Faith&Friends
BETWEEN THE LINES
A Lifer’s Journey Hank Dixon’s story is a testimony to God’s persistent life-saving presence. by James Read
B
y his own account, as a 19-year-old drug addict, Hank Dixon and an accomplice broke into a house and ransacked it, tied up the man who was there and beat him. Within an hour, the man was dead. As a result, Hank was convicted of seconddegree murder and sentenced to life with no hope of parole for 10 years. When he was released in 1985, the prison officer discharging him said, “You’ll be back!” And Hank did return—but as a chaplain, not a re-offender. Page Turner Details of Hank’s prison conversion and of his two decades as a prison chaplain are recounted in vivid detail in A Lifer’s Journey. In the pages of the book, there are stories of his dramatic first encounter
8 • MAY/JUNE 2022
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with Jesus while a convict in prison, of his subsequent relapse into drugs and unbelief, and his recovery. There are engaging stories of his years as a prison chaplain, rubbing shoulders with inmates and prison guards. We learn that the angels are not all on one side. We read of inmates who are honest, kind and self-aware as well as those who are deceitful and cruel. We read of chaplains who courageously speak the truth and speak it in love, and of chaplains who belittle inmates, alienate staff and exaggerate their own success. We read of prison riots and suicides, and of lives (like Hank’s own) that are turned from darkness toward light. Birth of a Bond Among the most heartwarming stories of God’s surprising grace
