When I came to IFI, I expected contention with the
Department of Corrections (DOC.) I expected contention with the IFI members. I
expected contention with the General Population inmates. I even anticipated contention from outside
anti-christian groups who may try to make trouble. I did not anticipate contention with the IFI
executives and the IFI staff.
I met Jack Cowley, IFI’s National Operations Director,
shortly after starting at IFI-Iowa. I
was looking forward to Godly-mentoring and a Spiritual covering. I was looking for someone to impart wisdom
and hold me up. I thought that might be
Jack. I was wrong.
Jack had been a warden and a Prison Treatment
innovator. He had tried many radical
programs before IFI, and he was the Director at the original IFI program in Houston. He had a lot of knowledge about prison and he
asked some good, challenging questions.
He stressed openness in the IFI “community meetings.” He wanted things out in the open because he
said if the guys didn’t talk about it out in the open; things would fester
under the surface and be trouble later.
He questioned security practices and policies and food
and…well…everything. His way to be a
reformer or change agent within the Iowa DOC was to walking in with his Oklahoma
drawl, a torch, and a gallon of gasoline and start burning as many bridges as
soon and as fast as he could.
When I spent time with Jack I tried to be still and listen
for any kind of Spiritual resonance within him.
I tried to “perceive” his heart.
I have to admit, I saw no “life” in him, and the wreckage he would leave
behind whenever he would blow into town was widespread. Only God knows if he’s saved, because in my
interactions with him, the fruit of his life was not life and peace.
When Jack came into town you knew there would be cussing,
off-color jokes, outrageous statements, and promises of a questionable nature
(or as I like to call them, lies.) He
claimed all those things were by design on his part and that, to get the
inmates attention, you had to be “real” and by “real” he meant cussing and
crude. One time at our daily community
meeting he was addressing all 242 men.
He was talking about pornography and how it wasn’t allowed at IFI, but
he made this statement, “Some of my fondest memories are with my pornography”
but then he went on to talk about how you couldn’t have it at IFI.
My whole first year I spent sitting down with people in the
prison and around the state listening to stories of how Jack had been rude and
offensive and had lied and misrepresented.
I just shook my head and apologized and assured them it was no longer
going to be that way. Jack clearly and
often stated that his did not like Prison Chaplains, which of course was
evident to the NCF Chaplain. It took me
a couple years of talking and visiting and building a relationship with him
before I had any trust built up from him.
He could have been a great resource and a co-laborer in the Kingdom.
Instead he was offended and hurt, but I think we eventually worked through
that.
Jack had “laid a foundation” that was flawed. So that whole first year Sam and I, as well
as the IFI staff had to dig-up the old foundation and re-lay the stones. It was not fun…necessary, but not fun.
chris
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