The Small Groups in Prison – The Missing Link
“After four decades of prison ministry, I have observed that the essential needs of Christian offenders in their journey of redemption, spiritual growth in Christ, and reintegration into the community remain unmet. The establishment of small learning groups, both within and outside prison walls, is crucial for successful reentry, surpassing the importance of employment, housing, and other factors. These groups, led by strong Christian mentors, provide the necessary support and continuity for offenders. Upon release, it is imperative that these individuals continue to receive guidance from dedicated Christian mentors within the church, fulfilling their spiritual and communal needs. The Book of Philemon serves as a vital tool to inspire and guide prison volunteers, illuminating their calling to bridge this critical gap.” –Chaplain Richard Moyer
Unlike small groups found in local churches and the community, the small groups developed inside the walls of incarceration have similar yet unique purposes. Without understanding the purposes, objectives and goals of small groups and their distinctiveness in the prison setting the leadership of these groups will suffer and provide little direction. We will not cover all the specifics of small group leadership, but we intend to discuss the significant aspects of small groups in prison using the Epistle of Philemon as a framework for understanding.
Just as God used the nation Israel to create the fellowship He desires with man, Paul in the New Testament Epistles develops the “one another” dynamics of group community[1] These many “one another” commands form the core of the small group community of fellowship within the Church, the Body of Christ. This provides the “intentionality”[2] that is stressed for small groups. Without purpose and intent, the groups formed become nothing more than cliques or social gatherings. The small group dynamic is an intentional effort to create fellowship with the Father through the Son empowered by the Holy Spirit so that members grow into the image of Christ fulfilling their natural, spiritual, and communal needs as found in Scriptures.
Somehow through these small groups in prison we can provide a sweet fragrance from a putrid cell when we mirror the harmony, love, and worship of the Trinity. The more we imitate Jesus Christ individually and as a group in prison, the more pleased He is. The more we sacrificially give of ourselves the more we reflect what He has given us in Jesus Christ. The more we understand Him through His Word and live by its guidance, the more we reflect the heavenly kingdom we shall all inherit, doing His will here as it is in heaven. From the Tabernacle to the Temple, to the Church of God, He has provided an image of the eternal Kingdom which is found in small groups with the intentionality to please and glorify God in all they do.
The true power of small groups in prison is found in what Paul declares to Philemon concerning Onesimus, “He was useless to you before; now he's useful to both of us. I'm sending him back to you, but it feels like I'm cutting off my right arm in doing so. I wanted in the worst way to keep him here as your stand-in to help while I'm in jail for the Message. But I didn't want to do anything behind your back, make you do a good deed that you hadn't willingly agreed to.” (The Message) Here we can see that God significantly transformed the life of Onesimus and Paul. Onesimus was a powerful minister inside prison and Paul was confident that he would be just as powerful for Philemon. This development, from useless to useful, was the result of Paul’s model, mentorship, and motives for discipleship.
Mentoring is a deliberate pairing of a more skilled or experienced person with a less skilled or experienced one with agreed upon goals of having the less skilled person grow and develop specific competencies. Mentoring is an individualized, one-to-one environment for the exchange of experience and wisdom. One moves from equipping to mentoring when the focus shifts from the job-task-organization to the growth and development of the person. Mentoring occurs when we have transcended the position and focus on achieving the wants or needs of the protégé. A mentor is a guide. Mentors lead others through new terrain because they have been there before and are equipped to lead. Mentors model what they want their followers to do. Mentoring is a relational experience through which one person empowers another person to fulfill God’s design for their lives. A mentor is a tutor, a coach, a door opener, a way shower, a corrector, an encourager, and a guide. A mentor is a person who believes in you and wants to see you win.[3]
The best advice I could provide for responding to difficult inmates after twenty plus years is to seek to find the good within the bad, show an extra ordinary amount of grace, remember agape love, never forget where you came from and remember that most of the time it is a test. Most offenders want to know if you will reject, mock, ridicule, abandon or blatantly deride them like the rest of the people in their failed lives.
“Ministry to convicted felons necessitates being attentive to individual and group dynamics, including the moods of groups as they relate to the total community. This sensitivity is not only important to pastoral care, but it also addresses security and safety concerns.”[4] Some environmental factors to be aware of; daily crisis, defensiveness, incessant environmental stress, constant criticism, diversity of cultures, institutional rules and regulations, constant need for security, trivial requests, (phone calls, pens, etc.), negative view of religion, resistance of authority, manipulation, paranoia, and a constant state of demeaning of the inmates.[5]
One realization that must be accepted by anyone leading small groups in prison is that there will always be controversy. Understanding the attitudes of the inmates, the environment they live in, and the ever-present dynamics of the inmate personality should suggest there will not only be conflicts, but they should be expected quite regularly. It is not so important that the leader learns a specific process for dealing with the problem as it is to develop the right attitude when they erupt. Enforcing group rules and covenants can come easily if the group leader demonstrates a consistent fair and loving response.
Conflict should be expected, “Let me suggest a new understanding for the church just starting small groups (and all the others) ‘Conflict is expected and welcome!’ Conflict will happen, and what you make of it—positive or negative—will have an impression.”[6] Attitude is everything when inmates challenge you and intentionally assault your character and integrity. “Often the way leaders respond to conflict impacts how they are resolved. Leaders need to direct their involvement toward dealing with the issues redemptively.”[7] The key word here is redemptive meaning to provide a constructive redemptive conclusion when enforcing small group tenants.
If the group is led properly and the lessons are applied appropriately over time you too will be able to write to any local church as Paul did to Philemon when he wrote, “So if you still consider me a comrade-in-arms, welcome him back as you would me. If he damaged anything or owes you anything, chalk it up to my account. This is my personal signature—Paul—and I stand behind it. (I don't need to remind you, do I, that you owe your very life to me?) Do me this big favor, friend. You'll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good. I know you well enough to know you will. You'll probably go far beyond what I've written.” (The Message)
[1] Mike Shepherd, Building the Dynamics of One Another’s “www.smallgroups.com,” 4/12/2002. Accessed July 2009. http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/2002/buildingthedynamicsoftheoneanothers.html
[2] Arnold, Big Book, p. 23.
[3] Dr. Burrell, Small Groups, p. 21 of 27.
[4] Henry G. Covert, Ministry to the Incarcerated. (Chicago, IL: Loyola Press, 1995), p. 2.
[5] Ibid, p. 2-5.
[6] Robert Damon, Handling Conflicts, “SmallGroups.com” December 12, 1995. Accessed July, 2009. http://www.smallgroups.com/articles/1995/handlingconflict.html
[7] Richard Patterson, Effectively Leading. (Wheaton, IL: Evangelical Training Assn., ed.2004), p. 87.
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