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RALLY FOR

REDEMPTION

I t is just another day at the office and Rev. Greg While God was ministering to people through him, he
by Charles Gee

James has owned his Blackberry for close to a could have been easily seen as a menace to society.
year, he still struggles with the functionality of “I felt trapped somewhere in between message and
the device. He compares this struggle to men’s mess,” James says. He was once known for riding in
struggle with their function in society. The smart luxury cars and wearing the finest clothing, but inside,
phone refuses to stop ringing throughout the he was disastrously failing the test that God had set
entire day as James continues to squint his eyes at before him. While ministering to God’s people, he was
each call trying to locate the speakerphone. The middle- simultaneously taking part in a conspiracy to distribute
aged man could easily pass for 10 years his junior, but drugs. In April of 1996, James stood trial in a federal
it is his passionate leadership and activism that has courtroom where he was sentenced to life plus 40
men of all ages following his lead. Where does James years in a maximum-security facility. James believes
want men to follow him to, you may ask? He wants to that it was during his stay in prison when a mandate
take men on a mission that requires them to “Rally for was given to him to help others.
Redemption.” He believes that men were once better
fathers, mentors, and leaders in their communities; at Once known as a powerful force in the North Florida
least they were in the community he remembers before community for empowering men and women of all
his abrupt exit some 15 years ago. This exit redefined ages. James was faced with the same task, but this
his vision, purpose, and life as a man. time amongst ruthless criminals in prison. His new
mission was to translate a powerful force into a positive
In 1995, James was living a life of fear and restlessness; force. Yet, just like he did on the outside, James now
he could always find a degree of refuge in the pulpit. captured the admiration and respect of his fellow
“It was the word of God that drew people to me, but it prisoners.
was the same word that kept me as well,” says James.
He recalls the days before his life would change. “I worked with guys in prison, and you would be amazed

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