In the Way of God

“This is the root trouble of our lives. We all love life but the moment we try to hold it we miss it. The fact that things change and move and flow is their life. Try to make them static and you die of worry. This is just as true of God who is the Life of life. The only way to achieve a sense of God’s presence is to put yourself in the way of Him.” (Only One Way Left by George MacLeod, page 157-58)

One of the appealing points for attending the Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary was their formidable Field Education program, which allowed me to participate as an incoming student. My first assignment was to the position of Student Chaplain at the University of Louisville Medical Center. During the week, I worked in a medical clinic located in an impoverished area of the inner city. There were occasional weekends when I would stand duty on Saturday nights in the Emergency Room of the Medical Center. In addition to what would seem normal cases for observation and treatment, there were the gunshot and stab wounds and numerous drug overdoses. I learned a lot about people and human nature.

My second assignment was during the summer of 1980 when I, along with two seminary friends, worked as a Student Chaplains at the Kentucky State Reformatory, a medium security prison built in 1939 about thirty miles outside of Louisville in Oldham County. The three of us were sitting in a waiting room in the administrative area in preparation for our initial interviews when the biggest human being I had ever seen in my life passed through. He was Tom Payne, a former 7’1″ center for the Kentucky Wildcats and Atlanta Hawks. Payne was also a serial rapist. He had lost his basketball physique to heavy weightlifting. Payne was one huge mass of muscle. One of my buddies tapped me on the arm and asked, “What are you going to do Steve if that man walks into your office?” “Whatever Tom Payne wants, Tom Payne gets,” I replied. Of course, I was only kidding, I think.

One of remarkable features about the KSR was that it was a prison built for approximately 1,700 adult male prisoners, but was home for around 2,200 men at the time, most of whom were under the age of thirty five. Many of them had already been paroled at least once only to violate parole and return. I remember one older adult, probably over 70 years of age, a gentle soul. He had “done his time” and was scheduled for release. The sad thing was he had no family, no friends outside of prison, and nowhere to go. Guess what happened? He stayed. He lived out his years incarcerated. His family was inside of those prison walls.

The KSR was a harsh and violent place. There were blanket parties at night and fights in the prison yard during the day. Homemade weapons were everywhere. I was responsible for three dormitories with 250 men each. This is when I started wearing a clerical shirt with a Roman collar. I looked at it as my safety net. I remember the morning I reported to work with Dale and Richard. Soon after our arrival we learned that a prisoner from one of my dorms was shot and killed around 4 o’clock in the morning trying to escape. Life had become too hard. The three of us spent time on the yard and in the chapel for the balance of the morning. For the most part, life was orderly and peaceful.

Around noon time, Dale and Richard excused themselves for a bite of lunch. Shortly thereafter, things started to take a turn for the worse. Instead of reporting to their work stations in the afternoon, the prison population gathered into circles where the prisoners started to taunt the guards, screaming serious threats. Fearful of a riot, the prison yard was secured. All civilian personnel were removed, except for one. Somehow, I found myself stuck in the chapel. Luckily, I was left alone and never in any danger, but I do recall a few tense moments as the administration negotiated safe passage for me out of the yard. That was about the longest walk I’ve ever made. Armed guards were posted around the perimeter of the yard as I made my way to freedom one step at a time. Guns were drawn and in plain sight. Raw emotion was pent up in hundreds of men who were now ready to “rock n’ roll” and raise all the hell they could get away with. As the hours went by, thanks be to God, the tension eased. I was glad to get home.

The experience was formative. Tom Payne would later be released only to be incarcerated again for the same crime. All in all, Payne, once a talented basketball player with huge potential and a bright future, was released from prison on November 11, 2018 having spent over 40 years in prison. What I discovered in the summer of 1980 is this. Unfortunately, there are people in the world who have no sense of God’s presence because they never put themselves in the way of Him. Maybe they were never nurtured in the faith and they never learned how. Maybe there were extenuating circumstances that raised doubt and skepticism in their heart and soul. Maybe life had been so hard that grace seemed to be an unbelievable fairy tale. What I learned that summer is that a part of my call is to help people put themselves in the way of our Lord in order that they can sense his presence and his steadfast love along with his healing and guidance in their lives.

As we receive mixed messages about when and how we might get back to the new normal, let us refrain from being overly critical. Instead, may we be productive where God has put us as we work from home, as we tackle chores and projects around the house, as we put ourselves in the way of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We will be better people for it. +

—
Steve Keeler, Pastor