by David Balkum | Jun 25, 2019 | Opinion
I wrote briefly about two things in my initial “Behind the Bars” column: the call from our faith “to remember those in prison as if you yourselves were suffering” and an aspirational reason for punishment, restoration For a little more background, I also said we...
by Zach Dawes Jr | Mar 23, 2018 | Opinion
The first public speech of Jesus in Luke’s Gospel, an adaptation of Isaiah 61:1-2, declares his calling to “proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” In one of his final public speeches in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus identifies himself with, among other...
by Chris Smith | Mar 22, 2018 | Opinion
My sister shared a moving testimony last week concerning what she witnessed at a recent funeral service. The deceased was an elderly woman who had committed her adult life to prison ministry. Sister Eva’s pastor shared, “I noticed that Sister Eva was only...
by Travis Collins | Mar 21, 2018 | Opinion
“I know you wonder if all the conversions are real,” Joe said to our church council. He was right. The number of conversions reported by our prison minister (he was a part-time, contract minister) was amazing. “Even if one-tenth of them are real,...
by Colin Harris | Mar 20, 2018 | Opinion
Incarceration is, by definition, a problem because its reason for being is a response to behavior outside the legal norms of a society. It is also an arena for many “problems within the problem” because of the challenges inherent in its application and...
