I just got back from prison. No, I have not been arrested by law enforcement officials. I was arrested by the Holy Ghost to return to Kairos prison ministry. You see, 11 years ago I took part in the Kairos prison ministry at the Darrington maximum security prison in Rosharon, Texas. Since then, something always came up and prevented me from returning, but prison ministry is so vital that I had to get back.

The overall theme of Kairos is "listen, listen, love, love." And that was my experience serving as the spiritual advisor for Kairos #48 last week.

Kairos operates with two teams, one outside and one inside. About 40 persons were on the outside team of volunteers, and they did the praying, cooking and preparing agape, such as cookies, handwritten letters of encouragement and even birthday cake — some inmates have never had a birthday cake or party before. I was part of a 50-member inside team, and we ministered directly to and with the inmates.

We were an ecumenical group — some were Catholics, Baptists or Church of Christ. Some were from Bible churches, and some were from nondenominational churches. Many were laity, six were clergy, and most were retired, but not all. The days were long, beginning at 5 a.m. and finishing our work around 9:30 each night. We began on Thursday afternoon and finished around 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Not surprisingly, a lot is the same since I was there last. The only difference I noticed was that the faces of the inmates seem to be a lot younger, and there seem to be many more of them. I was happy to reunite with many of the same inside team volunteers whom I met 11 years ago. They were still there, faithfully living out their calling to reach out and share God's love with those behind prison walls.

There are two questions we are not allowed to ask: What are you in prison for? And how much time are you serving? The warden advised us that after three days of sharing and being with them, they will most likely tell everything.

Once the inmates got over the shock of having a United Methodist bishop sitting in their midst, they relished the moment.

I met several inmates whose parents and grandparents were members of United Methodist churches in the area. There was no animosity toward the church, only grateful appreciation of our willingness to reach outside the walls of the church to share God's love. Many inmates of the Catholic tradition spent time with me confessing their faults and sins. Being a Protestant, this was different for me; however, I understood the need for them to tell me things they had kept deep inside for a long time in fear of reprisals or punishment.

Much of my time was spent listening and praying for the inmates. We sang together, laughed together, studied together, prayed together and cried together, letting the 42 chosen inmates for the week know that God loved them and showing them in tangible ways the love of the church.

What a wonderful testimony to Christian unity! My hope and prayer is that we will not forget people behind prison walls, remembering that Jesus himself was a prisoner. I believe God is at work in prisons and calls us to join in the work of redemption and reconciliation.

To learn more, see www.kairosprisonministry.org.