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I would have done almost anything to go back in time and simply accept that I would be late returning to work that afternoon. Life was too frantic, and I was in too much of a hurry. And my careless mistake resulted in tragedy. My only comfort was the knowledge that my son Sam was now in heaven, over the dreaded scourge of autism and able to think clearly, to speak, and to be in the presence of the Lord Himself who loved Sam more than any of us could.
I knew I had made a mistake that day, and I pled guilty right from the start. And so, when I was sentenced to two years of prison, I wasn’t surprised. I was ready and willing to serve my sentence, knowing that the Lord was ultimately the one I was responsible to. And He knew the truth of what had happened.
Now I had to face the reality of prison. And I had never had anything more than a speeding ticket. The first year was by far the worst, much in part due to COVID and the mess it made of almost every beauracracy in the nation. I spent many nights longing for the presence of my wife and children, wondering how they were doing. I had a peace about the situation, as I knew God was in control and would take care of me.
Every time I tried doing things my way, I saw my actions go awry. I had to trust the Lord and go with the flow.
During my second year, I was transferred to the place I’d probably be staying at for the rest of my sentence. God blessed me with my own cell, which was fantastic coming from eight months living in a pole barn with four guys crammed into the size of a large bathroom.
I did my utmost reading the Bible and looking to the Lord for strength to get through each day. I was hoping for some Christian companionship, and one day, the Lord brought it to me. I was walking along to the chow hall, when in front of me were two convicts discussing Watchman Nee. Now that’s not something you’d hear prisoners discussing very often.
I went up to them and introduced myself, and suddenly I had two Christian friends. And these guys were serious about the Lord. I was thrilled. We decided to meet once a week down on base to do a little Bible study and pray for one antoher.
It didn’t take more than a week, and we had guys satteliting around us, curious what we were doing. Other Christian men joined us, and we filled up the table. It was time to maybe meet twice a week. Three times. Why not just every day?
Our group kept growing. Guys were coming to us with prayer requests, pouring their hearts out to us. We eventually took turns doing Bible studies. We kept maxxing out our tables.
Before long, we had multiple teachers, each with their own cohort of participants. But everyone wanted to hear everybody else. So it became quite an endeavor to schedule everyone to get in on a Bible study.
When the time came for my release, we had a group of over a hundred brothers in Christ. Our cell block was being transformed. God was doing amazing things with our group.
When I left, I had sadness leaving those men behind. They were my brothers, and we had suffered through a difficult time together yet able to see God work so many wonders before our eyes.
I came home inspired to find a way to make this experience happen for more Christians behind bars. Christians serious about the Lord and others around them who wanted to learn the Bible, not just fiddle around with a few verses that made one feel good.
And so, that is the purpose of this ministry. To find men and equip them to be disciples of other inmates housed with them, and to propagate that model across jails and prisons in the State of Michigan and beyond.
Belief stuff goes here
Iron Regimen Ministries is a non-profit organization designed to provide spiritual support to Christians incarcerated in prisons and jails in America. This ministry serves as a parent-ministry of Relational Concepts, Inc., which enables many other discipleship ministries in service of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Why “Iron Regimen”