Lecture

This course will be particularly demanding. However, it will result in finished documents of strategic planning and of policy and procedure that will take your current or future ministry to a level of professionalism and build your credibility as a manager. Why is this important? Most correctional workers manage their programs so poorly that wardens, institutional directors, and program managers view religious programs as lightweight or possibly borderline incompetent. This damages the cause of Christ and certainly undermines the confidence institutions have in religious programming. This course is designed to reverse that perception, and your hard work will have a significant payoff. I have taught this online course for five years at Wheaton College and my students have all commented that the work involved was completely worthwhile once they were able to place quality documents in the hands of institutional directors, ministry supervisors, board members, volunteers, and financial donors. I have also seen the fruit of these principles among my staff covering over thirty years of ministry.

With all coursework, the overarching goal is not losing your joy in the process. Coursework on top of a busy life is never easy, and it is normal to feel “under the pile” as homework screams for attention. The solution is to give God the glory, be thankful for an opportunity to learn, let God know you desire to seek excellence in the tasks He has given you as a stewardship, and confirm in your heart that you want the cause of Christ to be furthered by your efforts and not hindered by your carelessness. A godly attitude helps propel us through whatever tasks God has laid before us.

How This Course Is Designed

The development of any ministry/program requires layer upon layer of building blocks that result in a structure that withstands pressure as a full circle of ministry delivery occurs. The foundation that is laid must be according to God’s goals and God’s means. It is true that if God does not build the house, the house is built in vain. It is also true that whatever is begun in the flesh will have to then be sustained in the flesh. God is not obligated to bless or assist in the building of anything that He did not will into being. Therefore, this course begins with the student prayerfully developing their “Theology of Mission,” thus forcing one to confirm both God’s calling on the task at hand, and also ensuring that God’s goals and His means are foundational. We want God to build the house. We want God committed to the success of the endeavor. We want God’s blessings, anointing, provision, and fruitfulness for all we endeavor to do for the sake of the kingdom of God. If it is “of God,” it will be “kept by God.” Alternatively, “where God guides, He provides.” Therefore, we begin with determining our theology of mission, and this represents the first week’s work.

Most correctional workers have not participated in creating a professional organizational strategic plan. Ministry budgets often do not allot for planning expenses; therefore professional planners are not utilized and planning is relegated to the back burner. There are signs posted in the juvenile hall units that proclaim, “A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part.” God might say “amen” to that sentiment.

While God certainly does expect us to be led by the Holy Spirit, and He creatively brings unfolding ministry into being, God also requires us to use our gifts, talents, and abilities to partner with Him as He graciously leads the way. A lack of careful planning on our part can result in a ministry that cannot withstand pressure or maintain an ongoing delivery of ministry services. Therefore, we will study and understand the steps to strategic planning and actually create a preliminary strategic plan for your ministry and/or organization. Students have found this exercise to continue aiding them in other tasks that require a thoughtful approach to planning and implementation. For many, this strategic planning process (the focus of our second week of class) has been the gift that has kept on giving.

Social science has informed criminal justice policy and methods for one hundred years. Only recently has there been a consensus on what actually works with inmate rehabilitation and continuity of care. These newly instituted treatment components are recognized as evidence-based principles and are now being implemented nationwide on a scale never seen before. It is imperative that the correctional worker be trained in the language of these concepts, as well as skilled in applying them as part of their delivery of ministry services. For the correctional worker to be recognized as a full member of the treatment team, they must speak the language of the host culture.

Correctional ministry is a form of cross-cultural ministry in which the worker has entered into a culture with its own worldview, values, language, and methods. It is imperative that we become a skilled cross-cultural missionary in this environment. Therefore, the student will become adept at using evidence-based principles while applying biblical, Christ-centered, Word-centered practices. The student need not worry that the social science approach will water down evangelical ministry. What the social scientist has learned through observation and experimentation regarding “what works” is simply what the Word of God has already revealed as truth. We are ahead of the curve and only need to learn a vocabulary that speaks biblical truth in the language the host culture can understand and hold in regard. This represents the work of the third week of class.

If policies and procedures (P & P) are not codified, they cannot be transmitted as a part of training staff and volunteers. The adage “if it is not written down, it doesn’t exist” has great merit. Correctional workers have lost ministry sites, had volunteers removed, and found themselves on constantly shifting sand because the very hard work of documenting and codifying the “what” and the “how” of ministry delivery was ignored. I cannot stress enough how critical this component of management is. All I can say is, after having spent close to a half century in correctional settings, this requirement is essential! Therefore, the student will begin studying a lengthy, effective P & P manual and become familiar with the components of exactly what must be addressed if ministry is to be both protected and effective. Two weeks of class are spent on this important process that will result in the student having completed six policies and procedures.

The correctional worker is commissioned by none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself to “make disciples.” If rehabilitation is to occur, religious beliefs must become actualized and effective (salient) in the life of the incarcerated. Superficial approaches to evangelism and discipleship fail to make disciples who know what was accomplished for them on the cross, what it means to no longer be in Adam but now positionally placed in Christ, and how to appropriate the inexhaustible resources of Christ by faith to live a victorious life “walking in the Spirit.” Therefore, the student will study proven methods of discipleship that, when applied, change lives and behavior. This represents week six of our class.

Correctional ministry must make use of volunteers. Each chaplain is simply buried with work on day one of his or her chaplaincy. Juvenile facilities, jails, and prisons all have more inmates than any one person can attend to. However, volunteers represent a potential liability, as well as problematic working relationships. There exists a “love-hate” relationship between chaplains and volunteers and most chaplains complain constantly about their “bad volunteers.” The solution is developing and managing a quality volunteer program: one that trains, places, supervises, and provides needed ongoing tech support. A good chaplin is a blessing, and a good volunteer program is a gift from God to the weary chaplain. Therefore, the student will explore the components of a successful volunteer program and will begin designing such a program that is site specific for the particular needs of the student. This represents week seven of class.

Lastly, effective “inside” ministry to the incarcerated must be accompanied with ministry that both prepares the inmate for release and then provides for ongoing success upon release. Since most people inside will be released from custody, effective ministry must include aftercare as an essential component. Aftercare (reentry or continuity of care) is the Achilles’ heel of correctional ministry. It is the weak link, and this must be addressed. Therefore, the student will make use of a Life-Action Plan that has proven effective with juveniles and will create a site or ministry-specific transition component for those on the inside. A released offender, especially a fellow Christian, simply cannot be allowed to flounder upon release, depending solely on their own meager resources for success. Therefore, week eight culminates with a reentry focus.

In conclusion, this course will build brick upon brick with specific components designed to create a more effective and efficient correctional ministry. There is much work required, but the end result is a program designed to move any ministry along its path. Let us move on to the theology of mission.

Theology of Mission

Your first reading assignment is my work on my own personal theology of mission. The overarching issues are: Does God exist or not? If so, how does God interact with His creation (especially His created beings)? What purposes does God have for His creation? What expectations does God have for His created beings to participate in accomplishing His purposes? And finally, what does God specifically expect His children to do to fulfill His purposes to those housed in correctional facilities, whether juveniles or adults? These issues must be addressed in order for the correctional worker to have clarity and consensus about the will of God, both with God’s goals, and ultimately, consensus with the goals and means of God. The bottom-line questions for us include: Do we know what God wants us to do? Do we know how God wants us to accomplish these tasks? And, finally, are we in complete agreement with both the goals and means of God? We simply cannot begin building a house if we do not have a clear architectural plan in front of us and a willingness to follow that plan to the letter. You might be surprised at the number of correctional ministries and programs that have begun without first having the necessary foundational work completed. Programs that are not in alignment with the will of God are doomed to failure or, at a minimum, doomed to suffer great fatigue.

You are not expected to do a completed theology of mission from the ground up. You may begin with my completed content, keep all the content that you agree with (feel free to cut and paste), and then add any additional, original content that you believe makes up your marching orders from God. Put your name on it; it is yours! The goal of this assignment is to have you prayerfully and carefully enter into confirmation of God’s leading in your life. You simply must know the will of God as you proceed, because trials, temptations, reversals, and disappointments will occur. The only thing that will propel you forward is your certainty that you heard clearly from God at the beginning, and then, by faith, you can march forward in confidence. Not taking the time to lay this foundation has been the downfall of too many correctional workers. Therefore, we begin here!

There are also personal doctrinal questions we must ask ourselves before we move forward:

• Do I know for certain that I am born again? Am I a child of God and know that with assurance? If one is unsure of their spiritual condition, they will move forward with uncertainty and most likely be unable to help the incarcerated enter into their own spiritual certainty. A correctional worker who is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit has nothing spiritual to offer someone in crisis. God’s work is a spiritual work, and the Holy Spirit Himself can only do this work. Therefore, question number one is, “Have I been born again by the Holy Spirit and now have the Spirit working in, and through, me?”
• If your answer is “no” or “I am not sure,” then let that realization be the starting place for your life and ministry. Right this moment, you can trust in and rely upon the Person of Jesus Christ as the eternal God. You can believe Jesus came from heaven, lived a sinless life, died a physical death on the cross, and shed His blood for the sins of the world. Jesus was buried, rose bodily from the grave and walked the earth for forty days before ascending into heaven, and now sits at the right hand of the Father in glory and honor. In the gospel of John, John the evangelist tells us 99 times that to become a child of God we simply “believe” (trust in and rely upon) who Jesus is and what He accomplished on our behalf. Do that now and get settled in your heart and spirit that you have been reborn by the Holy Spirit and are rightly related to your Father God in heaven.
• Secondly, we ask, “Has God called me to ministry in the correctional setting?” All children of God are commanded to fulfill the Great Commission and make disciples. Therefore, the question becomes, “Where am I specifically to go to make disciples?” Far too many people have entered into correctional ministry for personal reasons and not from a clear calling of God. They soon fail, leaving the work floundering in their absence. The clear calling of God helps ensure that despite any circumstances the correctional worker may experience, he or she is where God has planted him/her. As a result, one will stay firmly planted in that vineyard until God clearly calls one elsewhere. If you are not sure of your calling, ask God to make His will for your life crystal clear. James 1:5 encourages us that if we lack wisdom, we can ask of God and He will clearly provide that wisdom (and thankfully does not criticize us for asking).

A theology of mission places us in a specific context regarding the metanarrative of God’s story. It answers the questions of what God has done in the past, what He is currently doing, where I fit in the overall plan of God for humanity and creation, and what link in the chain of God I represent. Our correctional ministry is within a time context and dispensational context and links with both the past and the future. Sometimes we do not see the forest for the trees. It is helpful to stand back and see our lives in the overall plan of God, a plan to fulfill His covenants, promises, and overall purposes. Our somewhat little ministry within our somewhat narrow vineyard is actually critical to the overarching plans of God to restore and renew His fallen creation. We matter, our ministry matters, and the next generation is depending on our faithfulness today. As you do the demanding work of this course, beginning with your own theology of mission, you will be standing shoulder to shoulder with those who came before you and those who will come after you.

In business language, the experts write entire books that require the corporate manager to focus on “The One Thing,” “The Main Thing,” “The BHAG” (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) and other concepts that simply mean: Find the single thing you are called to do or can do best and stay focused on that. Throughout this course we will help you find your focus, develop your focus, and remain focused on your focus. The Christian in ministry is required to maintain two levels of focus: First, vision regarding the kingdom of God; and secondly, mission, the specific mission field requiring service delivery. Therefore, we have “Two Main Things” to keep our eyes on as we proceed.

From a spiritual battle standpoint, this gives our spiritual enemies two fields of embattlement. The enemy wants us to lose our kingdom of God focus in order to blind us to the metanarrative of God’s dealings with humanity and creation, and if that fails, to move us away from service delivery that has the greatest impact on lives. Our spiritual opponent will settle for us doing good just as long as we are not doing what is best. After forty years of full-time correctional ministry, I can recall being tempted, misled, distracted, and turned away from God’s best. Often it is very subtle. It is easy to discern a frontal attack that is in clear violation of the known will of God, but it is more difficult when the subtle push or pull quietly moves us off our correct path. This course is designed to assist you in quickly discerning when a policy, procedure, objective, or focus moves slightly off the ideal path chosen by God. We call this mission drift, and it is a constant challenge. Our personal lives can drift, our ministry as a whole can drift, and specific programs within our ministry can drift. The questions become: Who is alert enough to sense the drift? And what mechanisms are in place to provide the organization with the needed early warning to quickly restore a life, ministry, or program back onto its intended course?

Awareness of drift is possible only when clarity exists on how things should be taking place. I want this course to develop warning signals, that is, guardrails that trigger departure from the chosen path. California’s highways contain what are known as Botts’ dots, little white ceramic or plastic embedded bumps that alert a driver when he veers out of his or her lane. The tire vibrates and makes a “bump, bump, bump” sound to warn the driver. If a life or ministry does not have a form of Botts’ dots, then it will at least need guardrails to prevent serious mission drift. This course contains mechanisms that mimic both Botts’ dots and guardrails.

A common theme of this course is the dual importance of both properly designing a ministry and then maintaining that ministry to ensure sustainability. It is one thing to begin a work and another thing to finish that work. In this course we are aiming for both: a strong beginning and a strong finish. You will have a lot to do in the next eight weeks but the anticipated result will be the development of a well-run, well-sustained work that brings glory to God and blessings to lives in crisis.