BIND THE TESTIMONY - To Acknowledge God Outright: Testimonies of the Lord's Transforming Power Within San Quentin State Prison

Imagine sitting in a circle of fifteen men men dressed in sky blue shirts and navy blue pants that have CDCR Prisoner stamped in bold yellow letters down one leg men of varying ages ethnicities and backgrounds men whose crimes include burglary kidnapping and murder. In my wildest imagination I could not have pictured myself as part of that scene and yet I have been sitting in such a circle at San Quentin State Prison facilitating the Christian Creative Writing Class for over two years loving every moment and marveling at the mens intensity. On a particular Friday morning in September of 2013 the men and I prayed in and began the work of our class. After commenting on a piece of writing one of the students had shared our conversation turned to a discussion of ways we could glorify God through our writing. James piped up: I think we should each write a testimony of how we came to Christ and put them all together in a book! The fifteen men in the circle looked at one another and at me and grinned. And that was the genesis of Bind the Testimony. - Kathleen Jackson