PRISON FELLOWSHIP: From the CEO

A version of the following article appeared in the July issue of Pentecostal Evangel, an Assemblies of God publication.

Recently I was speaking at a conference in New York City and leading a panel discussion about men and women coming back to the community.

At a break, as others were filing out to get refreshments, a man came toward me.

On Oct. 23, Prison Fellowship and other organizations from all over the globe gathered in New York City for the fifth annual Movement Day. This event brings together leadership teams from the world's largest cities to build partnerships that help them better reach their respective cities with the grace-filled Gospel of Christ.

Parenting is one of the hardest jobs around. It takes all your strength, all your patience, and all your creativity.

But imagine how much harder it gets when the children’s father goes to prison. How does a mom explain his absence to her kids?

Prison Fellowship's president and CEO, Jim Liske, shared some wisdom with Real Simple, a magazine that "provides smart, realistic solutions to everyday challenges."

I lost a good friend this week. He was killed in a tragic roadside accident, leaving behind his wife and three daughters. I was with his family at the hospital as they said their final good-byes and went home without him.

I just got a letter from Lauren, a woman in Oregon who is finishing her prison sentence and finding great joy as she participating in Prison Fellowship® programs. Thanks to her relationships with Prison Fellowship volunteers, she’s better prepared to go back to her community as a follower of Jesus.

It’s said that the great Renaissance artist Michelangelo never knew what he was going to sculpt when he started. When a piece of marble was delivered to him, he would examine it, and he would envision the form trapped inside it, waiting to be revealed with his hammer and chisel.

A version of the following story originally aired as a BreakPoint commentary on August 19.

A few months ago, at a conference on juvenile justice reform at Fordham University, Prison Fellowship President and CEO Jim Liske had made remarks that the key to criminal justice reform is, as Chuck Colson so often proclaimed, seeing offenders as made in the image of God.

God has called us all be His agents of restoration, helping everyone around us return to right, whole relationships with Himself, with our families, and with our neighbors.

I can think of no more exciting, important, or rewarding work to give our lives to, but restoration around us must start with restoration inside us.

In the aftermath of any senseless act of violence, we cry out, “Why?” We feel more vulnerable in the communities we live in. We reach out for solutions that would prevent something similar from happening in the future. But most often, we are left without any real answers.

The Ghent Altarpiece is a magnificent piece of art. It was commissioned in the early 15th century, and it depicts the most important figures and scenes in the Christian story.

During World War II, the Nazis stole this priceless work of art – along with countless others – and hid it deep underground in a mine, intending to one day put it in a museum dedicated to the glory of the Fuhrer.

A young woman I met recently was 22 years old. Her adult life had barely begun, but she had already done quite a bit of hard living. She was one of several children born to an overburdened mom. Her dad was not around to help.

I had the privilege of performing a wedding last weekend. The bride is a godly young woman, and the groom is a fine young man and Jesus follower. As a couple they are a matching set. One can see how God has created them for each other and will use them mightily.

As my friend Quovadis Marshall, the director of spiritual development at Prison Fellowship Ministries, likes to say, Christians aren’t primarily saved from something – we are saved for Someone. Yes, Jesus, redeems us from our sins, and that’s hugely important. But we are saved in order to have a relationship with the living God who loves us.