Darrington graduates commissioned as prophets of hope

ROSHARON, Texas (SWBTS) – Many words could be used to describe the scene of 33 inmates of the maximum security Darrington Prison Unit graduating with bachelor’s degrees in biblical studies—inspiring, impressive, remarkable. But one word more so than any other properly characterized the second-ever graduating class of the Darrington extension of Southwestern Seminary: hopeful.

Speaking to friends of Southwestern assembled at the commencement ceremony, May 9, Grove Norwood, president of the Heart of Texas Foundation, said, “These men want me to tell you, ‘Thank you from the bottom of our hearts, because what you don’t know is that I did not have any hope. I did not have a goal for my life. I thought I was going to have to try to figure out how to stay sane for the next 40 years. And then I heard about this seminary program. And I came to Darrington, got selected, and I have a new hope; I have a new purpose.’”

Norwood, who had the initial vision for the Darrington program and whose Heart of Texas Foundation has served as its primary fundraiser, explained that these inmates now have a specific ministry to which they have been called. Namely, they will go forth from Darrington as “field ministers” in other prisons throughout the state to lead Bible studies and minister to fellow inmates in those locations.

“You are leaders today, and there are lots of people watching your lead,” said Brad Livingston, executive director for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). “There are, frankly, more obligations and responsibilities with leadership than there are perks. But the fulfillment you will have as you continue to lead for God, as you go out into our other units, is substantial.”

Livingston said this program is already one of the flagship programs in the TDCJ. “It’s baked into our culture not just here at the Darrington Unit but across the state and across this agency,” he explained. “So I have no doubt that this program is going to continue flourishing and that you will represent this school, this program, this agency, this state, and this unit very effectively as you move out into your units of assignment and continue to reach offenders across this state.”

During his address to the graduates, Southwestern President Paige Patterson commissioned them as “prophets of hope.” Patterson preached from Ezekiel 37, wherein Ezekiel is told by God to prophesy to the valley of dry bones. The bones come to life as Ezekiel does so, and God explains that, in the same way, so Israel, which was then in exile, would experience new life. Ezekiel was thus a prophet of hope to his hopeless people, and Patterson drew a clear parallel to the graduates.

“God has called you to be a prophet of hope in the midst of a land that has lost its hope,” Patterson said. “And it’s not just inside these walls; it’s outside the walls. It’s a land that is groping about now, and nobody knows for sure what the answers to the problems are. So people are thrown into hopelessness, and that involves them in things that they should not be involved in. They don’t know that there really is hope. And so God has called you in a most unusual place.”

Encouraging the graduates not to be disheartened by potentially negative reception, Patterson continued, “Remember that you’ve heard a voice from God, and He said, ‘Preach to the bones.’ And once God begins to do something in those bones, then He’s going to say, ‘Preach to the wind,’ and the Spirit of the living God is going to come and bless what you do and bless what you say and bless what you’ve learned to the end that others may be transformed and become new men and women in Christ Jesus.

“God has called you to just such a task as that. Be faithful to it. Do it consistently until the day He calls you home to final freedom. And when He does, there will be a reward for you.”

Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick echoed the sentiments of all the speakers, communicating his hope for the graduates’ future ministerial impact. “At a time when, outside these walls, there are a lot of people trying to kick God to the side, isn’t it interesting that in this prison, in these four walls, you’re bringing God inside? Maybe the next great revival is starting in our prisons. Maybe you are like those first apostles, because you are going out to spread the good news to other prisons.

“You are going to change the lives of other men. … Today you are becoming officially not just pastors with a degree but fishers of men.”

Nearly 200 inmates are currently enrolled in Southwestern’s Darrington extension program. The first graduating class received their degrees in May 2015. To learn more about the program, visit swbts.edu/darrington.