It’s quite a world we’re living in – the reality of safety is becoming more and more elusive, often even an outright illusion. I sometimes wonder if we keep building more and more prisons to help us feel protected and safe without ever truly addressing the root causes of our brokenness – how long until we reach a tipping point? At what point will we start to act on what we already know to be true?

To act justly.

Isn’t that what we are doing when we sentence a criminal for a crime?…Or at least trying to do? What is justice? And where do we find the answer to that seemingly basic question?

One of the biggest shifts in justice occurred when the Western legal system was enacted. Prior to that, when an offence was committed the offender was responsible to pay a fine to the victim and/or the victim’s family. Under British rule, the King decided that the fine would be paid to him and the victims would be used to testify against offenders and ensure his payment. Over time the King was replaced by the Crown and this is the tradition that continues to this day. The problem is, that is not justice – not for the victims, not for the offenders, and not for community. At least it’s not the kind of justice that Scripture lays out…

Of all the places in life that I expected God to lead me, this was the last place I would have picked…leading others into prison. But that’s what I do and I believe it is meaningful work for both this lifetime and the one to come.

I recently led a group of prisoners through a program that taught the difference between criminal justice and restorative justice. We looked at crime, victim impact, the difference between passive and active responsibility, confession and repentance, forgiveness, making amends, symbolic restitution, and peacemaking as a lifestyle.

The results astounded me.

In the second week we passed around a deck of cards which had a need written on each one. The offenders were asked to think of the point in time that they were arrested and to pick out the cards which expressed the needs they had at the point of arrest. For many, it was the first time they articulated anything beyond anger. Again they used the cards to answer the question, “what were your victim’s needs at the time of your crime?” Three offenders reported it was the first time since their crime that their victim had been a real person to them.

Nearly all the offenders I asked believed that serving a prison sentence was taking active responsibility for a crime. It isn’t. When I ask my son to apologize to my daughter because he’s done something wrong and he acquiesces that is passive responsibility. In this example, he is only doing what I told him to do. In the same way, prison is a manifestation of passive responsibility. The offender does what they are told to do – serve time.

Active responsibility, however, means initiating a response in the face of an offence; it means you admit what you did, admit you are wrong, and accept the consequences. This is part of what Biblical justice requires. The offenders surprised me. They wanted to take active responsibility for their crimes in a space where it was safe for them to do right. Do they deserve a safe place to do right?

…love mercy…

Finally we brought victims into the group, to sit in our circle and to tell their stories. And healing took place. A man who had been asking questions for 45 years, got one of those questions answered. A woman who had never seen remorse or heard or seen an apology, got one and it was genuine. A man drowning in guilt, believing his son’s drug addiction was his fault talked to a dealer and an addict and understood for the first time why it wasn’t his fault. This is the justice that God calls us to; this is restorative justice.

We are continuing our journey, in joy and sorrow, toward healing together. Would I, on my own, have chosen to lead in this space? Never. That’s why I believe the number one responsibility of a leader is obedience. It’s not about our ability to lead others; it’s about our ability to be led by the One who really does hold us all. “Whoever loses their life for Christ will find it” – that is a promise and I am so blessed to live it out as He leads me.

Stacey Campbell graduated high school in Switzerland and continued her post secondary studies in Business Administration and Accounting (CGA) in Toronto. Soon after she began working for a marketing company that she and her husband eventually purchased and operated for 25 years.

In 2007 Stacey began attending Tyndale Seminary, and began her role as Executive Director and CEO of Prison Fellowship Canada bringing together both her business and ministry skills sets.

Stacey has a deep and abiding faith, and practices a Biblical approach to transformation, justice, restoration, and prevention based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

Read Stacey’s full bio here.

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