Video Creator’s Channel Dr. Steve Turley

All Right There Everyone I Wanted To

share with you an extraordinary testimony to the transformative power of the Christian Gospel. I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Angola prison and Louisiana. It’s been called America’s bloodiest prison 6300 prisoners over 6,000 prisoners and these are some of the most dangerous and violent felons in the nation. 85% of them are serving life without parole. 45 of them are death row and just to give you a sense of how chaotic this prison was when they checked you in as a prisoner.

The Prison Staff Would Give You

a knife to protect yourself. It was by far one of the most violent prisons in the nation. In 1992. Angola experienced 1,500 assaults, both inmate on inmate and inmate on staff that’s nearly five assaults every single day the inside of the prison was said to have been. decorated quite literally with blood blood covered walls floors everywhere you look about two decades ago, A new warden took over fellow by the name of Burl Kane, who ironically is quite a big burly fellow himself, the governor of Louisiana had asked him to step in and try to bring at least some semblance of sanity to this place and Kane said he’d take the position, but on one condition the governor was gonna have to let him do things his way he was gonna take a a whole new approach to this.

Hes Gonna Throw Away The Secular Standardized Protocols

and the bureaucratic playbooks, and he was going to do this from a completely and totally different vantage point and the governor said in effect what have we got to lose have at it and what he did was quite amazing. The warden puts scripture verses all over. The walls he started daily Bible studies. He brought in brought in the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to teach ordination classes on the prison grounds. Today there is a Bible College in Angola prison with a fully accredited degree program and as a result, hundreds of prisoners have completed the course of study and have become ordained ministers, most of whom by the way are serving life sentences.

Theyve Been Ordained As Pastors And

in effect the cellblocks are their congregations. In fact, the theologian and Evangelist Ravi Zacharias. On his visit to the prison was told that once we had gangs of thugs. Now we have gangs of pastors and the strategy. If you think it through is absolutely brilliant.

The Warden Believed He Actually Has The Audacity

to believe that religion was indispensable to moral living okay and moral people Don’t stab each other they don’t lie. Cheat or steal and so if we can transform these prisoners morally through religion and particularly the Christian faith. Then the prison’s culture violence and death would transform as well, So how do you get the small transformation well you infuse the prison with pastors. You infuse the prison with pastors pastors who live breathe and have their being within the walls of the prison. In these cells and on the prison grounds 24/7 who in turn evangelize the prison population who then turn in Mass to JEsus and that’s precisely what happened thousands of inmates have given their laws to Christ.

In Fact, The Warden Pointed Out To

Ravi Zacharias when he visited the prison grounds that today you can bring the prettiest woman into that prison and let her walk in front of say death row and there won’t be a single cat call rude word there’s no. profanity allowed in the prison either from the prisoners or from the guards and remember that assault statistic how many assaults on average per year. Remember they averaged 1,500 assaults every year. Today, it’s barely 300. Angola was the single most violent prison in the nation.

Today.

It’s one of the safest one of the hidden treasures of the work of the Conservative Evangelical Church today is its prison ministry operation as state funding for prisons has plummeted self–funded faith-based programs have come in and stood in the gap. They’re providing educational opportunities such as Calvin Colleges Prison initiative that provides a Christian liberal arts education to inmates that results in a fully accredited Bachelor of ARts degree. These evangelical ministries are providing mental health counseling. They’re providing addiction services and they’re providing ministerial care for the families and loved ones of the prison population and the result of these.

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And Faithful Evangelical Outreach Efforts Are Nothing

short of astounding Is the author of the book God in Captivity. The rise of faith-based prison ministries in the age of mass incarceration. Tanya airs and notes on any given day. There are worship services and Bible study groups in virtually every single prison in the nation. Most education, health care, privileges and programming are overseen in some way or other by a faith-based Evangelical ministry.

Six States Today Have Prisons With

in-house seminary programs comparable to that of Angola, where inmates can earn a college degree in Christian Ministry. They can get ordained and then get this they’re sent as missionaries to other prisons in the same state. Florida in particular has turned eleven state prisons into faith and character based institutions. These are entire prisons where rehabilitation occurs through Christian worship community and transformation, for example I’m Sure many of you are course familiar with Prison Fellowship Ministries started by former NIxon aide Chuck Colson, which is the largest and most influential prison ministry in the nation. They’ve instituted programs in prisons all over the country similar to that in Angola called Prison Fellowship Academies which counseled prisoners towards a holistic life transformation in Christ and Kairos Ministry International, which is as the name implies.

A Global Ministry Offers A Three-Day Program Called

Kairos inside weekend’s for prisoners to help them foster intentional Christian communities inside the prison. This this is an effect to turn the prison into a monastery into a place of 24/7 prayer and worship and for the prison population that does get out that is released. We’re finding a dramatic reduction in recidivism rates if you’re not familiar with. This term recidivism involves the percentage of former inmates who once released end up back in prison. Department of Justice statistics show that 30 percent of released prisoners are arrested within 12 months of the release date, 50 percent within three years and a whopping 75% within five years.

Prison Recidivism Is Quite Literally Nothing Less Than

an epidemic among former inmates well a University of Pennsylvania study, along with a Texas Department of Criminal. Justice study both found that recidivism rates among prisoners who went through one of these Christian transformation programs upon release evidence a recidivism rate as low as eight percent, and this largely through programs such as the second Prison Project, which works to eliminate recidivism. This is this is so-called second prison right for former prisoners after the release, giving them the necessary support to transition into faithful and productive lives in their respective communities. percent versus seventy-five percent The numbers are utterly astounding and they certainly caught the attention of politicians. Conservatives are more and more realizing that the era of mass incarceration is just simply unsustainable at the very least economically and so they’re finding that that the answer to this ever-growing problem is an evangelical and faith-based ministry approaches where redemption rather than punishment is envisioned as the true and lasting solution to America’s incarceration, epidemic and we’re finding that politicians from President Trump to Vice President Mike Pence Newt Gingrich.

Conservative Advocates Such As Grover Norquists.

They’re all more and more advocating a faith-based approach to the American prison system. In other words, Conservatives are making faith-based prison reform a centerpiece in their political agenda and in many respects. This new partnership between church and state is really in fact nothing new. This could be considered the new old way.

Dont Know How Many Of You Are Familiar

with Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia kind of in our backyard as it were Ark. Our classical school takes yearly field trips to it It’s a stunning building with an amazing history, but it was started by church based organizations and even funded by good old Ben Franklin as a place of spiritual transformation for the prison population. In fact the original cells which I’ve had the privilege of seeing the original cells look more like tiny little chapels replete with a small window high up in a walled archway that beamed divine light into the cell each morning. Now it’s no longer in operation obviously, but it’s a really neat place to visit and you even get to see how Capone’s old jail cell which is really cool but as Eastern State Penitentiary evidences Church based ministries have always taken seriously.

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The Mandate Of Christ To Go

and minister to prison populations and so in many respects. This is another example of the process. We’re calling here re traditional ization, going back to the old ways of doing things as a way of correcting the highly dehumanizing standardization in bureaucratize Ation that characterizes secular modernist approaches to life now. If you’re interested in learning more about Angola prison.

Ive Linked A Short Documentary By The

Atlantic down below it’s really quite fascinating one last word on that Ravi Zacharias on his visit to Angola prison spoke to many prisoners, but there’s one in particular that stood out for him. He was a lifer and and Robbie found that the man had turned his life over to Christ some time ago, and Robbie begged his permission to ask him a deeply personal question to which the prisoner said of course and so. Ravi asked how does it feel to know that you will never get out of here and the Prisoner looked at Ravi and said you know Mr. .

Sakurais I Dont Think About That

anymore because what I found here in Christ has given me a freedom that I never had had out there and my greatest prayer is for my parents who think they are free but are still in bondage because they don’t know Jesus Christ yet I once thought I was free out there and a prisoner in here now. I realize that I was a prisoner out there but with Christ here in this prison. I’ve never been so free God bless.

Summary

In 1992, Angola prison experienced 1,500 assaults, both inmate on inmate and inmate on staff that’s nearly five assaults every single day the inside of the prison was said to have been. decorated quite literally with blood blood covered walls floors everywhere you look . A new warden took over fellow by the name of Burl Kane, who ironically is quite a big burly fellow himself, the governor of Louisiana had asked him to step in and try to bring at least some semblance of sanity to this place . The warden puts scripture verses all over. The walls he started daily Bible studies. He brought in brought in the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to teach ordination classes on the prison grounds . Today there is a Bible College in Angola prison with a fully accredited degree program and as a result, hundreds of prisoners have completed the course of study and have beco . All right there? Everyone I wanted to share with you an extraordinary testimony to the transformative power of the Christian Gospel ….. Click here to read more and watch the full video