This is both! A prayer request and a praise...
A man stopped by my office this morning and asked if he could talk to me about restitution. He had heard me speak at National Day of Prayer, and said he thought I looked like somebody he could trust.
He's a businessman - a plumber - who apparently is doing pretty good financially, and has recovered from a life of drugs, crime and bad decisions. He learned plumbing in prison as part of a "trades education" program. Another local plumber helped him get set up in business, knowing full well he would probably be a competitor in the future. The business that helped him is part of our "Jobs for Life" program, and they have helped other former inmates reenter society, usually hiring them as plumber's helpers, or recommending them to other local businesses.
Anyway, this man (We'll call him Joe -- Joe the Plumber! ) wants me to set up a spreadsheet to list the crimes he committed, the value of the things he stole and the property he damaged. We'll need to get some of this info from the PD and SO, and I think they'd be open to that under the circumstances. He gave me $1,000 to open a bank account for him - kind of an escrow account - from which to pay restitution, so the victim wouldn't have to feel award about dealing directly with him. I never handle church money, or money at church, so my ministry coordinator will handle the bank account, accounting, and distribution of funds. I'll contact the victims and arrange the restitution.
Where the victim might not accept the money, Joe wants that money donated to our Church in the victim's name. He said, "it was never my money in the first place".
I'm loving this idea! I'm loving this GUY! He's guestimating that he owes close to $75,000 in total, and wants to make good on all of that, but it will take time.
I have to admit, when he first started talking to me about restitution, I thought maybe he meant reparations. (Yeah, Joe is black) He's obviously not looking to 'get' - he wants to literally "give back".
A man stopped by my office this morning and asked if he could talk to me about restitution. He had heard me speak at National Day of Prayer, and said he thought I looked like somebody he could trust.
He's a businessman - a plumber - who apparently is doing pretty good financially, and has recovered from a life of drugs, crime and bad decisions. He learned plumbing in prison as part of a "trades education" program. Another local plumber helped him get set up in business, knowing full well he would probably be a competitor in the future. The business that helped him is part of our "Jobs for Life" program, and they have helped other former inmates reenter society, usually hiring them as plumber's helpers, or recommending them to other local businesses.
Anyway, this man (We'll call him Joe -- Joe the Plumber! ) wants me to set up a spreadsheet to list the crimes he committed, the value of the things he stole and the property he damaged. We'll need to get some of this info from the PD and SO, and I think they'd be open to that under the circumstances. He gave me $1,000 to open a bank account for him - kind of an escrow account - from which to pay restitution, so the victim wouldn't have to feel award about dealing directly with him. I never handle church money, or money at church, so my ministry coordinator will handle the bank account, accounting, and distribution of funds. I'll contact the victims and arrange the restitution.
Where the victim might not accept the money, Joe wants that money donated to our Church in the victim's name. He said, "it was never my money in the first place".
I'm loving this idea! I'm loving this GUY! He's guestimating that he owes close to $75,000 in total, and wants to make good on all of that, but it will take time.
I have to admit, when he first started talking to me about restitution, I thought maybe he meant reparations. (Yeah, Joe is black) He's obviously not looking to 'get' - he wants to literally "give back".
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