I just got home from the Kairos #59 weekend at Beto. I have one word to describe the experience…WOW!
Every Kairos is different, at least that’s what I’ve been told. Now that I’ve been to two of them I can say they’re right.
This one got a late start…four weeks late because of a lockdown in November. The shift in time meant several of the team members who used vacation time to participate couldn’t come because they couldn’t change their work schedules to accommodate.
That made for some interesting changes that required a certain amount of creativity. We ended up with a leaner team with more experience. We almost had to cut a table full of inmates out for lack of volunteers.
A prayer request was sent out and God answered in the affirmation by having several experienced Kairos members filling in at the last minute.
I was assigned as a table leader this go around. Last time I was a table assistant.
As the leader I had more responsibilities but nothing too drastically different. One duty that stood out was the fact that when one of the men in white requested a one-on-one consultation with a clergy member they were told to ask me so I could pass that info on to the guy setting those appointments.
Of the six inmates at my table three of them asked for such meetings between Friday evening and Saturday lunch. I wasn’t informed about the why of the meetings. I was just the go between.
At the close of the weekend the guys were allowed to share what they got out of their Kairos. One of them hadn’t heard from his family for over six months. Another had been suicidal previous to the weekend. The other guy was feeling so low he almost dropped out before we began but was glad he came.
We impacted their lives positively.
All six of the men in white at my table claimed to be Christians according to their bios on their applications. From the discussions at the end of each talk they all appeared to be telling the truth.
Some of the other table leaders had more challenging assignments. A few of the guys claimed to be pagans. At least they were honest about it. The guy who said he was a Methodist we’re still unsure about…I’m kidding.
The fella who said he spoke to the dead was of most concern to all of us. I kept a fairly close eye on him to check his progress. More on him in a bit.
I felt the Holy Spirit working like never before in the chapel. My talk was given on Saturday just before lunch. I spent a few moments praying before the talk while everyone else was occupied with things that didn’t require my attention. The hairs on my neck stood up as I silently spoke to God.
I didn’t practice my talk anywhere near as much as I wanted to. You couldn’t tell from my delivery. God showed up big time. I was later told that someone back at the church where the meals were prepared felt something spiritual going on at the prison about mid-morning.
After lunch we worshiped with the band. The dead talking guy was preoccupied with something on their table so I snuck near him to see what it was. Part of the program asked the participants to draw a poster about the previous talk. He was drawing something that definitely didn’t look like a cross to me.
I walked back to my seat and took a knee. I prayed overtime for that fella. The hairs on my back stood up this time. I prayed even harder.
One of the stewards who attended the previous Kairos saw me. He came over after I stood up and asked if I was alright. I told him I was in spiritual warfare.
A while later each table was asked to share one of their posters with everyone. Say what you will about that fellas spiritual practices, but his artistic abilities were fabulous.
The theme of my talk was Christian action. He drew one of those boards they use when making a film that has a board on top that they slap down to show what take they’re shooting. His explanation of the topic was spot on.
He has the head knowledge of what we’re doing. Now it needs to reach his heart. By the end of the weekend it didn’t sound like it did.
Fortunately I’ve learned to pray without taking a knee. His soul still belongs to the wrong camp for me to stop now. Please join me.
Oh, one of the other pagans stepped over to the light side on Saturday much to the displeasure of the first pagan. All I have to say is…na-na-na–na-na-na!
The closest I came to crying uncontrollably came when we entered the chapel for the closing ceremony. The participants aren’t told that there will be outsiders coming to see this event. That’s one of the things we use to surprise them.
Well, when we entered the area set up for the closing we walked in by table groups. Everybody in the chapel was clapping in cadence. After we were all at our seats we sang “They Will Know We are Christians by Our Love.”
I missed singing a few lines while I composed myself. We do our best to show these inmates God’s unconditional love in many ways because it works. They said so during their talks about what Kairos meant to them.
I got excited enough to repeat it backwards…WOW!
I don’t know how many more Kairos weekends I’ll participate in but I’m planning on doing it again next spring.
There’s nothing like fighting on the front lines for seeing the Holy Spirit in full action.
I’ll see you later. Wade
