going through the process

Becoming a chaplain with Good News Jail and Prison Ministry has somewhat of a process to it. I've been leading a Bible study at a state facility since March and I turned in my application last month. Tomorrow I will have a phone interview with a regional director, Cam Abel. If anyone thinks of it around noon, please say a prayer for me.

Volunteering at Lieber Correctional has been a really good experience. I have 8 men in my group that meet every Tuesday. I've talked about some of my experiences with them, but not as if I were trying to relate. Spending four months in prison may sound long to most people, but not to these guys. A couple of them are lifers and all of them have been in for many years. Most of them hope for parole. I only know the stories behind a couple of them because I would never ask. Inquiring about the worst thing a person has ever done is usually not a good conversation piece. There is one man who seems perfectly content to stay where he is for the rest of his life. He knew nothing of God or the Bible before he went to prison but came to know the Lord in prison and now he sees the ministry he can have inside. He volunteers in the medical wing and always wants to pray for the men there.

My desire, while I minister to these men, is to give them hope and remind them of their future. It is so easy for any of us to get caught up in our worldly troubles. The bad economy, politics, relationships, and many more things can take our attention. One benefit that I think an inmate has as a believer is that there are less distractions. I've told my group many times that any of them could do more for God inside those walls than what a lot of believers do outside. I think that's because it is so easy to lose sight of what really matters... eternally.