Shepherd's Heart Ministries, Inc.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • His Story
    • Her Story
    • Our Story
  • Prayer Requests
  • Contact
  • Donations
    • Projects to Support
  • Articles
    • Newsletter
    • Prison Poems
    • Blogs
  • Testimonies & Recommendations
  • Pictures
  • Donations

Twenty-Five Lessons Learned From the Inside Out

6/22/2014

0 Comments

 
(Random thoughts, opinions and insights gained since I first began this ministry in 1987.)

1. Given the RIGHT SET OF CIRCUMSTANCES, anyone is capable of doing ANYTHING. Good people do stupid and/or horrible things and wind up in prison.

2. People whom we perceive to be "different" from ourselves are actually much more LIKE ourselves than we are comfortable knowing and/or admitting.

3. The ghetto is a culture that is as foreign as living in another country. They have their own way of thinking, their own set of values, their own way of speaking, their own way of "being in the world". Most people in the ghetto are as ignorant about what it takes to live a "conventional life" in mainstream society, as those in mainstream society are to the reasons it is so difficult for them to change. The issues are very complex and have many layers. Fact is...we ALL need to change some!!

4. People in the ghetto are as intimidated by mainstream society as mainstream society is by them.

5. Fear is the most overwhelming emotion experienced by someone in jail.

6. "There is so much more to a person than the single worst thing they've ever done." -- Sister Helen Prejean

7. "Jail House Religion" is something most all of us practice sometimes. Who among us has not begged and tried to bargain with God when faced with an overwhelming crisis?

8. Without God's healing grace, shame is a lethal toxin of the soul.

9. Listening, NOT lecturing, is the most important approach in dealing with people who are incarcerated.
(Or anybody, really!)

10. The integrity of our judicial system is DEEPLY contaminated by politics.

11. Cops are not ALWAYS the good guys.

12. While our present juvenile system (in Indiana) is woefully inadequate to deal with violent juvenile offenders, putting them in the adult system is also not the "right" solution. We need a third tier of the Dept. of Correction to deal with violent juvenile offenders.

13. The 3 most stressful times for an inmate are a) right after they get locked up, b) right before they go to court, and c) if they have had to do time, right before they are released.

14. Politicians and the media exploit and elevate fear to paralyzing levels, effectively prohibiting the public from being able to think rationally and proactively (rather than reactively) to find effective solutions for our cities' crime problems. Rallies, protests, marches, committees, commissions, and programs are fruitless without the aspect of developing RELATIONSHIPS with thse people to mentor and motivate them into a more fruitful and productive lifestyle. But everybody is too afraid to get involved on such personal levels. While certain levels of caution are realistic, reasonable and necessary, the vast majority of people are so paralyzed with fear that they won't even consider trying to reach out.

15. While it is often difficult , or even impossible for most of us to comprehend how someone could bring themselves to do unspeakably horrible things, criminals are NOT animals! They are human beings, created in the image of God, just like you and me, WHETHER WE LIKE IT OR NOT. So when we see a story on the news about a heinous crime, our question, as Christians, SHOULD be, "Just how big are you, God? Jesus, did you shed enough blood to cover EVEN THIS?" Should you conclude that God IS, indeed, big enough to deal with this thing...then what should your attitude be toward that person? (I'm not saying they shouldn't go to prison, I'm talking about our own personal attitudes toward these people...and yes, I've struggled here too...many times!)...Matt 24:11-12, "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

16. It is an interesting proposition that because of the depth of God's unfathomable grace, REPENTANT people who have murdered, maimed, raped and robbed will be found in heaven, while some of the rest of us could be left out due to our own UNREPENTANT, cold, dismissive, condescending, hateful attitudes.

17. Hope is the greatest need for someone who is incarcerated.

18. Sincere, godly love and compassion is the best tool to reach someone. If your motives are not pure and genuine, they will sniff you out in a heartbeat!

19. Sometimes there are simply no good or satisfying answers to the questions of "Why?" or "How could you?" For those who have been victimized by crime, it is an excruciating process to come to terms with this truth. Sadly, some never get there.

20. Integrity is everything!! In dealing with people on both sides of the bars!!

21. God can use anybody!!

22. People often mistakenly think that the act of extending love, compassion and forgiveness to someone equates condoning their behavior and pretending like nothing ever happened. But JESUS couldn't even pretend like nothing ever happened! There was a price to be paid...our redemption cost Him alot!!

23. Forgiveness is not really possible until the sin is looked at squarely, and there is a choice to begin the process of moving past it. Sometimes this comes rather easily...sometimes is seems impossible. Sometimes it's a one time act. Sometimes it is a choice that needs that needs to be made again...and again and again...maybe day by day or even hour by hour...

24. In our criminal courts, there is no quest for truth. It is a contest between a prosecutor and a defense attorney based on who can put the best spin on what evidence they have. It's a sad reality that I hope you never have to experience...especially if you can't afford a good attorney! Innocent people DO go to prison and guilty people DO go free!

25. I am always aware that I have never, to this date, been a victim of a crime. I've never been assaulted or robbed or raped...no one (not already involved in criminal activity) who is close to me has ever been murdered. I only hope and pray that should that insidious thing ever happen to me...God will give me the strength and courage and grace to remember everything I've said here.


0 Comments

Juveniles in Jail

6/22/2014

0 Comments

 
One by one they shuffle into the chapel...some with heads hung low...some with stern faces and a set jaw...some looking sleepy...and some in a fairly good mood.  Someone makes a comment to another, and he curses back at him. Another one reminds him we are in God’s house and he quickly looks toward the chaplain and apologizes. They all take a seat toward the front. The new ones, in particular, try to act uninterested. They don’t know what this is about just yet.  

These are the faces that we see every Friday morning for Bible Study at the Marion County Jail.  These are the kids our society has deemed irredeemable. Though juveniles, they are no longer in the juvenile system, but have been waived over to the adult system. They look so young... and they are!  Kids who think they are men, who have tried to grow up too fast, and then one stupid move, and the world as they know it has been brought to an abrupt halt.  And here they sit in green jail uniforms. On any given Friday, we will have kids who have been charged with carjacking,, robbery, murder, rape, burglary, and all kinds of drug charges. For some, their charges will be dropped and they will be free to go. Some of them will be convicted, but released on probation or home detention.  The rest will be sent to adult prisons to serve out their sentences. Of those, some will only be gone a few years...others several decades. How is a 16 year old boy supposed to wrap his mind around the fact that he’s facing a possible 60 year prison sentence?  Should he even be here? Is this right? He’s only a kid! Angry, violent, and volatile, yes, but still...only a kid. As a chaplain  when they come in my office, I see what they don't show on the news. I have the opportunity to see the kid...I listen as he talks to his mama on the phone, both of them crying. But when you watch the news...what you see is the worst thing this kid has ever done. Yes, often horrific and despicable things! But there is always so much more to the story than what we see on the news. Yes, justice must be served! But what is justice supposed to look like in such a case?  What is compassion supposed to look like? What is “too harsh?”  What is “too soft?” Does anybody even care?

Some of us do. And as God’s church, we are called to do much more than that! In this room full of society’s throwaways, I see promise! I see potential! I see hope! Because it’s not about where they are, it’s about who and more importantly, whose they are! 

Each week, Shawn and Lynn go to the Marion County Jail on Monday, Thursday and Friday.  On Monday and Thursday, they do pastoral care with the juvenile offenders.  On Friday morning, they co-lead a Bible Study with these same boys.

 
How You Can Help:

 1.  Easy to Read Versions of the Bible.  (paperback only)

  2.  Travel Sized Hygiene Products:  (toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, bars of soap, deodorant.  
**Pay close attention to ingredients!  Nothing with even the slightest alcohol content is allowed.

3.  Stamped Envelopes and notebook paper (loose leaf only!)

 

BANNED ITEMS:

*Nothing with metal or glass on it or in it.

*No hardback books of any kind.

*Nothing with even the slightest amt of alcohol content, (ie mouthwash, some lotions).  PLEASE CHECK LABELS! If alcohol is listed it is not allowed!!

 



0 Comments

My Encounter with a Baby Killer (from 2011)

6/22/2014

1 Comment

 
(Casey Anthony was a young mother in Florida who's story made national news as she was aquitted, in 2011, of murdering you young daughter, Cailey)

 The recent acquittal of Casey Anthony created a tidal wave of rage across the country! I have been puzzled as to why this particular story has captured the country's attention.  I mean, children being murdered happens more often than we are comfortable thinking about.  I think it must be that picture.  You know the one.  Have you ever seen a more angelic face?

 I was asked if I've ever encountered someone like this.  And as I remember Joseph Ditomaso, I also remember the way my skin crawled at the mere thought of the man.  He was arrested here in Indianapolis for killing his 3 week old son by squeezing his head with his bare hands.  I know.  My stomach churned too.  There was so much publicity around his case we had to keep him completely isolated at the jail.   Every inmate in the place wanted to get their hands on him.  The senior chaplain at the jail was the only chaplain allowed to visit with him...and that was just fine by me!  I had no desire.

After his conviction, the publicity died down.  He was awaiting sentencing when he requested a chaplain visit again.  The Senior Chaplain handed me the card and said, "Here, you do it this time."  My jaw fell  and I said, "...what?..."  He said, "You got a problem with that?" ...stomach starting to churn again...

"No sir." 

 So this man is brought to my office and he's sitting across the desk from me.  He knows what he's facing once he goes to prison, he's already had numerous death threats made against him.  He's completely freaked out and wants to go ahead and end it all.

 ...and  he's asking me for a reason to go on. 

Well to be honest...I couldn't think of one.  Inside my head I was thinking, "Well hold on there a minute, buddy, and let me get you a rope!"

But in reality...that wasn't exactly an option.  My mind is reeling...and as I'm sitting there "watching him talk"...I'm having this conversation with myself inside my head.  "I really don't have anything for this guy."  Then I thought of God. "Hmmm...what does He make of this?"   So I asked myself, "Did Jesus die for all sin or didn't He?"  And again..."Did Jesus die for all sin or didn't He?  Did Jesus die for all sin or didn't He?  Did He?  Or didn't He?  Because IF HE DID...then how am I supposed respond to this man?"  So from ROTE memory...I simply started reciting the gospel.  When I got thru that, I told him about Moses...and David...and Paul...all the "Bible Biggie's" who were also murderers.  

And in midst of our conversation...God performed a miracle that I never would have imagined!   

As I spoke this Life Giving Word...God changed ME!!  As I spoke to Joseph about an incomprehensible Love...God did the most incomprehensible thing to me!!  I found that I could not share the gospel with this man without finding grace for him in my own heart!!  It was impossible!!  When my attention was taken off of this man and his sin, and transferred to God and what He did...for ALL of us...well...there's no other way to say it... It was a miracle!!  God used this encounter to change me as much it changed Joe!!

After this office visit, another chaplain at the jail followed up with Joe and he was soon baptized into Christ.    She continued to correspond with him after he went to prison.  So far as she knew, he remained a faithful follower until he was, eventually, murdered in prison.

Did Joseph Ditammaso get what he had coming to him?  I don't know how to answer that.   Did Casey Anthony get away with murder?  Sounds like there's a good chance she did.  Does that give us, who wear  the name "Christian" the right to be so malicious?  Hardly.  I don't know what will become of this, the most hated woman in America, now that she has been released from jail.  But I do know that we Christians are not honoring God by joining the frenzy of hate that has spread across this country in the name of "honoring her daughter's memory".

We have this comfort... Cailey Anthony is with God now.  She's ok. 

And we are left with her mom.  And so...Did Jesus Die for all sin?  Or didn't He? 

Either He did.  Or He didn't.

If you believe that He did...then how would God have us respond to this woman? 

What does it look like to honor God in how we deal with or think about this woman?  Will you pray for her?  Will you pray for some kind, compassionate souls to find their way into her life and share the gospel with her?  Would you pray that God would transform her...and somehow... actually work something out for the good in this horrible mess like He promises He will for those who love Him? (Romans 8:28)

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!  Amen"  -- Eph. 3:20-21

You know what I think?  I think that when we get to heaven...we will probably all be surprised... both by some of the characters who actually made it through that Gate...as well as by those who didn't...

1 Comment

    Author

    Write something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview.

    Archives

    June 2014

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly