67%

"A significant portion of the bible was written by an inmate."

~Ruth Karlsson, Released and Restored

Nebraska has ten prisons, and four of them are in Lincoln - where I live. In those prisons are 4,500 men and women, and of those 4,500 people, 98% will be released. Eventually, 98% of all inmates in Nebraska will get out of prison, and they will go home. Every year, the state of Nebraska releases 2,100 inmates to return to their families, their neighborhoods, and their churches. Every week, someone is released from prison. Every inmate has parents, and most inmates have children.

67% of inmates released from prison or jail will re-offend and return to prison.

I listened to these statistics in church last Sunday, when Ruth Karlsson stood in the pulpit - a single braid down her back and a face that radiated something beautiful. Grace, I believe. 

I wrote down the statistics. Numbers don't lie. 

Scattered around the sanctuary - mixed right in with the retirees and the writers and the young couple keeping their baby entertained - were people who have had personal experiences with the prison system, and the truth of that 67%.

I think God meant for church to be a place that beats back that 67%. I think that's what grace looks like.