I am a born again Christian working in North Devon Youth Offending Team in the UK. England and Wales has seen a transformation of its Youth Justice systems over the last 10 years with a widespread re-introduction of Restorative Justice (RJ) techniques with many of these principles now enshrined in legislation. The principle aim of the Youth Justice system is to prevent offending behaviour by young people, whilst slightly more helpfully the aim of Restorative outcomes is to meet the 3R's of Responsibility, Reparation and Re-integration in order to get justice for victims and offenders alike.

I first came across these changes in 1997 when I started writing and developing youth justice policies and procedures for the West Midlands Police Force as part of a Government pilot of its plans for the Youth Justice system. At this time restorative justice was pretty well hidden within the legislation and to an 'outsider' not really visible. I then attended a conference hosted by Sir Charles Pollard, Chief Constable of the Thames Valley Police Force and key proponent of the use of Restorative techniques. As I watched him talk with open fervour and excitement, I couldn't help but connect him with an evangelical preacher. He clearly believed wholeheartedly in this system and would not be satisfied until we all did the same. Unfortunately as a fairly cynical Police Officer this approach didn't win me over but actually created a barrier which persisted in me until I was sent on a training course to become an RJ Facilitator. The trainer was Tony Walker, another Police officer from Thames Valley. What immediately surprised me was that although he was as cynical as me about the justice system we were currently operating, he also had that bright eyed fervour for a style of justice he clearly believed in. As the course progressed I heard talk of apologies, repentance, forgiveness, mercy and of harm repaired and I was struck with how closely this matched my own Christian beliefs. It was also clear that when people experienced this style of justice they also became 'believers' and I too left as a 'convert'.

Since then, I have left the Police to work full time with a Youth Offending Team. I have also become a Restorative Justice trainer and have now led hundreds of people to believe in the power of RJ to repair harm and transform people's lives. Over the last year or so I have become increasingly concerned that whilst I saw Christians worldwide encouraging their criminal justice systems to move away from punitive justice and towards a more restorative and biblical system, many appear to have lost sight of the principal of "removing the log from your own eye before dealing with the speck in your brothers" as stated in Matthew 7v5, and they have neglected the unresolved harm going on in their own Churches.

I have been involved in church life for more than 30 years and regardless of creed or denomination I have seen Christians hurt and upset by the actions of other Christians. I know from talking to other Christians that this is not just a localised problem but a common occurrence in our churches. Sadly the response to this is often nothing and much of the harm remains unresolved. This certainly hurts the church in the way that it functions and how Christians are perceived. How must the non believers view the church when they meet so many Christians disillusioned with Church life? What about the offender who can be forgiven by the person he has assaulted but sees no forgiveness in the church? Or the victim who can forgive the person who burgles them but 'cannot' be hurt by the actions of a Christian who refuses to accept responsibility?

My heart is to see the principles and techniques of restorative justice being returned to action in the communities they were originally designed for, the Christian Church. This requires three things to happen:

1. A return to the teaching of the restorative Biblical principles of church life.
2. A reflection on church leadership and discipline and how they should be applied in our post modern society.
3. The training of church members and leaders in facilitation skills so that they can mediate in the most intransigent or difficult cases.

To this end I have set up a website and company called Matt 5-9, the name taken from Matthew 5 verse 9 where Jesus states "Blessed are the\ Peacemakers for they will be called Sons of God". This site hopes to provide inspiration for those who would seek to be those peacemakers, whether as independent facilitators or through an involvement in church leadership.

I believe that if the Church wants to see people turn to it for answers it has to be seen as the type of community which Christ designed and exemplified in the Bible and which are attractive places for people to live in. Our criminal justice systems seem to be learning the lessons, when will our churches?

Matt Wilcox
Matt 5-9