An Important Reminder

I think sometimes that I forget where we are. I mean I know that we’re at CFCF, but sometimes I forget that CFCF stands for Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. We go there and lead a worship service for the guys so often that it has become a second church for me. The way that the Spirit finds it’s way into that room every week has blessed me and everyone else that has visited and served along side of us. But then a week like this past one is a stark reminder of where it is that we are serving.

Our services on Tuesday nights are rather unstructured. We praise God, we share testimony and we pray. The message is delivered by one of about 10 different people. Depending upon what happens earlier in the service the message ranges anywhere from 15 minutes to 45. We often just let the spirit guide us. The one constant that we try to follow is that in the last 15 minutes that we are there we have an altar call. This is an invitation that we give asking that any person who wishes to come forth and accept the Christ Jesus as his Lord & Savior to do so. Some days there seems to be a flood that comes forward and sometimes nobody is ready. Those times we ask for the opportunity to give prayer or ask for guys that want to recommit.

But Tuesday night I had just finished delivering the message and was asking the guys to stand up when Officer Harris came into the room. He quickly let the 11 of us know that he wanted us out of the room. I can’t imagine that more than a minute went by from the time he ordered us out and the time we got into the hallway, but it wasn’t quick enough for him. He took us into the room next door and locked us in. Five minutes or so later the door was opened and we were led back through the halls and towards the exit. A couple of years ago Michael and I experienced much the same, however that night ended up being a drill. The number of Correctional Officers (C.O’s) that we encountered on the way out this night indicated that this was no drill.

It wasn’t until the next day that we found out that there had been a fight that ended with four inmates stabbed, one fatally. While we never appeared to be in any danger, in this situation the C.O.’s primary responsibility is to get all civilians, us, to safety as quickly as possible. This they did admirably, and it reminded me of how important the C.O.’s jobs were. I came away that night with three takeaways.

My Growth as a Christian

I have to admit that I used to look at Christians differently and at Christian Missionaries as lunatics. I wondered why somebody would put themselves in dangerous situations to tell people about the story of Christ, especially when it was such accessible news. Five years after turning my life over to Christ, and three and a half years after beginning to participate in the prison ministry, I now understand. I understand, not because I’m anything special, but because God has placed this ministry at my feet, my mind and my heart.

The Mission of CLPRM

Being reminded of the potential for violence behind the walls of CFCF highlights how important it is for us to share the Gospel there. It made me wonder if the guys involved have accepted Christ, whether through us or some other ministry. How tragic it would be if we decided that we couldn’t answer God’s call anymore and continue to worship with them. We have to accept that sometimes God sets our feet in places that we aren’t always 100% comfortable.

Our Leader is Always with us

At the end of the night, when we were being escorted out, we realized something amazing. Our Leader, the Holy Spirit (not Bob) had stepped in and organized the service so that his will could continue. Earlier in the night Bob had shared a story and the room had been captivated. Feeling something special happening he asked Michael to play quietly on the keyboards. He then did something that we have rarely done and called for a mid-service altar call. The response was fantastic. Five men came forward and in a moment heavy in emotion, gave their lives to Christ. Due to the incident and the resulting lockdown, we were not able to make an altar call invitation at the end of the service, but God had it covered.

Say a prayer for somebody today.