"Outreach............................"

Our visit to the Youth Detention Center this past Sunday morning was once again greeted with the news of a lock-down being in place. My buddy’s wife opted to minister to the two girls for the entire time; and that left the rest of us with three different male units. Simply splitting the hour into approximately twenty minute segments seemed the plausible solution. It didn’t take long for Chris and me to regret the decision. While my son-in-law’s contribution came forth via his saxophone and consumed but a few ticks of the clock, the fourth man in our group took no thought concerning our limitations, spread out his notes before him and “occupied the pulpit” for about fifteen minutes. Quoting Bible verses and utilizing little wisdom (strangely enough the very subject he was addressing), he brought forth good instruction, but with little anointing for the job at hand. It happens. The fields may, indeed, be ripe for harvest, laborers hard to find. Nonetheless, like anything else, ministry is learned as you go and patience is required with the newcomer. What becomes evident as one continues in this is the truth that God is not hindered by our humanity. He speaks through donkeys, makes water flow out of a rock, and feeds a great multitude with no more than two fish and a few loaves of bread. Thrice, with limited time left to do much, the Holy Ghost somehow managed to fill each individual cell, the boys well aware of His presence in their midst, final prayer received in earnest. Our original hour got stretched a bit, but we found Ashley still talking with the girls when we finally finished. The hardest part is waiting another ten weeks before being able to return……