They didn't get there by chance. The incarcerated men have gone through a long period of sin and bad decisions that has wound up with them in prison.
After you finished seminary, why did you choose the prison chaplaincy?
I was asked to go to the prison but I didn't feel real comfortable. I had been praying that I would see people as God saw them, and that my heart would break over the things that break God's heart. And He showed me that the men in there were my brothers.
What is the root cause of the problem?
The initial problem is the fatherlessness rate. If we can change the direction of these young and even not-so-young men and get them to deal with their children as godly men, perhaps we can change the trend.
How many are repeat offenders?
About 80%. A lot of them get picked up for misdemeanors, and when they get out, it interferes with their abilities to get and hold legitimate jobs, which leads them back to their old illegitimate behavior. Many of them end up living on the streets.
Would you say that they need strong men in their community to back them up when they're released?
I think that is the answer. That's one of the things that I preach in there is that they need to find a good church that's going to love them and back them up and preach the gospel to them.
Are there success stories?
In my experience, yes. In my church there are more and more men who get out of prison and return to their families. Some of them are even moving into my church's town to join in with us there.
Are addictions a significant issue?
90% of the inmates are there from an addiction problem. But the addictions are just the band-aid that they put over the spiritual wounds.
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