Nick’s Walk

A Kairos weekend is a great mountain top experience. Because of that the days and weeks after can be a real downer. I was thinking that if I could identify exactly why these weekends are so great; perhaps I could duplicate some of the elements into my daily life and raise the level of those days closer to the mountain top. Well, here goes. 1. Seeing God work. One thing that clearly happens on a Kairos weekend is that God moves. He seems to move like at no other time. Or is it that we are so focused on Him that we notice His moves more than at other times. Isn’t God always moving? Maybe we just need to be more alert and more focused. 2. Focused on the mission. We always talk about the great commission and being used by God. However, it really happens on a Kairos weekend. From Thursday noon to Sunday night, everything we do is about pointing folks to Jesus. It might not be possible to be that focused every day; but certainly we could be more focused that we usually are. 3. Our gifts are used. One of the things I love about […]

I have learned over the years not to expect too much from myself on the Monday after a Kairos weekend. I am usually physically, mentally and spiritually exhausted. I don’t plan important meetings or make big decisions. This is true today. By any reasonable measure Kairos Angola #55 was a great success. It was efficiently handled with good talks. We blessed the participants with great food, letters, and love. We delivered a simple but powerful message about forgiveness and Jesus. By all indications the weekend was well received. The participants seemed deeply moved and expressed new hope for their futures. Our relationship with the camp authority was great and we received great cooperation including requests that our entering and exiting prayers include correction officers.  The chance of making significant long term impact is great. There is only one dorm at Camp J. It houses nearly 100 residents. As of yesterday about 38 of those have been through a Kairos. That may be the highest percent of Kairos graduates in any similar dorm in any prison. Those 100 guys provide food and maintenance to the approximately 400 who are kept in lock down in Camp J. We couldn’t talk to […]

Day three is the heart of any Kairos weekends. The highlight is the opening of the gift bags by the residents and the increased levels of vulnerability in sharing at the tables. Day two went pretty well but there is some evidence you can have too many members on a team. We didn’t have cups for some time in the morning and didn’t have song books for most of the day. These things probably occur to remind us that it’s not about us and it’s God who brings it all together. It is impressive to have two “free people” serving each of the tables and those assigned that task are doing a marvelous job and their servant attitudes are clearly impressing the residents. One continuing problem that we really need to find a solution for is that by the end of the day the team is tired and just wants some sleep; yet the cook teams and agape teams are eager to hear about how the day went. We take care of that on Saturday nights by having each new member share his impressions, but perhaps we need to have some mechanism to pass the word on Friday as […]

The first night of Kairos 55 was a success. It rained heavily but it stopped during the period we went into the tent and again when we emerged. Seven of the selected residents decided not to participate, but we were able to quickly fill their slots. Sand bags had been placed around the perimeter of the tent but by evening’s end, water had gotten through and we were sloshing around on the inside. Please pray for a dry day for us today. Based on the introductions, it appears we have a good group of residents with most expressing an openness for what God has for them. Friday is a day of introspection as the presentations are designed to get the guys to give their lives a close look. We ask them to consider the choices they have made and the mechanisms they have employed to make those choices. We begin to try to build trust and respect and openness by our sharing with them and listening to them. We seem to have plenty enough cookies. Since today is a Friday in lent, I understand that we plan to serve the guys seafood for lunch and dinner. I know it […]

Kairos Angola Number 55 begins today. It seems like I have been waiting for this day forever. It’s not just that we are going into Camp J where we have never ministered before. It’s not just that we have a great and large team serving a small group. The bottom line is that I really need a Kairos. It’s been a tough year. I have had a number of battles and Jesus has been victorious in each. I am just having trouble moving on.  I know a weekend spent watching the spirit move in a place that has a history as dark as any place on earth, is just what I need. I hope to give you guys daily reports on what God is doing the next few days. Please be in prayer for the men we have been called to serve and the team members who will be serving. The first day is pretty easy. We will pick up the last of the cookies and head out of Lafayette about 10 am. We plan lunch with some of the team in St. Francisville, a team meeting, then on to the prison. On the first night we do very […]

Next Thursday I will head back into Angola for another Kairos weekend. This time we are headed into Camp J for the first time. This is a disciplinary camp where inmates are placed who are considered to be a security risk either to themselves or others. When a prisoner comes to the Angola for the first time they are likely to be housed at Camp J until the prison officials can get a good idea about what kind of risks they pose. If a prisoner at any camp, violates the rules, he is likely to be sent to J. Camp J is not a pleasant place. Those assigned there for disciplinary reasons are in lock down most of the day. Their food is fashioned into untasty loaves. The lock downs are cold in winter and hot in summer. Lock down is miserably lonely.  We will not be ministering to those in lock down. Rather we will serve the small community of inmates who help run Camp J by serving as orderlies, on clean up crews or in administrative positions. There is no chapel at J and few diversions for this group and the chaplain has had on his heart […]

Mardi Gras this year was great. I didn’t catch any beads. I didn’t watch any parades. I didn’t drink anything with alcohol in it. I didn’t hear any loud bands. I didn’t fight any crowds. Like I said, it was great. I spend the day with basically one person. This person is my best friend so that was great. I took her to lunch and she fixed me supper; neither was fancy, but both were fantastic.  We didn’t watch the State of the Union. I thought it was ironic that the State of the Union was delivered on Mardi Gras. I didn’t watch because I’m well aware of the condition of my country and the guy delivering the speech has no clue and, in fact, is one of the reasons it’s in trouble. Like I said it was strange that the speech was delivered on Mardi Gras. You could almost hear those watching in person and on television cry out “Throw me something mister” as their drunken eyes pleaded and their hands reached out for something they didn’t earn or deserve. I missed it all. I’m already aware of the state of my union and it’s blessed. Our king […]

It’s Superbowl Sunday. I could tell yesterday at the Super market where folks were filling their shopping carts with drinks and snacks and meats to grill. The streets of the nation will be quiet this evening around kickoff time. It’s kind of strange. I bet you could count on one hand the true fans of either the 49ers or the Ravens here in Lafayette. Even I, I will admit, will probably watch the game, after all it is the “super” bowl.  I will enjoy the day but not because of the game. A trial I have been going through for months came to a quiet end this week. While I have been praying and struggling, God has been working. He has worked things out in a miraculous way that makes things, in the long run, better for me and for those I love. What super thing is God doing in your life, while you just watch and pray? Perhaps the lost loved one you have all but given up on is being drawn to Jesus. Perhaps the broken relationship, the one that’s “beyond repair” is being quietly stitched back together by the hand of the almighty. Perhaps the desperate […]