It’s not a programme you would usually recommend Christians to follow but with Sloshfest’s Dave Vaughn being one of the housemates, Big Brother has become compulsive viewing in our house. Yes, the language is terrible; yes, the sight of scantily clad women is unhelpful; yes, the culture-meter is very low – but the interaction between the housemates makes this series fascinating.

In this post I want to reflect on how the housemates are reacting to Dave, but first a few words about the man himself. If the current series has passed you by let me fill you in on some important details. Dave Vaughn is a passionate Christian from south Wales. There is no doubting his sincere love of Jesus. His gatherings, known as Sloshfest due to the level of drunkenness in the Spirit, are a bit like Marmite – you either love them or hate them. They have been controversial in some quarters of the church but Dave’s passion for God and his desire to see the lost touched by God’s love is impressive. His non-religious language and lifestyle can be challenging for some Christians but the way he has been pushing the boundaries on what we believe God wants our experience of him to be like is very valuable. And this year he was invited to be a housemate on Big Brother. He did not go looking for this – they came looking for him.

So far, Dave has done really well. With the level of backbiting that has gone on in the house, with the language, the sexual tension and so on, it must be such a difficult environment for him. However, he has held the line as far as his Christian values are concerned, showing that it is possible to live in the world without being of the world. But this week for the third time Dave has been nominated by his housemates for eviction. From this fact and from generally observing the conversations held about him by many of the others it seems that Dave has not won some of them over.

Let’s consider some of the reasons given by the housemates as to why they nominated him. First, they believe him to be insincere in his feelings and actions towards them. Many of them are deeply distrustful when he says he loves them. Anyone who knows Dave knows that he is being genuine in his affections and that he is merely being himself, so this issue must have more to do with the other housemates’ cynicism than Dave’s sincerity. Is this a reflection of society in general? Is there a deep distrust in people today about the authenticity of others? Dave’s genuine love of others is not being well received in the house and maybe this should make us question the way we show love in today’s cynical society.

Second, the housemates are questioning Dave’s motives for being in the house. They feel he is there to ‘preach at them’ and seek their conversion. This again, I think, reflects wider society’s view of Christians. We are seen as people who have a hidden agenda to ‘save’ them. Though Dave is open and honest about his faith and though there is nothing pushy or threatening in the way he talks about it – in many ways modelling the way we believe we should witness in the world – the reception towards him in this respect is one of suspicion.

Third, his stated views on same-sex relationships and marriage have been badly received by many. Again I don’t think this is Dave’s fault. He was asked a question and in a non-judgmental and gentle way he offered his views. But – not unexpectedly – these views are completely unacceptable to the housemates and still being given as a reason by some for why they nominate him for eviction. It is interesting that he was asked the question in the first place and that this moral issue – above all others – was the one in the front of non-believers’ mind. This reflects how we are seen to be judgemental of others’ lifestyle and also wanting to dictate to others how they live.

Fourth, Dave’s own experiences of God don’t seem to have been doubted by the majority. Most have not questioned his drunkenness in the Spirit or his deep faith. They just accept it as one worldview among many others. He can believe what he likes, and I can believe what I like – that seems to sum up most of the housemates’ views. Again, this reflects the post-modern view of the world today – a world of many faiths and none. Being spiritual in some way is acceptable as long as you don’t push it onto others.

Like all of us, Dave isn’t perfect, but he is truly a down to earth person; he is genuinely gentle and compassionate; he is as non-religious as they get; he doesn’t take himself too seriously – in these and many other ways he was the perfect choice for Big Brother. The fact that some are so suspicious of him should concern us as church today. It would seem our work is tougher than we thought.

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