Last weekend I, and several of our worship band, traveled to the Louisiana State Penitentiary near St. Francisville, Louisiana. Better known as Angola, the penitentiary comprises 18,000 acres and houses over 6,000 men.
Many people around the country will know Angola for its past history as one of the most dangerous prisons in the country. In the past, Angola was characterized by fear and danger at every turn. At one point the federal government forbade the state to send any additional convicts to the institution because of the prevailing conditions.
All of that has changed. A number of years ago New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the Louisiana Baptist Convention, and the Baptist Association of Greater Baton Rouge worked together to establish a training school for inmates called to minister to their fellow inmates. Warden Burl Cain encouraged this work and made it possible.
Since the establishment of that program, Angola, and most other detention centers around the state, have been transformed.
Some of the most wonderful Christians I have met live and minister inside prisons. Most of these Godly men are “lifers” who will never be freed. Yet, they are very much free. Their freedom is in Christ.
In our Saturday session, we heard again and again, “had it not been for Angola, I would never have been free in Christ.”
I met John Sheehan several years ago when he came with Warden Cain to our church as a fundraising project to build an inmate Chapel at the Rayborn Correctional Institute in our area. John is one of the “missionary chaplains” saved at Angola and educated in prison to minister in the name of Christ.
John is a delightful person, my brother in Christ. You can see and feel the fruit of God’s Holy Spirit in him.
As we began our first service, one of the people ministering with me from around the state knelt in front of John, a young inmate, and me. He said what all the outsiders felt: “I can’t imagine waking up here every morning.” John quietly said: “It’s not a burden. It’s a privilege to serve our Lord and to minister to these men.”
I couldn’t help but think of what Paul wrote from prison. “I want you to know, brethren, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel” (Philippians 4:13).
I thank God for faithful people–both inside and outside–who serve Christ and honor His name.
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2 Responses
Stone walls do not a prison make,
Nor iron bars a cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above
Enjoy such liberty.
Richard Lovelace 1618 – 1657
On many occasions I had been asked about how hard it is to take care of my mother when she was too weak to tend to her own needs. My response was the same, “She’s no trouble.”
My Dad asked me, when he found he had a mass in his brain and would have to have surgery to determine what the mass was, to take care of your Mother and make my museum go. After my Dad’s death 30 September 1995 when left alone with my sister, it has been, to say the least, interesting. I told my mother what Daddy had asked, but asked her what did she want from me. As I have an 18 month younger sibling who perceived me as a threat to her domain, a war began. One might think it would have ended with Mom’s passing and a hug from her over Mom’s coffin (that I arranged after discovering when Hospice was called my sibling had arranged NOTHING) and the words, “I love you,” that the war would have ended. No, dominance and making herself out to be victim after having set the stage with a presentation of her construct relationship at the funeral, while I sat quietly with “my family.” She signed papers Sunday, the next day to be filed in Parish Court Monday. This was the same sibling who said, “You’re so ridiculous. Don’t you know what the Bible is? The Bible is a collection of stories. Don’t you know what the definition of a story is? A story is a short fictional work!”
One might think that becoming a ‘church’ elder after that and then sexton and leading vacation Bible school for many years there would be a change. There are many tools clever determined people use to get what they want. The incorporation of Jefferson Parish Museum showed clearly her position was to make it a story about anything but people being faithful to God in the establishment of the United States of America and the challenge for it to recognize the source of those blessings of Freedom.
Conversely, as she climbed up the ‘church’ hierarchy, I resigned teaching senior class Sunday School to and eventually of being a Deacon to give Mother (and my children) time required of me, mourning Dad. After much prayer with her and with our Lord, a plan was developed to Honor and Glorify God. Mother became the battle ground when she declared in our only family counseling session her need for her son.
The war continues. Since March of 2000, with the exception of getting needed Zoning changes which could only have been done by God in Jefferson Parish and the incorporation of The Jefferson Museum trademarked: The Jefferson Parish Museum, the battles have all been lost. Yet the war continues.
When one denies the purpose or the experiences of another and has a team to support that position who are well connected, it seems that God is helpless on this side of eternity. Well, Hebrews 11 tells the story better than I can regarding God’s Faithfulness. It is evident however, God chooses to work through His People.
So, Happy Birthday Daddy! You who liberated concentration camps, saved lives, chased down criminals, helped the distressed, built a business and family retreat went into V. T. at her hash words, look down from Heaven with your dream Bride and see your children in the midst of destruction. She wanted what you built or the money she might get out of it as soon as you passed. Evidently, you should have written down what you required of me.
Thank God for my Family. Lord Jesus protect them. Without His story, your life Dad and now mine, is just another story and the touchstones left for ‘show and tell’ of God’s wondrous works through His People, just stuff.
Complement or compete? Purpose driven life makes what may be to others, tough tasks, “No trouble.” I will show you what is good and is required of Thee? For the Humble in heart it is ‘no trouble.’
Pray for Salvation, for His Will to be Done. May those prayers be no trouble for you, as they lead to revival.
Blessings
I was immediately reminded of the Scripture, “If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed”. What a blessing to hear of these transformed hearts!