working hard to make a connection with these folks when they’re released. More often than not, the returning citizens who show up at your door have a more battle-tested faith than the ordinary person in the pew. More often than not, they have steeped themselves in scripture more frequently and deeply than many of your congregation members. We need the influence, intensity, and concrete faith of “the least of these,” a faith that often outshines our own. Network-implemented. We all know that congregational life can be challeng- ing and all-absorbing. And many of us have experienced how collaborating with others outside of our congregation is almost inevitably time-consuming, often frustrating, and sometimes feckless, making it all too easy to fall into a ministry silo. We think, “Let’s just see what we can do here on our own.” This isn’t necessarily problematic. In many respects, it’s natural and healthy to know what you do well and to exercise your God-given strengths as a congre- gation. But this approach becomes problematic when it’s combined with the “all or nothing” fallacy. We talk ourselves into thinking that unless the con- gregation addresses the whole person, we’re only doing superficial ministry. So we remain in our silo and end up doing nothing. In truth, though, no congregation can or should do it all. Reentry is a massive social problem that not only encourages but demands a collaborative, net- worked response. Many other organizations are already in the game. This is something worth celebrating. But they need our help. Those organizations are waiting for the church to take its unique and central place at the table—not to dominate the process, not to be an afterthought, but to do our part and offer the treasure we bear in earthen vessels. Relax. You don’t have to be the whole chain. You just have to move forward with humble confidence and be the strongest link you can be with what God has given your congregation. And then network like crazy, in ways that we’ll describe below. Desistance-informed. We described above (beginning on p. 9) a fairly recent turn in the study of criminology and recidivism called Desistance Theory. Just as a reminder, five key elements of desistance are: (1) openness to change; (2) finding good hooks or turning points; (3) envisioning a positive future new self; (4) recognizing the old, false self and leaving it behind; and (5) the broad- er community’s willingness to welcome someone coming home. If we look at the following takeaways from desistance theory, it’s not hard to see how the church can play an important part: • People are, in fact, making it out of the criminal minefield, often without professional intervention. • This is an intensely personal process. • In this process, people are constructing new selves with new hope.
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