What I Learned In Prison Today
By Tierce Green
I'm writing this at the end of a very productive day, and MY HEART IS FULL! Stories from "the men in white" are always inspiring, and today at the Wynne Prison Unit in Huntsville, Texas was especially moving. God's grace is thick and tangible in this place. Men who would likely be at odds with each other on the outside now call each other brother. Many who entered this prison to serve time are now serving Jesus and loving others. We could see it in their eyes and feel it in their smiles as it resonated in our hearts. It was truly remarkable and compelling.
I couldn't help but compare and contrast what we experienced today with what we typically hear from most church guys. These inmates spoke much more freely about their desire to follow Jesus and be the men God created them to be. They weren't merely sharing their opinion on the Bible and trading information. It was personal and passionate—a powerful witness to the life-giving spirit of Jesus. This kind of humility and transparency is rare, especially in many church circles. [With God's help, we're going to change that.]
33 The Series Training Guides elevated their experience. Authentic Manhood provides PDFs of the outline portions and downloads of the video sessions free of charge to prison ministries like this one. This is huge, but having the complete Training Guides for each volume gives these men access to a catalog of supplemental content, inspiring stories and scriptures. This group was so grateful to have the actual Training Guide for the volume they are currently going through. Their workbooks were already well-worn and broken in, and it was obvious that they were seriously consuming the content from cover to cover.
One inmate said he was reading my bio in the Training Guide that morning and noticed that I live in The Woodlands which is about an hour south of the Wynne Unit. He had just prayed right before our team arrived and asked God if he could work it out for me to visit this unit. He had no idea that I would be there today. God had already answered his prayer!
These men know me from the video sessions. Being in the same room with them and sharing my story as I continue in this journey toward authentic manhood makes it real, but not only for them—it makes it more real and personal for me, too. This kind of camaraderie is not limited by proximity and circumstances.
As we were being processed out through all of the security checkpoints, one of the volunteers who has been doing this for a while asked if I'd like to drop in on a man who was recently paroled. This guy just lit up when we pulled in his driveway! His story flowed freely as he shared what God was doing in his life. Re-entry into the mainstream has not been easy for him, but you could see that he was determined to press on in his faith and create space for God to rebuild his life and his family.
As we prepared to leave he looked me squarely in the eyes and said, "I want you to know that the things I learned in Authentic Manhood literally saved my life."
Prison ministry is not my primary calling, but 33 The Series is being used very effectively in prisons all across the country. We can't help but lean in to this. We want to provide resources, coaching and encouragement to those who are specifically called to reach these men. We have a BIG OPPORTUNITY to impact over 10,000 inmates, and we need your help.
