It’s nearly over. Autumn is cautiously creeping in and another mixed summer slips away. And with it goes Big Brother – that infuriatingly fascinating Channel 4 phenomenon. I think it would have been the second series that I watched all the way through but as the contestants became ever more weird I had given it a wide berth. Until this year that is when big Dave Vaughn, pseudo monk and rattler of religious cages, got installed in the BB house. I can count on the fingers of one hand how many of the daily, main hour-long programmes I have missed. We’ve cheered Dave on from day one and we’ll be on the sofa for the final on Tuesday  whether Dave has left after tonight’s eviction or not. Obviously we want Dave to win, though Josie is another favourite.

So how has the experiment gone? I call it an experiment because no one really knew how having Dave in the house would affect things. And there were many things that could have been affected: Dave himself, the other housemates, the Christian faith and church in general, and Dave’s very own brand of Christianity – a rather whacky, non-religious, wholly unconventional, ‘I’ve-seen-a-man-turn-into-a werewolf’ take on things.

Let’s begin with Dave himself. Dave spent a lot of time before BB in what he refers to as ‘the glory’ – a place in the presence of God where he got drunk on the Holy Spirit and had many other experiences too. However, this does not seem to have happened in the BB house to anything like the same degree. It will be interesting to hear his take on this and how this affected him. What we did see, however, was Dave the pastorally caring, loving housemate, always willing to put others before himself and his comfort. There are too many occasions where he gave support to a struggling housemate for me to list here. On at least one occasion it cost him a punishment because in offering support to Andrew, a young Oxbridge undergrad, Dave discussed nominations – a forbidden thing in the house.

For the first three weeks or so, Dave was held in suspicion by many in the house but he managed to totally turn that around when he stepped up to take a physical exercise task intended for another housemate. It was this unselfish attitude that has made Dave a favourite of many and it is an attitude that surely shows his faith to be real and relevant. He has also managed to hold the line on many a moral issue – not getting involved, for example, in drinking games.  He has at times been involved in some of the back-biting – but compared to the others who do this all the time, his restraint is also noticeable.

So Dave comes out of the house with a lot of credit. It will be interesting to hear how he feels he did. It may have been concerning to him that he did not experience the same level of the glory – or at least it didn’t have the same effect on him – as usual. This will be the question I’d most like to ask him about.

Then there are the other housemates. Those who took umbrage with Dave have long since left the house. For some it was his traditional view on homosexuality that earned him their ire; for others it was the playful way he insisted that God had kept him in the house having been up for eviction. Some of these people have shown a level of anger towards him that possibly reveals their own general view of Christians rather than a particular animosity towards Dave.

The majority of his housemates, given time to get to know him, have taken to Dave. They have seen his unselfish ways and have been impressed; they have benefited from his caring nature. However, this has not led them to making much of an effort to speak to him about his faith and beliefs. Indeed, some of his claims – and the werewolf incident is one prime example – have been treated with ridicule by housemates. For most, his worldview is seen as one among many and none of them appear to have been challenged to question their post-modern take on life.

What about the effect on church and the faith in general? One of the concerns expressed about having Dave on BB was that his particular take on the faith would be damaging to the church as the world looked on and saw the rather bizarre antics and so be put off. One or two Christian blogs were negative at the very start but it seems that they already had this attitude towards Dave before he entered the house and it seems that they have been silent since then. With Dave not having the more unconventional experiences in the house nothing much negative could have been said. To a large extent the church in general has probably missed the whole event – which is a shame because they would have seen the fruit of the Spirit at work in Dave and how that wins friends in an unbelieving context.

And then finally what of those who share Dave’s version of the faith? Have they been disappointed in not seeing him enjoy the manifestations of the Spirit? What questions does this raise for them, if any? It would be great to have some comments on this so that we can hear their voice. For me Dave’s humility and compassion have authenticated much – if not all – of what he stands for. It’s easy to criticise the experiential manifestations but, as Jesus said, it’s the fruit that shows the tree. And no one watching could have been anything but impressed with the fruit in Dave’s life.

With four people being evicted, tonight could be Dave’s last day in the house. In eleven weeks we have been able to see what it is like for all of us as believers living in an unbelieving context. Trash TV Big Brother may be, but there are surely lessons to be learned.

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