We recently completed the first “tour” of this fall season,
The Romans 1:20 Prison Tour
“Evidence & Choice”
We made the complete round route of the state presenting to eight groups in six prisons. The plans were started months ago and required a lot of details and paperchase, with the Lord opening opportunity all along the way.
Our guest speaker, Dr. Mark Teague, Phd, presented the subject matter of his book, “A Working Man’s Guide, Strong Values, Strong Life, Strong Legacy. The fun side is that he happens to be my cousin, but the serious side is bringing this message inside multiple prison settings and appealing to a variety of life experiences, education levels and spiritual views.
The questions that probably come to mind; How do you arrange for a guest speaker to come to prison? What did the presentation contain? Were there challenges? What was the outcome? Some of this might surprise you.
THE ARRANGEMENTS: Plans were set to visit six prisons and eight groups. As usual, Visitor Authorizations were generated weeks before the visits. Staff (usually Chaplains) was communicated with to determine days and times. Our equipment list must be approved by each location weeks in advance. If there are chapel bands, the music must be coordinated to fit our time frames. Copies of all paperwork must be in hand, for it seems each Master Control has a dog under the desk who eats many of these before arrival. Yep, been there, done that.
THE PRESENTATION – FAITH FOR THE AGES: A great overview of this theme would be;
“I can’t understand God by feelings.
I can’t understand the Lord Jesus Christ by feelings.
I can only understand God the Father and Jesus Christ
by what the Word says about them.
God is everything the Word says He is.
We need to get acquainted with Him through the Word.”
S. Wigglesworth
Faith is a rational answer to a rational question. Who made everything around us? What keeps the universe in place? How can our bodies function with such precision? Why would Jesus die for me if everything around us has no meaning?
Faith comes alive when you choose one of two paths. One way says everything around us is randomly generated with no reason to back it up. The other way is to believe everything around us is connected, orderly and linked to a Creator. You must choose. Faith is having a firm conviction that something is true, not hoping it’s true.
Mark used an unusual visual example. On the screen was a large view of the Periodical Table of Elements. Yes, shades of high school chemistry right there in a chapel service. When was the last time that showed up in a biblical teaching? The point being, all these elements are related, orderly and necessary for life. Who made these? Is this a deep dive into the need for a creator?
What about ancient peoples who lived long before the Bible? How could we be on the same level of understand of faith? Mark used a brilliant example;
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes,
His eternal power and divine nature,
have been clearly seen,
being understood through what has been made,
so that they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20
Those ancient civilizations just had to look upon the Northern Lights, the seasons, soil, plants, fire, water and a lung full of air, to ask, ‘who made this?”
The last days of Jesus before the cross and the embracing of desperation, are as striking as it gets for me and you. When Mark asked the AIC (Adults in Custody) audience who knew about desperation, everyone in the room could identify. That struck a chord that remains memorable. The challenge was to embrace desperation, for that setting can prove the need and response of a creator who desires to interject purpose, love, hope and a thousand other things to prove who He is.
THE CHALLENGES The circular tour included 900+ miles within Oregon. Arrangements for lodging and meals had to be included in the original budget, as well as correct timing.
A visit to any prison invites one more, unwanted, but expected visitor. Before you get away from the parking lot you must pray over the day and the protection of everything in it. Lest you forget, you open unwanted doors of non-sense from Satan. A couple of examples;
Eastern Oregon Correctional: Before we made our way into the chapel, we were informed by one of the correctional officers that a rumor had spread that this gathering was targeted by some AIC for a bit of potential violence between groups or individuals. These are usually just rumors, but the six extra officers, strategical chair spacing, and body searches at entry kept things quiet. All this delays starting the program. Thankfully, this did not lessen the spiritual impact.
Two Rivers Correctional: Unfortunately, Satan arrived here a few minutes before us. Upon entry at Master Control, a fire alarm blared. The volume was incredible and localized. This delayed our entry. Once inside, the volume increased to the point of difficulty in conversations. The officer, clearly rattled, determined a bible, a notebook and books to be left in the library were not on the approved equipment list and therefore must be left behind. Afterall, these are dangerous items. Unfortunately, those in charge can waiver wildly in temperament. Security has the last say, without accountability.
Once inside the chapel, it was quickly determined the Power Point in our computer was not giving up any audio (music) signal, even though it worked fine three hours ago. Tech-demons are very common in prison. Press on with plan B.
THE OUTCOMES This became a deeper dive into scripture for the original and final say on faith.
For by grace you have been saved through faith.
And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
He said to them, “Because of your little faith.
For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed,
you will say to this mountain,
Move from here to there,’ and it will move,
and nothing will be impossible for you
Matthew 17:20
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1
The statement that faith is a logical conclusion to logical a question. Who is the Creator? Is everything in the universe just a wild accident or is there order to everything? Can each of us keep a permanent concept of what faith is and not base it only on feelings or emotions?
A proof of the effect of defining faith is the responses of the AIC. Both men and women were in these gatherings with a total of almost 300 in attendance within all facilities. Of these 61 came forward to accept Christ for the first time, rededicate their lives to the Lord or ask for specific prayer. We were all convinced the residuals from Mark’s presentation would be long lasting.
Maybe another proof of success was the smile on our faces as we left those buildings and thankfulness that the Lord would choose us to do such things. We are only the seed planters, but it seems the Lord determined to create lasting impressions.
COMING NEXT: The end of October: The Radical Reconciliation Tour
REMEMBER: You too can be part of these prison visits. Drop me an email and let me know of your interest, or keep watching the schedule to see if the upcoming location interests you.