I doubt that Owen needs much of an introduction at this point. He is one of my favorite conversationalists, one of the most insightful men I know, and a close friend. We talked a little about the deep cynicism we have all developed toward any form of establishment, doing meaningful work, the limits of humor, what books we are working through at the moment (shocker), and a fascinating chat about how difficult life can be for the teenagers among us and how competence scales with age. This conversation was as fun as they always are.

Slight correction to the podcast, Herodotus wrote his histories in 430 BC, not 1200 BC.

Owen is on Instagram @hebbert_the_writer

I am always @itsthevalk

Cheers Fam.

In 2007 Rachelle Starr founded Scarlet Hope as a ministry to share the hope and love of Jesus with women in the adult entertainment industry in Louisville. Since then they have expanded to seven cities across North America. I got to sit down with Rachelle and talk about how she got involved in helping women in the sex industry, the lessons she learned from years of running Scarlet Hope, and how the church can be involved in caring for women in the adult entertainment industry. This is a really complex and difficult topic that I have been wanting to learn more about and I’m really glad that Rachelle was willing to share her insights with me. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation.

Learn more about Scarlet Hope at their website https://scarlethope.org/

Follow Rachelle on Instagram @rachellestarr.co

I am always @itsthevalk

Cheers Fam.

Tim Jones, Holden Wynn, Josiah Blan, and I are Supervising Coordinators at Recenter ministries here in Louisville. Recenter is part homeless shelter, part drug recovery program, and part affordable housing. Re:Center is wholly dedicated to presenting the Gospel to the hurting and downcast in Louisville. Our responsibilities are to essentially run the shelter over the weekends. We sat down and talked about a few of the absolutely insane stories we have collected over the past year. I love these dudes and it's been a privilege to work with them here.

Find me on Instagram @itsthevalk

Love Y’all.

Dr. Kyle D. Claunch is an Assistant Professor of Christian Theology here at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. This podcast took nearly 6 months to schedule but it was 100% worth the wait. We talked about his journey to the ministry and to Southern, the value of systematic theology for the local church, some hilarious stories about chasing alligators in Louisiana with his family, and the books he is currently reading, and a couple he would like to write. Dr. Claunch is incredibly thoughtful and pastoral. I can't recommend this conversation enough. 

Follow Dr. Claunch on Twitter @kdclaunch

I am on Instagram @itsthevalk 

Cheers!

Dr. C. Berry Driver, Jr. is the Associate Vice President of Academic Resources, Seminary Librarian, and Professor of Church History here at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. As far as I am concerned, he has one of the most fascinating jobs in the world. We talked about how he got into ministry and library science, growing up in the Civil Rights Movement, and the value that church history has for understanding current theological issues. Dr. Driver might be the most well-spoken man I have had on this podcast yet and I seriously enjoyed our conversation.

Follow Dr. Driver on Twitter @BerryDriver

I am Instagram @itsthevalk

Love Y’all.

Jonathan Started SWAT Ministries with his wife in 2011 to combat human trafficking in Thailand. They primarily train rescue agents and trafficking victims in self-defense. The work that Jonathan is doing is incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed talking to him.

Learn more about SWAT Ministries here: https://www.swatministryintl.org

Watch You Are Beautiful: https://redeemtv.com/

Watch Contraland: https://www.contralandmovie.com/

I am on instagram @itsthevalk

I spent an introspective hour with two of my closest friends as we talked about how we understand ourselves as creative people, whether the term “Creative” is helpful or mega pretentious, and how we go about the various projects we are involved in. I absolutely love these kinds of conversations. I thoroughly enjoy digging into the psyches of creative people and learning about what makes them move. I hope y’all enjoy it as much as I do.

Owen is on Instagram @hebbert_the_writer

Jess is @boutjesse

I am @itsthevalk

Love you all.

John-Michael Bout and I have spent the last few months working on a teaching resource to combat pornography. This topic is incredibly important to us and we are thrilled to tell you guys what we have been up to.

Here is a link to the outline that we built. It explains the documentary very well.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1A5Q4RZP4rZNxgk47HfkXlvppCCQQ0Qr2/view?usp=sharing

JM is on Instagram @aboutjem

I am @itsthevalk

Grateful for you all. 

David & June taught Jiu Jitsu and self defence to sex trafficking survivors in Thailand and other parts of the world while working for an organization dedicated to fighting human trafficking. Their stories are absolutely incredible. I don’t think I have teared up in any podcast I have done so far, but I did in this one. I can’t recommend this episode enough.

This is the 50th episode of CUTS and I am honestly floored. Thank you all so much for listening. It means so much to me.

Find me on instagram at @itsthevalk

Love you all.