Prison chaplain left his mark with his ministry
On May 12, Chaplain Robert Lee Scruggs passed from this life to his next. Scruggs graduated from Wake Forest Theological Seminary in 1980. He was a retired U.S. Army major and chaplain. He then started Good News Jail and Prison Ministry at the McLeansville State Prison and was involved there until his death.
Scruggs was a man who knew Jesus’ word in everything he did. He was a simple man with a big heart, especially for family life. Being a prison chaplain, he learned the rules for inside and outside “the wire” and brought them together. It was a difficult task, but through it all he never spoke a harsh word, and he kept a smile on his face and a song in his heart. When Chaplain Scruggs invited the St. Pius Hand Bell Choir to play at the prison, they jumped at the chance.
Chaplain Scruggs always brought Good News to anyone would listen to The Word. He will be missed by everyone he touched, especially those inside the wire.
Joe and Sheila Stanislawscyk
Greensboro
Comments (5)
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Sounds like a good fellow.
Posted on May 22, 2008 3:00 PM
I'm sure that he was a nice guy and sorry he is dead. But why exactly does a prison need an evangelical ministry?
1. The separation of church and state forbids the government from forcing (or giving better care to) Christianity + Christians. These ministries are just that, and have been stricken down in the courts before.
2. The vast majority of criminal in America are Christian. Who exactly are they trying to convert?
Maybe I am reading this guy wrong and he was like a military chaplain in that he did religious stuff for every religion, and was forbidden from trying to convert anyone, but precedents say it is not likely.
Posted on May 22, 2008 5:43 PM
I would not agree that most prisoners are Christians, unless you define a Christian as anyone who is not Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu......as opposed to defining a Christian as one who has made a commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
I would rather have prisoners associating with chaplains than being recruited by street gangs. You might also be interested in knowing that most prison ministries also seek to help the innocent families of victims through projects such as Angel Tree. Angel Tree is a Prison Fellowship project that provides Christmas gifts to children of prisoners.
Posted on May 23, 2008 8:08 AM
One more thing, constitutionally speaking: if all these prisoners are indeed Christian, as you claim, then what is illegal about permitting them the free exercise of their religion? "Free exercise" is in the Constitution itself. "Wall of separation" is in a letter written by Jefferson to a group of Baptists who were concerned about government interfering with religion, not about religious people as individuals functioning as citizens in the political and economic life of the nation.
Posted on May 23, 2008 8:13 AM
Chaplin Scruggs was indeed a good man. My brother is currently incarcerated at the McLeansville prison and spent a short amount of time working with the Chaplin. Chap, as he was called was instrumental in implementing various programs at the prison. His "ministry" was actively involved in the community making sure that the offenders were involved in programs that will help them be fully functional members of society upon their release. He recruited volunteer groups to assist with the many different programs and had several different events focused on making sure that prisoners stayed connected with their families.
Church services are available at the prison and open to anyone who choses to attend. No one is "forced" to attend a service. It was not the goal of his ministry to "convert" anyone and those who do attend the services are not given any special treatment.
Slaan- you have taken a letter that was meant to praise a man for his dedicated service and turned it into a forum for your obvious anti-Christian rhetoric. I would encourage you to find out more about your statistics and the actual programs that are offered before you group them all into the seperation of chuch and state umbrella.
Chaplin Scruggs will be greatly missed by all the staff, prisoners and their families. He will also be missed by former inmates who are now fully functional in society thanks to the programs he was repsonsible for creating. May he rest in peace.
Posted on May 23, 2008 10:09 AM