I must be honest that when Freddie Anderson asked me to be a part of this ministry that I was a hesitant. I did not realize that working with those in prison was an area that I could respond well. One, I had no experience; two, I knew that most of these men deserved to be in prison; and, three, I was reminded of something I had read before, “the Father will not forgive them if they know what they are doing.” All of that had me unsure about how effective I could be.
Once I moved past these feelings and my fears I came to understand that God was inviting me to change my point of view. I am fully convinced that God wants them to have a change of life and I am that vessel to help that change. Grace will triumph.
I want to help these people who are deprived of their freedom to be really changed so that they will be “free in Christ.” My part is the planting but it is God who gives the growth!
Now that my outlook has changed I have accepted the challenge and have really become a part of this ministry. In the short time that I have been involved with these men I have already seen some changes. I am trying to organize the brothers, to give them Bible classes, to encourage them so that they may be strengthened for the difficult times they face in their daily lives inside and outside the walls. It is a privilege to serve alongside men of God experienced in these duties.
Friday, November 7, 2008
MAIL CALL!
Zephaniah 3:17 “The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing." (NIV)
I do a lot of correspondence with the men in the units and with offenders who have been released. It is a valuable part of our ministry because these men need to know that there is hope . . . And that someone cares! As part of many letters I send to these men I include a Biblical text with a positive message similar to the text quoted at the top of this article. Pollyanna, in the Disney movie of the same name, came up with the figure of some 856 different Biblical texts that carried with it a positive message. I don’t know the accuracy of the claim but I do know that our God is a God of love who cares for the ones who struggle for acceptance in a world of closed-door.
Communicating with these men with a positive, cheerful message takes well-spent time. The importance cannot be measured. All of these men, indeed, all of us, have an eternal soul that needs to know someone cares. It is the message that God has given in John 3:16; Romans 5: 6-10 and in many other passages. It is a powerful message. When the men respond, and many of them do, they frequently mention their appreciation of the Biblical message they have received.
With all of the junk mail the average person receives letters are not important things. Email, the internet and cell phones make letters old fashion. But to the prisoner a letter is a lifeline. It’s a joy for me to be a part of a ministry that that do things that matter: something as small as a letter matters.
Ray Clyde
I do a lot of correspondence with the men in the units and with offenders who have been released. It is a valuable part of our ministry because these men need to know that there is hope . . . And that someone cares! As part of many letters I send to these men I include a Biblical text with a positive message similar to the text quoted at the top of this article. Pollyanna, in the Disney movie of the same name, came up with the figure of some 856 different Biblical texts that carried with it a positive message. I don’t know the accuracy of the claim but I do know that our God is a God of love who cares for the ones who struggle for acceptance in a world of closed-door.
Communicating with these men with a positive, cheerful message takes well-spent time. The importance cannot be measured. All of these men, indeed, all of us, have an eternal soul that needs to know someone cares. It is the message that God has given in John 3:16; Romans 5: 6-10 and in many other passages. It is a powerful message. When the men respond, and many of them do, they frequently mention their appreciation of the Biblical message they have received.
With all of the junk mail the average person receives letters are not important things. Email, the internet and cell phones make letters old fashion. But to the prisoner a letter is a lifeline. It’s a joy for me to be a part of a ministry that that do things that matter: something as small as a letter matters.
Ray Clyde
NEWSLETTER, November 2008
BRING MY SOUL OUT OF PRISION
To make the inmate, regardless of his past life, aware of the gospel
Under the oversight of the Garland Street church of Christ
Freddie Anderson-director
Ministers: RayClyde :Bill Byrd,
Gerald Harris, Barre Sanderson & John Spencer, Hank Maddo
“MINISTERING TO THE WHOLE MAN”
GROWTH & ACTIVITY
Walls-Jerry Harris conducts worship service Sunday at 12 noon.
Goree– Sunday, Freddie and Ray have 7:30 a.m. service on camp. Thursday (5-6p.m.) Freddie’s Bible class in chapel; Monday segregation visits.
Wynne– Ray worship service, worship service for Spanish speaking inmates. (2pm.) On Monday (6:30-8:30p.m.) Bill Byrd mentors while Freddie teaches.
Ferguson-Freddie’s Tuesday. (6pm)
Ellis-John Spencer worships with inmates at 8a.m.
Estelle (SAF-P) Ray conducts service for this group.
Not to mention mentoring on other uints and segregation visits, personal visits and follow-up.
Faithful workers working faithfully..
…...COMPLIMENT…COMPLEMENT?
Careful how you read the two words above?
One word is “an expression of admiration; expressing praise,” hence a compliment; while the other word, complement, is “that which supplies a deficiency.” One is provocative while the other is proactive.
More than a vowel (“i” vs “e’) seperates these words. By all means we should observe things that are priseworthy. At the same time our effot to reach as many to teach as many is done more by complement than compliment.
I Co. 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
What Paul did was complemented by Apollos and perfected by God, which shows the beauty of working together. The combined effort is always greater than the greatest effot of one.
We could not reach as many as we reach; teach as many as we teach without the combined efforts of many. Complement.
A phone call came in from Larry. He’s been out for several years but found himself in distress. He was two hundred miles away so I had to get others to assist him. I called Eddie and Dorsey: Eddie is a prison minister in Dallas who meets with realeasd inmates and Dorsey is an ex-offender preacher. When I heard from Larry again he raved about those who reached out to him. Compliment or Complement?
A visiting minister from Dallas was preaching in a city near Huntsville. He had several men from his congregation with him and said some nice things about our ministry. We were shaning hands after serivce when one of the men with the preacher came up to me and challenged me with, “you don’t know who I am do you?” I dragged out a “NO” then the man went on to remind me that he was on one of the units I serve. He also revealed that I had given him his first Bible concordance, a book he still owns. The preacher went on to describe the good work the ex-inmate was doing for their congregation. Compliment or complement?
One word is “an expression of admiration; expressing praise,” hence a compliment; while the other word, complement, is “that which supplies a deficiency.” One is provocative while the other is proactive.
More than a vowel (“i” vs “e’) seperates these words. By all means we should observe things that are priseworthy. At the same time our effot to reach as many to teach as many is done more by complement than compliment.
I Co. 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
What Paul did was complemented by Apollos and perfected by God, which shows the beauty of working together. The combined effort is always greater than the greatest effot of one.
We could not reach as many as we reach; teach as many as we teach without the combined efforts of many. Complement.
A phone call came in from Larry. He’s been out for several years but found himself in distress. He was two hundred miles away so I had to get others to assist him. I called Eddie and Dorsey: Eddie is a prison minister in Dallas who meets with realeasd inmates and Dorsey is an ex-offender preacher. When I heard from Larry again he raved about those who reached out to him. Compliment or Complement?
A visiting minister from Dallas was preaching in a city near Huntsville. He had several men from his congregation with him and said some nice things about our ministry. We were shaning hands after serivce when one of the men with the preacher came up to me and challenged me with, “you don’t know who I am do you?” I dragged out a “NO” then the man went on to remind me that he was on one of the units I serve. He also revealed that I had given him his first Bible concordance, a book he still owns. The preacher went on to describe the good work the ex-inmate was doing for their congregation. Compliment or complement?
A visiting minister from Dallas was preaching in a city near Huntsville. He had several men from his congregation with him and said some nice things about our ministry. We were shaning hands after serivce when one of the men with the preacher came up to me and challenged me with, “you don’t know who I am do you?” I dragged out a “NO” then the man went on to remind me that he was on one of the units I serve. He also revealed that I had given him his first Bible concordance, a book he still owns. The preacher went on to describe the good work the ex-inmate was doing for their congregation. Compliment or complement?
Your support of our work is a compliment to the effectiveness of our work and a complement to the beauty of working together.
Your support of our work is a compliment to the effectiveness of our work and a complement to the beauty of working together.
SWAN CHURCH OF CHRIST visits two units. Seven members of the church came to bless the Lord in song at the Goree unit in Huntsville and the Ferguson unit in Midway. HIM’S minstery on Goree includes segregation visits on Monday, Thursday Bible study and Sunday worship; so the men were eager to see these free-world christians. The singers did a hour long program to several dozen. The group then hurried thirty miles north to the Ferguson unit where the inmates were already waiting for their arrival. The presentation was held on the outside basketball court to allow all 300 men on the camp to hear the songs.
PRESTONCREST TO THE WALLS: Each quarter a group of volunteers from Dallas’ Prestoncrest congregation come to the Walls unit and conduct a service there. The inmates really look forward to these regular visits.
PRESTONCREST TO THE WALLS: Each quarter a group of volunteers from Dallas’ Prestoncrest congregation come to the Walls unit and conduct a service there. The inmates really look forward to these regular visits.
X-MEN
“He went his way rejoicing…”
When circumstances prevent us from baptizing the prisoner we continue to teach and encourage the inmate and make plans to baptize that person upon release.
When this inmate was released from the unit in Livingston he called and I met him at the bus station. We visited then I took him to the church building, baptized him and “he went his way rejoicing.”
This next man was taught by a church member who worked for the prison. Situations didn’t allow baptism but the first thing he did upon release was call and we baptized him, put him on the bus and “he went his way rejoicing.
X-MEN
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