When people hear about me pursuing chaplaincy the typical response is one of caution. It is as if I have chosen some dangerous vocation in the ranks with LAPD swat, subcontracting in Iraq, or a missionary in China.
I volunteer now in a state facility where the inmates have all committed more serious crimes. But, the guys that I meet with are all professing Christians and it is really just like any other Bible study. The examples they might have from their lives during discussions will often be different than a Bible study in suburbia, but that is about all. Many of these guys who come to Christ really need to be plugged in to an active church, if and when they are released, where they can walk their faith out. It is not uncommon for people to commit their lives to Christ without any change to follow. The bad part for ex-cons is that they get back into their old social networks and fall away from their faith and often go back to their criminal activities. I think that the core issue is the same in both situations. Becoming a Christian means that our whole life changes. We have new priorities, purposes, and a new sub-culture. Many other things might need to change like speech, appearance, habits, hobbies, finances, and more. The Bible talks about the old things passing away and being a new creation in Christ (2 Cr. 5:17). The church is our foundation for this life in Christ, who is the Cornerstone. It is through the church that we exercise our gifts and find our purpose in God's master plan. So many people pick a church based off of the show they put on for Sunday morning, but that is not the church. That is a man made tradition to worship and be taught as a group. The most important part is how each member contributes his or her God given gifts and abilities to further the kingdom (it's not about us). It is through this body we call the church, that ex-con's or law abiding citizens have a chance to be rehabilitated from sinners to saints. A community where we can work out our salvation in a process we call sanctification and live a life or purpose that is beyond ourselves. Christianity is not just a belief system that requires us to stop doing a bunch of things. It is a whole new way of living that is less about us and more about God and other people.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" 2 Corinthians 5:17
Amen
Ryan, I appreciated two core thoughts...[1] that people often approach the whole idea of prison ministry with caution (or even fear in my experience). The church should work diligently in helping these men and women who come out of prison continue to grow in their faith and become actively involved in local fellowship. Unfortunately too many churches avoid it for various reasons. I'm so thankful for those churches who do reach out. I know that at Grace Fellowship we reach out to those from the prison and regularly open up opportunities for them to do public service hours at our church. We work hard as a staff to reach out and love on them. God had used it to impact the lives of several men and women over the years. And to be honest, some of them have greatly impacted us as well. The other thing you mentioned was that Christianity is not merely a belief system but a radically transformed lifestyle focused not on ourselves but on Christ. That is a thoroughly biblical concept. God is already using you in the lives of those behind bars and, in God's grace, He will use you to touch the lives of many, many more and, in turn, they will touch your life and others as well. I'm incredibly thankful and proud of you, son. Your godly life and perspective encourages my own.
ReplyDeleteLove and appreciate you radically!
Dad