Stronger: Learning to Live Free

The American Psychological Association defines exhibitionism, in part, as the disposition or tendency to draw attention to one’s self, particularly through conspicuous or attention-seeking behavior. It’s one thing when this kind of behavior is used to bring attention to one’s self. But what happens when we take this same kind of exhibitionist mindset and apply it to others, especially those who are already made distant from society as a result of incarceration and perhaps even before that things like socio-economic or even racial disparities? Join Ruth Jefferson and Pastor Mark Wenzel as they have a conversation about exhibitionism and sensationalism as it relates to prison ministry and walking with returning citizens and their families. Along the way, you'll also get to hear about how Star Wars and Star Trek help us to better understand these concepts (There may or may not be a conversation point about the Borg), how the language we use and the lies we believe contribute to the placement of returning citizens and their families into an outcast group that further feeds into the cycle of incarceration, and more. Come hang out with us for this conversation as we work together toward the goal of strengthening communities, fostering resilience, and challenging common narratives that contribute to breakdowns in communication and in our ability to walk with each other and to see each other as people Jesus died for, equally in need of God's grace.

Has the age of Google and ever-evolving technology done more to contribute to the struggles of returning citizens? Tune in with Ruth Jefferson, Phil Merten, Diamond Faucha, and Mark Wenzel as they talk about this and more in this episode of "Stronger: Learning to Live Free". Are you a returning citizen looking to start up a business or to get assistance with credit repair, reach out to us at admin@voiceofthemiddleground.com.

Join Diamond Faucha, Pastor Phil Merten, Pastor Mark Wenzel, and Ruth Jefferson as they talk about gossip, the harms that it can do in terms of ministry, and how the Church can work together to create environments conducive to an ecosystem of love.

Here, on "Stronger" our goal is to talk about the types of challenges that returning citizens and their families face. One challenge that might not come to mind so readily is the topic of jury selection. Join your hosts Ruth Jefferson, Phil Merten, and Mark Wenzel as they talk about racism as it relates to the jury selection process and its effect on the lives of returning citizens and their families. This is part 1 of a longer conversation that will be continued in the next episode of "Stronger" where we'll also be celebrating our 1st anniversary of walking on this journey with you, our "Stronger" community.

Join Mark, Phil, and Ruth as they talk about opioids, returning citizens, and how we as the Church can reduce stigma surrounding these topics so that we're better equipped to walk with others who have these challenges as part of their stories.

Welcome to Stronger! Join us for this episode as we talk about connecting incarcerated people to Christian communities. As we talk about walking with returning citizens, one of the elements of this that can still raise questions is how do we walk with returning citizens before they return. In this episode, we'll be talking about technology's role and the importance of distance ministry.

Come and hang out with the hosts of Stronger as they talk about some of the things that have been on their hearts lately and look at current events through a Biblical lens all focused on the goal of helping us to better walk with returning citizens on their journey. If you want to see us do more episodes of Stronger Unscripted, or if you want to share your thoughts with us about anything Stronger related from how your church can get more involved with walking with returning citizens to content ideas you'd like to see us focus on, let us know by e-mailing us at admin@voiceofthemiddleground.com.

Prison and poverty. This alliterative pair is a relationship that social workers and those passionate about social justice issues have often studied. But how are they related? And, how can understanding this also help us to walk with others? Join Ruth Jefferson, Phil Merten, and Chaplain Mark Wenzel as they talk about this and more from a Biblical lens.

Our first episode of "Harmonize" was marked by all of the usual things you'd expect. Technical difficulties? Check. Awkward pauses in a couple of places? Check. And maybe a few things you wouldn't expect. But hey. Welcome to "Harmonize". We're glad you could join us!

Fear has often been described as false expectations appearing real. This acronym is helpful because it can help us to see the distance that sometimes exists between expectations and reality. This idea might seem easy enough. But what happens when we take this conversation about expectations into the realm of prison ministry? And, how can the things learned in a conversation like this be helpful to returning citizens who are learning to live free? Join your hosts Phil Merten, Mark Wenzel, and Ruth Jefferson as they explore the answers to these questions.

Round versus flat characters. This is one of those ideas you may not have thought about since your last English class. But there's something we can learn from even as we look into how to start or even improve in the way that we walk along with returning citizens in our churches. In literature, flat characters are unrealistic. They don't change over time or have internal struggles. Round characters are the opposite and, as a result, their presence makes for more engaging stories. We see this type of round character in the Bible too in the lives of heroes like Moses, David, and even Paul. We can see God's handiwork in their lives as we look at them as a whole. Their histories are part of what we look at when we want to understand how God can make something out of the bad times in our lives. But, there are times when we look at walking along with people with more recent histories like flat characters--unable to have internal struggle, to change over time, or even to heal from the traumas that have marked their pasts. How can we reverse this system of thinking in ourselves and in our church cultures? Join us for this episode of "Stronger" as special guest Dr. Rhoda Wolle, Dean of Student Success at Wisconsin Lutheran College connects with us and helps us explore this important topic of creating a culture of welcome.

Identity flows from relationships. This may be easy for us to understand when we look at the development of children. But this connection can be lost when we look at the lives of the formerly incarcerated and how relationships can lead to the types of rites of passage that can lead to cycles of death that can affect generations. Join your hosts Phil Merten, Mark Wenzel, and Ruth Jefferson as we explore how identity flows from relationships and talk about some specific ways you can pray for and serve the formerly incarcerated persons in your family and community.

Institutionalization. Brittanica defines this term as "the process of developing or transforming rules and procedures that influence a set of human interactions". And, while it's one thing to look at this from an overarching systems perspective; it's another thing entirely to look at the role these systems play in the lives of the people living under them, especially when we speak in terms of prison ministry. So, what exactly is institutionalization in this context? What does it look like? And, how can understanding this reality help you as you and your church look to start your prison ministry or even to improve the one you already have? Join your hosts as they explore these questions and more.

Criminal thinking. It's an idea that's been made popular by shows like Law & Order and Criminal Minds. But if our understanding of the term stays there, we'll miss out not only on a greater understanding of God's grace toward us. We'll also miss out on a greater understanding of how we can lovingly and with grace minister to those in our churches who are learning to live free after prison.

Being able to serve others well starts with our realizing that we're daily being loved and served by God. Learning to live free after jail or prison also starts at this critical point. Join your hosts Mark Wenzel of Institutional Ministries and Ruth Jefferson of Voice of the Middle Ground as they talk about this point and discover for yourself how you can embrace the abundant life Jesus wants for you to have. No matter what your journey's been like up to this point.

Disclaimer: This podcast episode contains topics that may be sensitive for some audiences. Please take care of yourself when thinking about whether to listen. Listener discretion is advised. tw:sa You go to your mailbox and, in with other pieces of mail, you find a flyer letting you know that someone on the sex offender registry has moved into your neighborhood. What do you do? With about 25% of women living as survivors of sexual assault, it's likely that one response would be to get upset and to write these ex-offenders off as untouchables. But, is it possible that God's call to us as Christians means that we respond in a way that's maybe...different. Join your hosts Phil Merten of Institutional Ministries and Ruth Jefferson of Voice of the Middle Ground as they discuss this sensitive topic and how we can navigate these waters carefully, keeping in mind all of those in our churches we're looking to serve and with love so that offenders can encounter the love, grace, and forgiveness that's found in Christ.

If you're someone who's getting out of jail or prison or are someone looking into how you or your church can get involved in jail or prison ministry, welcome to Stronger. The Stronger podcast/live stream that is.