Author: J. R. WOODGATES
Located in: Washington, DC
Submitted: March 30, 2015
Tell us a little about yourself. I graduated from Northwestern University in 1975 with a degree in broadcast journalism, and then enjoyed a long radio career, internationally for 27 years at the Voice of America, and locally in Washington, DC for 13 years at WETA part-time. Until 2009 I was a lifelong Episcopalian ("preacher's kid"). Today I am a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America.
What was your motivation behind this project? My own nine month experience as an inmate in a federal prison led to friendships with several men who had come there deeply corrupted by sin but were now walking with integrity as new creatures in Christ. There I saw the great need in prisons for men to have access to a comprehensive guide to Christian spiritual formation.
What do you hope folks will gain from this project? Certain knowledge of how any prisoner can be transformed and restored by Gods favor and goodness, despite whatever criminal activities he has engaged in. The need for prisoners to know some kind of consolation and purpose behind bars is critical. For men, especially, the restless animal frustration they naturally feel at being locked up, coupled with the personal crisis of losing their established identity and status, leads to a clash of impulses between hopeless resignation and defiant assertiveness. Most of them already know their need of Gods forgiveness and help but feel unworthy to ask him for it. Because they want to believe what this book says about Gods love for them, they respond eagerly to it.
How were you personally impacted by working on this project? Writing this book on Christian spiritual formation clarified my understanding of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
Who are your influences, sources of inspiration or favorite authors / artists? When I was in prison, someone sent me THE CONVICT CHRIST, by Jens Soering, a Christian serving a double life sentence in the Virginia state prison system. His book broadened my thinking about the disturbing contrasts between true biblical justice and the criminal justice system as we know it. Timothy Keller's GENEROUS JUSTICE reinforced my determination to tell prisoners how to stop seeing themselves as just condemned criminal outcasts but as fully forgiven and blessed sons of the Father.
Anything else you'd like readers / listeners to know: All sales proceeds from the book help fund my non-profit program, Prisoners Path Books, which provides free copies of DLPP and the recommended resources referenced in it to prison chaplains who request them.
