What We Saw and Heard in the Angola Prison

What is written below are observations from a life-changing visit to the Angola Prison in Louisiana in August of 2006. Angola was once the bloodiest prison in America, if not the world. But through efforts by Warden Burl Cain to bring "moral rehabilitation" to the prison, through the gospel of Christ, there has been a radical turn-around.

During our 2006 trip, here is what we saw and heard:

We saw HOPE from the moment we entered prison grounds. We saw men living out the principle of "forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead," as they pursue God's purpose for their lives and refuse to be hindered by what happened in the past. We saw what the gospel looks like as we observed men sacrificially serving us and each other, WITH JOY. We saw the gospel LIVED as much as we heard the gospel preached.

We saw joy and biblical wisdom flowing from a Death Row inmate named "Shorty," who is the next man scheduled to die by lethal injection. We saw the death chamber where men have been executed while holding the hand of Warden Burl Cain until an angel takes their hand on the other side. We saw a man with a horribly violent past, who recently only knew about hatred and indifference, who has since experienced the reality of Jesus Christ, and who is now one of the humblest and gentlest men of God anyone will ever meet.

We saw the future casket of Reverend Billy Graham, who requested his casket be crafted at Angola by men who have radically experienced the Jesus whom Graham has so faithfully preached. We saw the man who built Graham's casket, who says that Graham "wants a simple casket because he is a simple man who preaches a simple message."

We saw Manny Mill, burning with seraphic zeal, as he preached about an infinitely big God from the Portable Cross pulpit that was constructed by a lifer at Angola. We saw Bishop Tanniehill praying powerfully in the name of Jesus and enjoying a purpose in life that he probably never would have experienced if his path to the Kingdom of God had not gone through Angola.

We saw the wisdom of a Bible college that has equipped hundreds if not thousands of men to serve and minister to their neighbors. We saw the industrious purpose behind the world famous Angola Rodeo that allows prisoners to market their amazing works of art to a public ready to receive them. We saw the humanity of a hospice ministry that allows the men to die in dignity as bearers of the image of God.

We saw the sacrificial giving of men who earn four cents a day as they hand-crafted a beautiful gift for the wife of a man who was responsible for bringing Christian radio to Angola. We heard the same sister in Christ, astounded by their generosity, thanking them for how they give, and give, and give.

We saw that the more radical the love, the more radical the joy. We saw true freedom in men who will spend the rest of their lives behind bars. We saw prisoners as people as we enjoyed chocolate chip cookies with redeemed murderers at 9:30 at night.

Above all, we saw the ABSOLUTE REALITY of Jesus Christ, crucified, risen, and reigning powerfully in the lives, in the hearts, and on the faces of men whose hope, in an otherwise hopeless place, can only be explained by the truth as it is in Jesus.

We saw so much more. But there is a taste. If you doubt the reality of Jesus Christ, I would encourage you to spend a few days in Angola prison. You will see Him there.