PRISONS have a feel about them: the noise, and yet the silence; the razor wire, buzzing locks and the clang of gates; the concrete walls, floors and ceilings - and all that noise! There is the feeling of being where you are not wanted, the sullen stares, the clipped words. And there is the prohibition against touching. The possibility of contraband being passed - or one might just get themselves killed! I had twice visited a prison and swore I would not put myself through that experience again.
But I did. In April 1998 I was asked by Prison Fellowship (P.F.) to go to the Jester II prison in Sugar Land, Texas, which is southwest of Houston. P.F. wanted me to become familiar with what they had begun there. They hoped I might help develop proposals for other states to initiate InnerChange Freedom Initiative (IFI) in their prison systems.
Governor George W. Bush had invited IFI into the Texas prison system as an attempt to reduce recidivism and thereby reduce costs of incarceration to the state of Texas. Roughly 52% of all inmates in Texas will be back in prison within three years of release. I remember one inmate saying, "Look at us. In a few months we will be your neighbors." Somehow we need to deal with the reality here. Something must be done to rescue these inmates and to reduce the burden on society. Most people have a distorted concept of prison and what takes place there. So, when Chuck Colson approached Governor Bush with this idea, he agreed to give it a try. This concept is so radically new it confuses most people when you try to explain it.
For the most part prisons in this country try to rehabilitate inmates through some form of therapy. "Offenders" are told what happened to them is not really their fault - somehow society failed them - either their family situation or their community or the education system. All they need to function in society is to be convinced of the "error of their ways" and to learn "appropriate behavior patterns." In the words of one who had worked within the system, the inmates are "taught how to live with their anger." Anger is the primary problem for most of them. Radically different from the therapeutic approach, InnerChange Freedom Initiative is based on transformation of the individual. The program immerses these men in the Bible and in Jesus Christ. In the end they are changed from within to the point where they can live without their anger. How's that for a revolutionary approach?
That first visit in April was the beginning of a change in me as well. When I went through the gate at Jester II and heard it clang behind me, when I looked at the razor wire, and walked across that bare courtyard, I had a sense of deja vu. When I walked into the concrete cocoon it was just as I remembered. The noise was deafening; we walked across a day room where there were four televisions, all on different stations, and all at full volume. Inmates were either watching TV, playing chess or dominoes-all shouting to be heard over the blaring TVs.
At the back of this room was a door marked "InnerChange." An inmate opened the door, stuck out his hand, grabbed mine, and pulled me through the door. He gave me a bear hug and said "Welcome to InnerChange." When he closed the door the noise ceased. It was like stepping into another world-and in fact we had done just that. It was partly the silence, but it was the smiles too. Here were men dressed just like those on the other side of the door yet they were different. Somehow there was a feeling of normalcy; a feeling of - I know it sounds odd - brotherhood.
After that first visit I was asked to help with the development of the curriculum for this very new program. They accept men for IFI who are within two years of parole and put them into an intense program. Everything in the program is designed to transform these men. It begins with their taking personal responsibility for what they have done and the consequences that have resulted. Inmates in general population are required to study three hours a day and attend GED one hour a day if they don't have a high school diploma. The average reading level is third grade. In InnerChange the inmates are involved with the program from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. During each day the member (inmates in the IFI program are called members) has two one-hour periods of "free time" during which they are to be in the gym or the Computer Lab. They study from 10 p.m. until lights out at 11 p.m.
In discussions with the IFI Director we decided the curriculum needed to be a structured Bible study - like CBS. I received enthusiastic approval to use the Community Bible Study Condensed curriculum, which is shorter than the regular material used in Community Bible Study classes. On June 1, 1998 I went to Houston to train the leadership. The Servants Team of a CBS class consists, in part, of the Teaching Director (TD), Associate Teaching Director (ATD), Coordinator (Coord) and Prayer Chairman (PC). In this case the TD is John Wiesner, the ATD is Jerry Woefful, Harry Woefful is the Coordinator and Helen Wiesner the Prayer Chairman. All of the Core Leaders are members (inmates). Every Core Leader will leave the program within 18 months; new Core Leaders are forever needed. Prospective Core Leaders are selected by the IFI staff. Most of these men have never been put in a position of leadership, yet in almost every case those trained as Core Leaders have blossomed. So has CBS.
The members feel CBS is their Bible Study. They are responsible, both as individuals and as a group, as they have never been before. Now, a year after the program began, they constantly say that the Friday evening CBS is the best part of the entire program. In fact, CBS in the Jester II Unit is so successful we now have inmates who are not in the IFI program sneaking in to the CBS class. Some even attend a Core Group on a regular basis. The Leaders Council has decided that is just fine. These men are given lessons just like everyone else. Remember, this is their Bible Study and they do some things a little differently. They begin the evening with singing, they sing after Core Groups, and they sing again after the lecture. Everyone has a roaring good time!
There are challenges too, of course. Those who are paroled complain they miss CBS. They miss the discipline, the inspiration, the worship, and the fellowship. Therefore, we now have another CBS class on the outside. John Wiesner is also the TD of that class, which meets in the Parole Office on Tuesday evenings.
Guidelines for a Core Group are the same as they are for any CBS class. Members are encouraged to share only when they have done their lessons. But some cannot read and write. One member who cannot read is the protégé of John Wiesner; John is his mentor. Each member has a mentor who forges a special relationship with him and helps with the transition to the outside world. John was visiting a Core Group and noticed his protégé answering questions from written answers on his lessons. When asked how he did that, the man told John he had a friend read him the questions and the scriptures; they discussed the question and the possible answer, and his friend then wrote the answer on both lessons. And we think we have a struggle to get our lessons done!
In the first chapter of John (v. 31) it says that John the Baptist did not know who Jesus was. This was the focal point of that lesson in every Core Group. There was a prolonged period of discussion during which they recalled that Jesus' mother, Mary, and John's mother, Elizabeth, were related! Surely these two women must have told their sons. The discussion was intense until one member asked the question, "How long had you known about Jesus before you discovered who He was?" How's that for insight!
Does this program have any lasting effect? You decide. A member approached me early in his participation in the program saying he did not belong in prison. He said he was a Christian and got into trouble because of what someone else did. When I asked him if he attended church regularly he said it wasn't necessary. His mother and sister went to church so often that he did not need to go. I suggested that perhaps he had never met Jesus face to face. Months later, just before his parole, he asked to talk to me again. He confessed that he had tried to "con" me before. He did belong in prison. He had committed the crime and deserved the punishment. All his life God had tried to get his attention but he ignored Him. His mother and sister had tried countless times to bring him to Christ and he refused. No matter what God did, he turned away. So, because of choices he made and actions he took, he ended up in prison where God was finally able to get his attention. Now he has met Christ and has a whole new life awaiting him. Does it work? What do you think?
When the CBS program began in Jester II there were 80 men involved. Now there are 160. The state of Texas wants to expand the program to fill all the Jester II Unit, which would mean 350. Does it work? The state of Texas seems to think so. Of course, they are primarily interested in the reduction in rate of recidivism. The state of Iowa also thinks it works. The IFI program will begin there soon and CBS will be an integral part of the curriculum. Already four hundred men in Iowa state prisons have expressed an interest in enrolling in the IFI program. In fact Iowa wants the CBS program in all seven of its prisons, even those without IFI. Kansas has invited IFI to expand into their prison system as well. Does it work?
This is God's work, and I feel as if He is taking me along for the ride. I have no idea what to do next - except try to stay out of the way so God can work! Discovery seems to be the key word and we discover new things almost every day. I get to see God work in ways that are astounding. For example, the other day I was asked if I could find about twenty used computers to equip the computer lab in Iowa. I had no idea where to begin. That same night I was talking to a friend of ours who was going to spend a weekend at our summer cabin. He is in the new computer business and almost as an after - thought I asked him if he knew where I could find twenty used computers. He paused and replied, "You won't believe this. Our company was forced to take in thirty used computers on a sale we made the other day and we do not take trade-ins. They are taking up space in my warehouse and it is my job to get rid of them. Where do you want me to ship them?"
I have talked to people all over the country about using CBS materials in the prisons. While there are some considerations involved in establishing a successful program, the opportunity is there. When conditions are right and there are volunteers who want to commit to the involvement required, I will be glad to go there and train the Servants Team and Core Leaders. If you have a heart for prison ministry and you are interested in knowing more about using CBS material, please contact the National Service Center, 800/826-4181. I will call you back.
Does it work? I think so. What do you think?
Bob Jefferson
Teaching Director, Albuquerque Evening CBS
Director, CBS Prison Ministry
"The king will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my
Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation
of the world....I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you
came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer...'when did we see you sick
or in prison and go to visit you?' The king will reply, 'I tell you the truth,
whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for
me.'"
(Matthew 25:34-41)