Kairos – Page 2 – Paul Nordman

The Engine Roared

Occasionally, I stop by NAPA to purchase some fuel injector cleaner. (It is far less expensive to prevent buildup than to clean clogged fuel injectors.) And it strikes me that on these shelves are enough parts to build an engine that roars. But there they sit, each tucked away inside of its own cardboard box, and huddled up with other parts exactly like it, all of them doing nothing. I realize the purpose of an auto parts store is not to build a new engine, per se, but to equip mechanics for repair. Still, it’s a little ironic, isn’t it?

A team of 46 men just completed a Kairos Prison Ministry Weekend, and it was a picture of the body of Christ at work—each one assuming his assigned role in and among the others, and all converging to share the love and forgiveness found in Christ Jesus. Leaders led, servants served, and musicians ushered us into praise and worship. Table family leaders facilitated discussions — “listen, listen; love, love” is the Kairos slogan — opening the hearts and mouths of the 42 residents in attendance. Then there were the men and women who supported the Weekend from outside the walls: the bakers who baked over 4,000-dozen cookies and the pray-ers who, in half-hour shifts, covered almost the entire 3½ days in intercession. It was a picture of the body of Christ: “For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.”¹ For “God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.”² What happens when everyone functions in his/her capacity? Consider these inmate testimonies . . .

“I was hateful and spiteful. I didn’t nor couldn’t abide Christians. I have torn Bibles apart and spit on Christians. Now I have found an unconditional love I never expected.”

“This is awesome, so beautiful. I’m still locked up physically, but inside I’m free.”

“I came to this weekend very angry and hateful. I had asked God before to change me. I had asked him for a family. Now I’m looking at the whole bunch of people who are my family.”

“God has a plan for every one of us. I didn’t understand this until I got here (prison). I was stuck to addictions, but God sent the police, a judge, and then prison. This weekend is step 1. Tomorrow is step 2. I will strive to be a better person because of God.”

“I’ve changed! I’ve changed! I’ve changed!”

“Around here, we’re known by our number or our last name, but you [volunteers] called us by name. Thank you for giving us our names back.”

There were many amazing testimonies, and surely more unspoken. The body of Christ came together, each as called, and the engine roared.

Father, “Here I am! Send me.”³ Yes, show me my role in Your body today, and send me. In Christ I pray. Amen.

¹ 1 Corinthians 12:12 ESV
² 1 Corinthians 12:18 ESV
³ Isaiah 6:8 ESV

Out of Many, One

Tomorrow night, forty-five men will begin to prepare for a Kairos Prison Ministry Weekend at Marion Correctional Institution (MCI). We will meet for several hours on eight consecutive Thursday nights to learn from each other, understand our individually assigned roles, tend to logistics, pray and worship together, and to draw near to each other in the Spirit. Along the way, there will grow a shared singularity of purpose among us and a mutual trust, and on the last weekend of October, we will enter the prison—forty-five individuals, united. It is but one manifestation of God’s grace in Christ Jesus, and a microcosm of His church on Earth: “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people . . .”¹ In Christ, believers are the “E Pluribus Unum” of His Kingdom—out of many, we are one.

To the church in Rome, Paul taught, “As in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”² So it is that, on the Kairos Weekend, table servants will minister attentively, filling empty coffee cups and replenishing cookie trays, while others toil in the kitchen unnoticed. Some will give talks and share relatable testimonies, after which others will engage in participant discussions. Our timekeeper will quietly keep things moving as close to schedule as the environment allows, while our coordinator liaises with the administration as needed. And the musicians will lead us to the throne of God in worship and praise.

Over the years, I have intently listened to many MCI residents as they witnessed to the personal impact of their Kairos Weekend. Conspicuously absent from their individual testimonies is this: the tendency to credit any single Kairos volunteer for their powerful weekend experience. A given speaker may have said something especially resonating, perhaps, and maybe a one-on-one conversation was particularly helpful. But what the participants see is the body of Christ, led by Christ, deeply bonded and acting as one—grown up “to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.”³ Out of many, we are one. So prayerfully seek to unite with others in ministry, for together in Christ we will do and see great things. It’s awesome!

“Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.”—1 Corinthians 12:27

Father, You do wonderous things through us, Your people, the body of Christ. Inspire us to live and serve as one, each of us doing as we are called and gifted to do. The glory will be Yours. In Christ, we pray. Amen.

¹ Peter 2:10
² Romans 12:4-5
³ Ephesians 4:15-16 NIV