S1: Coming to you from the Morning Star Mission sponsored studio.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, have you ever wanted to reinvent yourself? You know,
S2: you could think about all the ways that that's what
S2: January is for, right? January. You know, when I was
S2: in high school, I wanted to reinvent myself. And I
S2: went to I was a high school volleyball player, went
S2: to a volleyball camp, a summer volleyball camp. So it
S2: was only going to be maybe 3 to 5 days max.
S2: And so I decided that I wanted to try out
S2: a new name. Oh, you. You've got me hooked now.
S2: So why is this new name? Although most people call
S2: me Allie. My full name is Alexandra, which is actually beautiful. Well.
S2: Thank you. I love that name. So I thought, I
S2: don't really want to be known as Allie this week.
S2: I think that I'd like to be known as Alex. Cute. Yeah,
S2: because I thought Alex was such a cooler, edgier nickname.
S2: So I go to this volleyball camp and I introduce
S2: myself as Alex. I'm feeling kind of cool. Yeah. Alex
S2: over here playing volleyball. Not a big deal. Move along.
S2: Just I got this. And so here was the problem.
S2: There came a point really early on, by the way,
S2: where one of the coaches or somebody was trying to
S2: tell me something. And they're going, Alex, Alex, I'm just
S2: looking around. I wonder why Alex is not answering. And
S2: then I went, oh, oh. Oh, wait.
S3: Are you kidding me?
S2: That's me. Remember, you're not Ali this week as you've
S2: been for the last. At that point, 17 years of
S2: your life, you're Alex. Or at least you tried to
S2: be Alex this week. Very, very short lived was my
S2: stint as an Alex. I went back to Ali pretty quickly.
S2: Trying to change yourself doesn't really work. You can try
S2: out a new name, you can buy new clothes, you
S2: can get a new career. You can move to a
S2: brand new place where nobody knows you. But here's the problem.
S2: You follow you wherever you go, right?
S4: Yes you do.
S2: And so we're stuck with this frustrating reality that I
S2: can't change me. I can't be different than who I am.
S2: Not in a very deep, meaningful way because I can.
S2: I can try on Alex for a couple of days
S2: and maybe fool some people. But the deep change that
S2: we seek seems very elusive. and ask anybody who's tried
S2: multiple times, countless attempts to make themselves different, to reinvent themselves,
S2: to be the quote unquote best version of themselves. Yeah,
S2: you follow you wherever you go. So this morning on
S2: Freedom Friday, we are going to be really celebrating and
S2: holding out at the forefront the power of the gospel
S2: to give us a new identity.
S5: Oh, Amen.
S2: In the deepest, most profound, most important way. Not window dressing,
S2: not a before and after extreme makeover. It's not losing
S2: a bunch of weight, getting a new hairstyle, getting a
S2: new wardrobe. The inside out change that we're seeking is
S2: actually something much, much deeper. And I want you to
S2: hear a testimony. This actually was from our live broadcast
S2: or our we're live every day, but our live studio
S2: audience broadcast that we had earlier this week from a
S2: pastor who explained how God gave him an absolutely new identity.
S2: He was no longer the same person that he was.
S2: His whole life wasn't a name change. It was something
S2: much deeper. You're going to hear the story from Pastor
S2: John coming up here on Freedom Friday mornings.
S1: Walking closer to Jesus every day. You're listening to Carl
S1: and crew.
S6: Well, sometimes people step into our studio and then we
S6: hit them cold.
S2: Which, Carl, you do so well. So, are we getting cold?
S7: I knew you were going to bust me on that one.
S6: John Kelly standing in front of us here. He got
S6: a bio on this guy.
S2: He is the lead pastor of Chicago West Church right
S2: here in Chicago. We hear that you have a testimony.
S2: You are pastoring. You are in the trenches. Tell us
S2: a little bit about what God's done in your life.
S8: Yeah, yeah. I was born in Chicago but grew up
S8: in Philadelphia in a very, I would say very violent, Um,
S8: under resourced community with a high level of prostitution. So
S8: I wasn't exposed to maybe the best scenes, the best environments. Um,
S8: by the time I was 12, I was selling crack
S8: and crack houses. Really? The first time I ever got arrested,
S8: I was about 12 or 13. That's the first time
S8: I ever got convicted. I was in and out of
S8: juvenile detention centers pretty much my whole juvenile years. I mean,
S8: just to give you a context, I mean, I felt
S8: the seventh grade went to four different high schools and
S8: my freshman year dropped out. So it was high every day.
S8: Always getting shot at, shooting at someone. Seen a lot
S8: of stuff that I probably shouldn't have seen by the
S8: time I was 14 or 15. Just following that path
S8: of foolishness by the time I was 19. Let me
S8: back up a little bit. Actually turned to Islam for
S8: a little bit. So about six years was a professing
S8: Sunni Muslim, but still was in the streets doing dumb stuff.
S8: And then by the time I turned 19, went with
S8: a group of friends to rob a drug dealer in
S8: the neighborhood. And one of my friends shot and killed him.
S8: So we all got arrested and I was 19 years old,
S8: had just lost my son, who was still born at
S8: the time, was at the lowest point and was sitting
S8: in prison looking at the death penalty or life in
S8: prison with co-defendants. I was in solitary confinement, just at
S8: a low point when a prison guard gave me a
S8: copy of God's Word. I needed something to read. This
S8: was 2002. Back then, you could get a newspaper. So
S8: I was like, man, give me whatever you can. And
S8: he was like, I'll get you a Bible. I was like, whatever,
S8: give it to me. And he gave me a copy
S8: of God's Word. And I began reading for the first
S8: time in High School Dropout. And I began from Matthew,
S8: and I read nonstop. I probably would have been like
S8: 24 hours straight until I got to Hebrews chapter four,
S8: verse seven. It says, today, if you hear his voice,
S8: do not harden your heart. And I gave my life
S8: to the Lord right there in the prison cell. So
S8: when I came to faith in Christ, I didn't go
S8: to a church service, didn't hear a sermon. God's word
S8: was enough. And so, as a preacher of the gospel,
S8: I have so much confidence in God's Word that he
S8: uses us, but he doesn't need us.
S6: To.
S9: Speak to that because the Word of.
S6: God, when given, we find here on air pastor, that
S6: when we feel like, Lord, where would you have us go?
S6: And we break open the word and read it?
S8: Yeah.
S6: There is something about the Word of God.
S8: The power is in the gospel and the spirit working
S8: through the living Word of God to soften hardened hearts
S8: and redeem souls to Christ. Yeah. And we can get
S8: so caught up in the vessels. And it was interesting,
S8: because God can still redeem a lost soul through a
S8: weak vessel that's not on their A-game that day. Amen.
S8: And for me, in that cell, it was just vital
S8: for me because I'm in solitary confinement. So like, in,
S8: you know, in the streets, if you get in trouble,
S8: you go to prison. In prison, if you get in trouble,
S8: you go to solitary confinement in the hole. You're in
S8: 23 and one, and you come out one hour a
S8: day handcuffed and shackled. You're allowed no human contact. I mean,
S8: I couldn't even get toilet paper and a blanket sometimes,
S8: but God got his word into the, you know, the
S8: hardest place and got it into my hand. And his
S8: word was enough.
S6: How was that the grace of God that got you
S6: to that point? Some people, some people Pooh Pooh jailhouse faith.
S8: My lawyer did. He was Jewish. I was like, you're
S8: supposed to get this thing, you know?
S6: What's the matter with you? You're in the book here, man.
S6: It's to the Jews first.
S8: And then.
S6: The Gentiles.
S8: To jail and finds God and you know.
S6: But you said I really did.
S8: And I would say it's extremely hard to be a
S8: devout Christian in a penitentiary. It's not an environment that's
S8: conducive for you to to truly live. You don't turn
S8: the other cheek there.
S6: Yeah.
S8: And so my faith was really tested in the fire.
S8: So God was gracious. Here's a funny thing. It's not funny,
S8: but it's just what you do. About 2 or 3
S8: months went by and I really was feeling convicted that
S8: I'm pleading not guilty of a crime that I'm guilty of.
S8: And I felt convicted that I was going in front
S8: of the Lord.
S6: Holy Spirit.
S8: And not a judge. And so I told my lawyer
S8: some months later, hey, I'm a Christian now. I'm a
S8: Christ follower. I know you think this jailhouse religion, but
S8: I can't say I've repented of something that I'm pleading
S8: not guilty to. Whoa. And so you can go to
S8: the judge and tell them that I just want to
S8: ask for forgiveness and whatever they want to do to me,
S8: they could do to me. He was like, well, you know,
S8: this is foolish. You got an opportunity, I think, to
S8: beat this thing. It's not about beating it. I'm going
S8: in front of God's presence and I'm guilty paying you
S8: to get me off. And so I went in front
S8: of the judge. I went in front of the young
S8: man's family, looked his mother in the eye and told
S8: her my testimony and said, I'm a Christ follower now,
S8: and you know your son lost his life, but he
S8: was created in God's image. And if I could trade places,
S8: I would. And whatever you want to do, it's right.
S8: The Bible says, an eye for an eye, a tooth
S8: for a tooth. And when it was her time to speak.
S8: You know what she said? Nothing. She showed me mercy
S8: and grace.
S6: Oh my goodness.
S8: And so I ended up with 6 to 20 years
S8: for third degree murder. And I went on to the
S8: state penitentiary, and it's there. I got my GED.
S6: How much time did you do?
S8: I was supposed to do about 18. You know, you
S8: do like, you know, 85%. I did six years and
S8: came home on parole and a couple of years later
S8: ended up at Moody.
S2: Coming up, you've got a special guest here going, who
S2: is this John Kelly with us right now, lead pastor,
S2: Chicago West Church, right here in the city of Chicago.
S2: Coming up, we're going to find out how he went
S2: from the penitentiary to becoming a pastor. More coming up.
S1: Your shot of hope to help you through the day.
S1: This is Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S6: Ali, this is an amazing story from John Kelly.
S2: Pastor here in Chicago. His name is John Kelly. He
S2: just shared his story. I spent six years of a
S2: much longer sentence. He was convicted of third degree murder
S2: that he confessed to after he found Jesus in solitary confinement.
S2: Reading the Bible got to Hebrews. What was your verse?
S8: Hebrews four seven which says, what? Hear his voice. Do
S8: not harden your heart.
S2: So you you get out. After six years, you're a
S2: brand new man than the man who went in. How
S2: did God call you to now, pastor?
S8: Well, I felt called when I first came to faith
S8: in Christ. I just wanted to preach the gospel. Make disciples.
S8: I didn't know what that meant. We were starting, you know,
S8: we were trying to plant churches on every cell block.
S8: We had prayer groups in every cell block.
S6: Planting churches on cell blocks. Now there's a church planting
S6: effort right there.
S8: We did that by God's grace. When I came home,
S8: I just submitted to the church. I was going to
S8: Christian Stronghold Church. Pastor Willie Richardson, and he used to
S8: do the pastor's conference here. We had quite a few
S8: pastors that had went to Moody, and so I had
S8: felt called to ministry. He recommended Moody. He supported that
S8: and moved out here in 2011 with my wife to
S8: walk in that call into the church and to get
S8: trained in the gospel.
S6: You know, I got to tell you something. Your bride
S6: sitting here maybe shooting some video right now. She loves her, man.
S6: I do. Yeah, you could hear that from a distant mic.
S6: How in the world did you meet this fine bride
S6: of yours?
S8: It's a long story, but I met her at church.
S8: We both served in youth ministries. A very large youth
S8: ministry was not for the faint of heart at all
S8: with those youth. And one of the men that was
S8: discipling me was like, you know, her dad's not in
S8: her life. If you're going to approach her, you need
S8: to go ask her mom for permission to talk to her.
S8: That's what I did. So I went to her mom
S8: after a Bible study. I was like, man, I've been praying.
S8: Your daughter seems like a sweet woman. If you say no,
S8: I'll walk away. I won't ask her permission. She gave
S8: me her blessing.
S6: Honorable man. You know what her mom saw what we
S6: see and hear right now. A broken, humble, dependent man
S6: on the grace of God. There's 20 plus percent. Who knows?
S6: Maybe upwards of 30% of people listening right now all
S6: across the globe who hear your story. And they're like,
S6: Could God? Is his arm too short for me? Could
S6: he reach me? Pour out your heart, man. What's the
S6: good news?
S8: Man, the good news of the gospel is that God
S8: not only loves us so much, but he's willing to
S8: go down the pit and get us himself that Christ died.
S8: When we say Christ died, it's not a cool slogan.
S8: It's not something we just say on Easter Sunday. It's
S8: a reality that God loved us so much that he
S8: sent His Son to come get us. And for me,
S8: when I'm in solitary confinement. What brought me to tears
S8: was that my Savior loved me so much that he
S8: was willing to become a convicted felon, that I might
S8: become free. And like the thief on the cross, he says,
S8: today you will be with me in Paradise. So I
S8: don't care how far you've gone, how much you've messed up.
S8: You're talking to a guy that's had abortions, a guy
S8: that's stolen from his family, been strung out, living in
S8: his car, and took the life of a young man
S8: who didn't deserve it. And Christ says, my love is
S8: there for him, and I will change him and make
S8: him whole and new. And I would just say, no
S8: matter where you are, no matter what suicide, thoughts of
S8: suicide is doing, depression, alcohol, giving up, you want to
S8: harm yourself. Christ came that you might have new life
S8: in him if you would just turn to him wherever
S8: you are right now. Yeah. Your prayers don't have to
S8: be all nice and clean. They have to be sincere
S8: with a broken heart. And he won't forsake a broken heart. Yeah, man. Ever.
S6: You know, I just the thing that hit me is
S6: that there's a lot of people in solitary confinement, but
S6: they aren't in a prison. They're in the prison of
S6: their own life.
S8: I learned that when I came out.
S6: That there's a whole world of solitary confinement. Speak to
S6: that person right now who feels all alone and out
S6: of reach of God.
S8: Yeah, well, I would just say is, you know what?
S8: You might truly feel like the people around you don't
S8: get you. And there might be some valid points of
S8: that because of what you're going through. But God understands you.
S8: We do not have a high priest. We do not
S8: have a Savior who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He
S8: was tempted as we were, yet without sin. He knows
S8: the struggle. He knows what it's like to be rejected.
S8: He knows what it's like for people to turn away
S8: from him. He knows what it's like to be homeless.
S8: The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.
S8: He knows like to endure pain. Yeah, he knows what
S8: it's like to lose a stepfather, to lose someone you love.
S8: And so I would just say, um, don't allow Satan
S8: to bring the lie into your mind that God can't
S8: relate to your pain. If anything, he enters into it
S8: and he fully understands it.
S6: So let's do this together. You and me, brother. Pastor
S6: to pastor here. Uh, there were some troubled hearts one
S6: day when Jesus was telling some men that he was
S6: going away, and he said, don't let your hearts be troubled.
S6: Believe in God, believe also in me. He said, I'm
S6: going to prepare a place for you. That's unbelievable. Then
S6: he said, I am the way. I am the truth.
S6: I am the life. What does it mean to come
S6: off the broad path and go God's way? There's repentance
S6: involved there, isn't there?
S8: Yeah. It means you have to acknowledge, right? I always
S8: say you can. You can't get healed from something you
S8: won't acknowledge. You got to acknowledge and say, man, you
S8: know what? Looking at my life, I'm pretty broken. I'm
S8: not perfect. I don't have it all together. I don't
S8: know one person. Yeah. And human history on this planet
S8: right now that will say I am perfect. I have
S8: it all together.
S6: But those that admit it.
S8: That admitted that God's like man. I can work with that.
S8: Come here and I will make you whole.
S6: I am the way he said. That means we got
S6: to turn around off the broad path. Just turn around
S6: and he'll do the rest. We're just turning toward him.
S6: I am the truth. Meaning we can no longer fly
S6: by the seat of our pants and our truth. It's
S6: God's truth. We're sinners, separated from God. What seemed impossible?
S6: Jesus bridged that gap and he saved us. While we
S6: were yet sinners. Christ died for us and he rose again. Pastor,
S6: pour out your heart. He wants to give resurrection power
S6: to everyone right now.
S8: Yeah. I mean, you know, we can go to therapists,
S8: we can go to counselors, we can listen to podcasts.
S8: But when we say that he is the truth, we're
S8: saying you are the primary voice in my life right now.
S8: I've tried every other way. I'm listening to your voice
S8: and your voice alone. I need you to direct me.
S8: And you are the life. I've been around a lot
S8: of death. I've been around a lot of suffering. But, Jesus,
S8: I'm turning to you right now to take these broken
S8: pieces of my life and build a beautiful mosaic that's
S8: a reflection of your image. And there's so much hope
S8: in that, because it not only means that God can
S8: change where we are right now, but it means we
S8: have an expectant future that's full of joy, that's going somewhere.
S8: We're going to see like man, like if we were
S8: to like, leave this planet in the next 24 hours, man,
S8: we could we could leave knowing that where we're going
S8: as far greater and far better than everything that's behind us.
S8: And so it's instant joy and it's guaranteed. It's not
S8: a wish. It's not something I hope for. It's practical
S8: and it's real. It's real as you are hearing my voice,
S8: I believe that right now God is pricking someone's heart.
S8: He's speaking to you right now. You know he is.
S8: And all he wants you to do is just surrender.
S1: You can take him out of Alaska, but you can't
S1: take Alaska out of him. Carl is in the crew.
S1: It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: You just heard an incredible testimony from Pastor John Kelly,
S2: who's a pastor right here in Chicago, Chicago West Bible Church. And,
S2: you know, we talked about this verse, John 14 six.
S2: Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and
S2: the life. No one comes to the father except through me.
S2: That is the spiritual reality, that there is no path
S2: to peace with God apart from the work of Jesus Christ.
S2: So if today, if today, you hear his voice, don't
S2: harden your heart. If you know that today is the
S2: day that you need to surrender to Jesus Christ. I
S2: want you to listen to these words. I want you
S2: to confess that you are a sinner, that you have
S2: missed the mark. You've not lived a perfect life. I
S2: want you to confess that you need a Savior, and
S2: that it's not just anyone who can save you. It's
S2: not trying to be a better person, that it's Jesus.
S2: Want you to say Jesus, today is the day I
S2: surrender my life to you. I'm a sinner and I
S2: know that only you can save me. And so today
S2: I turn, I repent, which just means make that 180
S2: degree turn. I turn from being the Lord of my
S2: own life to making you my Savior and my Lord.
S2: Today is the day I follow you. And if that's you,
S2: you have that honest conversation with God. There's no special
S2: set of words that like, seals the deal. You don't
S2: have to be in a church. You don't have to
S2: be with a pastor. There's no magic formula to this.
S2: This is an honest cry of the heart between you
S2: and God, where you acknowledge Him as Savior, where you confess,
S2: you repent, and today you believe. If that's you, I
S2: want to pray for you. Lord, for this person in
S2: this moment, who by the power of your spirit is
S2: becoming a new creation, I pray that you would give
S2: them such great joy in that Lord, that you would
S2: bring them to a place where they can meet other believers,
S2: where they can flourish in you. God, I thank you
S2: that you loved us so much that you sent your
S2: son to die on a cross for our sin, that
S2: you rose him again on the third day so that
S2: we could have new life in Christ. Today, that new life.
S2: Someone's taking a hold of it, Lord. And you know
S2: their name. You've numbered the hairs on their head. God,
S2: you've always known them. And today they're right with you.
S2: And they know you. And they're called your child. So
S2: I thank you for that. I thank you, Lord Jesus,
S2: for what you're doing. In Jesus name, Amen. So if
S2: that's you, I want you to do something when you
S2: can safely do so, just text the word new just
S2: so we can follow up with you. Get some materials
S2: into your and into your hand really onto your phone.
S2: You can print them out if you like, but just
S2: text the word new to 800 555 7898. Text new
S2: new to 800 555 7898. Today you are new in Christ.
S2: You've been rescued.
S1: He was sharing the gospel on the radio and then
S1: he got saved. Young thunders in the crew. It's Carl
S1: and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: So. Well, coming up, we've got a special guest. We
S2: are going to be talking about ministry to the currently
S2: and formerly incarcerated. Now, lest you think that that's a
S2: narrow category, a narrow topic. It touches way more people
S2: than you even realize. We'll go there. Coming up.
S1: She was trying to earn her way to God, but
S1: God showed her she didn't have to. Ali is in
S1: the crew. It's Carl and crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, how is this for a statistic? Maybe a bit surprising.
S2: 1 in 3 people in this country have a criminal record.
S2: 2 million people currently incarcerated in a staggering 79 plus
S2: million more. Live with that criminal record. And all of
S2: the stigma that can sometimes go with that surprising to
S2: you that those numbers are so high.
S10: Pretty surprising. I mean, that's a lot of people. I
S10: know the country is big, but still, that's a lot
S10: of people.
S2: And maybe this is not a topic that you think
S2: about often. If prison has not hit home close to you,
S2: either through maybe your own experience or a loved one,
S2: but the challenge is to reentry into society. The barriers
S2: to employment, the stigma can be almost overwhelming. Heather Rice
S2: joining us right now, president and CEO of Prison Fellowship,
S2: the nation's largest Christian nonprofit serving prisoners and their families.
S2: It can be challenging for people who have served their
S2: time and are now trying to reenter society. Why is
S2: there still so much of a stigma around having served
S2: time in prison?
S11: Yes. You know, I think that for a lot of people,
S11: there's some fear that comes with someone who has a
S11: criminal record. But as you said, 1 in 3 Americans
S11: do have one. And the reality is there are neighbors
S11: and they're hopefully sitting in our pews. And so, April,
S11: we celebrate a Second Chance Month to raise awareness about
S11: these barriers and to invite people to extend a second
S11: chance to these neighbors, and to also realize the contributions
S11: that people with a criminal record are making to our
S11: communities and churches.
S2: 95% of prisoners are released. Sometimes I think people think
S2: about prison in very black and white, like somebody goes
S2: away and they're there for life, but for 95% of
S2: people they will reenter society. So this definitely is something
S2: that concerns all of us. Give us a little bit
S2: of the kind of the high level view of what
S2: Prison Fellowship does.
S11: Yes, I would love to. So we've been around for
S11: nearly 50 years, and we're the nation's largest Christian nonprofit,
S11: reaching people impacted by incarceration. That includes people living in prison.
S11: We provide faith based programming, really helping people step into
S11: a second chance, starting when they're behind bars. We work
S11: with wardens through our Warden Exchange program, helping them to
S11: think about transformational leadership skills, how to promote a positive
S11: prison culture. And we also realize that it's not just
S11: the individual behind bars who does time, their family is
S11: doing time with them. And so our program, Angel tree,
S11: helps keep kids with incarcerated mom or dad connected to
S11: them starting at Christmas time with providing a gift on
S11: behalf of their mom or dad to them through our
S11: amazing church partners. Um, but really opens the door to
S11: year long outreach to those families. And then finally, we
S11: also realize, you know, we can't just tell someone you
S11: can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Um,
S11: but when you get out, as you mentioned, you hit
S11: those barriers to housing, to jobs. And that's why, um,
S11: for decades, Prison Fellowship has also been involved in advocating
S11: for justice reforms at the federal level and in several states.
S2: When you think about the hope of the gospel and
S2: that we've all been given a second chance as Christians,
S2: we are better positioned than anyone else to show the
S2: kind of mercy and compassion that's needed when it comes
S2: to helping prisoners reenter into society. Why is this sometimes
S2: still challenging for the church?
S11: You know, I think sometimes we accept that second chance
S11: from Christ and and we just, you know, don't think
S11: about the practical ways we can extend that second chance
S11: to others, extend that sense of belonging that we all
S11: get to feel as Christians. And so one of the
S11: things we're doing to help churches along on this path
S11: is encouraging them to host a Second Chance Sunday, where
S11: we preach on the message of redemption. We hear testimonies
S11: of people who have transformed their lives, and we give
S11: people an opportunity to volunteer through various opportunities at Prison Fellowship.
S11: And so I've been really encouraged to see churches take
S11: hold of this concept and have been able to attend
S11: some second chance Sundays across the country. And it is
S11: a powerful thing to see.
S2: And we are all about celebrating changed lives. Give us
S2: a story that has encouraged your own heart as you've
S2: done this work in this ministry through prison fellowship.
S11: Well, the one that comes to mind for me is, uh.
S11: Q pastor Q Marshall. But Q as we call him,
S11: and pastor Q um, was once in prison in Iowa
S11: and actually went through our academy program. The Prison Fellowship Academy,
S11: while he was there. And he had made a commitment
S11: to Christ but didn't know how to walk it out.
S11: And it was the volunteers coming in from a local
S11: church who showed him what it looked like to live
S11: as a man of God, and as he was experiencing
S11: this mentorship on the inside. That same church was also
S11: reaching out to his family through prison fellowship, angel tree,
S11: his then young daughter and girlfriend. He ended up getting
S11: married while he was in prison to to her, and
S11: when he got out, he couldn't imagine going to any
S11: church but the one that had come alongside his family
S11: during his time behind bars and also shared, you know,
S11: the Christmas gift through Angel tree and invited his wife
S11: and daughter to their church. And so they joined that church,
S11: and many years later, pastor Q actually had a church plant,
S11: and that church supported him. And so they planted Hope
S11: City Church in Iowa. It's a thriving congregation. They actually
S11: just opened another campus in prison and they do prison fellowship.
S11: Angel tree for children of the incarcerated now in Waterloo.
S11: And I'm so thrilled that pastor Q has joined the
S11: Prison Fellowship Board. It is such an honor for me
S11: to be under his leadership and to see his story
S11: really come full circle.
S2: How has this work affected your own faith? What is
S2: your why for this?
S11: Well, you know, I've received a second chance through Christ.
S11: And one of the things that amazes me about what
S11: our founder, the late Chuck Colson, called the church inside.
S11: Those brothers and sisters who are following Jesus behind bars
S11: is just their intensity of spiritual disciplines, their prayer lives, Scripture, memory,
S11: their worship. Um, just this last Friday, I was behind
S11: bars in a Virginia prison, worshiping with some brothers there.
S11: And there's just something powerful about that I come home
S11: recharged every time I get to experience a Hope event,
S11: or visit one of our academy, or grow programs and
S11: hear what those inside are learning, and they're sharing with
S11: me about the people that are coming to know Christ
S11: behind bars. And some of the best prison ministry evangelism
S11: that happens is actually because of the incarcerated. They can't
S11: help but talk about Jesus because they've experienced his grace
S11: in a raw and real way, and they don't take
S11: it for granted. And so that's what gets me up
S11: every morning. I love what I get to do. I
S11: love the team I get to do it with. And
S11: I'm so grateful for the volunteers and churches that we
S11: get to partner with as well.
S2: Final thought on what are some practical ways for our
S2: listener to get involved. You mentioned the Angel Tree Ministry,
S2: which some are familiar with. What are some some ways
S2: that people can get involved if they're hearing this and
S2: they're stirred?
S11: Well, I would love for anyone who's thinking about how
S11: they can step into taking part in the mission of
S11: encountering Jesus with those impacted by incarceration. There are some
S11: volunteer opportunities. One of them might be getting your church
S11: to sign up for Prison Fellowship Angel Tree program, which
S11: begins at Christmas. But this is the time to go
S11: ahead and sign up, because we will assign out those
S11: kids in the fall that are local to you, and
S11: you can decide with your church if you want to
S11: deliver gifts or host a Christmas party. You can volunteer
S11: behind bars at one of our local programs and Academy
S11: or grow. You can also advocate for justice. We train
S11: everyday Christians on how to go. Speak to your lawmakers
S11: about why you care about reforms from a biblical worldview. So,
S11: so many ways that you can get involved, even if
S11: it's signing up for our newsletter to hear more. And
S11: then my final plug is we have a conference, an
S11: annual conference, our Restore conference. It's taking place at Rock
S11: City Church this year in Columbus, Ohio, September 9th and 10th.
S11: You can come to our website to register for that
S11: as well.
S2: We've got a keyword for you to make it a
S2: little bit easier, just text prison to Five, 7898. If
S2: you want to explore the opportunities, get partnered up with
S2: this ministry. Just text prison to 800 555 7898.
S1: She's a choreographer extraordinaire and everything is Greek to her.
S1: Super die is in the crew. It's Carl and crew
S1: on Moody Radio.
S2: There are plenty of things that people try to reinvent themselves.
S2: On January 1st of every year, all of us have
S2: some thing that we're going to try this year that's
S2: going to make us different. New years resolutions, anyone?
S4: That's the big one. Yeah. How's that going?
S2: And we all know how that goes, right? It usually fails,
S2: and we just can't seem to make ourselves different than
S2: we are. And it's the kind of the struggle of
S2: the human condition is that we're trying to be better,
S2: but we just can't. Only in Christ do we actually
S2: get to reinvent ourselves. But it's not us reinventing ourselves.
S2: It's being given a new nature, a renewed nature, a
S2: new heart, a new way of thinking, a new power source.
S2: I want to read to you a verse. This comes
S2: out of Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians five verse 17. It says, therefore,
S2: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
S2: The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.
S2: So then all of a sudden, when you are new
S2: in Christ, it's not about you trying to reinvent yourself.
S2: When you have the power of the Holy Spirit, you
S2: actually find yourself becoming different than what you once were,
S2: and you're not even trying. It's not you deciding I
S2: am going to be this or this. Now you have
S2: the power of the Holy Spirit and he's changing you.
S2: So on this Freedom Friday, I want to open the
S2: phone lines. And I want to ask you this question.
S2: When you became new in Christ, what's one thing you
S2: noticed change in yourself? Could have been obvious to everybody else,
S2: or maybe only obvious to you, but when you became
S2: new in Christ, I want you to tell me the
S2: thing that was most noticeable to you about yourself that changed.
S2: 800 555 7898 I'm excited to hear your answers on
S2: this because I think literally, it runs the full gamut.
S2: There's so many different ways you can go with this.
S4: And it's so cool because it's so personal, right? I mean,
S4: so that's what makes it so interesting to hear and
S4: what God can do.
S2: All right. We're ready for you. When you became new
S2: in Christ, what's the biggest change you noticed in yourself?
S2: 805 55 7898 let's hear from you. 805 5578, 98.
S1: You're listening to Curl and Crew on Moody Radio.
S2: Well, when you are in Christ, you are a new creation. Therefore,
S2: if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
S2: The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come.
S2: That second Corinthians five, verse 17. I read some commentary
S2: notes on this, and I want to read this as
S2: a quote out of one of the commentaries. It says,
S2: the concept of being a new creation is rooted in
S2: the transformative power of the Holy Spirit. This transformation is
S2: not merely a moral or ethical change, but a fundamental
S2: renewal of one's nature, fundamental renewal of one's nature. So
S2: I'm asking you this question on this Freedom Friday when
S2: you became new in Christ, what's the biggest change you
S2: noticed in yourself? 800 555 7898 let's go to Jamie
S2: calling in this morning from Illinois. Tell me, what's the
S2: biggest thing you noticed that changed?
S12: Well, there's a few things that changed quite a bit.
S12: One thing I noticed in my nature that the Holy
S12: Spirit changed. That I was capable of compassion to other
S12: people and have mercy and forgiveness for other people.
S2: Wow.
S12: That was calmer and calmer. Like I can respond to
S12: things more calmly. And, uh, there's like revelation of the
S12: grace of God, the forgiveness and the grace of God.
S2: Yeah. Jamie.
S12: And, uh.
S2: Oh. Go ahead.
S12: Uh, as you know, I mean, the the mercy and
S12: the the mainly the. I don't know how to describe it.
S12: This the.
S2: I think I think I get where you're going, that
S2: mercy and grace, all of a sudden you receive the
S2: mercy and grace from him. And it shifts even how
S2: you view other people. Jamie, thank you so much for
S2: your call this morning. Let's go to Cathy in Illinois. Here. Cathy,
S2: what's the biggest thing you notice change in yourself when
S2: you become new in Christ?
S13: Well, when before I accepted Christ as my Savior for real,
S13: I was always in church. I was raised in church
S13: as pew baby, as it were. But when I sincerely
S13: accepted Christ for myself, I was no longer petty. When
S13: people would do things to me. You go low, I
S13: would go lower. We're going to go to Hades. But
S13: when Jesus came into my life and the Holy Spirit,
S13: he's like, uh uh, even now, as a grown person,
S13: many years after I accepted Christ in 1989, my cousin
S13: led me to Christ, my cousin Sylvia. So thankful to
S13: her for that. And she was 14. I was 11,
S13: and now I, I go ahead I he said erase
S13: that Facebook post and I erased it because the Holy
S13: Spirit is faithful.
S2: Oh, Cathy from Chicago. You know what I appreciate about you, Cathy?
S2: You are honest, and we all have been there. We're
S2: all of a sudden that text you want to send,
S2: that post you want to put up that conversation, you
S2: want to have the power of the Holy Spirit because
S2: we have a renewed nature. All of a sudden there's
S2: a check to that, and you have the ability to
S2: walk it back, to not say it, to delete it
S2: before you put it out there. I love that.