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However, for most of us, the associations conjured up by the term ‘Evangelical Christianity’ are somewhat less than flattering. We can imagine mass gatherings of gullible congregations, usually American, worked into frenzies by sensationalist ministers. Scepticism of overblown claims, that an individual could wield the healing power of God through their touch alone, prevents many from taking the notion seriously.
Closer to home, Evangelism manifests itself on a smaller scale, but in an equally obtrusive manner. The unsuspecting shopper in any of Britain’s cities can be the target of a preacher’s haranguing condemnation. Being verbally assaulted by accusations of our sinful natures and impending doom leaves many defensively opposed to the work of Evangelicals.
Jesus never spoke to people who didn’t want to listen
George Critchley is James College’s ‘Evangelistic Coordinator’, and met with me to discuss his personal approach to the values of Evangelism. As a third-year English Writing and Performance Student, George offers a surprising insight into a belief system which can be incomprehensible to those who stand outside it.
“Jesus never spoke to people who didn’t want to listen”, he tells me, eager to stress that he will not be found on a soap-box trying to convert students to Christianity as they stumble drunkenly home from campus events. George will probably be known foremost for his memorable roles in productions at the Drama Barn, such as ‘Journey’s End’ and ‘The Laramie Project’.
Having recently been ‘licensed to preach’ by qualifications gained through York’s School of Theology, George reconciles his desire to be on the theatrical stage with the lure of the lectern:
“The reason I decided to preach is that from a young age I’ve been a performer and a loud-mouth. Why not preach, if I’m going to be seeking audiences my whole life anyway? Being comfortable in front of audiences, having stage presence, being able to bring the personal into the public – these are good gifts which come from God.”
Listening to George’s first sermon on the meaning of communion, given at York Elim Pentecostal Church, you can hear a modesty which is necessarily absent from his dramatic personas. “I’m me when I preach. I’m in front of an audience of one. To teach God’s word effectively the gap between the congregation and the preacher has to be reduced.”
George told the congregation: “I felt a bit unworthy to come and preach to you because I’m only twenty.” His jokes, which related the consumption of bread and wine to being a starving student, were rewarded with laughter by those present. One elderly woman subsequently told George that he was “a pastor in waiting”.
George continued: “Youth doesn’t make my insight and experience any less valid. Enthusiasm and passion are appreciated by those who listen. As a student I have more time to study the word of God and really reach its truth. If I’m going to say something that’s errant because I’m young and silly, God can cope with my preaching – he’ll shut me up.”
George described his research strategy for the sermon as something akin to the intellectual endeavour of writing an essay: “Long periods of internal reflection gradually snowballed so that by the time my insights and revelations were presented to the congregation, God had guided me from his start point to his destination. It was inevitable – those people were going to be touched by God.”
George’s eloquently abstract, almost lyrical manner of communicating his faith to me was beguiling, an effective tool for an Evangelical whose priority is the act of sharing one’s belief. For George, preaching is redundant if not supported by his own self-sacrificing service to the student community:
“Sacrificial love is staying outside Toffs until 3 a.m. serving toasties to people as they leave. Jesus changed lives for the better. We don’t want to be a benign monolith on campus – our vision is to see campus transformed. We do litter-picks and serve bacon butties to improve community spirit. Hospitality binds people.”
Conversionism, the emphasis on being saved or ‘born again’, is a key component of British Evangelicalism. George’s personal experiences at an impressionable age led in part to his discovery of the faith. “I became a Christian because of jealousy. I wanted God on my side too.”
For non-Christians this rhetoric will be inaccessible and easily brushed aside. Yet George’s wry admission that “I could’ve done without having to adhere to the expectations of Christianity at that stage in my adolescence” resonates in a way most students will understand.
George is proud to be part of the largest Christian community of any college on campus, seeing James’ success as “God giving us more and more.” Underneath anything which could be seen as religious fervour or fundamentalism, the core aim of George’s preaching is to encourage moral values of patience and understanding.
“You are all one in Jesus Christ”, he tells his congregation. “That sacrifice was made for all…so when you’re getting on the bus and someone takes your seat and you think ‘typical, it’s one of them’…or when you see something on the news and the jobs are going down and all these Polish are coming here and stealing our jobs – did this blood get poured out for them as well, just as it did for you? Yes, yes, it did.”
“God says ‘I’m doing something. You can be part of that, as long as you play nice and share the toys.’”
However alienated from the values of Evangelical Christianity we may find ourselves, through George’s preaching it encourages racial, cultural and religious tolerance whilst seeking to improve our community – something which surely warrants respect.
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