How Do You Treat Men Who Buy Sex? John School with Chris Stollar
(Part 2 in the Sex Trafficking Series)
Confession: This episode was difficult to produce. It has exposed how my desire for justice far outweighing my willingness to extend compassion toward men who solicit prostitutes and contribute to the horrific world of human trafficking.
Yet, Chris Stollar presents us with a compelling challenge to hold both justice and mercy in tandem as we engage the fight against sex trafficking.
“We will never end trafficking unless we reach the men who arefueling the demand in the first place.”
Chris Stollar is the Demand Reduction Coordinator for She Has A Name, an organization that fights human trafficking in Ohio. As a John School presenter, he seeks to reduce the demand for prostitution through working directly with men who have been caught trying to buy sex.
If we’re not working for restoration, what’s going to change and where’s the kingdom of God?
Chris is the author of The Black Lens which is a dark literary thriller that exposes the underbelly of sex trafficking in rural America. The novel is the 2016 Grand Prize winner in the Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards and has recently been optioned by a production company to be turned into a film.Chris lives in Columbus, Ohio with his wife and two children. He serves as a lay pastor at Veritas Community Church.
Listen in as Chris shares his personal experience in working with Johns and offers an invitation to consider and address the root causes that drive men to solicit.
DID YOU MISS PART 1? Listen to the first episode in this series on Sex Trafficking: How Do You Treat Women Who Sell Sex? CATCH Court with Hannah Estabrook.
This Podcast relies on shares & reviews from listeners like you!
————–
If you enjoyed this episode, you might like:
Missio Alliance Comment Policy
The Missio Alliance Writing Collectives exist as a ministry of writing to resource theological practitioners for mission. From our Leading Voices to our regular Writing Team and those invited to publish with us as Community Voices, we are creating a space for thoughtful engagement of critical issues and questions facing the North American Church in God’s mission. This sort of thoughtful engagement is something that we seek to engender not only in our publishing, but in conversations that unfold as a result in the comment section of our articles.
Unfortunately, because of the relational distance introduced by online communication, “thoughtful engagement” and “comment sections” seldom go hand in hand. At the same time, censorship of comments by those who disagree with points made by authors, whose anger or limited perspective taints their words, or who simply feel the need to express their own opinion on a topic without any meaningful engagement with the article or comment in question can mask an important window into the true state of Christian discourse. As such, Missio Alliance sets forth the following suggestions for those who wish to engage in conversation around our writing:
1. Seek to understand the author’s intent.
If you disagree with something the an author said, consider framing your response as, “I hear you as saying _________. Am I understanding you correctly? If so, here’s why I disagree. _____________.
2. Seek to make your own voice heard.
We deeply desire and value the voice and perspective of our readers. However you may react to an article we publish or a fellow commenter, we encourage you to set forth that reaction is the most constructive way possible. Use your voice and perspective to move conversation forward rather than shut it down.
3. Share your story.
One of our favorite tenants is that “an enemy is someone whose story we haven’t heard.” Very often disagreements and rants are the result of people talking past rather than to one another. Everyone’s perspective is intimately bound up with their own stories – their contexts and experiences. We encourage you to couch your comments in whatever aspect of your own story might help others understand where you are coming from.
In view of those suggestions for shaping conversation on our site and in an effort to curate a hospitable space of open conversation, Missio Alliance may delete comments and/or ban users who show no regard for constructive engagement, especially those whose comments are easily construed as trolling, threatening, or abusive.