I first started to write this post in late June/early July when the summer heat was at its worst and the USA was just starting to venture outdoors after a prolonged period of quarantine. My job had just called me back to work and I went from having too much time on my hands to working seven days a week. In fact, my company had placed me into a machine shop where the indoor temperature was routinely in the mid to upper 90s. While it was hot and uncomfortable at work, when I got into my car to go home, I could turn on the air conditioning. It reminded me of how hot and uncomfortable it can get in prison and that for those incarcerated there is no break from the heat. Now that it’s almost spring it may seem out of place, but it is still truth and is something worth blogging about since it will repeat itself in a few months. Read the rest
Author: tima6674
As a Christian who is a professional auditor by training and has spent 10 years under the custody and supervision of the Michigan Department of Corrections I have a unique perspective on the criminal justice system which I feel compelled to write about.
Speech-less
As the pandemic unfolded it became apparent that jails and prisons were going to face a horrific situation. Visits and programs were suspended, activities canceled, routines were upended, and lives changed forever. Many individuals were getting sick and dying alone as prison officials were either unwilling or unable to respond to the humanitarian crisis as the conditions worsened and suffering increased exponentially. As I watched the news, scoured the internet, and talked with others involved in prison ministry I struggled to put into words my frustration, sorrow and ultimately grief at what I saw happening in prison. I became like Job’s friends, as all I could do was sit silently in solidarity with my brothers and sisters behind bars. Read the rest
un-Happy Birthday
(When Milestones become Millstones) Birthdays are a personal event that are celebrated from our first to our last year except for some religious groups such as the Jehovah Witnesses. In the western world they mark the passage of time and our developmental progress. Some have special significance such as turning 16 and getting a driver’s license or 21 and getting to drink legally. When I turned 18 it meant that I was eligible for the military draft. Middle age is generally considered to be 45. The standard retirement age is 65. We often judge our success or failure in life by evaluating our progress on achieving goals by certain ages. Getting married in our 20s. Having children by our early 30s. Having the kids out of the house by our 50s. Having the mid-life crisis in mid-life. If we achieve our goals by some certain age, we feel a measure of accomplishment and peace of mind. But being sentenced to serve time in prison changes the math for many. When the judge pronounces the sentence the first thing you do is figure out how old you will be if/when you get out of prison. All of the normal milestones are tossed out the window. Now it is simply a matter of whether or not you will live long enough to see freedom. The thought of missing X number of Christmas’, Independence Days, or birthdays never factors into the equation when a person thinks about committing a crime and is therefor not a deterrent. There may be however some truth to the idea that it might cause a person to hesitate when thinking about committing another crime. There is also a quality factor to consider in addition to the quantity of time when looking at prison time. Serving time in college to get a degree, while living in dormitories, going to class, the library, the gym or track, and working on campus just isn’t in the same league with doing time in prison. In prison there are only two options: Either you do your time, or Your time does you. I never did understand why guys would rather max out than take a parole. I think they were just afraid that they couldn’t trust themselves to follow the rules and would come back to prison due to a parole violation or catching a new case. Some guys are like that. Given their freedom that they don’t know what to do with it and waste it on stupid things and go back like the 10 Israelite spies and give a negative report of the promised land. Coming back to prison may either serve as a wake-up call to say, “Hay Stupid, what were you thinking?” or self-condemnation, “You are a fuck up and you got what you deserved!” How a person deals with adversity says a lot about their character. When you get knocked down do you get up or give up? Do you re-evaluate your plan and make the necessary changes or do you keep going thinking that it will somehow be different this time? Admitting mistakes is hard for a proud man and prison is full of them. Truly pride does come before a fall. Read the rest
Who Is the Paul to Your Timothy?(Or the Timothy to Your Paul?)
Timothy was a young Christian taught the scriptures by his mother and grandmother. He traveled with the Apostle Paul on a missionary tour because the Christian brothers in his hometown spoke well of him. While they spent time together Paul trained Timothy for leadership. Confident in Timothy’s ability to do the job, Paul left him at Ephesus to deal with the issues of the church plant there. Paul did not do this once, but at least twice that we know of. Paul left Titus in Crete to complete the task of organizing the church planted there. By this we can see that it is a model for preparing young Christian leaders through training in a hands-on way and then mentoring them once they have been appointed to a position. In modern times, training for ministry has taken on formal academic methodologies in divinity schools in the western world. However, the old model established by the Apostle Paul still works in the third world church and in places such as prisons where it is practical, efficient, and necessary. If you are a seasoned ministry leader, who are you bringing along to lead after you’ve gone? Don’t get so caught up in the daily struggles of ministry that you forget the future. Use the talents God has entrusted you with to multiply. Invest in the individuals whom God brings to you to grow and expand the ministry by teaching them the ropes and when the time comes delegating authority so that they can experience leadership while there is still someone there to guide them and answer their questions like Paul did. Read the rest
Jonah and Me
I believe that the book of Jonah is real, that all the miraculous events recorded in it really happened, even it they can’t readily be explained. And that many Christians today can relate to Jonah because they see themselves in this man of God who lived nearly 3000 years ago. The book of Jonah isn’t about an ideal or perfect man that is setting up some impossible standard, instead it is about how God can use a man to do great things in spite of his imperfections, rebellion, and selfish desires. Note that each chapter in this short book represents a different scene with Jonah experiencing different situations which bring out different emotions, different aspects of his character and different spiritual conditions. This is the same thing that we as Christians experience in our own journey through life. Some situations bring out the best in us while others bring out the worst. We are works in progress, don’t think for a moment that we have reached perfection, but rather we are being perfected by God as He works in us and through us. Going through trials is one of the best schools of prayer. When faced with dire need many Christians call on the Lord with truly profound prayers. Helplessness not hopelessness leads to complete dependence upon God. So don’t despair, state the facts of your condition and steadfastly cling to your faith in God and trust in Him by obediently submitting to His call and let God bring about the miracle because He can do more than we ask or even imagine. As with many of us today, Jonah lacked peace, because although he obeyed God, he was not wholly reconciled to the will of God. True Peace comes only from full submission to and acceptance of the will of God in everything. Nothing saps spiritual activity more effectively than hidden rebellion against the divine will. We need to be men of integrity, accepting what the Lord gives us and completely surrendering to the will of God. Read the rest
“Like Being in Jail”
During the Corona virus pandemic many states, including my home state of Michigan, have issued some form of Stay Home order for the general public and specifically request that people with Covid-19 or think they may have been exposed to it, to self-quarantine for some period of time. On television the trend for talk shows is for the personalities to do their shows from home. The late-night comedians spend their time lampooning the president, life in quarantine, and the idiots who have earned their 60 seconds of infamy. The daytime shows continue to pander to celebrity, as if those who can most afford not to work can really relate to those who can’t even file for unemployment due to the overwhelming number of people applying. The poster child for this may be Ellen DeGeneres. She made a joke on her first show back after 3 weeks off that those of us who have been there found to be in unbelievably bad taste. She compared coronavirus self-isolation to being in jail. “It’s mostly because I’ve been wearing the same clothes for 10 days, and everyone here is gay.” Compared to the “real world” prison is a place where reality: including things like common sense, empathy, manners, personal hygiene, health care, personal space, and access to PPE is extremely limited or non-existent. Jails and prisons are like petri dishes which culture microorganisms. Even in the best of times they are unsanitary places full of unhygienic people. Many people have been speaking out about this problem for years, yet the MDOC ignored the warning signs such as outbreaks of norovirus that have resulted in prisons being quarantined on a regular basis. The sad thing is that unlike the Flint water crisis there will be no Attorney General investigation, no one will lose their jobs, and no one will be held responsible for the criminal negligence that has led to the unnecessary loss of life that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. Read the rest
Spring 2020 Newsletter
With everything that is going on in the world now because of this novel corona virus pandemic and the widespread disruption to everyday life I don’t know where to begin. My thoughts and prayers are with you and the others incarcerated in jails and prisons in Michigan, America and around the world. In modern America no one ever intended that being sentenced to incarceration for a finite time in prison would result in significant damage to health or loss of life. It was not included in your sentence guidelines; it is an unintended consequence that comes about due to negligence or willful behavior on the part of those tasked with the responsibility of overseeing corrections. The current world-wide pandemic is only a temporary phenomenon, not the zombie apocalypse. When things really start to get crazy and your senses begin to get overwhelmed by all the information coming at you, it is possible for the mind to miss-assign information. This is known as Synesthesia and is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. If you feel like you are in over your head, then I encourage you to cry out to Jesus. So right now, offer up your prayer asking for help. Tell Jesus what you are afraid of, ask him to lift you up out of the water so you no longer feel like you are drowning. The storm may be raging around you, but you will be safe in the Savior’s arms. Seek his guidance to find your way back into the boat and trust Him to calm the storm. Read the rest
Anti-Social Distancing
It has been widely reported in the news recently about the fears of what could happen with the COVID-19 pandemic spreading inside of jails and prisons. The basic tools used to combat the spread of infectious disease are either not practiced adequately by inmates, poorly implemented and executed by staff, or prevented by policy as security risks. There have been a number of unusual facts about this Corona virus that are particularly troubling. for corrections. This will combine into a perfect storm that the MDOC and all other jails and prisons, either state or federal are not capable of handling. When this pandemic is brought under control and life resumes its new normal, my concern is that the successful measures taken to combat the spread of this disease will be eased or rescinded altogether. If you have loved ones or friends currently incarcerated- pray about them; reach out to them; speak out for them. Read the rest
Reflections on Praying Scripture
While I was incarcerated, I spent a lot of time in prayer. I studied prayers in the Bible and what scripture had to say about prayer. I read many books on prayer by both classic and contemporary authors. All for the purpose of understanding how to pray better. I was in a dark place and needed to learn how to prayer rightly. I needed to learn how to not just make my requests before God, but how to talk with Him. One of the most important concepts that I learned was the power of praying scripture. When we speak to God using his own words in the correct context there is power. The power of praise, especially in the midst of battle. The power of repentance in the face of sin. The power of Truth in a world of lies. The power of forgiveness instead of retribution. The power of God’s unmerited grace and mercy to redeem lives. The power of hope in the face of overwhelming odds. The power of certainty in a chaotic situation. Even though I had the support of my family, a prison church fellowship, and a few men I would dare call friends it was prayer that got me through my time. Despite the overcrowded conditions of the housing unit, most inmates experience a deep sense of isolation and loneliness. While the drone of everyday life there made it difficult to sleep and hard to concentrate at times, I was assured that God heard my prayers and that his abiding presence would never leave me nor forsake me. He was closer than a brother and always just a heartbeat away. I trusted Him with my life, I still trust Him, and I will always trust Him because He is faithful. Read the rest
Diamonds – The Untold Story
There is an analogy that compares the Christian life to the formation of diamonds, where a lump of coal undergoes a transformation by exposure to tremendous heat and pressure. But as Paul Harvey used to say, “and now for the rest of the story.” Read the rest