June travels

My PFC schedule for June is filling up quickly with Jim Dixon, Chuck Boyce, and me. On June 20, we are headed west for concerts at the prisons Clallum Bay and Olympic, which is outside Forks. That trip is always longer than I mentally plan for as its a solid four hours each way. On June 26-28, we are headed to eastern Washington and then south to Pendleton and Umatilla, Oregon. We are considering a trip dedicated to Oregon in September.

My work at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent continues faithfully and very fruitfully. Last month, I met with 140 different men and was able to present the gospel 15 times. Would you pray for our finances over these late spring days? The Lord continues to provide remarkable contacts with men within the units.


I enjoy guest teaching for these last weeks of school in the Tahoma School District. Recently, I started umpiring fastpitch girls and boys baseball on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights and some weekends which will definitely help our financial picture. This coming Saturday and Sunday, I'll be participating in a tournament in Federal Way. The season runs through part of July. I last umpired in 1988.

pleasing worship

I've been reading a great book by Sam Storms on Colossians that is deepening my walk with the Lord and keeping me focused in a spirit of worship through a sermon series by Pastor Gary in our home church. Sam writes on worship in "More Precious Than Gold," 50 Daily Meditations on the Psalms (Crossway Books: Wheaton, IL 2009), 180-184.

Sam reports how a man once told him, undoubtedly sincerely, that he was uncomfortable with the way Sam worshiped.

Sam’s reply? “I’m certainly open to correction, and I’m sorry you were offended, but I’m not particularly concerned with what puts you at ease. When the day comes that you are the object of my praise and adoration, I’ll pay a bit more attention to what makes you feel comfortable. Until then, I’m primarily concerned about what pleases God.”

This week, I've enjoyed focusing several of the men in Edward Unit on what it means to be genuinely changed. What does it look like to be saved? We used 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he IS a new creation, the old things passed away, behold, new things have come." I am set free to worship Him because He has worked, is working, and will work His supernatural, miraculous change in me. I AM a new creation because He saved me. I am under new management, now, because I am in Christ, I belong to Him.

Sam wisely shares 10 guidelines for the kind of worship that pleases God:

Worship that pleases God, then, is:

(1) perpetual and constant (Psalm 92:2)

(2) instrumental (Psalm 150)

(3) joyful (Psalm 92:4)

(4) celebrates His greatness (Psalm 92:5)

(5) loud and logical . . . worship entails noisy songs.

(6) physical (Psalm 95:6)

(7) fresh and creative (Psalm 33:3, 40:3, 96:1, 98:1, 144:9, 149:1)

(8) public (Psalm 96:3)

(9) ascribes glory to His name.

(10) joins creation to celebrate His goodness. (Psalm 96:11-13a).

real life about sexual offenders

Friends,
I recently attended an outstanding seminar in Monroe on caring for sexual offenders and want to share some facts they presented about these men in our community. All we hear about is really abusive cases. This treatment program has some very solid success stories.

I am delighted to meet with a number of SO's at the Norm Maleng Regional Justice Center here in Kent. Several of these men received Christ for salvation. Others display remarkable transformation. One of the huge issues in ministry to incarcerated men and women is their transition back into stable, supportive, and safe settings in the community which I will write about in another post soon.

The Sex Offenders Treatment Program (SOTP) is the DOC volunteer rehabilitation carried out at Twin Rivers Unit within the Monroe Corrections Complex. The SOTP is one of the largest such programs in the nation.

Present research shows that less than 7% who complete the SOTP return to a DOC prison with a new or repeat sex offense conviction. Over 90% of SOTP offenders are able to complete the program.

All male sex offenders in DOC prisons may volunteer for this program. Due to the lengthy waiting list, most offenders enter within 18 months of release and are expected to continue treatment in the community upon release for up to three years.

Bringing reality into treatment for sex offenders—

Facts you should know

Over 95% of convicted sex offenders return to the community eventually. Treatment improves the chance for successful reintegration.

Most sex offenders assault victims they know. Children are likely to be assaulted by members of their family; adults are likely to be assaulted in “dating” type situations.

Sex offenders are extremely heterogeneous. Treatment and supervision must be tailored to the unique characteristics and needs of the offender.

Treatment requires that the offender take responsibility for past and future actions.

Fewer than 5% of sex offenders suffer from a formal mental illness. Modern sex offender treatment uses cognitive behavioral techniques to teach the offender to control his thoughts and behaviors in order to prevent re-offending.

Sex offenders vary in likelihood that they will commit new sex offenses. Overall without treatment, fewer than 30% of adjudicated offenders will be arrested or convicted of a new sexual offense within five years.

Research shows that well-designed treatment can reduce recidivism by more than 35%.

Despite effectiveness, treatment is only one component of an effective strategy to protect the community from dangerous sex offenders. Monitoring and support by the community correction agents, other professionals, social support, and productive employment all play crucial roles.

Lifestyle circumstances directly affect chances of new offenses. Stable housing and employment, healthy social and leisure activities, a diligent and proactive support system, and ongoing treatment are ingredients to ensure successful and lasting transition into the community.

placing my burden on the Lord

"Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved."
(Joel 2:32)

So why don't I call on His name? Why do I run to this person or that person, when God is so near and will hear my faintest call? Why do I set down to plot my own course and make my own plans? Why don't I immediately place myself and my burden on the Lord?

Straight ahead is the best way to run, so why don't I run directly to the living God? Instead, I look in vain for deliverance everywhere else, but with God I will find it. With Him I have His royal promise: "[I] will be saved." And with Him I never need to ask if I may call on Him or not, for the word "everyone" is all encompassing. It includes me and means anybody and everybody who calls upon His name.

Therefore I will trust in this verse and will immediately call on the glorious Lord who has made such a great promise.

My situation is urgent, and I cannot see how I will ever be delivered. Yet this is not my concern, for He who made the promise will find a way to keep it. My part is simply to obey His commands, not to direct His ways. I am His servant, not His advisor. I call upon Him and He will deliver me.

Charles H. Spurgeon