Setting Prisoners Free

Why was Jesus crucified? Jesus was brutally murdered because he lived and proclaimed his kingdom's lifestyle. He simply obeyed Abba Father! His words and deeds challenged the power, ideals and authority of the religious and political kingdoms (or systems). Jesus proclaimed more than an individualized egotistical repentance that guaranteed heaven, his kingdom cried out "subversive revolution"; light shone, salt preserved and love set captives free. This new Kingdom blessed the poor, meek, hungry and the pure in heart; it blessed those weeping, seeking peace and being persecuted; yet it also cried woe, woe, woe to the rich, the full, the laughing and the popular. Grace, oh wonderful beautiful grace - will we ever truly understand it! The Roman and Jewish empires cowered before and feared his theology of love, weakness, equality and submission; as a result they reacted with unjustified violence! Yet, the cry for repentance and the light of Jesus shone brig...

There remains a never ending mission to stop the endless cycling of horrifying violence to bring about peace! Michael's eye gets horribly blackened by 15 unknown thugs on 95th St their pointless display of violence for a measly forty dollars Nick shows me his swollen jaw stoled on by a couple Kings their pointless display of violence for a cap cocked right on Wilson Wrong time Wrong place Wrong style Wrong person Violence begetting violence generating a society of revenge dubbing each other unforgiven imitating our power hungry leaders Shameless bullying elitist tactics inserting their thuggish power on the poor, weak and fragile punishing them for mirroring their ways Encouraging the poor to exact violence for love of country, freedom and rights Incarcerating the poor for exacting violence for love of family, freedom and rights The fist enhances the conflict guns are weapons of mass destruction "those who live by the sword, die by the sword" "justifie...

I am a case-manager and an outreach worker. I work with hundreds of homeless people on a daily basis. My job is to analyze, assess and assist the people I come into contact with at the shelter and on the streets. I knew it was imperative to learn about or study the folk I was working with. I did this so I could understand, help and assist my homeless clients (friends) in a more efficient way. I have come to a better understanding of the huge variety of addictions, mental illnesses, personality disorders and anxiety disorders that surround us. The human race is full of truly fascinating and unique people! These so-called "disorders" contribute to an amazing array of personalities, emotions and addictions. The result is; we're living in an extremely colourful human race. Well, I decided it was also imperative to analyze myself...... During my study of anxiety disorders, I discovered (which Beth diagnosed years before) I have a disorder called Social Phob...

A couple days ago, I wrote a little protest story about a political campaign flier that was rotating around Uptown. I posted The BOLD Faced Lie! on my blog: Setting Prisoners Free . One of my facebook friends, Krista, who is a regular volunteer at CCO and lives in an affluent suburb, commented how safe she feels strolling down Clifton and has received nothing but peace and respect! Krista then made this very insightful comment, aimed at Mr. Cappleman: I hear by declare that you consider changing your perception by spending some time at CCO and you will quickly see that "HOPE Alley" is a much better fit for it! When I read Krista’s comment, I loved the new slogan “HOPE Alley” and had to write about it. We (CCO) have already changed the street’s perception! In all actuality, the street has drastically changed, because Blood was once shed, but now Hope is the reality that is being shed! So why can’t we start calling this little street what it really and truly is; “HOPE Alley”...

“What’s up with this dude Joe?” “Why’d he tell a bold faced lie like that?” “This guy’s a joke, making up stories like this one!” “This dude’s evil, telling bold faced lies like this so he can get in office!” “He ain’t paying or hiring none of your security guards; who does he think he is?” “I’m telling everyone not to vote for him, I'll be mad if they do, coz this dude's something else!” “Come on now; let’s be real! Where were all these muggings and violence?” “Why does this guy hate homeless people so much?” "Why does he enjoy to lie on us and you all?" These are just a few of the comments aimed in my direction as I walked down Wilson Avenue after a few people had viewed the flier. These people were aggravated, angry and despondent by what they saw. The next day, a 77 year old man reads the pamphlet and says to me, “Did you read this crap? If I could get my hands on him I’d wring his neck! Lying on you guys like this. This man is a bold faced liar. A bol...

This was actually written a few years ago...   The men filed through one by one printing their names, writing their ages and signing their autographs. Different demeanor's, temperaments, smells and personalities would grace us as we checked the men in and assigned each man with his mattress and two gray woolly blankets. One can discover a lot about a man through this simple procedure. One man waits patiently for his turn, another tries to push in, another manipulates his way up the line. A drunken sleepy man stooped in posture, an energetic twitching man grins talking to an imaginary friend and four friends joke, talk and laugh loudly with each other. One gentleman who would grace us frequently, at Macon Overnight Ministries, during its whole 3 year existence was an Italian Polish 53 year old simply called Nick; he would stand quietly in line, keep to himself and suddenly splutter into a coughing fit which would disperse the crowd around him. The people around woul...