October 2004 chaplain's corner
The Chaplain's Corner is a monthly message for chaplains.
Rev. Rich Hines
The Role Of The Chaplain In Death Notifications
This message is prepared especially for those in the United States who call
upon the name of Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior from sin, and serve
as a chaplain in a jail, prison or a follow-up ministry such as a rescue
mission.
All Scripture quotes are taken from the New King James Version (NKJV),
copyright 1979,1980,1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc. Used by
permission. All rights reserved. When quoting a text, any
deviation from the NKJV text is within parenthesis signs ( ). These usually
occur as direct translations from the original languages,
or as notes from the original setting, to help apply the text to today's
culture. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS are sometimes used to emphasize a text.
One of the most difficult situations correctional chaplains face is when they
are called upon to give an inmate notification that someone close to them has
died. News of the death of a loved one while incarcerated produces feelings of
horror, loss, anger, shame, frustration, guilt and despair.
As you probably already know, one of the greatest fears inmates struggle with
is that this very thing will happen. The fear is so great, that any time any
inmate that does not know the chaplain is called to "go see the
Chaplain," normally the immediate thought is, "Who died?"
During the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season, receiving a death
notification usually magnifies these feelings of anger and remorse in the
inmate.
How should you as a Christian chaplain deal with this? Of course, in a
compassionate and caring way, but you should always be open to the possibility
that this very situation may be part of God's eternal plan to open an
individual human heart to His saving truth. Remember, He prepares human hearts
to repent and believe the gospel at His appointed time.
As soon as you get word of the inmate's outside person's death, you need to
double check that it is in fact, a reliable report. When you're sure it is, you need to stop and pray for that inmate BEFORE you ever
see them and tell them the news. Pray that God would open their heart to His
truth and His comfort in the gospel.
Once an inmate has finished expressing his emotional grief, you can and should
probe them to see if they are at all open to any of God's truth on death. This
probing might come at a later meeting, as the inmate's initial reaction to the
news of the death of their loved one may obviously cloud their ability to
listen and think. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit (prayed for), you can
ascertain the inmate's general emotional and intellectual state and the right
time to bring up the Lord.
Usually, the inmate wants, if at all possible, to attend the funeral. Your role
may include making calls to the inmate's family and even filling out forms to
secure an escort by deputies or corrections officers. The very fact of their
desire to attend the funeral provides an opportunity to probe the inmate's
openness to spiritual truth. A good place to start is:
Ecclesiastes 7:1-4, which says:
1 A good name is better than precious ointment, and the day of death than the
day of one's birth;
2 Better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting,
for THAT IS THE END OF ALL MEN, AND THE LIVING WILL TAKE IT TO HEART.
3 Sorrow is better than laughter, for by a sad countenance the heart is made
better.
4 The HEART OF THE WISE IS IN THE HOUSE OF MOURNING, but the heart of fools is
in the house of mirth.
You should always point out that according to God's word, rather than human
invented religion, a funeral is FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND and NOT for the one who has departed (died). That's the thrust of the last half
of verse 2, "THAT IS THE END OF ALL MEN (i.e. death), AND THE LIVING WILL
TAKE IT TO HEART."
This passage in Ecclesiastes is speaking about the unavoidable death each human
faces and the funeral's place in prompting the heart of those left behind to
think about being prepared for their own mortality.
Though a funeral is hard to attend and much sorrow is experienced, that is good
IF THOSE AT THE FUNERAL "TAKE IT (that is DEATH) TO HEART," which
means to ponder it, think about it, to mull it over in their minds.
I always found an easy transition for the listening inmate is made to: Psalm
90:10-12, which says:
10 The days of our lives are seventy years; and if by reason of strength they
are eighty years, yet their boast is only labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut
off, and we fly away.
11 Who knows the power of Your anger? For as the fear
of You, so is Your wrath,
12 SO TEACH US TO NUMBER OUR DAYS, THAT WE MAY GAIN A HEART OF WISDOM.
You should explain from verse 10 that normally, after the breaking up of the
watery cloud filter that existed before the flood in the days of Noah, a
human's physical life is 70, or at best 80 years. The breaking of that
"firmament" (or "canopy") which shielded human flesh from
the sun's ultra violet rays, caused the aging process
to speed up.
Whether before the flood, when a normal human physical life might have spanned
800 or more years, or after when over 80 years was really old, at the point of
the death of the body, the true inner being, the spirit, flies
"away."
Verse 11 makes one thing that is stated clearly in Hebrews 9, very clear. After
death, a human faces an all-holy God who is right to be angry over their sin.
As Hebrews 9:27 states:
"... it is appointed for men to die once, but after this (one physical
death) the judgment."
The Holy Spirit inspired logic is unmistakable in Psalm 90:10-12.
Verse 10 - Physical life is relatively short and filled with trouble, and at
death we (our non-physical beings) go somewhere.
Verse 11 - We then all face a Holy God who must judge sin.
SO, Verse 12 - during our 70-80 years (or less) we ought to ask God to teach us
to make careful use of the days allotted to us - so that we can get the true
wisdom that solves our sin problem when we face His judgment.
Verse 10 leaves the after death destination of the human spirit ambiguous,
simply stating that we "FLY AWAY." Other Scriptures confirm that it
is immediately either in a place of torment called Hades, which will inevitably
lead to the eternal
This article is included in our Jail Ministry Training Manual and can also be
requested from us separately.
According to Jesus, the absolutely worst thing that can happen to a human being
is to die in the sin of refusing to believe in Him. To do so is to die with all
the punishment for all one's sins upon them eternally.
In John 8:21 and then verse 24, He said to unbelievers:
21 "I am going away, and you will seek Me, and
will die in your sin. Where I go you cannot come."
24 ..."you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins."
Jesus was going back to heaven, and He was telling these unbelievers that they
were not going to heaven when they would die.
The difference between the singular "SIN" in verse 21, and the plural
"SINS" twice mentioned in verse 24, is the ultimate single sin of
unbelief in Jesus' true identity and work, leaves a person with the guilt of
all their different sins when they face God's righteous judgment.
Of course, there will be times when the inmate you're trying to help will
already have some unbiblical ideas about death, judgment and what happens after
this present life is over. Some will profess to be a member of a religion,
which you know does not base its teachings on the Bible. In these situations,
pray that the Lord would cause them to ask you questions about what you believe
or even better, what the Bible teaches.
Seek to help them understand that the Bible really is the ultimate authority and
it identifies only two types of persons, those outside of a relationship to God
through Christ, and those who are "In Christ." Stated
another way in 1 John 3:10, those that are the children of God and those that
are the children of the devil. These are the saved and the unsaved.
In a message to saved people, looking back on their unsaved state - God through
the Apostle said in Ephesians 2:12,13 -
12 ...at that time you were WITHOUT CHRIST, being ALIENS from the
13 BUT NOW in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by
the blood of Christ.
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15
). In the process of saving from their sin those He would make
believers, He also conquered death, which is the result of sin.
So tell them they are, like all men, a sinner. Then go on and tell them because
of God's graciousness in the gospel of Christ, any sinner can know personally a
real deliverance from sin and judgment and eternal death, IF they truly repent
and believe in Christ and what He did for them through His substitutionary
death and resurrection.
Show them verses like:
2 Timothy 1:10 and 1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-57
10 ... our Savior Jesus Christ, who has ABOLISHED DEATH AND BROUGHT LIFE AND
IMMORTALITY to light through the gospel.
1 Corinthians 15:26, 54-57
26 The last ENEMY that will BE DESTROYED is death.
54 ... "Death is SWALLOWED UP IN VICTORY."
55 "O Death, where is your sting? "O Hades,
where is your victory?"
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin
is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us THE VICTORY
(over death) through our Lord Jesus Christ.
To be included in verses like these ("OUR" in 1 Tim. 1:10 and
"US" in 1 Cor. 15:57) they must personally
have Jesus as Savior (2 Tim. 1:10) and Lord (1 Cor.15:57). Ask them if they
want Him to be their only Deliverer and Master (Savior and Lord).
You may be privileged to witness the miracle of a God given repentance and
saving faith in Christ, because God has used this death and your faithful
explaining of His truth, to open their very heart!
Thinking about the inevitability of giving inmates death notifications as part
of your chaplaincy ought to do something else. It ought to cause you to teach,
and have your staff teach, on these things BEFORE some of the attendees in the
Bible Studies face the death of a loved one.
As I recall my experiences during 20 years as a jail chaplain, I remember that
a good percentage of the men I had to give death notifications to had previously been in our services, or had spoken to me
before the terrible news came. That made the transition and application of
God's truth to the situation they faced easier.
As ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we are required to give the whole
truth that God reveals in order to turn men and women from their sin to
trusting Christ. Don't fear explaining judgment to inmates or anybody else.
Remember, you are there to give God's truth - not just nice religious
sentiments.
Lastly, when these death notifications situations occur, you should always
follow-up on the inmate after the funeral, whether or not they attended it. The
word of God has answers for them in Christ for the feelings of shock, loss,
anger, shame, guilt and despair. If they truly gain from God the true heart of
wisdom like Moses prayed for in Psalm 90:12, then according to Revelation 21:4,
they will not experience endless sorrow in heaven.
May God continue to bless and use you in your facility.
Rich Hines - Minister To Chaplains,