Pilgrims and Prisoners: When Justice and Mercy Meet
Ebook
When justice is used as a synonym for judgment we miss the point of justice. The prisons of the world are bursting at the seams with offenders who have been judged guilty and are being punished for wrongdoing. Prisons are a failure. In fact, justice is not achieved through imprisonment. Ron and Andy have dedicated their lives to pursuing justice and mercy in response to criminal offenders. In many respects, prisons are the most spiritual places on earth. It is in prison where the great questions of humanity converge--questions of guilt and forgiveness, good and evil, retribution and redemption, hope and despair, life and death, guilt and forgiveness, judgment and mercy. Where is God in the midst of all of this? Is God even relevant, does God care? And if God cares, does that make any difference to the justice we seek? Ron has likely been in more prisons in more countries than any other person. He has been in the very best of prisons and the prisons that can only be described as "hellholes." In their journey through the prisons of the world, both Ron and Andy have encountered Jesus--God imprisoned with men and women in the margins of respectability and human dignity; God of all righteousness and justice, love, and mercy embracing offenders in the depths of their human condition.
“Pilgrims and Prisoners reminded me of the incredible dedication that Ron Nikkel has made to the cause of mercy, justice, and peace in the world by traveling to hundreds of prisons to unconditionally share the love of Jesus. Pilgrims and Prisoners gives us a glimpse of the power of Jesus to redeem men and women who society has written off. Any reader will be blessed by this book.”
—Michael T. Timmis, author of Between Two Worlds: The Spiritual Journey of an Evangelical Catholic
“I have traveled with Ron Nikkel to visit prisons on several continents, and he’s one of my heroes. Now he and Andy Corley have served up a rich combination of Jesus-centered wisdom and raw, real-life stories. Jesus emphasized prison outreach in both his first sermon (Luke 4) and one of his last (Matthew 25). I know of no better guides to teach us how to live out that mandate.”
—Philip Yancey, author of Where the Light Fell: A Memoir
“Ron Nikkel and I walked into prisons in Central America—holes of despair, run by gangs, and, for many prisoners, no hope for an exit. It was here I saw Ron light up rooms with his unmistakable understanding, seeding faith and hope. You may never visit a prison, but Pilgrims and Prisoners becomes a personal visit into a world, neglected and ignored.”
—Brian C. Stiller, global ambassador, World Evangelical Alliance
- Title: Pilgrims and Prisoners: When Justice and Mercy Meet
- Authors: Ron Nikkel, Andy Corley, Dan W. Van Ness
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781666747935, 9781666747928, 1666747920, 9781666747911, 1666747912, 1666747939
- Resource ID: LLS:9781666747935
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-07-25T22:08:00Z
Ron Nikkel has had a lifelong passion for justice. After working with marginalized youth in urban communities in his early career, he settled in Washington, DC where he served as president and CEO of Prison Fellowship International for more than thirty years. He led the development of Prison Fellowship International beyond its origins in the USA to encompass a global network of criminal justice ministries in more than 125 countries.
Andy Corley, formerly a business entrepreneur based in the UK, currently serves as the president and CEO of Prison Fellowship International. Ron continues as president emeritus.