I grew up in New York City. As a teenager, I spent many weekends hanging out with friends in Washington Square in Greenwich Village. Everyone I knew took drugs, and many loved to drink alcohol until they passed out. At first, I was no different until one day, I almost lost my mind. Then, I tried to remain sober while I watched many folks never recover from their addiction to drugs and go insane. I vowed not to go that route, so I joined the Air Force and cleaned up my act. Years later, I became a Christian and was asked to join others in a group that helped imprisoned people. It took some convincing, but eventually, I agreed to go one time to witness what it was all about. Not only did I see dramatic changes, but my opinion of prisoners changed forever. I was so impressed that I wrote a book about the group's experiences and why they returned to the prison repeatedly.
I have seen dramatic changes in people since I became a member of the Kairos Prison Christian community. For example, I witnessed men change dramatically from drug-dealing gang leaders to Christ-loving Bible believers who were completely free from drugs. These changes happened over a three-day weekend, during which a team of 15-20 Christian men outside the prison shared their testimonies about how Jesus Christ changed and enriched their lives. Then, after the weekend, each prisoner would have a turn to share their testimony about what the weekend meant to them and how they planned to live their lives. About seven out of ten said they became a Christian, would read the Bible, and planned to attend meetings in the prison chapel from that day forward. Some very violent gang members hugged their rival enemies after the Kairos Prison Ministry weekend and pledged to become leaders for the Lord! Now that’s a positive change! Many drug dealers promised never to touch a drug again.
All these testimonies seemed too good to be true . So, our program director held follow-up meetings throughout the year and asked volunteers to visit the prison to see if these men were true to their word. We found that eight out of ten men kept their promises, and many became model prisoners for others to follow. The correctional officers loved it when we visited the prison because we helped calm the prisoners down, and the teachings of Jesus Christ gave them hope and a purpose for their lives. Many new Christian prisoners we visited told us about miracles happening in their lives. Their families started writing them more often, and some had their prison sentences shortened because of good behavior. Others went on to teach other prisoners subjects, such as computer programming, to help others gain marketable skills to obtain a good job when released. All these changes proved to me that people could change dramatically through the power of the Holy Spirit, which only Jesus can provide. However, the prison ministers on our team told us some of the most dramatic, positive changes they made after they gave their hearts to Jesus. There were at least three prison ministers who professed that they were utterly drug-free one day after they became Christians! This is unheard of outside Christian circles, where many people go through many months of intense drug programs and are counting every day they are drug-free! The men I interviewed told me that one day, they were heavily drug-dependent, and the next day, after they became Christian, they wanted nothing to do with drugs. All of them said they had no side effects and absolutely no desire ever to take another drug. All said they were drug-free for at least five years! Those are dramatic miracles I will never forget!
Today, I attend a church that is full of people who were once at least social alcoholics; some were in prisons for various crimes, and others, like myself, committed crimes but were never caught by the authorities. We all have changed and live productively and in harmony, knowing we are all children of a loving and caring God. As Christians, we are privileged to experience positive spiritual changes in such a short period of time in others that our non-Christian friends will probably never see. That’s why it’s so exciting and rewarding to be a Christian! Most of us cannot understand why anyone would not want to join us on this beautiful journey. Sure, it’s not always easy, but the alternative is to live in a world of doubts, false promises, half-truths, and little hope for a positive future. With Christ, we have eternal life in a Heaven we can only imagine. I will never want to return to that old life I used to have, for I have changed and am filled with the Holy Spirit that gives us hope, joy, and purpose in this life and beyond! Amen X 110!
Book: "Can't Wait to Get Back to Prison" by Dr. John Michael Domino, available on Authors Den and Amazon.com
The vast majority (75%) of studies reviewed revealed that religious measures consistently had a beneficial, effect on delinquency, whereby higher levels of religiosity were associated with inhibiting or reducing delinquency.
Religion: The Forgotten Factor in Cutting Youth Crime and Saving At ...
Manhattan Institute
https://manhattan.institute
Data demonstrates that faith-based prison programs reduce recidivism by instilling spiritual responsibility and lasting moral influence on prisoners within prison culture.Apr 18, 2023
Reducing recidivism through faith-based prison programs | Issues
America First Policy Institute
https://americafirstpolicy.com latest research-report-r...
Does religion help or hurt society?
It improves health, learning, economic well-being, self-control, self-esteem, and empathy. It reduces the incidence of social pathologies, such as out-of-wedlock births, crime, delinquency, drug and alcohol addiction, health problems, anxieties, and prejudices.
Why Religion Matters: The Impact of Religious Practice on Social Stability
The Heritage Foundation
https://www.heritage.org civil-society report why-r...
Does religion help with crime?
Approximately 89 percent of the studies (97/109) find an inverse or beneficial relationship between religion and some measure of crime or delinquency (i.e., increasing religiosity is associated with lower crime/delinquency).
Religion, Crime, and Criminal Justice - Oxford Academic
Kudos to you and those like you who are willing to help those others think beyond redemption! I worked for a short time in the Tennessee State Penitentiary back in the 80s and witnessed a lot of dispair. Not all prisoners were willing to change. But there were those who did. Unfortunately positive, proactive opportunities were few and far between. What's even worse, many of them couldn't escape from the shadow not only of their past but also from the shadows cast by other prisoners. It's good that there are those who are willing to be beacons through the shadows.
If I read this right, you changed yourself in your youth, like I changed from being a Christian to an atheist. And then, you found Christianity later.
After I was caught smoking at 7 and hauled into the police station, living in a very bad neighborhood where most of the youth went to reform school and then graduated to prison like their parents, I chose, with my few friends, to be a good kid and not get into alcohol or the other addictions that were creeping in at that time. I really never was someone who went along with the crowd. While everyone around me drank beer, I just didn't like the taste.
I was president of an ecumenical Christian fellowship in college. Received a high award for my service. Participated in civil rights and protested the war in Vietnam hurting so many people of my age for no reason at all. Many got on drugs, had PTSD and ruined their lives. I changed to becoming an atheist because I didn't like all the ritual that I felt to be unnecessary for someone to be good. The golden rule was all I needed and it wasn't Christian. It is innately in us to know good from bad. We don't need religious routine to constantly remind us.
I have found that people who changed dramatically do so either because they make the realization, like you did, that what they are doing is wrong and getting them nowhere. Or, they have help like your Christian mission in prison. Basically changing one addiction for another. Making it much easier to pray than to take another drug to make the evil go away.
Many have just gone cold turkey like my dad after smoking for 20 years, stopping smoking in the middle of a carton and a pack without any counseling or placebo to help him.
The problem with being imprisoned, especially if you are just an addict and perhaps stealing to pay for your expensive habit, is trumped up, often racist, charges and harsh sentences. And worst of all, having great difficulty getting employment after prison. I have hired two women who couldn't get a job because of their sentences. One for getting 6 years for selling marijuana to feed her kids. The other 6 years for killing the man who raped her with a warning shot that killed him. I helped them both get better paying jobs and we are still good friends.
Have you followed up on those prisoners see how they did after prison? Prayer does not pay for rent or food. Did the Christian church provide them with jobs? Did Christian employers? Perhaps your next article could be on how these changed inmates did after prison. I'd like to know. My partner's nephew who was once a multimillionaire and on cocaine, lost everything and is now being taken care of by his family and friends.
Finally, the commentary that adds even more to the diagramed version of The Easy Study Bible. Follow the diagramed verses of this new clear translation with a verse by verse commentary. Understand even better the New Testament book of Philippians.
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Are you still angry at God for having lost a loved one due to sickness or unexpected circumstances? This book will give you a better understanding of death, Gods role in it, and what decision is before each of us that would allow us to see them agai
