Sunday, December 25, 2016
A Christmas Prison Breakthrough
A few weeks ago I asked my 2 substance abuse classes if they
would mind if I practiced my sermons for them. I also said if just one guy
doesn’t want me to, I’d respect that. It was unanimous…they wanted me to
preach. Our last class was Monday of last week so I preached a Christmas
message on “Emmanuel, God with Us.”
As I was driving to the prison that morning, God spoke to my
heart and said, “I want you to hug each inmate in your classes as they leave
class.” I was like, “Really God?! That’s 60 men plus per class! Seriously…some
guys have real hygiene issues!”
“Just let me do My work,” was the response I got.
So, I started my message by saying that I understand how
lonely a time of year this for a lot of the men. Family might be too far to
travel, some families may have disowned you, etc. As I got into the message
during the first class, there were a ton of interruptions, even at the end of
class there were some security issues happening in another classroom. There was
no way I could have hugged these men as they left. (This kind of stuff is
commonplace at prisons. Security trumps everything.)
So, during my lunch-break I prayed. I basically said, “If
You mean what You asked me to do, then please close interruptive doors and let
me do what You asked.”
Well, during the second class I started the message out the
same way. Then I felt a special unction from the Holy Spirit. Preaching stuff
that wasn’t even in my message, etc. Suddenly God took over! Not even one
interruption except for count (that’s when security has to come into each
classroom to count inmates). As I continued to preach, I started to notice
quite a few misty eyes. I was somewhat shocked. The whole time, it was so quiet
that you could practically hear a fly’s wings flap.
A summary of what I preached included statements like, “You
are not alone. God is with you. Always has been. He loves you so much. No
matter what you have done in the past doesn’t change the depth of His love for
you. He loves you for who you are not how you are. Don’t let this place harden
you to the love of God in Jesus. He was born, died and rose from the dead to
give you life, a new start, a clean slate. No matter how tough you think you
are, God wants to rejoice over you with a happy song.” (Zephaniah 3)
As my message was coming to a close, I told them what God
wanted me to do. Hug them all. I mentioned that this might be the only hug some
of them get during Christmas. I also explained that if anyone didn’t want a
hug, just walk by me and say, “pass.”
I finished my message about 20 minutes before class ended.
They just talked among themselves for the time remaining. Well, as the classes
were getting ready to be released, one guy yelled out, “Time for those hugs
Chap!” (Many of the guys still call me Chap from when I was the Assistant
Chaplain.) So I stood by the door and started the hugging process. Some of the
men were crying with tears of joy and appreciation. I never saw anything like
it! One guy, nestled his head on my shoulder, with tears in his eyes, said, “Thank
you Chap. God bless you Chap. I love you Chap.” It was so hard for me to
contain myself. Only one guy out of 60 “passed!”
Then came this one old guy. They call him Turtle. He reminds
me of the Tim Conway old man character from the Carol Burnett Show (if you’re
younger than 40, google it). Turtle never took care of himself. I found out
later he only showered once a week. His prison clothes were stained with food
and who knows what. So I gave him a hug, and he went on his way.
On the next day, Tuesday, there were no education classes
but there were chapel call-outs. As I was sitting in my classroom alone, preparing
lessons for the following week, one of the guys (let’s call him Johnny) from my
afternoon class came bursting into my classroom. He was excited to tell me
something. (Johnny had given his life to Christ a few years ago in prison.)
He went on to say, “When I came up to you for the hug, I don’t
know if you noticed I was crying.” I said, “I did notice.” I also pointed out
that God was moving in such a powerful way that he wasn’t the only one! Johnny
affirmed that he saw some of the other guys too. Then he tells me that when he
saw me hug Turtle (from whom everyone stays away) he had an idea. He wanted to
be Turtle’s caretaker! He goes on to tell me that earlier in the morning he
approached the Lieutenant responsible for housing. He explained that he wanted
to be Turtle’s caretaker and knew he would need to change bunks in order to do
that. He was instantly granted his request! (That is almost an impossible
timeline in prison!) So, as of that afternoon, Johnny and Turtle were officially
bunkmates! I told him that was awesome and now he can be the hands and feet of
Jesus to Turtle!
Oh, if we would just listen to that small still voice and
not argue if it doesn’t go right the first time. God knows what He’s doing…duh.
Please pray for those incarcerated. I know what happened
last Monday was a direct result of the prayers of God’s people. May He use all
of us the same way as we allow the Potter to mold us and use us…lumps and all.
Merry Christmas.
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Prison Break - June 2016
 |
| Breaking internal chains resulting in outward change. |
June 2016
Pray for the incarcerated.
Well, it’s been over three months since I started
as Assistant Chaplain at Blackwater River Correctional Facility in Milton, FL.
Needless to say, it’s been a huge learning curve, is exhausting, absolutely rewarding,
and a tremendous blessing. Just learning official prison language makes me feel
like a missionary to a foreign country! To be chosen by God to do this awesome
work is a privilege and honor.
THUMBNAIL
Here’s a sketch of my week and daily routines. I
work at Blackwater River Correctional Facility from 7AM to 3:30PM Tuesdays thru
Saturdays. And to keep my financial head above water, I also work from 6-10 at
Walmart as a cashier every Tuesday and Thursday nights. I am exhausted the
following days!
As soon as I arrive at the office, I hit the
ground running preparing “callout” sheets for 6 daily services covering 25
different religious groups. Most of the groups are Christian in nature. While
services are going on I am either catching up on administration, filling in for
volunteers who can’t attend, meeting inmates for crisis calls, scheduling
volunteers, visiting inmates in confinement, meeting with other staff members, or
working on special religious needs for groups (Ramadan, Passover, Feast of
Weeks, Christian holidays, etc.). Some of these groups have very strict dietary
and change of schedule needs that the prison is legally bound to abide by. Communication
with security, kitchen (which prepares over 6,000 meals per day), and the
chapel need to be in strict sync in order for these occurrences to run
smoothly.
TRUST
ISSUES
It’s
interesting to think that there were many men of God who, at one time or
another, were imprisoned. Joseph, Samson, Jeremiah, John the Baptist, Paul,
Silas, Peter and other Apostles, are just a few I can name off the top of my
head. There are nearly 2000 inmates at Blackwater and believe it or not, quite
a few genuine God followers.
During my 1st week one of the Christian
volunteers couldn’t come to teach. So, I figured God wanted me to fill in.
There were about 40 inmates in attendance. I shared my testimony and my desire
to allow God to use me with His gifts of compassion and discernment to help
restore them to a place of dignity and honor as human beings. As Jesus has
called me to be His prison ambassador, I take very seriously that as God sent
Him, He fills me with His Spirit to express His love and healing… “He
has sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…” (Isaiah 61:1) A
couple of days after that, an inmate who was in that session told me that the
guys are really excited about God calling me there and that word was spreading
like wildfire that God sent His man to do His bidding at Blackwater. I was
honored and humbled by those words. It’s been downhill ever since! God is
powerfully using me in the lives of these men as the walls of trust in me were
clearly torn down! “…to open the blind eyes, to bring out the
prisoners from the prison, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison
house.” (Isaiah 42:7)
LOVE
OVER JUDGMENT
There is a fine line here. After-all, they are
criminals and some will try to take advantage of you every once in a while.
That’s where the discernment comes into play. My first scare came in the form
of a crisis call. I had to tell one inmate that his sister was killed by a
drive-by shooting in Atlanta. She was not the target…“collateral damage.” My
office is very small, and he stood up, yelled and pounded on my door, then
screamed again, and pounded on my file cabinet. We were locked in, and I had my
hand on my body alarm just in case. Nothing happened, but I felt so sad for him
because there was nothing he could do about it. So it is with many of the inmates who lose loved ones…to watch their depth of sorrow that
they can’t even go to the funeral of wives, mothers, fathers, siblings, etc.,
is so painful. It’s times like that no
matter how heinous the crime, love and compassion over judgment must prevail.
The story of
Inmate “Jones”
Inmate Jones made an appointment to see me. Jones
is a big guy…about 6’4, 300 pounds. He came to share how in the last 3 weeks he
had been beaten twice and didn’t strike back. Beaten for his faith…his
oppressors taunting him to turn the other cheek. One of those times he lost
consciousness for a brief moment. He was struggling between reconciling the
newness of his faith, knowing he must turn the other cheek, and wanting to
“kill” these guys. He said he just wants
to love these guys with the love of Christ. He shared his story for such a long
time, that the corrections officer called all inmates back to their dorms. I
told him to come back tomorrow because I wanted to spend some time with him in
prayer. Well, he showed up the next day, and 3 other on fire Christian inmates
were in the chapel when he came in. God immediately put it on my heart to have
all of us pray for Jones. So, Jones shared all he had been going through. The
Holy Spirit did the rest. Each of the 3 men powerfully spoke into his life.
Then we all prayed for him and were all in tears after I closed the prayer
time. 2 of those 3 inmates who prayed were lifers convicted of murder. Changed
men of God who have purpose in life and who seem more free than many of us
outside those prison walls. Their souls are indeed out of prison. Hear their
cries: “Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise Your name; the righteous
shall surround me, for You shall deal bountifully with me.” (Psalms
142:7) Jones is doing fine, and God also answered prayers as he will be
changing dorms next week.
FINAL
THOUGHTS
Not all the inmates would you consider thugs. Some
are brilliant businessmen; one is a former pastor. Others range from
politicians to postal workers to entrepeneurs to high level blue and white
collar employers/employees. One of the things I am learning is we are all just
one stupid decision away from where they are. We are all human and we all have
weaknesses. Some of us just get caught. Because of the grace of God, go all of
us.
There have been a few adjustments. One is not
being able to bring my cell phone onto the compound. So if you try to text/call me between 7AM and
3:30 PM and I don’t respond right away, that’s why! The other surprising thing
has been the amount of administration. At times I feel like I need a secretary!
The good thing is I have an inmate who is my personal orderly and he has taught
me so much about prison culture and is a huge help during the real busy times
when other inmates are in the building for religious programs. The stories I
have seem endless so starting next month I will do an “Inmate Focus” (with
permission). It’s no surprise that I feel like I’m in prison 8 hours a
day…because I am. But the door slams behind me at 3:30, opening up to God’s
beautiful creation. And I have the freedom to go home to a welcoming dog and
rest in the comfort of my own living room.
Prayer
Requests
- · Ramadan for the Muslim community starts today and goes through July 6. There are many daily details that need to happen, so please pray for smoothness in transition.
- · Pray for inmate Jones…that there will be no communication glitches to move him and for angels of protection to surround him.
- · Starting Wednesday, the 8th, the Chaplain will be away on vacation and I will be working 10 days straight, basically doing 2 jobs. Please pray for strength, clarity of mind, and patience.
- · Personal finances. The salary is really low and although I’ve never been in ministry for the money, it’s difficult to make ends meet…even with Walmart. God has provided miracle income from friends and former churches that have really helped to get me back on my feet. I am so grateful to God. Being without a job for over a year drove up a good amount of credit card debt that I cannot get out from under. I have been advised to file for bankruptcy but I need $1,600 up front to do that! So please pray for that provision. My credit is already horrible but filing for Chapter 11 is a good way for me to be able to start anew.
Thanks
for reading! And thanks again for all of your support throughout the years. Blessings
on you and yours!
Charlie
Chaplain
“I was
naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and
you came to Me.”
(Matthew 25:36)
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