I was listening to a Pandora station as I worked in the yard and realized just one of several ways that living for five years in the UK changed who I am today. I don’t know how many guys in their 50’s listen to EDM but I know that a few of us do. My reason for interest in this music stems from what I was hearing and influenced by between 1996 and 2001, the years I lived and worked with students in England. Yet that was but a minor way that working in England changed who I am today. So here are five ways that living and doing ministry in England changed who I am today.
I learned what a post-Christian culture looked like. We have bantered that phrase around in the states for the past 15 years. James Emory White’s new book on Generation Z suggests that it (Gen Z) is the first post Christian generation in America. I am neither surprised or confused by it. In the late 1990’s in England we worked with kids who had no idea what the basic gospel message was. They knew nearly nothing of the meaning of Christmas or Easter and they certainly did not grasp the myriad of Biblical references in the culture around them. As a result, one ends up starting at ground zero when doing ministry. “There is a God who created the world and loves people…” There is actually something refreshing about working with students who you know have little to no understanding of the truth of God.
I understood what it meant for students to be persecuted for their faith. I had many students who did not want their peers to know they were Christians because they would instantly become social pariahs. One 14 year old in my youth group had the courage to be the only student to raise his hand when the “religious education” teacher asked who in the class (of 30 students) considered themselves to be Christians. He figured that he was already unpopular so he had nothing to lose. He faced even more ridicule as a result. At the same time I had two rugby players in the youth group who would openly tell their peers that they were Christians and no one challenged them because of how tough they were physically. I am not sure I was as sensitive to the oppression of Christianity as I should have been at the time. It was very real and I was not sure how to deal with it.
I witnessed a true hunger for a knowledge and thirst for God. When I saw 400+ teens open their Bible for expository teaching and then engage in small group Bible studies at a conference, I witnessed something I had never seen in America. These teens wanted to know God and were not looking to be entertained by a youth program. Speakers told it like it was and students responded to the truth of God’s word. Previously I had seen many dynamic youth speakers in America who candy coated the gospel and called for a response. That would not fly with UK students who already understood that their faith was in opposition to the culture they lived in. This reality changed my approach to teaching God’s word to any who would hear.
I learned about the power of prayer. I was part of a church that had a church wide prayer meeting every other week. The core members of the church came together and prayed for gospel ministry to take place. Before I arrived as the youth minister, there were many prayer meetings that asked God to send the right person to lead youth ministry for the congregation. I had never before experienced the notion of being an answer to prayer. Apparently I was. During my time there every age group and every gospel opportunity was prayed over constantly. We saw God answer so many prayers it was at times stunning. I did not fully appreciate this until I worked for a group of churches where very few of them have these sorts of prayer meetings.
Finally, as I alluded to in the opening, my taste in music changed. This was on two levels. One was spiritual. I sang praise songs that were so contemporary and very unlike anything I had heard before. Matt Redman and “Delirious?” were voicing the praises of a new generation. At the same time I got introduced to EDM through the likes of “Hydro”, “Psalmistry” and “The Tribe” where DJ led music brought people into worship. There were more to name but some are now no longer functioning. I guess I am an old guy who likes newer musical sounds because I work with teens and my taste has never gotten stuck in a particular age. Now I am just hoping someone will record the doxology in dub step.
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