Your Church in Action
For God, nothing is ever off the radar
April 15, 2019
Dennis
Tranter is the chaplain at Tamworth prison, but it's been a winding path
getting there.
Long and
winding road: Tamworth's prison chaplain Dennis Tranter.
"I
used to be a heavy drinker," Mr Tranter admits.
"Our
local Bible Basher took me out for coffee. I responded by pouring a cup of
coffee on his Bible.
But
he never gave up on me. In the end I said, 'Leave me alone and I'll go to
church with you.'
I
intended to only go once. But these guys were different.They
had a coffee shop.
I'd
spend half of Sunday at the pub and then I'd go back and terrorise those guys
in the coffee shop.
But
nothing would offend them.
Their
constant acceptance turned me towards God.
I
thought, 'If I can't offend these blokes no matter how hard I try, then I
reckon I can't offend God.'
That
realisation did the trick.
And
it's a truth that translates to the blokes in prison.
They're
ordinary blokes, but they're busted and they've got no way of knowing how to
fix it.
They
need to hear that no matter what you've done, God still accepts you.
I'm
also there for the staff.
They
might be rocked by a death in custody or a hard time at home.
Any
person, anywhere needs someone to talk to, and the chaplain's there.
The
managers are supportive and encouraging.
They
see there's a need for a chaplain.
One
guy became a Christian and his cellmate saw the change that it made to him and
then he started reading the Bible.
That's
the thing about working for God.
There's
never anything that's off the radar."
This article appeared in the Tamworth paper and The Northern Daily Leader
