His name, he will be there also. That is the truth. I've seen "Lone Ranger" Christians fail many times, but those with whom they fellowship love them back to faith when they fall, by helping them understand what the leading is in God's word, and supporting them as they recover and try again. It is the same reason that gangs are successful. Peer support shows the power in that we are all made for community. If we put Christ in the center of that community, it is a beautiful thing to see.
How do you make friends inside? You prove to be a friend, just like the Boy Scouts taught you. You develop the character traits worthy of trust. You are trustworthy because you are loyal, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean and reverent. Discipleship aims at aiding the Spirit of Christ to be formed in you....fully as shown by these gifts. This is true transformation, transformation to a reflection of God's presence.
It appears from the inside that Christ came especially to prisoners. After all, he died in His century's version of the electric chair, convicted of a crime He did not commit, after a trial full of lying witnesses and corrupt judges. He was prepared for his death by sadistic guards, scourged with a whip that tore His skin off in strips, abandoned by His friends, nailed to a cross and speared in the heart. In short, he was a criminal, dying a criminals death. But look over the rest of the bible. What of Joseph? Moses? Paul? David? The giants of our bible heroes were flawed men, including killers and prison leaders, escaped murderers, and adulterers. Many, besides Jesus, were wrongly convicted and imprisoned. All but one of his apostles were killed by the establishment of the church and their political keepers.
I have a friend inside who occasionally shows up at our monthly reunions with a very ripped and discolored bible without a cover. He calls himself "the angry Christian". His incarcerated brothers agree and this bible is his evidence. He refers to it as his "throwing bible". He reads, reflects, and then...exasperated, throws the bible at his cell wall with the epithet, "Got me again, Jesus". I've been to countless reunions where the topic was, "Thank God for Jail". Is it any wonder that "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" is one of the most requested hymns in prison.
posted by Unknown @ 7:41 PM
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