Behind Bars

During the lunch, Hal had mentioned his work within the Monroe County Jail. Andrew and I saw it as a sweet opportunity to get further involved with this culture. Earlier, Chuck, the man we took out to dinner, had been arrested for violating parole. Carl had told us about it, so we had gone down to the jail to see if we could visit him. We went on a Sunday afternoon, but were unable to get in due to scheduling. God had closed that door, but perhaps was opening another. You see, many of the men and women out on the street have been arrested at least once. We, along with Kelly, a girl Ben had met earlier in the week, decided to go see what it was all about.

I remember it as a cold, rainy Tuesday in late September. I picked up Andrew from class and we headed over to the jail. We ran inside, told the security our names and he let us in. I must admit, having clearance at local jail is kind of...well, cool. The average age of the "volunteers", if that is what you would call them, was about 75. We rode an elevator up to the 3rd floor and followed the guard to a room filled with men in orange suits and sea blue plastic sandals. The age range here seemed to be between 16 and 50. I sat down next to Hal and Andrew headed toward the back and a woman in a white lab coat began to speak. She gave a lecture on the importance of the brain and its functions in our everyday life. Honestly, I couldn't recite half of what she said to you because I found myself looking around, attempting to write the stories of these men in my mind. The woman, later identified to me as Hal's daughter, pulled out an actual human brain to display as entertainment. It was interesting, of course, but lacked something. All of this talk about the amazing brain and no mention of the Creator.

Andrew and I both left with a feeling of dissatisfaction. We set up a meal that Wednesday with Hal to talk about starting a Bible study with some of the men in the jail. "Something's a little off with him, Amy," Andrew mentioned when we saw him at the Shalom center later that week. He was wearing the same blue suit we saw him in both times before.

Tuesday before our meeting with Hal (we scheduled it for that Thursday, I believe), I was walking to class, praying. Austin, a guy very dear to my heart came to mind and I gave him a call. He had left a note on my car on Monday telling me how God has broken him. He called me back later, leaving a message asking if I could come talk and pray with him at the church. After class, I walked back and met him there. We talked a little about how God had humbled him, leaving him in a place he had never known before...emptiness without Christ. But he soon asked me about Renovo. As I began to talk to him, I saw his face light up with joy! I told him about our jail ministry opportunity and it was almost as if he jumped out of the chair (which would not suprise most people who know him). He told me he would come to the lunch with Hal that week as well as the leadership meeting that Thursday night. My heart was dancing!

Thursday rolled around. I met Austin and Andrew at the Sample Gates. We headed over to the Shalom center to meet Hal. We sat down and began talking with him about how to get further involved with the jail ministry. This normally would be a good conversation, phone numbers would be exchanged and dates would be set. It was like prying open a cedar chest which had been cemented shut. Andrew saw my frustration, kindly reminding me to be patient. I finally got a number out of him and the conversation somehow shifted to religion. A man at the table spoke of a recent visit of Ann Coulter to our campus. He mentioned how Hal had stood up and proclaimed "Who would Jesus bomb?" I asked him about his faith and he went on some schpiel about ego-centric yada yada. I tried to clarify, but again, prying open a cemented shut door. He did, however, say some strange things about Jesus. I expected Hal to confront him, being a priest and everything, but he said nothing. The man excused himself, which left the opportunity for me to probe Hal's beliefs. I asked him a simple question, "Hal, who is Jesus?" And THAT is when we discovered what was "off". Hal did not believe that Jesus was the only way.

God sealed the deal for us on that one. We'd have to find another way into the jail. There was no way in the world we were going to pursue something under someone who had a skewed idea of who our Savior is. Austin engaged in some debate and we found out that after nearly 40 years of theological study, this man had no idea. We left the meal praising God for His clarity in the situation. I was humbled by the fact that our faith, which is so complex and deep, contemplated by some of the greatest thinkers of all time, is sung also by a young child, understanding that "Jesus loves me, this I know". I wondered what it would be like if we tried to make songs out of some of the philosophies of this culture. "Ego-centric energy, this is what I think of me." Doesn't really have the same beauty, does it?

Later on that week, I found the number of the Chaplain of the jail. I called him and to my delight I discovered he was on staff as a counselor at Sherwood Oaks Christian church-one that is theologically grounded in the Gospel. And after weeks and weeks of calling him (I am pretty sure I called about 28 times), we set up a meeting and in it took strides forward in planning the development of this ministry. Before we went, I stopped at Starbucks to pick up some coffee/cider for the boys (Andrew and Paul). I put the cups on the top of my car as I loaded them in one by one. I was about to reach for the last one when the entire thing dumped all over me! A woman passed me by and said sarcastically, "What a great start to the day, huh?" Haha! And believe it or not, I emphatically agreed. It really didn't matter that I had a peppermint mocha on my pants. With His grace, I walked back into Starbucks, calmly explaining my situation. I walked out with a large version of the drink and a coupon for a free one. (smile)

We arrived at Sherwood Oaks and walked into Pastor Edwards' office. As we began talking I noticed that he seemed tired and worn down. He had seen so much and experienced so many unfaithful volunteers. Some of them would traffic drugs to the inmates, others would run special errands for them. And he knew Hal all too well. He explained that Hal had started this program, advertised as a life-building program, but really entailed old men talking about their war experience with the inmates. It was not a counseling, but a chance "for old guys to talk", he said. He tried to dissuade us with horror stories, but Paul along with Andrew and I were set in God's hope. We resolved to pursue this, if it was God's wil. And through HIS faithfulness, bring a new life to this man who was dedicated to a ministry, but had lost sight of Christ's joy.