PRISON FELLOWSHIP: warden

I sat recently with a state-level corrections leader who had made time in his busy schedule to have lunch. He was feeling the need for prayer. Though he is a man with an impressive career of leadership, he is new to his job and new to the entire field of corrections.

This winter I saw a prison leader do something that almost never happens. At a Midwest prison, where men are enrolled in a Prison Fellowship seminary-level training program, the warden allowed close to 400 prisoners to gather in the gymnasium to drink coffee, have cookies, sing, hear the Gospel, and interact with 30 volunteers.

When I first arrived, I could only see the prisoners through the lens of their crimes. However, as I watched the assistant warden and interacted with the inmates myself, I realized that they are just like me. We are all broken sinners in need of redeeming grace. None of us is a statistic to the One who leaves the 99 to seek out the one lost sheep.