HERTFORDSHIRE, UK (ANS) -- When the Boston colonialists (disguised as American Indians) dumped British tea in Boston Harbour in protest to high taxes, they attempted to break all ties with England and everything it stood for. On the other hand myself, a Boston native, was returning to England in October 1989 in order to encourage other Christians who were reaching out to the U. K. with the love of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In its own way my move was revolutionary and it has changed my entire life and ministry.

David Sullivan (left) filming with an Australian TV crew at Buckingham Palace

It was nineteen years ago this October the Lord opened the doors for me to begin ministry here in England and, by extension, to Europe, Africa and Asia. I can still remember the words which I felt the Lord give to our church in the U. S. that, across Europe, walls would fall. I understood this to mean walls of denominationalism and secular indifference to the Word of God. I could not have imagined that they were literal, political and ideological walls that began to fall across Europe that October 1989. Literally, I stepped foot in a “New Europe.” What a welcome! What a challenge!

Having lived, short term, a couple of times in England did little to prepare me for being “hook, line and sinker” in the British culture. My first location was the West country of England, a vast farming area with many connections to the supernatural. In the guise of Stonehenge, Avebury and other favourite places of visitations from interested satan worshippers I was definitely “not in Kansas anymore.” Even my native Boston wasn’t like this.

Terminology was a real adjustment for me. At the local truck rental dealer the manager almost rolled on the floor with laughter when I asked to use the “bathroom” – traditionally the place for a leisurely Saturday night wash. I was told that the living room was actually the “lounge” and other locations were called things that reminded me of “Brideshead Revisited” and posh teddy bears. Little did I realise that, years later, when I moved to the Home Counties (the counties that surround Greater London) my lounge had now turned back into a living room.

On the set of BBC's 'Eastenders'

Also, depending on your upbringing, you parked your car in either a “gairage” or a posher “gaaraage.” One of the first TV shows I watched was called “Brookside” and I couldn’t understand a word of it. I, literally, thought it was a foreign show with no subtitles. I had not reckoned on the Liverpool (local – Liverpudlian) accent. I can still clearly remember some terminology I used in preaching in church and the elderly ladies turned as white as a sheet because it was actually vulgar British terminology. Another time someone offered to come to my house and “knock me up in the morning” and it was my turn to be aghast with a face of horror. Why would I, in American terminology, want to be made pregnant against my wishes – and me being a man. I then discovered that he just wanted to tap on my front door!

Back in 1989 there was an unprecedented 4 channels of TV with BBC1, BBC2, ITV and the “new” (1982) Channel 4. People were ecstatic with the choices – up from the previous BBC 1 and BBC 2. To me, working in both ministry and media, this gave little hope for either “side” of me. Religious broadcasting was (and still is) illegal because of too many “bad apples” in the US (strange that politicians were also not made illegal). Local media input was non-existent. It soon seemed to me that the “soaps” were even more looked upon as the height of drama here in the U. K. than in the U. S. The popular “Eastenders” (about the East end of London) was just a few years old and many of the women in the show had already been married, remarried, raped and pillaged. The men fared even worse. They were killed, imprisoned and “demasculantaed”. Christianity is represented on the show by the chain-smoking and dodgy Dot Cotton who, sporadically, attends church and spouts Bible verses when it was to her advantage.

All of the mainstream newspapers are national so that whatever hits the headlines in London hits the headlines in Lincoln. And what headlines they are – “Big Brother contestant in fight,” “Michael Jackson in the Zoo.” They are all made to titillate and coerce in so many ways. When taking survey questioners can determine how much money you make and where you live by finding out if you read the “Sun” or “The Times.” You are pre-judged, categorised and assumptions made about you.

One of the biggest assumptions is that there’s something wrong with you being an American in “London.” Many Brits get ahold of an American “green card” and move to sunny climes – California or Florida. Very few make the move the other way exchanging sun and sea for clouds and raindrops. I still remember the fact that I assumed that the local weatherman had lost all of his weather icons but the cloud and rain. About nine months later he stuck a cloudy sun picture on the local map. Now, so many years later, people assume that I am Canadian because my accent is more mid-Atlantic. Yet a British person will not ask if I’m from the U. S. in case I am a Canadian who would be easily insulted at being called a Yank. Here many people would also assume that all Americans hold the same view of everything as the President of the U. S. – and treat you differently because of it. “Why did “you” go into Iraq?” I used to get asked in the street. In the global village a country is its citizens.

Comedy was another area to get used to. Many of the jokes and stories centre around being embarrassed (a national disgrace to be avoided here at all costs) and things of a bodily function nature. Having a blank face when a famous comedian tells a fantastically funny joke does not go over well and makes you stand out from the crowd (another disgrace). I grew up on America’s Public Broadcasting Service’s British offerings – Monty Python, Rising Damp, The Good Life, etc. so I understood the unusual nature of British comedy but I never saw a foot stomping out a crowd of people (Monty Python style).

I now stand amazed that one of my favourite TV offerings now is the serious world travel series with serious documentary host Michael Palin (formerly of Monty Python’s Flying Circus). I guess that’s another aspect of British life – things that don’t seem to fit. They just do. Your next door neighbour may be known by face but unknown by name to you for years. I know “silver car man” and “white-haired lady” and “smiling girl” but that’s as far as you sometimes get here. I had it explained to me that, being a small island, people like to make boundaries with hedges or walls or front doors. They give the false feeling that distancing myself from my neighbour will allow me to feel that I’m in a vast land with few people. Yet, it is these doors and hedges that we, as Christians, try to penetrate with friendship evangelism, assistance and, sometimes, using an opening in a conversation at Christmas or Easter to share the Jesus that has changed my life and soul.

All in all, I have now (mostly) adjusted to life here and many Brits have adjusted to me. By reading this article a Brit would see that I have adopted the right combination of a cynical perspective with a bit of irony to it. I still miss my Cheerios (the REAL unsweetened ones) and Twizzler’s liquorice but have been well compensated for by the love and depth of compassion of so many British Christians. Boston is not really that different from London – except for the snow. The needs are the same the world over and I am here, along with many others, to attempt to make a difference in the hearts and lives of the men, women and children of this United Kingdom.

With over 20 years experience in journalism, secular film and TV production David Sullivan is the Director of Harvest Fields Commissioning International and the Executive Producer of its media and TV production extension OLI Productions. David also leads leadership training seminars in 42 countries. He is a popular conference speaker and has produced over 50 films under the OLI Productions banner and written over 23 books. These materials have been used for training for major evangelistic and international ministries and been translated into over a dozen languages. For more information go to www.agapelive.net (for ministry) www.oliproductions.com (for the production side)