If God were a football referee...

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So today was Christian's and Wesley's first football games of the season.  We left at 7:45 this morning for Joplin to play the Cornerstone Spartans.  Christian's game was first and at the end...it was a tie, 12 all.

Then the varsity game started.

The Lions drove the ball to the 10-yard line but turned it over on downs. The first play for the Spartans was a hard run by #31, 15-yards straight up the middle.  The second play the Spartan QB threw a bad pass over the middle which was intercepted by the Lions' middle linebacker and returned for a touchdown.

#31 was livid.  He threw off his helmet and began to scream at the ref, "I WAS HELD! I WAS HELD!"  The ref threw a penalty flag for unsportsmanlike conduct.  #31 screamed at his coach, "I WAS HELD! I WAS HELD!" as he tugged on the front of his own jersey.

Then the hayseed head coach started yelling at #31, then another coach started yelling at #31, then even another coach started yelling at #31. #31 then flung off his shoulder pads and jersey and stomped off the sideline cursing and fuming.  As he made his way behind the bleachers he was then surrounded by a crowd of parents, fans and others all trying to "calm him down."

Now maybe the "calm-him-down-mob" surrounding  #31 wasn't listening earlier because I got the distinct impression that #31 didn't like to be held.  Yet one of the "dad-types" of the "try-to-calm-him-down-but-actually-enrage-him-more-mob" grabbed #31's shirt (always a good tactic to de-escalate a situation) and of course #31 proceeded to punch the dad-type in his bearded face repeatedly, (however, the bearded dad-type inexplicably continued to hold onto #31's shirt.)

Later in the game #85 also stomped off the field and threw his helmet because one of the Lion's players knocked him to the ground when he was trying to run with the football (this maneuver is typically called "a tackle.")  #85 was subsequently surrounded by the villagers holding pitchforks and torches yelling CALM DOWN! CALM DOWN!

At this point the hayseed head coach calls a timeout and gives his team a "pep-talk" that I couldn't hear over his own shouting.

The next series one of the Spartan players displayed a bit of frustration. To this the hayseed coach bellowed at him, "Not only do I see you," as he points to the sky "BUT HEEEEEE SEEEES YOU!"

That's a lot of pressure on a 15-year-old kid.

After the game Wesley said #31 "rage-quit." Apparently "rage-quitting" is a gaming term where a player of an on-line game gets shot in the virtual world and just throws his controller and quits.

I like that term.

chris

PS: On the Spartan sideline, where I was sitting in the bleachers, they had a table with water coolers and water bottles.  When I went to the Lion's sideline they had a table of cut-up watermelon and homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies with M&Ms.  Ahhhhhh homeschool sports!

 

The IFI Chronicles: What I can't do

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What changes a man?  How do men move from the darkness to light?  How do criminals go from lawbreaking to law-abiding? How does an evil man become a good man?  What can we do as a program/ministry to ensure this happens?

 

These were the basic questions we consistently asked ourselves as an IFI staff.  We had a bottom-line mandate from the State of Iowa: Keep ex-offenders from coming back to prison.  To some extent the process by which we achieved that goal was not interfered with as long as we were achieving that goal.

 

The first (and foremost) answer we concluded for the question, “How can we change men?” was, “We can’t.”  Possibly we could change men to become worse, but certainly we couldn’t, within our own power, change them for good.

 

I think we all recognized that the establishing of IFI in Iowa was miraculous.  Iowa was not on the radar for Prison Fellowship.  A state like Florida was.  It was a southern conservative state with lots of rich people and Jeb Bush as governor.  Brother George W. was instrumental in IFI Texas, so Florida seemed a natural place to go.

 

But somebody from Iowa heard Chuck Colson talk which made him interested in Prison Fellowship. Then he heard about IFI and he suggested it to the Director of Corrections and the Governor and wha-la, IFI-Iowa, without a major Prison Fellowship presence or donor base or volunteer pool. It was as if God said, “I’m going to show the world something riiiiiiiight…here.” and he placed his finger on that Newton Prison.

 

So we understood that we couldn’t make it happen.  And that really was not some kind of trite christianese slogan, we really couldn’t do it.  Our weakness was hilariously evident. Yet, men began to change, and people in the prison took notice.

 

We weren’t without responsibility or action or effort. We all worked a lot of hours.  We were called to be faithful as a co-laborer in the work, but we could claim no credit.

 

I began explaining what we did to people in agricultural terms.

 

The Bible is full of agricultural terms and analogies. Everyone in Bible times had an intimate relationship with agriculture, or farming.  They either directly or indirectly worked on farms or for farmers of some kind of sustenance occupation, which was convenient for us in Iowa because our prison was surrounded by pastures and fields.

 

The “Parable of the Sower” in Matthew 13 was a crucial passage for us.  It describes the planting of seeds and the growing of crops and the reaping of a harvest.  John 15 talks about Jesus being “The Vine” and producing fruit.  It is a difficult task, being a farmer.  There is a lot of preparation and maintenance of the fields and crops.

 

A farmer maintains an environment where crops can grow. A farmer cannot cause crops to grow.  He can till and weed and water and fertilize and prune and care for a field, but he has not the power to cause one grape to ripen on the vine.

 

That was our task, to maintain an environment where God would do His work.  We could weed, water and prune in the men’s lives, but we couldn’t cause them to Love God or grow.  That was God’s responsibility.

 

chris

IFI Year 2

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Back to the “IFI Chronicles”

 

We moved to Newton and I started at IFI in August of 2000.

 

By August of 2001 we had two new counselors, a new secretary, and a new Aftercare Manager.  Much of class 1 and 2 had completed the program and had moved on. We had a new warden, new treatment director, and a new unit manager.  Amy, the boys and I had renovated and moved into “The Bergstrom” house in Newton.  With all the changes in our lives, we had even more changes.

 

The IFI staff was unified. We had a group of DOC staff that we were working collaboratively.  We had worked on volunteers and supporting churches.  After 12-months of turmoil, we were poised for some type of growth.

 

Sam and I were committed to confront head-on the road-blocks constructed by our predecessors, and we were making headway.

 

We spent a lot of time praying as a staff and as a community.  We scheduled early morning prayer times where we cried out to the Lord as a staff and as a community.

 

In the midst of this time and even throughout the rest of our time in Newton God spoke clearly to me in many areas.

 

Here is one of those breakthrough “words.”

 

God said (so to speak) I’m not interested in your little prison ministry.  I’m, not interested in your little “Unit E” or your little Prison Fellowship.  I’m interested in My Kingdom and My Name.  I give you everyone whose foot touches this prison property. And I give you their extended families.  Every inmate. Every guard. Every service worker. Every visitor. Every administrative person. Everyone. You have claims on EVERYONE. Not just those 242 guys in the unit.  I want to change the world.

 

It was a message I spoke of often to the staff and community.  It broadened our vision and purpose.  We had a time of great growth over the next three years.  It was a rich time.

 

chris

I Meet Chuck Colson

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The first InnerChange Freedom Initiative Program was established in the Carol Vance Unit at the minimum security prison near Sugar Land Texas outside of Houston in 1996-97.  All the principles from the Humaita Prison in Brazil were worked through at the Carol Vance Unit.  Then Governor George Bush visited the IFI-Houston as did many politicians.  It was the U.S. template for how IFIs were to look, act, and feel.  Jack Cowley (National Director of IFI) felt it was important for me to see the Carol Vance Unit in action.  So I took a trip down to Houston.

 

Texas is huge and flat.  Houston is also huge and flat, and in September? Horribly hot and unbearably humid. Jack met me at the airport and drove me to meet Jerry Wilger (IFI Executive Director) and his wife, Glenna.  I just wanted to listen to them and get a feeling for their spirits.

 

We went through flat, dust, dirt fields to the prison.  And we did a lot of sweating.  The compound was a maze of one story buildings and fences. The inmates all wore white.  There were huge fans blowing hot air around.  Of course the guys were great (not as great as my guys in Iowa, but still great.) The staff was great.  It was a sweaty-hot-great environment.

 

The main meeting area for IFI-Houston was an outdoor revival tent full of chairs.  Every day the IFI community would meet under that tent.  But that was about to change…

 

Money had been raised and a new (air conditioned) treatment building was going to be constructed.  There were a lot of folks in suits wandering around the prison…including Chuck Colson himself.

 

Now, I’m not a celebrity chaser, but I was determined to meet him.

 

It was hectic. People were running around and Mr. Colson had an entourage. There were guys with clip boards and phones and they were pointing here and there and Mr. Colson was striding through the yard like they weren’t even there.

 

I was standing to the side so I kept my distance, but then I saw my chance.  I strode up at an intercept angle, stuck out my hand and said, “Mr. Colson, I’m Chris Geil. I’m the new program manager for IFI-Iowa. It’s an honor to meet you.”

 

He and the entourage stopped. He looked me in the eye and said, “Yes. Iowa. That’s a difficult job there. Very difficult. Good luck Chris.”  Then he shook my hand and went on his way.

 

For me, Mission Accomplished.

 

The next day we went to local university for some kind of conference. Chuck was one of the main speakers, so all of us Prison Fellowship employees went to have a presence there.  It was a huge conference and it had something to do with public policy and faith and the law. It was packed.

 

Tom Delay (Texas native and Congressman) introduced Chuck to the crowd (ironic since a couple years later Mr. Delay would be convicted of money laundering and sentenced to 3-years in prison.)  Mr. Colson then gave his address to the several hundred people there.

 

After the speech I was standing near the massive doors leading into the lobby.   Mr. Colson had been bombarded with people and he was shaking hands and giving autographs.  The closer he got to the door the fewer and fewer people were around him.  At last it was just he and a couple of his assistants standing at the door near where I was standing.  I already had my hand shake, so I was just waiting to go back to the hotel.

 

Chuck’s assistant was reviewing his schedule for the rest of the day when Mr. Colson looked up at me and said, “It’s very contentious up there in Iowa. We’re all very interested how IFI does up in such a liberal state.  You have a big job up there Chris, good luck!” The, off he went.

 

Now, he had to have met dozens if not hundreds of people over those two days.  People were clamoring and pawing for his attention the entire time. I was shocked he recognized me, let alone pick right up on the “conversation” we had had the day before.

 

The guy was impressive, and technically, he was my boss.

 

chris

To learn more about Chuck Colson: chuckcolson.org

Yet another Blog about Todd Akin

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Ok, I have to weigh in on this Todd Akin thing…

Here is the quote from Representative Akin that has him in so much trouble:

“It seems to me, from what I understand from doctors, [pregnancies from rape are] really rare. If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something: I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

Now, if I was teaching a Victim’s Impact class or Criminal Thinking class in a prison and Representative Akin was instead Inmate Akin and he made that statement, I would consider (and probably would) kick him out of class and make him reapply.  I certainly wouldn’t allow him to receive treatment credit.

His statement was part “Freudian-slip” and part convenient “science”.

Let’s go with the “science” part.  No one believes that the trauma of rape is any type of “barrier” to protect a woman from pregnancy. Here are the statistics:

“Statistically, the chance of getting pregnant from a one-off rape that involved penis-to-vagina penetration and male orgasm (of course not all rapes do) is about 5%, the same as for consenting sex under the same circumstances.” RAINN: The nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization.

”There were around 25 000 pregnancies occurring from rape each year in the US, say studies done in 1998 and 2000. Of those, about 9000 were aborted.” According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Research

This idea that a woman’s body will “fight-off” the sperm of a rapist is preposterous and no-one (and when I say no one, I mean no one reputable, or even otherwise) adheres to it.  It was quoted by Representative Akins because it suited him and his position on abortions for rape victims.

However, for me, the most condemning statement came from the “legitimate” comment. He has tried to backtrack today, but he said what he said.  He believes that not all reported rapes are rapes. That is actually true. A small portion of claims are fabrications, just like the reports of any type of crime, some are false accusations.

However: I don’t think that is what Mr. Akins meant by it. In the interview he threw off some very suspect body language as he made his statement. Maybe he knew he didn’t know what he was talking about. Whatever the case, he needs some “inner work” in his heart as it comes to rape victims.  He needs empathy, which he did not show.

Jesus is very clear in Luke 6:45, “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

If Mr. Akins would have said something like, “Rape is a horrible act and the perpetrators of such an evil crime should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law, not ruling out the death penalty or life in prison. The victims of such crimes should be defended protected and supported by our communities and government in their greatest time of need and the people who are conceived as a result of a rape have rights. The manner and circumstances of their conception do not negate their right to life. ” I could have respected him. He would have at least been consistent in his statements.  Instead, he has become one of the most reviled figures in politics and in the nation…and rightfully so.

I know people who were conceived as a result of incest (which, is rape.) I came to love them deeply in my heart. I was so sad for their circumstances, but I was glad they were alive and that I was able to contribute to their happiness and experience.

I’ll be honest, I‘m torn on this issue.

Mr. Akins is not.

chris

One Year Ago Today...

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I started this blog one year ago today.

I was to have written 365 blog entries by now, but alas it has only been 326 entries.

I've gotten bogged down over the summer, but really, I have been avoiding writing about my work in the prison...which, really, this has been all about anyway.  I have not wanted to remember the hurt from Newton, Iowa...so I have avoided writing...refused to write, really.

And, I've not gotten to the Dr. to get my physical...

And I haven'r been working out...

And I've only lost 13 lbs for the year...

There.

What will I do? I'm unsure.

chris

The Birth of Christian

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In 1998 we had three very unique boys and we had gone through a family loss. Amy was pregnant earlier in the year, but lost the baby after a minor car accident.

It was without question that we would have another child.

We were making other life-changes as well. I was going to leave The King’s Daughters’ School after 11 years. I was going to be on staff at New Life Church , and I was going to get a job with the local school system.

We were also having multiple meetings at Church preparing for the “end of the world” the dreaded Y2K.

In the midst of that, Christian was conceived.

I was surprised at the amount of anxiety I had early on in Amy’s pregnancy. She was having some pregnancy related conditions and was uncomfortable through the hot Tennessee summer. On August 7^th, 1999; he came.

We had friends who had “home births,” some without incident, some with incident. We were not so brave.

We had friends (who were Catholic, and had multiple Children) who had a pool in their bedroom so they could have a home water birth.

Again…not so brave.

The “Water-Mom” was also training to be a birth attendant or “Doula.” So she was going to be in the room with us as Amy delivered.

Christian decided to come on a Saturday. Our experience with Eric and Wesley was that they came very quickly. So we “paged” (remember those?) Water-Mom and headed to the hospital. Water-Mom, being a good Catholic, was at Mass and we didn’t have a cell phone. So we left the message and got down to business.

Things progressed at a more typical rate than his brothers. She was dilating but not yet ready to push. The contractions were getting more intense.

Suddenly the birthing room door busted open and in barge Water Mom to the rescue.

WATERMOM: I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was at Mass and I didn’t pay attention to my pager.

ME: No problem, we’re just here suffering. And when I say “we” I mean “her.”

WATERMOM: How far is she dilated? How far are the contractions apart? What is your pain level?

ME: I have a slight headache…

WATERMOM: Not You!

Water Mom then pulled out her Hippie Satchel and began dumping, what appeared to me, instruments more suited for Gitmo, but were really different massage implements.

Ultimately, Amy then pushed a few times and out came Christian.

He nursed right away and was a pretty good sleeper.

I remember holding him a lot because I knew he was going to be the last baby for awhile (until the grandbabies.)

He survived Y2K and the new move to Iowa and a thousand other perils…

Even Water Mom.

chris