Chapter 3: Walking Through Doors God Opens (Even If They Lock Behind You) By Steve Shropshire

Fact: The cost to incarcerate an inmate for one year in the State of North Carolina is $27,000.

Remember the prisoners as if chained with them.

                                                               - HEBREWS13:3a

God does not call the equipped, He equips the called.

                                                               - Dr. Erwin Lutzer

“For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words…of him the Son of Man will be ashamed” (Mark 8:38).  As a Christian who struggled with witnessing to others, this verse would often come to my mind and challenge me to be more outspoken about my faith in Jesus Christ.  Whether it was from fear of rejection or fear of being viewed as weird or uncool, sharing my beliefs with others was something that I was just not comfortable with.

    I began to pray that God would give me the courage to be a bold witness for Him.  I assumed that the answer to this prayer would result in me being able to talk to friends more openly about my faith or witness to strangers as opportunities were presented.  I could have never imagined what God had in store for me.            

    Miguel called me in July 2009 to invite me and my wife to a new Sunday school class that he was going to begin teaching.  We accepted his invitation and were quickly amazed at his infectious enthusiasm for winning souls for Christ.  I have been blessed to know many great Christians in my life, all of whom had various spiritual gifts such as wisdom, leadership, discernment, and encouragement, but I have never met anyone with such a passion for reaching the lost.  Evangelism (Ephesians 4:11) is a spiritual gift that seems to require other gifts.  It goes without saying that you won’t be a very effective witness if you don’t have the ability to discern truth from error.  Miguel’s ability to rightly divide God’s word, coupled with his gift of evangelism, has made him an unbelievably effective ambassador for Christ.

    Once per month, Miguel came to class with an update of how God was using him to change lives at the Greensboro jail.  He would tell us how many inmates had chosen to attend his session and how many had responded to the call of Christ or rededicated their lives to Him.  He always stressed the fact that these men would be released from jail at some point and if they had truly received Christ into their hearts, their lives and the lives of their family members would be vastly different.

After hearing Miguel talk about his experiences at the jail, I remember thinking that his work there was admirable, but since I had never taught a class, wrote a book, or preached a Sunday sermon as Miguel had, getting involved with the jail ministry wasn’t for me.  I was off the hook!  I didn’t have the spiritual gift of evangelism so I could just sit back and wait for a more suitable opportunity to serve.  The problem with that attitude is that we can always convince ourselves that we aren’t equipped for a certain task. While it is true that not everyone has the same gift, sometimes we give up too easily and assume that we don’t have a particular gift, especially if the gift in question requires us to step outside of our comfort zone.  Interestingly, during this time I listened to a sermon about being a witness by Dr. Erwin Lutzer from the Moody Church in Chicago and he had a quote that stuck with me: “God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called”.  Great, there went my excuse!

    In December 2009, I asked Miguel if I could accompany him on his next trip to the jail.  I wasn’t interested in a long-term commitment and I certainly wasn’t prepared to speak to the inmates myself.       Speaking in front of an audience ranked just after dental surgery on my life’s “to do” list.  I simply wanted to tag along for the experience.  Would there be a prison riot?  Would I be shanked with a sharpened tooth brush?  Would I see guys getting tattoos with an ink pen?  I didn’t know what to expect upon my first visit.  Needless to say, none of those things happened.  Television and movies have a way of skewing our perception of prison.  While dangerous events do sometimes take place behind prison walls, I would say that boredom and monotony are by far the norm.

    One thing I fully expected to hear upon my first visit was a sob story from each inmate about how they were actually innocent and how unfair it was that they were in jail in the first place.  I guess I had seen The Shawshank Redemption one time too many.  The running theme in that movie was that everyone in jail is innocent.  In actuality, I heard quite the opposite from the 3 men we spoke to that day.  All three told us that they had accepted Christ earlier in their lives but drifting away from Him had resulted in their incarceration.  I was stunned by their honesty and impressed with the fact that they placed the blame for their problems directly on their own shoulders.  Each of the three rededicated their lives to Christ that day.  I have no way of knowing whether or not they were sincere and the nature of these visits doesn’t lend itself to personal follow-up with each inmate, but Miguel and I had done our part.  It was now in God’s hands.  When you realize that your responsibility is to plant the seed, not make it grow, witnessing becomes a somewhat less overwhelming endeavor.

ANSWERS TO COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS

If you are considering getting involved in jail ministry, you may have several fears that are holding you back.  Following is a list of some of these fears with ways in which they can be overcome.

•I am not a Bible scholar and I may not be able to answer all of the questions that the inmates may ask.   First of all, keep in mind that you prepare the lesson that you will present to the inmates during your visit.  This allows you to thoroughly familiarize yourself with the scripture that you will cover and research any difficult areas prior to your visit.  From my experience, the inmates don’t ask many questions and the ones that they do ask are very practical in nature, rather than being deep theological questions.  For instance, inmates may ask how they can better control their temper or deal with the inevitable boredom of prison life.  They may also have basic questions about the gospel or forgiveness, but these are questions that most Christians can easily answer.  You should also keep in mind that the Holy Spirit often helps you in tough situations by helping you recall relevant scripture or past experiences that may help answer a question.  Finally, if you are completely stumped, you can tell the inmate that you will have the jail chaplain follow up with him in order to further discuss the issue.

•I can’t speak for an hour; I’ll never have enough to say.  This was one of the biggest fears I had to overcome.  I realized, though, that you have to let the Bible speak for you.  For example, the first time I spoke to the inmates alone was the day before Easter.  I read to them the Gospel of Mark’s account of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Last Supper, His betrayal by Judas, His crucifixion, and ultimately His resurrection.  After then talking to the inmates about the significance of these events, our time was up.  You should keep in mind that you really don’t even get a full hour.  By the time you wait for the inmates to be brought to the holding cell, complete the paperwork stating which inmates attended, and take prayer requests, you usually have about 40 minutes to speak with them.  The time passes much more quickly than you would think.

    During another visit, I spoke to the inmates about forgiveness.  We talked about Romans 3:10 which says that “there is none righteous, no, not one”.  Because of this, we all need God’s forgiveness for our sins so that we can enter into His presence when we die.  Acts 13:38-39 tells us that “through this Man (Jesus) is preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified”.  1 John 1:9 also tells us that “He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  Sometimes, I think inmates struggle with whether they can be forgiven for some of the sins they have committed in their lives.  This is when we need to remind them that the Bible does not say that “some” sins will be forgiven or “little” sins can be forgiven, but “ALL” sins will be forgiven if we confess them.

     Good examples to use here are the lives of Paul and David.  Paul was persecuting Christians when God called him to repentance and forgave his sins.  David was guilty of adultery and murder but was forgiven as well.  These examples help inmates realize that their sins can also be forgiven and they serve as a lesson to those of us involved in jail ministry that what we are doing is a worthy endeavor.  God could be using us to reach an inmate that will go on to do great things for His kingdom.

    Keep in mind that some of your time during each visit should be used to explain the Gospel.  Even if the inmates have heard it before, we can never be reminded enough that we were all born sinners and that the only way to be reconciled to God is by placing your trust in Jesus Christ.  You can never be “good enough” on your own.  You can go to church every week, volunteer at your local homeless shelter, and help little old ladies cross the street, but those good deeds, in and of themselves, will never be sufficient.

    The consequence of not accepting Christ is severe.  Hell may not be a popular topic with many in the world today, but the Bible teaches that it is a real place, that it lasts for eternity, and that it is reserved for those who reject God.  Eternity is a tough concept for the human mind to grasp but I’ve heard it described by the following example: Imagine a bird charged with the task of moving every grain of sand, one by one, from the east coast of the United States to the west coast.  The bird would have to fly day and night for millions of years in order to complete the job.  Even after all of those years had passed, it would be like eternity is just getting started!  You have to ask yourself: Is there anything on earth worth trading your eternal soul for?  The answer is clearly no. 

•What if an inmate asks: “How can a loving God allow evil and suffering in the world?” or “Why do bad things happen to me”?  This is one of those deep questions that may not be asked often, but since many inmates have had a life filled with “bad things”, this may be a question that is on the mind of many of them.

    Although this is a really difficult question to answer, we must remember that since the fall of man, we all live under the curse of sin, which results in evil and suffering.  God is sovereign, so it is within His power to eliminate these things.  That He chooses not to do so should help us realize that He has a purpose in them.  Romans 5:3-4 may give us an idea of that purpose as Paul writes that “we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, and perseverance, character; and character, hope”.  From this it is evident that God may use trials to help us grow stronger in our faith and dependence on Him as well as help us develop other aspects of our Christian character.  James 1:2-3 says that we should “count it all joy when we fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of our faith produces patience”.  We should also keep Isaiah 55:9 in mind where it says that “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts”.  We must realize that we may not always understand God’s ways, but if you are a Christian, you can rest assured that “all things work together for good” in your life (Romans 8:28).  After you make it through a difficult time, you can often look back later and see just how God was using that particular issue to further shape your Christian character.

•The Muslim influence in prison is strong. What if I get asked why I should believe the claims of Jesus as opposed to those of Muhammad or some other religious leader?   As I’ve heard Miguel often say, you can visit the grave of every religious leader that has ever lived except one, and that One is Jesus Christ.  He was crucified and buried yet rose again three days later, proving His divinity and worthiness to be our Savior.  No other religious leader can claim such a victory over the grave.

We know that these events took place because they are recorded in the Bible.  As Ravi Zacharias says, we can trust the Bible because it is a work consisting of 66 books, by over 40 authors, written over a period of 1,500 years and it all points to the person of Jesus Christ.  This harmony among so many people over so many years proves that the Bible ultimately has one source, and that source is God Himself.  Further evidence of the resurrection is contained in 1 Corinthians 15:6 where Paul explains that Jesus was seen by over 500 witnesses after he rose from the dead.  This gives us even more confidence in its truth!

It should be noted that just because I volunteer my time to talk with inmates about the gospel, I do not pity them for the position they are in nor do I think they have been treated unfairly or harshly because they are in jail.  They have been locked up for a reason and they each need to pay their debt to society.  My concern is not for their physical incarceration but for their bondage to sin.  Those chains can easily be broken though, if they accept Christ as their Savior.

Some may wonder if ministering to inmates is a waste of time by thinking that these men are a lost cause who have passed the point of redemption.  We should all be reminded that Jesus could have said the same about each of us when we were in darkness.  Before God, we are all sinners and it is only through His grace and mercy that any of us have been brought out of that darkness.  We should also remember that every human life is infinitely valuable because we have all been created in the image of God.  This fact alone should help us realize the importance of ministering to these men. Their lives have value. 

I will leave you with one important thought.  It comes from Dr. Del Tackett in his series The Truth Project.  He says that “You have never met a mere mortal”.  He explains that everyone you work with, sit next to on an airplane, or pass on the street has an immortal soul that will live forever in heaven or hell.  If we keep this in mind, we will all be more effective in carrying out the Great Commission.

Discussion Questions

         1)   How does the fact that “you have never met a mere mortal” impact your willingness to  share the Gospel with others?  What fears or concerns are currently keeping you from doing so?

         2)  After reading about what God did in the life of Paul, do you have a person in your life that you feel would never become a Christian?  If yes, read about Paul again!  Otherwise, think about ways in which you can share the Gospel with that person.

         3)  Think of something bad that you have gone through in your life and list ways in which God may have been using that issue to help you grow as a Christian.

         4)  What issues or fears are holding you back from doing the things that God may be calling you to do?  List ways in which those issues can be overcome.

         5)  If you are not a Christian, are you allowing certain sins in your life to keep you separated from God?  Things that you feel you just can’t give up?  Are those things worth trading your eternal soul for?  Put your faith in Jesus Christ and ask Him to help you give up your old ways.