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 [email protected].

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 [email protected].

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.