Transformational

It is not a typical college class on a normal campus. Anything but that, really. 

If one looks closely, very closely, it contains the components: an instructor, students, textbooks and lively conversation. But a broader scan reveals in this setting with these students, well, there is something very different indeed. 

No, this is not a typical college class on a normal campus. This is a prison. 

But these are students, hungry to learn. Make no mistakes about that.

It is for that reason Dr. Phil Young’s morning routine in preparing for class looks a bit different than most college professors. He arrives on site around 7:45 in the morning.

“We go through all the normal screening that all the staff goes through to make sure we’re not bringing anything in we shouldn’t,” he says. “We get to the classroom between 7:45 and 8 a.m.Prepare the room for the day. Students begin arriving around 8:15.”

It has been nearly two years, the fall semester of 2023 to be exact, since the Carson-Newman University launched its prison ministry program in coordination with the Tennessee Department of Corrections and the Morgan County Correctional Complex (MCCX). During that time, this structured process has become routine for Young, the Director of Prison Ministry, and the students in the program. 

The program offers a Bachelor of Arts degree in Christian Studies, with an emphasis in Christian Ministry. Each interested student had to apply and meet certain criteria to be accepted. Fourteen inmates are currently seeking their degrees in the program. 

“They have to articulate a salvation experience in their life – a time when they came to place their faith and trust in Christ as their savior,” said Young, “because it is an unapologetically Christian program coming out of Carson-Newman.”

It is not the first time Carson-Newman and Morgan County have connected. Prior to the construction of MCCX, inmates were sent to Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. In the late1960s, the warden of Brushy Mountain was Lake Russell, a 1925 graduate of Carson-Newman and, for a time, head football coach. 

“Brushy” had quite the reputation. Known probably more for breaking men than building them. 

This partnership, this program, exists for the latter.

The learning process is intense. Five days a week. Six-hour days. Focused. Intentional. Along with a sociology class, courses this fall span from “Intro to Old Testament” to “Sermon Preparation and Delivery.”

Young admitted that as one of the program’s professors, it was initially intimidating. “You think, ‘how am I going to possibly fill six hours of lecture time for a three-hour course?’ But what you find is that the students are very engaged. The classroom typically is very interactive. They’re asking questions. They’re sharing opinions. They prepare their material. They’re very devoted and interested in learning.”

He noted the group’s desire to perform at the highest level – going above and beyond basic expectations. The classroom engagement allows students to share their life stories. According to Young, the experience opens the door to something special—sometimes it’s the professors learning from the students.

“We get a chance to see how they view their spiritual experience in a very unique and different context than what we bring to the classroom,” said Young. “We get to bring our perspective on Scripture and theological education, and they help us see it from their perspective. We get to see it through their eyes, and that helps us to see God in a way that may be bigger and broader than we’ve seen God sometimes in our limited scope.”

No stranger to ministry, Young pastored a local church for 20 years after his service in the United States Air Force. He has served in different roles within the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, as well as director of missions for the Knox County Association of Baptists. Through those experiences he got to know the faculty at Carson-Newman, even serving as an adjunct professor. That is where God’s path for Young took a turn.

He was asked by Dr. David Crutchley, dean of C-N’s School of Biblical and Theological Studiesabout overseeing a new initiative for a Prison Ministry. Young was not moved by the idea – at least at first. But he promised Crutchley he would pray about it. Crutchley then asked Young if he wanted to travel to the prison with him, sit in on interviewing the first set of applicants for the program.

Young had been looking for an answer to his prayers. It came on this trip.

“God spoke to me very directly through that experience and through the stories of the prison students to tell me that this is where he wanted me in this season of my life.” Such clarity has offered peace in his decision. He has not looked back.

Not only moved by the program, Young is also moved by its students, impressed by their dedication and drive. Of the 14 students in the class, 12 finished the first year with honors. Five students with a 4.0 GPA. Every member of the class qualified for membership in Tri-Alpha Honor Society for First Generation College Students.

As pleased as he is with how well the students are doing academically, Young points to a bigger picture that provides context to C-N’s program: some students will never step outside their current setting, spending the rest of their lives in prison. It is because of that, a different perspective comes into view.

“This is not just about getting a bachelor’s degree,” he explained, noting that other educational programs within the state’s prison system already offer such opportunities.

“We want to give them a very solid biblical theological education,” he said. “But the ultimate goal is that they will be deployed and utilized in the Tennessee prison system as ministers.”

The program’s approach of meeting the inmates where they are and offering a Christ-centered education and sense of purpose is already yielding stories of impact, redemption and transformation.

Often asked to speak to groups on behalf of the University and provide updates on the progress of the program Young relates a story that impacts those in the room, at times to the point of tears.

Several months ago, one of the students was up for parole. At his hearing, he asked the panel if he could speak first. The request was granted.

“He asked the parole board to delay his parole hearing for another two and a half years so that he could complete this program,” said Young. “He said, ‘I need to finish this program, and then I will be the man society needs me to be, and I’ll be the father and the husband that I need to be when I go back home.’

That request was granted as well. 

“That’s why Carson-Newman is a special place,” Young said. “Carson-Newman is giving an opportunity for men like this to fulfill one of the values the University has identified—and that is to produce servant-leaders.”

Transformational experiences. For the students. For Dr. Young. And for many others touched by the work of Christ in a place where one may not expect.