Focus on Making Corrections A Christian Ministry to ALL of The People Involved

Not just the incarcerated … probably not even primarily the incarcerated … but mainly, first and foremost, the victims

Include the Sheriff and Deputies, Mental Health Staff, County Board of Supervisors [as representatives of the taxpayers]

Focus on the SOULS of the people involved … rather than the physical, mental, emotional, material realities of the people involved … the people in jail are there for a reason, but they are also there as a reminder to everyone involved that we are no different … we are ALL in need of spiritual redemption.

We are ALL in need of help in rebuilding our courage and mindfulness … that is impossible, unless we accept the significance of Christ’s Sacrifice and Resurrection.

On the mental, emotional, psychological side

Teach restraint of the emotions, anxieties, depression; give it to God.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” - John 14:27
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” - 1 Peter 5:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” - Matthew 11:28-29
“For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” - 2 Timothy 1:7
“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.” - Ephesians 4:31
“Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” - Psalm 37:8
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” - Romans 12:19
“The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.” - Psalm 34:18
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” - Joshua 1:9

Teach repentence and abandonment of bad habits of being ourselves

“From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’” - Matthew 4:17. If we can break the bad habits of being ourselves … IF WE CAN JUST STOP BEING IDIOTS … if we can repent and actually mean it, then the kingdom of Heaven is at hand … RIGHT NOW! When we keep putting ourselves in hell, by failing to renounce our bad habits, then we actually DESERVE the tedium and discomfort of having time to think … because God loves us … because discomfort is God’s way of coaching us to THINK. STOP imagining that of discomfort and tedium as just a punishment … use the discomfort and tedium in order partly to THINK, but MOSTLY to draw closer to God. The kingdom of Heaven is at hand RIGHT NOW! Christians KNOW this … they have EXPERIENCED IT … it’s NOT a matter of wishing, hoping, dreaming of a better future … it’s a matter of actually EXPERIENCING the kingdom of Heaven … by REPENTING, working on improvement and moving forward without any notion of hate or wish for retribution … Chistians have EXPERIENCED this … that experience of repenting and experiencing the grace of forgiveness is REAL. The REASON that Christians are evangelical about their faith is because they have EXPERIENCED a tiny slice of the kingdom of Heaven … it’s not just that they want to share that experience with everyone … they NEED to share that experience. It’s necessary for all of us to seriously embrace the NECESSITY of repentance … but, it’s not just a matter of saying, “I’m sorry” … anyone can SAY anything under duress; saying something does not mean anything … it’s a matter of legitimately meaning it, completely letting go of the experience, moving forward and avoiding the possiblity of making the same mistake in the future.
“If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell.” - Matthew 5:29
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’” - Luke 9:23
“And Jesus said to her, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’” - [John 8:11(https://www.biblestudytools.com/john/8-11.html)]
“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” - Luke 13:3
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” - Isaiah 55:7
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” - Colossians 3:5
“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” - Romans 13:14
“Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.” - Acts 3:19
“For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.” - 2 Corinthians 7:10

Teach preservation of self-discipline, concentration, self-control

“But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” - 1 Corinthians 9:27
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness.” - 2 Peter 1:5-6
“Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” - Proverbs 16:32
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” - Galatians 5:22-23
“No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” - 1 Corinthians 10:13
“Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” - Matthew 26:41
“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” - Luke 4:1-2
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” - Colossians 3:2
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these [other] things will be added to you.” - Matthew 6:33 … and this this phrase “the kingdom of God” or “the “gospel of God” or “good news of God” is often used because of the connotations of a rule according to God’s righteousness, ie 1) loving God above all else, 2) loving all others as we love ourselves … see ( Matthew 21:43 ) ( Mark 1:1-15 ) ( Luke 4:43 Luke 9:2-60 Luke 16:16 ) … although the word “KINGdom” might be a word that the translators chose for the KING James Version [to get it past the censors], it does not mean that we need to have KING … the just of this rule by God’s righteousness is repeated over and over and over … it is CLEAR we must live according to God’s righteousness, ie 1) loving God above all else, 2) loving all others as we love ourselves. The redundancy in scripture means that seeking first to proclaim God’s righteousness is not just a matter of translation, not just a matter of cherrypicking a verse that makes us feel good … this is admonition that probably should make us squirm a bit. We can be CERTAIN about this LAW for Christians, since Christ stressed this often, in different settings, different contexts … so it is VERY SIMPLE that we are to seek first to live according to God’s righteousness. There is NOTHING WHATSOEVER AMBIGUOUS about Christ’s direction with respect to what are to worry about FIRST! “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

Teach cultivation of NEW hope, new skills, better/new relationships, new hobbies, new cognitive strategies

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” - 2 Corinthians 5:17
“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’” - Revelation 21:5
“And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” - Ezekiel 36:26
“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” - Isaiah 40:31
“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” - Philippians 4:8 … and “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” - Philippians 4:13. The whole chapter Philippians 4 is worth reading for the purpose of cultivating new cognitive strategies.
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” - John 13:34
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” - Hebrews 10:24-25
“Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” - Proverbs 27:17 This Proverb applies to most things; we learn the most when we are attempting to teach something that we have learned. So “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” - Colossians 3:16
“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” - Romans 12:2
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.” - Hebrews 12:1-2

Christian Jail Ministry MUST BE rooted in the Resurrection

The Resurrection of Christ cannot be stressed enough for Christians, ESPECIALLY for those involved in a jail ministry. Bible verses are nice for thinking about removing the bad habits of being ourselves …BUT … we could pick aphorisms from the Classics, from Shakespeare, from sayings of the Buddha … nice little thoughts only take us so far.

The POINT of being Christians is that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the FOUNDATION of our faith … our faith and our ministry has to be rooted in the Resurrection … because we believe that accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior … is the ONLY path to God’s grace … there’s no gaurantee of receiving God’s grace, but there’s a gaurantee of being excluded from it as long as we do not humbly accept the gift of salvation made possible by Jesus Christ … the Resurrection is both our proof of the reality of this; it is ALSO our call to action … the Resurrection tells us that we can now open our hearts and accept the Holy Spirit into our lives.

For those involved in a jail ministry, we must FIRST understand that the Christ’s Resurrection is the FOUNDATION of OUR faith … OUR faith must be one of SPIRITUAL transformation … when we say that OUR faith must be SPIRITUAL, it’s equivalent to saying that it cannot be achieved my merely physical, mental, emotional, psychological means … it’s not something we DO … salvation of our souls is matter of GRACE … we cannot be involved a spiritual ministry for anything but SPIRITUAL reasons, helping to rescue SOULS … it’s up to the incarcerated to pay their debts and heal themselves mentally, emotionally, psychologically – our ministry is about SOULS, not getting out of jail free… it simply cannot be a material mental faith, although there will likely be material or mental manifestations … our faith must be SPIRITUAL.

Christ did not die on the cross, so that we could have a post-death retirement plan with full accommodations for all of the people we love and care about in a post-death retirement community.

Christ died on the cross to REDEEM OUR SOULS.

Christ died on the cross, descended into Hell and the paid the price for us … to REDEEM OUR SOULS … so that we could have a SPIRITUAL life … and THAT is beyond what we can really comprehend … especially, as long as our comprehension is limited by our clinging to the outward material manifestations of this existence.

It should be obvious to us that the life that we have in our human existence is still very much going to HAVE TO be a life that is bound by the material, mental or emotional limitations of our human existence … accepting Christ as the savior of your SOUL is not an expedient get-out-of-jail-free card.

Christ died on the cross to REDEEM OUR SOULS

So that the Holy Spirit can come into our lives and completely transform our spiritual being.

When that happens, since we will be able to experience a spiritual life that is no longer bound by the material, mental or emotional limitations of our human existence … that means that we will finally be free to mindfully focus on our shortcomings and to begin to make amends.

But SPIRITUAL REDEMPTION is not about getting out of jail, it’s not about having our debts paid off, it’s not about being free from medical/health issues, it’s not about being free from our relationships and other commitments we have made … it means that since we have accepted Christ as our SPIRITUAL savior, the Holy Spirit can come into our lives and begin to furnish us with the courage and mindfulness and PEACE that we will need to address the physical, mental, emotional, material realities of our human existence.

It’s STILL going to be up to us to work at DILIGENTLY DEVELOPING our courage and mindfulness … but participation in the JAIL MINISTRY … for EVERYONE … is about ALL of us admitting that we have ALL fallen short of the glory of God … and that we are ALL in need of spiritual redemption … and that we are ALL in need of help in rebuilding our courage and mindfulness … and the JAIL MINISTRY is about SHOWING UP to be a PRESENCE that gives witness of how the Holy Spirit has provided us with the insight and ambition to address the difficulties of rebuilding our courage and mindfulness … but MOSTLY the JAIL MINISTRY is about showing up to share the complete JOY that is possible only from SPIRITUAL REBIRTH … something that is impossible, unless we accept the significance of Christ’s Sacrifice and Resurrection.

For us involved in jail ministry, Christ’s LOVE for us is BROTHERLY LOVE … brotherly love means ass-chewings, liberal ridicule of falling back into idiot habits – but it also means giving a shit, actually caring enough to show up, even if FROWNS are the only thing that happens we show up. Brotherly love is not a new parent’s ecstatic huggie-kissie baby-talk love that admires even the color and fragrance of poop in the diaper [as long as the kid is healthy]; it’s not even the mother’s kind of love that gives kids allowances just for being kids [without having to earn every nickel doing nasty chores] … it’s not a grandmother’s love that gives the grandkids snacks and buys them tickets to amusement parks and lets the grandkids get away with things that her kids never would have gotten away with. For us involved in jail ministry, Christ’s LOVE for us is BROTHERLY LOVE.

For Christians, there can be no other day in the year that is more genuinely worthy of a SPECIAL day of celebration than Easter.

The Resurrection is the FOUNDATION of our Christian faith

Christ’s death and the Resurrection are what Christianity is about … without the Resurrection, we’re JUST sort of regurgitating favorite quotes, talking about pleasant platitudes, egotistically displaying how we have been good little boys who memorized our favorite verses of scripture … without the Resurrection, the Christian faith is EMPTY … without the Resurrection, the Christian faith would not really be any different than regurgitateing aphorisms and favorite passages from the Classics.

Without continually bringing our FOCUS back to the Resurrection and what it means, the rest of Christian yakking about one thing or another, is just mere storytelling, like a soothing classic story on radio in wartime … even though, some Christians might get defensive about this characterization, Christianity’s more than a classic story.

The Resurrection is not kidstuff. AT ALL. And our faith is not just about things like comfortable, warm fuzzy memories of nice Christian grandmothers telling The Story to us in Sunday School, developing the setting, plot, characters, theme, conflict and point of view in our favorite story as we color in the drawings of the Sunday School handouts.

In 1 Corinthians 15 the Apostle Paul explains the importance of the resurrection to the Christian faith: “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body,.

To KNOW God is to have directly experienced something like a vision or an epiphany of the independence of spiritual life … that sort of life-changing vision or epiphany is possible ONLY through the Resurrection … and through the Holy Spirit coming into our lives and completely transforming our spiritual being.

A spiritual life is NOT a physical, mental, emotional reboot … in computer parlance, it’s not just a new operating system, or new hardware – a spiritual rebirth means CHANGE and living your life as if your ETERNAL SOUL mattered.

The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is not just the most important thing to the Christan faith … of course, the Resurrection has driven has EVERYTHING about the Christian REVOLUTION that began two millenia ago … but the sigificance of the Resurrection is BIGGER than the sum total of EVERYTHING that humans have accomplished in the entirety of the species existence … it’s not about our past … all of our past accomplishments, piles of possession, relationships and all of the errors we commit in this existence do not matter … the Resurrection MATTERS, because of what is to come, throughout all eternity … Christ died for your sins and rose again because your eternal soul [now redeemed and free, if you accept salvation] WILL matter that much through GRACE … we don’t need to worry about exactly what the after life might look like; we can be assured that whatever comes next will be better than anything that any human can imagine. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our Christian faith.

Thoughts On A Jail Ministry