The Spirit of the Lord is Upon Me
As I made my twice-weekly, round-trip commute between Nashville and Birmingham, ancient words repeatedly bubbled up to the surface of my consciousness: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.” Why were the words Jesus spoke in the synagogue in Nazareth dominating my thoughts as I whizzed past the cotton fields and billboards lining the I-65 corridor?
During the spring semester of 2002, I was enrolled in a class at Beeson Divinity School called “Social Justice Ethics.” This weekly seminar was taught by Dr. Wilton Bunch, an extraordinary teacher with an unparalleled resume: orthopedic surgeon, academic dean of two medical schools, ordained Episcopal priest, and university professor who had earned four advanced academic degrees (Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Philosophy, M.B.A., and Master of Divinity). Each week Dr. Bunch guided us to consider how Scripture informed our thoughts and actions regarding specific ethical issues facing our society. Examining a passage of Scripture alongside news accounts or journal articles proved to be a challenging endeavor.
One week our focal passage was Luke 4:16-21, which includes these memorable words:
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because God has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
The Spirit has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
I do not recall the ethical issue we discussed that day, but for the remainder of the semester, Jesus’ provocative words continued to resonate in my heart and mind. I understood Jesus’ self-application of Isaiah’s prophecy as his personal mission statement. If bringing good news to the poor, proclaiming release for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, setting free the oppressed, and proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favor were Jesus’ priorities, shouldn’t they also be mine?
Although I read most of that passage from the Gospel of Luke metaphorically, one phrase seemed to demand a literal interpretation. In order to be a faithful disciple, I wondered, did I literally need to work with prisoners? As I prayed aloud alone in my car, I expressed my openness to God: Show me what you want me to do, and I will do it.
Near the end of the semester, I was invited to participate in a prayer group to ponder a particular question: How should our church in Nashville utilize an empty building our congregation owned? Without hesitation, I agreed. I sensed that my experiences in the Social Justice Ethics class had primed me for this moment.
On May 30, 2002, twelve women from the congregation gathered to brainstorm and pray. Many possible future uses of the property were discussed before we began the work of prayer in earnest. We asked God to guide us. We wanted God to direct our steps.
Three important things happened that night. First, our group gained a name: the wild, praying women. Second, we agreed to invite more women to pray with us. Third, we decided we needed to conduct a community needs assessment.
I agreed to work with three other women to conduct the community needs assessment. We firmly believed that as we interviewed local government and non-profit leaders, God would narrow our scope and clarify our vision. We quickly learned that women in crisis were underserved in Nashville.
Our focus narrowed during a meeting with the founder of a local residential treatment center for women. She advised us, “If you really want to meet a pressing need, then provide housing for women coming out of prison.” She explained that many women remain behind bars after they have completed their sentences because they have no place to go. Others return to their old neighborhoods, where they quickly slip back into self-destructive behaviors and are rearrested. No wonder recidivism rates were so high.
Proclaim freedom for the prisoners. I felt the seed that God had planted in my heart vibrating with life, anticipating fruit. I suggested that a meeting with the volunteer chaplain at the Tennessee Prison for Women would be helpful. By the end of our conversation with the chaplain, we felt clear about our calling: We would create a transitional living center where female ex-offenders could claim their freedom. We would call this non-profit The Next Door, for this would be the next door women would walk through after exiting the gates of the prison. This was an audacious undertaking, since none of us had any experience working in this realm.
Twenty years later, I continue to marvel at the lessons I learned from that prayerful process of midwifing a ministry. The Next Door was founded in 2004 with the intent to proclaim freedom for those who had been incarcerated. In 2010, TND began offering addiction treatment, since the majority of women in the criminal justice system struggle with substance use disorder. In 2023, the name of the organization was changed to The Next Door Recovery, reflecting our mission to proclaim freedom for those trapped in the bondage of addiction.
Since welcoming our first client in May 2024, The Next Door Recovery has impacted the lives of over 17,000 women, not to mention the ripple effect on their families, friends, and communities. TNDR has become a sanctuary of hope, a place where women are reminded of their worth and empowered for lifetime recovery. I am deeply grateful that I was able to be a part of TNDR’s work for many years - first as a volunteer and later as the chaplain. God continues to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could have asked or imagined through TNDR.
The passage of Scripture that captured my imagination while I was seminary continues to challenge and guide me. The Spirit has now sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners in the mountains of North Carolina. At the Western Correctional Center for Women in Swannanoa, I have the privilege of serving with a gifted team of volunteers from my church as we lead worship services in the prison’s chapel. In that sacred space, the transformational work of the Spirit continues. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Invitation to wonder: When has the Spirit of God led you to do something audacious? Which passage of Scripture challenges and guides you today?
