“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.”

THE PROPHET ISAIAH  ISAIAH 1:18 NKJV

PARDONED: A JUDICIAL MEMOIR is the inspiring true story of a fifteen-year old boy convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in a state penitentiary. Promise Lee, a sociopathic and dangerous youth, comes of age among hardened criminals in general population where his pathological behavior is conditioned and honed. Rather than being rehabilitated, Promise becomes a violent, unconscionable threat abandoned on city streets. Promise continues a desperate downward spiral until ultimately having a transformative, life-changing experience that re-shapes a hardened, self-absorbed criminal into a powerful community activist who physically confronts drug dealers and other criminals as he cleans up his boyhood neighborhood. Promise is ultimately recognized by the White House for his outstanding work in community development. None of which grants him the redemption he’s sought half his life.

Promise Lee has repeatedly petitioned his state governor’s office seeking an official pardon for mistakes he made as a minor, a reckless childhood choice which, to this day, overshadows even tremendous achievements with labels such as, “Ex-Convict,” and “Convicted Killer Promise Lee.”

The story deals with a set of dysfunctional systems: a dysfunctional family system that fails to nurture and teach, a dysfunctional justice system which fails to protect, a dysfunctional penal system which fails to rehabilitate, and a dysfunctional political system, which fails to forgive.

About Pastor Lee

The Reverend Promise Y. Lee is the founder and Senior Pastor of Relevant Word Christian Cultural Center, a vibrant multiethnic ministry in the Hillside community of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A ministry of empowerment, Relevant Word's mission moves beyond the moral imperatives of personal salvation and into the practical works of Jesus Christ, offering healing from both spiritual and social ills.

In 1987, Reverend Lee formed the Hillside Neighborhood Association, around which he rallied residents to reclaim their community and their lives. Within four years, they had successfully lobbied for construction of a $1.5 billion Community Center. In addition to improving living conditions, the neighborhood's newly found sense of community resulted in an overall 83 percent reduction of crime and drug use.

In 1997, Hillside became the first neighborhood association to be honored as an All-America City by the National Civic League. Reverend Lee’s work has earned him recognition from former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, the Colorado Governor’s Office, the U.S. Department of Education, the Southwest Regional Center for Drug-Free Schools and Communities and numerous school districts across the country.

A compassionate and dedicated servant of God, Pastor Lee is a fervent believer in the power of prayer and fasting. A pastor who emphasizes the need for and benefits of prayer and meditation, praise and worship, Lee underscores and reinforces every decision and every activity by invoking God's presence in them. Pastor Lee will frequently speak for those who have no one to speak for them: indigent families who have lost loved ones, the lonely, the sick, the forgotten. Lee's calling is to the lost, to the neglected, to the abandoned.

A combination of resourcefulness, inventiveness, wit, drive and an unshakeable faith mitigates many obstacles in the pastor's path. Pastor Lee has an air of confidence and fearlessness as he marches in a straightforward manner towards the mark of the high calling. Lee accomplishes things often by sheer strength of will and absolute dedication to his ministry.

The incredible story of Promise Lee’s life has been published in his newly released book, Pardoned, which is soon be captured as a film.

Pastor Lee has accomplished more in the short time Relevant Word Ministries has been organized than many larger ministries have done in four decades. A combination of resourcefulness, inventiveness, wit, drive and an unshakeable faith not in Lee's power but in God's power mitigates many obstacles in the pastor's path. Pastor Lee has an air of confidence and fearlessness as he marches in a straightforward manner towards the mark of the high calling. Lee accomplishes things often by sheer strength of will and absolute dedication to his ministry. Dismissing warnings that things can't be done, Lee simply does them. If you need a fence, build a fence. 

In so doing, Pastor Lee and the Relevant Word family have build a solid, anointed and impressive foundation for what will certainly become one of the area's leading ministries. With new thinking and new execution of new revelation, Pastor Lee— going from the pulpit to the hospital to the Home Depot to the streets to the highways to the funeral homes to the mark of the high calling— continues to be a major influence and leader in this community. There is not a finer example of the redeeming power of hope in Christ.

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