My Brothers in Blue

I spent a couple of hours yesterday in a leadership meeting exploring a truly amazing partnership between Westside Family Church and the "Inner-change Freedom Initiative" (IFI) at Lansing State Prison.  IFI is an amazing organization that works with men who are about to be released from prison. In the 2-3 years before their release these men are brought into a community of "brothers in blue" where they learn how to succeed outside the walls. The men receive vocational training and mentoring, and are welcomed into a community that is the closest thing to the Acts 2 church I have seen in my lifetime.  I visited the prison once, for about two hours, and met dozens of men whose lives are being touched by our amazing God! I plan to return in a couple of weeks for more training so that I can be a mentor for some of these men.

Tears come to my eyes as I consider the incredible blessing I have received to know these men and the God they love. Here are a few lessons I am taking with me:

1. True life with God begins at the point of complete surrender to Him.

2. The transformational power of God is not bound by the institutions of men. God's spirit knows no bounds.

3. The pathway to life's greatest joy is knowing and serving God as we know and serve others.