Treasures in Prison Cells

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When I announced to the congregation at New Life in Columbia that Amy and I were moving to Iowa to be part of a prison ministry, a lady who's husband had been in prison gave me a "prophesy."  It was an account of a dream and It was printed.  I have seen it multiple places since.  I don't know the author, but I do know I held onto this prophesy or dream and read it often in tough times.  I just pulled it back out after receiving it 12 years ago...It still applies.

chris

Treasures in Prison Cells

It was late I was tired wanting to go to sleep, but God wanted to talk, it was about midnight, but it dawned on me that God does not sleep.

His question made me restless. "Where on earth does man keep his most priceless treasures?"

I said, “Lord, usually these treasures, like gold and silver are kept under lock and key.” God spoke, “like man, my most valuable treasures on earth are also locked up.”

I saw Jesus standing in front of seemingly thousands of prisons and jails. The Lord said, “These have almost been destroyed by the enemy, but these souls have the greatest potential to be used, and bring forth glory to My Name. I am going this hour to the prisons to activate the gifts and callings that lie dormant in these lives that were given before the foundation of the earth. Out from these walls will come forth a spiritual army that will have power to literally kick down the gates of Hell and overcome satanic powers that are holding many of my people captive."

Then I saw the Lord step up to the prison doors with a key. One key fit every lock and the gates began to open.

I then heard and saw great explosions, which sounded like dynamite going off behind the walls. It sounded like all our spiritual warfare.

Jesus then began walking in and touching inmates who were thronging to Him. Many being touched instantly began to have a golden glow that came over them.

God spoke, “There’s the gold and silver!”

Like slow motion they began to grow into what appeared to be giant knights in armor like warriors. They had on the entire armor of God.

God said, “Now go and take what Satan has taught you and use it against him, and pull down the strongholds coming against my church.”

The spiritual giants then started stepping over the prison walls with no one to resist them, and they went immediately to the very front of the battle against the enemy. I saw them walk right past the church, and big name ministers. They were surpassed by giant warriors like David going after Goliath! They crossed enemy lines and started delivering many of God’s people from the clutches of Satan while demons fled in terror.

Battles on Multiple Fronts Part II: Jerry Wilger

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The executive director of IFI was Jerry Wilger.  I don't know the story of how Jerry got involved with IFI, or how he became the Executive Director. I just knew he was rich, and at the time, Prison Fellowship looooooved rich people.

Jerry was a self-made man who did something with buying companies and revamping them, making them profitable and selling them for big money. It also had something to do with airplanes.

Jerry was a good-hearted guy. but again, he seemed oblivious to how God's Kingdom worked.  He approached managing IFI like a corporation.  Jerry was not a listener, he was a talker and a doer.

In Texas one time I had dinner with Jerry, his wonderful wife Glenna, and Jack.  We were trying an Italian restaurant.  As we are standing in the lobby Jerry says, "I'm going to go see if they are cooking this food right. I'll be back."  He then strides past everyone else waiting and the servers and directly back into the kitchen, out of sight.  I look at Jack and Glenna and they don't seem shocked at all.  Finally Jerry comes back out of the swinging kitchen doors and reports to the whole lobby, "They are cooking right, so we can eat here."  That was Jerry.

Jerry loved "Community Bible Study" and we used that curriculum on Wednesday nights. Glenna was also greatly involved in "CBS" so it was the core of our Wednesday night curriculum in the prison.

Sam had a good relationship with Jerry, so generally I didn't have to deal directly with him.  The deep discussions we were having amongst ourselves as an IFI staff would have (and did) fall(en) on deaf ears.  We had to frame information so that Jerry could receive it.  He was a bottom-line guy, and that bottom line had to be IFI graduates not coming back to prison.

Ultimately we did well on that particular expectation.

chris

Saturday

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Saturday....

Got up at 8:30.

Went to three of the properties we manage and filled a truck with the help of Alan.

Drove tho the city waste drop-off and got rid of a bunch of junk, ($12 a load)

Took a 15 minute nap.

Went to Shawnee Mission North High School to watch my nephew Jacob play two games in a basketball tournament.

Went to CiCi's with Jacob, Rory, (some other kid who's name I've forgotten), Amy, Wesley, Jaron, & Christian.

Went to the CYT office to work on props.

Brought some props home to work on.

Bought some gas.

Whimped out on my blog.

chris

Battles on Multiple Fronts

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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

“The Guys”

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In a prison setting there are three general sets of people who interact with the inmates. 

First of all there is “security.” These are the correctional officers, mostly in uniform and with a quasi-military type of outlook.  There are officers, sergeants, and captains.  One of the security trainings I went to had a very prominent quote, “an inmate, is an inmate, is an inmate.”  The Officers are to be, “Friendly, not familiar.” And you listened to a lot of quotes like, “How can you tell an offender is lying? His lips are moving.”  Stuff like that.  Sadly (and practically speaking) after hundreds of years of prisons and guards, those “true-isms” were generally accurate.  The security people were there to keep the inmates in the prison and safe.  They weren’t there to be buds or aid in the comfort and care of anyone.  They were there to keep things “secure” and that generally meant assuming the inmates were up to no-good (and often, they were.)

Then there are the “service” people.  These are folks inside the prison who do a specific job.  They may be medical staff. Library staff, educational staff, maintenance, food service, clerical, folks who have a specific task who also have dealings with inmates inside the fence.

Finally there are the “treatment” people. These folks are the counselors who teach the “Criminal Thinking” and “Victim’s Impact” classes to the inmates.  They try to correct the “thinking errors” and get the inmates to learn about “empathy” and “pro-social living.”  Often the treatment folks start out very hopeful and optimistic, but they find out their task of “fixing” criminals is pretty hopeless.

Security people tended to call the inmates “offenders.” “Offender Smith, report to the desk.”  Or “Offender Jones, you have some mail.”  It was part of that mindset that the “offenders” must “stay in there place.”

I refused to call them “offenders.” I believed that God would give the men new names and new identities.  I felt as if I was call upon God to enact Romans 4:17:

As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations." He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.

I tried a lot of different terms “members, brothers, gentlemen, dudes.” But none of those terms seemed to come naturally.

I just ended up calling them, “The Guys.”

“How are the guys doing?”

“I’m going to see the guys.”

“We’re getting some more guys from Fort Dodge.”

I felt the Lord placed some very specific things in my life over the years before IFI and one of them was I was to be a “Father” to the men.  I was to stand in a Spiritual place and I was to bless them with an earthly father’s blessing.  I certainly wasn’t going to “curse” them, by declaring them “offenders,” there had been enough of that already.  I was there to proclaim them as beloved sons.  Part of that was I was to have affection for each of them in my heart, a painful exercise, but necessary.

A year after we moved from Newton to Kansas City, I was sitting with a group of people, (minding my own business) many of whom were members of the International House of Prayer.  Suddenly (and without warning) this lady turns and looks intently at me. “You are a father,” she declared at me.  “You are the father of many sons.  That’s what you do. You are a father.”

I knew that I had to break that “Friendly, not familiar” rule of security.

I had to embrace “The Guys.”

chris

The Art of Saying "No."

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August of 2000, we made the transition from Tennessee back (for me) to Iowa.  We found a newly remodeled house large enough for us in Newton.  The boys were 8, 6, 3, and 1 respectively.  We were close to my parents and brother and closer to Amy’s sister, Molly in Hannibal, MO.

I knew things would be difficult. I just wasn’t sure “how” or “where” they would be difficult.  And of course, the “trouble” came from directions I was not necessarily expecting.

Some interesting tie-ins for me personally were that John Mathis, the warden, was friends with my parents.  Also, my mother was good friends with Warden Mathis’ secretary.

I also had some history with the IFI-counseling staff.  I had gone to Central Bible College with one of the counselors, Steve Castaneda.  I had even sung at his wedding in 1984.  I had met another counselor, Gary Cox.  He was also a Central graduate and originally from my home town of Knoxville.  He had previously been an instructor at Iowa Christian College (ICC).  I had been a featured artist at a Youth Weekend at ICC one time and we had a lengthy conversation, but he didn’t remember me.  Dan Kingery had been a volunteer who was hired as a counselor a month before I arrived.  He also lived in Knoxville, but originally was from Newton. The previous Program Manager, Bruce Paulus was someone I knew from Central.  The “Drug Treatment” counselor was of Sri Lankan descent and from England, her name was Mickey Pope.  The Aftercare Manager Greg Allen was from Pella and it just so happened that I wrestled against the Pella squad he was on.  Of course Sam Dye was the director.

I had a clear belief that I was “assigned” by God to be there.  It was a fall-back position I went to often that first year when things were bad.  The Holy Spirit was communicating clearly to me at that time, probably because I was so desperate and so inadequate.  It was a hard start, but a good one (not one, however, I’d like to repeat.)

Prison itself has a very static culture and there was a firmly established culture at IFI when I arrived.  There were so many “things” floating around and I knew enough at the time to not answer any questions or requests. I was there to learn and absorb.

None-the-less, I was bombarded by questions from the inmates, DOC staff, and IFI staff.  I can’t describe to you how intense the questioning was. “Can I do this, can we get that, will we do this, hey, Bruce said this was going to happen, I was promised that, I have an idea, are we going to do this…”  These questions came from everywhere, particularly IFI members and volunteers.  99.9% of my answers were “No”, “I’m not looking at that right now” or “I’ll check and I might get back with you.”  I committed to nothing. Mainly because I didn’t know anything, but also I immediately knew, IFI needed to narrow its focus.  The amount of peripheral stuff that was floating around was un-do-able.

Needless to say, I immediately started pissing people off. DOC staff, IFI staff, volunteers, and IFI members alike.  There were so many under-the-table-end-around-pet-projects out there, I thought I would just go ahead and squash them all.

Not fun, but necessary.

chris

Avoiding the subject...

SO I've really been postponing and avoiding my account of my IFI years.

That tells me something.

But I just don't have it today...

chris