HOW I BECAME A CHRISTIAN
I was born and raised in Zimbabwe, I knew God existed but never factored him much in my day to day life, you could say I was religious but did not have a personal conviction about God.
The British Dream
Growing up we were heavily influenced by British and American culture primarily through MTV, BET and other media programmes. I heard how great england was and had the opportunity to visit every summer holiday so I had a taste of the life there and could not wait to move to England. I got into music in my last year of school, my friend Ian and I put out a song which got airplay on national radio, we even managed to get a spot at a Channel O festival. So we had our sights set on fame but it would seem the lord had other plans for me, I moved to London in 2001 where I studied media production. During my time in college I was one of the top students in my class, student union president and pursuing a “promising” career in music but hollow inside.
Searching for something
I remember breaking down one day, telling my mother how I was so empty despite my outward success. I remember talking on the phone to my friends back in Harare who spoke of how well I had been doing, but I was never satisfied with my achievements. I had every electronic gadget I dreamed of having, living in the city I had always dreamed of living in but all this did not complete my happiness, I was searching for more. While at a student conference in Blackpool I was befriended by a Christian who also lived in London. A few weeks after I returned to London he invited me to church. My experience was like the story Jesus told in Luke 8:12 “The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved.”
There was so much going on in my life at this point that after the service I got swept up in the busyness of life . But this point in my life marked a three year journey that would eventually lead me to become a Christian. My second experience was in 2003 when I met Brandon a pastor who invited me to a bible study where I began to learn more about Jesus. I didn’t realize what I was learning was having an effect on me until one day my mother mentioned to me that I seemed different since I started going to the bible study. I remember going to my first gospel hiphop concert where I heard the testimony of Mista Taylor, after the concert he came to speak to me about living a fully committed life to God. In Luke 8:13 Jesus said “The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation.”I knew God wanted me to respond to his call and live completely for him but I was tempted and compromised as I continued to find satisfaction in music, cannabis, money and the pursuit of fame.
The Thorny path
In 2004 I was at my lowest point since moving to England I considered going back home but spoke to friend (Ian, back in Harare) who encouraged me to fight on. That week I went to see the Passion of Christ at the cinema, I didnt think any of my friends would go with me so I went alone because I felt I had to watch it. That night I watched Jesus let people crucify him and yet through the process he had nothing but love for them, he even prayed for them then rose from the dead a few days later. That experience had a tremendous impact on my view of God and what it meant to be a Christian. I then forgave the people in my life who I was angry with. I was determined to live like Christ but like the third seed the following was my experience, Luke 8:14 “The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.” I reached a season in my life where the lure of record deals and fame were no longer attractive to me so I was content making music as an independent artist. I got more passionate about social issues like Make Poverty History and would write songs that reflected my views. I thought I found a niche where I was free from compromising for the fame or recording deals but my I was still unsatisfied, something was missing, I had no peace inside.
Stuck in the same zone
Every venture I took started great but ended really badly for me, it felt like I was stuck in a vicious circle. At this point I was tired of all the sin I committed, failed relationships, business ventures and so I thought to myself, “Maybe its time I just stop ignoring the call.” It didnt seem like I was a bad person from the outside but in my heart I knew God was breaking the selfish pride in me and convicting me of sin so I could turn to him. I didn’t want to fully compromise but equally I didn’t want to give my whole life to God and so I was stuck in a rut for a long time. The final seed is described in Luke 8:15 “But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” I remember over the summer of 2005 I went to a series of church meetings where I heard the gospel being preached. One particular memory was when the guest preacher said “There are some people here who live double lives”, I was so angry and was making excuses in my head, the ironic thing was that I was high while sitting in church and I knew it was wrong. The night before I was to get baptised I was so scared and thought it was something bad, I read through the bible (while smoking a joint, what a contradiction, I know..lol) trying to find a reason not to get baptised but It suddenly dawned on me that this was all real and I dedicated my life to God in summer 2005. I did not understand all the theological reasons but that summer I believe something changed in me and I can only attribute it to God. Reflections on my journey
