The art of listening. Good conversations generate well-being, feelings of closeness, shared effort, and productivity. And difficult conversations — when people disagree or disclose something controversial — can produce similar positive outcomes if they happen under supportive circumstances. How people talk to one another (i.e., through words and tone of voice) is important in…

Radically transform your relationships by practicing this one skill. — Listening is not just hearing what the other party in the conversation has to say. Poet Alice Duer Miller said this about listening: “Listening means taking a vigorous, human interest in what is being told us.” We’ve all experienced conversations where the other person wasn’t truly engaged, leaving us feeling…

Step by step, they approach the gates of freedom, their hearts heavy with anticipation and trepidation. These individuals, once confined within prison walls, now stand on the precipice of reentry into society. …

In the United States, there are an estimated 1.2 million people currently incarcerated in state and federal prisons, and more than 650,000 are released from prison every year. Two-thirds of them will likely be re-arrested within three years following their release. The typical narrative about reentry goes as follows: In…

Faith-based education in prison changes lives. A well-established body of research into what is considered effective treatment for justice-involved persons suggests that the interventions involve educational programs that focus on relevant behavioral, attitudinal, and lifestyle factors which are associated with offending. …

“We cannot keep treating the millions of Americans affected by the criminal justice system as if their lives are meaningless. We cannot continue to leave them without a voice,” said Mattie Haag, a Georgetown University student who advocates for criminal justice reform with Georgetown’s Prisons and Justice Initiative. In the…

Almost everyone who is locked up now is going to be set free one day. I’ve just started to read Christopher Zoukis’ 2014 book, College for convicts: The case for higher education in American prisons, and I felt compelled to quote something from his introduction. Reading this quote stopped me…

Can a prison-based theological education program prepare men and women for ministry leadership, increase the health and well-being of incarcerated individuals, improve prison culture, and assist in reentry and recidivism prevention? The purpose of this evaluation project is to provide an answer to this question. The problem with incarceration Approximately 2.2 million men and…

Part 3 of a three-part series. In Changing Lives Part 1 of this three-part series, I provided background about an accessible, affordable seminary training program offered in jails and prisons across the U.S. called The Urban Ministry Institute (TUMI). I also highlighted participants’ qualitative comments that fell into the “healthy…