Paul Bass

Producer and general manager of CTN45 TV in Tallahassee, Florida

March 2015 – Step through the gates of just about any U.S. prison, and you’ll be startled by a bone-chilling sound: Klang! It’s the sound of a thick metal door and a lock that is stiffer than granite.

If you’re an inmate and it’s your first time to hear the door crash shut, your dreams crash too: I was going to be an astronaut, a fireman, a dentist, or a farmer. Now, I’m a prisoner, a number. Now come years of “I should have done this. I should have said that.”

Poison or peace
During my time in prison ministry, I’ve noticed that some do much better than others with this new normal. Some spend night after night with the poisonous presence of bitterness. Some lay their head on the pillow at night in the peaceful presence of newness. I have spent a year getting to know some of the inmates in one of Florida’s correctional facilities.

What I’ve learned is more of an indictment on myself and on the church than I ever could have imagined. The stuff that happens inside those gates cannot be Googled. It can only be read through the window of one’s own senses.

Terrible things happen behind bars. We hear many of them on the news or view them on the flat screen of reality TV. Dangers exist – from the legal system itself, from fellow inmates, from spiritual bondage, from staff corruption.

However, the peace that I mentioned above can grab you by the heart. How can a man who has been here for 10 years (and will likely be here for 10 more) have such quiet joy in his eyes? I have met dozens who exemplify this peace.

How can so many in the free and affluent body of Christ reflect the absence of peace? Who has stolen our joy? My fear for my new incarcerated friends is that when they gain freedom and walk into a church so strapped to our sins and sadness we can’t get out of our own prisons, they will find a people who cannot match the fervor and missional passion of the transformed, newly freed, former inmate.

Crime or character
The place of my ministry is one of the few faith-based prison facilities in the nation. They set themselves apart as places for open practice of faith-based character-building classes. Some states have programs run by ministries. Florida Department of Justice operates its own facilities, defining the program this way: “This is not a Christian-based program or even one based on biblical principles. However, it presents the morals of many religions to help develop character.”

Many inmates choose to associate with Christianity or a Messianic faith, but there are hundreds of other choices. One actually must fill out a preference to be included in many of the programs offered.

The main concern on people’s minds is, “Do they work? Will they come out of there as a healed person, one who has left the life of committing crimes?”

There are critics of these programs. For example, in “Do Faith-Based Prisons Work?” (University of Alabama Law Review, 2011), Alexander Volokh states that most studies report stats that show very little improvement over secular institutions. He claims the studies are mostly flawed anyway.

However, World magazine editor Marvin Olasky disagrees and states that people who don’t finish the programs are included in the stats. He points out that even Volokh admits that problems with the stats may be because of inmates who manipulate the opportunity to find protection, get access to additional resources, or seek other self-serving ends.

Safety and salvation
Olasky’s assessment is reflected in my experiences. While a faith-based prison is a safer place, it may also be a place for a new kind of mischief. A man might apply to come to a faith-based facility to escape a certain terror in another facility. Others may gain admittance to recruit for gangs or exact revenge on someone from a former prison. How do you count these people in a success score? You can’t.

However, you can count the many people with whom I fellowship weekly. One such young man had intended to make homosexual connections and pretend to be part of a religious system. He was involved in witchcraft at the time. Two years ago, he was transformed by the blood of Jesus. Now, he is growing and hearing from the Holy Spirit each week.

Another friend was released a few months ago. He is active in a local assembly and enjoys his freedom, but knows that true freedom is within and from the Savior and His imputed righteousness. Someone asked him what he did before he went to prison almost 20 years ago. He said, “I was a criminal.” No one who knows him sees him as he sees his former self.

The State of Florida Department of Corrections asserts on its website that the system is working, and it gives stats for improved behavior inside the walls of the complex. There are presently 16 such facilities in the state.

Some Scriptures have taken on new life for me since I united with my brothers inside the walls of this Florida institution. I find new insight in Luke 4:18 and Isaiah 61:1 – “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound (ESV).”

I always saw the spiritual implications in this. Now, however, I see the physical implications as well. It is still true that those who do not believe in Christ will be in bonds for eternity.

However, the return of Jesus to reign as King will literally free those who have been forgiven. No curfew. No leg collar. No living as a criminal. Anyone – inmate, ex-con, law-abiding citizen – who walks in faith in Him will worship in spirit and truth in the new kingdom.  

Paul Bass is producer and general manager of CTN45 TV in Tallahassee/Thomasville, Florida. He hosts Homeschool Highways on AFA’s Homeschool Channel. Contact him at [email protected].

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ASK YOURSELF
▶ Do I pray for those in bonds? Hebrews 13:3 says, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them.” Even in faith-based prisons, inmates may be mistreated.
▶ Do I encourage? Do you let those in prison know you believe in them? Some have supportive wives and children, while others have family who don’t believe they’ve really changed.
▶ Have I ever broken a law? Many of us could be behind bars. We just didn’t get caught.
▶ Am I sensing a tug to serve in prison ministry? Go to the closest jail or prison and ask about volunteering. The critical element is that Christians do what they can to make sure that the gospel is proclaimed in truth and power.
▶ Do I help fight the fight? Spiritual warfare is intense. Imagine the sins of the fathers, tied with the sins of each inmate swirling around a hundred or so people under one roof. The demonic foothold can be intense. Deliverance needs to be a component of ministry in prison.

More about prison ministry

prisonfellowship.org/resources/training-resources

wheaton.edu/BGCE/Training-Ministries/Prisons-Corrections/IPM

http://blogs.christianpost.com/better-than-i-deserve/how-to-start-a-prison-ministry-14456/