1DANCING WITH SKINHEADS When we arrived in Nuremberg, Germany, I felt feverish and sick. My head was pounding, and I felt very weak. We were scheduled to play in the Komm. It was the famous headquarters for left-wing Communists and other counterculture groups at that time. It was a hangout for a fascist skinhead youth gang dedicated to violence and neo-Nazi ideas. The rockabillies and psychobillies were into fighting the skinheads and punks. As far as the organizer knew, this was the first time a Christian EXAMPLE #111 band had ever played there. OF PEOPLE WANTING TO KILL BRIAN: While we were setting up our equipment in the afternoon, a couple of skinheads came in the Komm. They wanted to kill our guitarist at the The entire band, including my time, Brian Hayes. It was a common problem that Brian had, people wife and two sons, had all just wanting to kill him (see sidebar). Fortunately for Brian, the skinheads stepped out of the van in changed their minds about killing him. Apparently, they thought he was Wroclaw, Poland. A huge punk someone else. from across the road walked over and head-butted Brian. The skinheads both had switchblades and wanted to impress us with There was no reason; we hadn’t how sharp they were. They carved pictures on their arms with their done anything yet. This guy knives, cutting just below the skin leaving a scratch. One of the was evil looking and mean, skinheads drew a triangle. I couldn’t tell what the other one was trying and totally unprovoked, he to draw. He wasn’t as talented as the first. just head-butted Brian. “Hey, look at what I can do!” said one of the skinheads. He took a beer bottle and smashed it on his forehead. Then they stood about three meters apart, and one would spit and the other would catch it in his mouth. & OTHER BIBLE STUDY TOPICS 1 While all this was happening, we tried to be cool and set up our equipment. We hoped we gave the impression that what they were doing was completely normal to us. “We have lots of fun at these concerts,” they said. “How’s that?” I asked. EXAMPLE #112 OF PEOPLE WANTING “I pick up my friend by the waist,” one said. Then the larger skinhead TO KILL BRIAN: picked up his friend by the waist and started to swing him around. “Then he holds his feet out straight so he can kick people in the head Once, after one of our band with his boots,” he said. practices, we went to a cafe in Amsterdam called the Egg “This is going to be a great Cream. It was a New Age concert,” I thought to hippie hangout, and we liked myself. to go there because we could get cheap food. We were “Lots of people are coming sitting there eating, when tonight,” he continued. suddenly, a guy sitting at the “Skinheads, punks, and table across from us looked at rockabillies, and they hate Brian and said, “Do you have Americans,” he added. a problem? Why are you looking at me like that?” He It was nearly time for the concert to begin. There were about one- wanted to fight Brian right hundred-fifty people in the hall. This might not seem like many, but there in the restaurant. when they are skinheads, punks, and rockabillies, it looks like a huge crowd. 2 DANCING W/SKINHEADS I was sick as the band gathered to pray before the concert. I was a little fearful, to say the least. The major barrier we had to pass that night, if God was going to be glorified, was fear. I had stood before this barrier many times previously. It’s at a time like this that you really put your faith on the line. Something that has helped our band in situations like this is I Corinthians 2:1-5. In it, Paul says: “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about EXAMPLE #113 God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except OF PEOPLE WANTING Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and TO KILL BRIAN: fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” It addresses this whole area of fear. The third verse is particularly important. “I was with you in weakness and in fear, and with much trembling.” That is a very good description of how we felt at that moment. But it doesn’t stop there. Look at verse four and five. His message was confirmed by God’s power. God didn’t want me to live in fear, I realized. That’s why we often pray Brian was walking down the for each other to be set free from fear. God wanted me to be willing to street in Amsterdam one day. pray another kind of prayer, too. “Lord, even when my knees shake and A guy going by in a van my voice trembles and I don’t know what to say, help me to obey you,” I reached out his hand and just prayed. There will come a time, if God is going to use me in significant bashed Brian in the head for ways, when I have to stand up to fear. That’s when I start to exercise no reason. He then drove on. real faith. It doesn’t take too much faith to look at a situation and say, “This I can handle. This is something I can do.” Faith is when you realize that without God’s help, you certainly will fail. Faith is standing in a place of weakness, making yourself totally dependent on God. Then people can see God’s power, and only God’s power will work in these situations. Our concert in Nuremberg was this type of situation. We needed God to reveal His power. We needed a real Jesus, not a philosophical or theological Jesus. “Lord, I don’t care how sick I feel or how afraid I am; I will not let fear rule me. I will go out in weakness. You have to reveal Your power or we will die.” & OTHER BIBLE STUDY TOPICS 3 We had all the words to our songs translated in German and projected up onto a screen. As the concert approached, we discussed the best way to start our set. We chose the worship song, “We Worship and Adore You,” sung acappella. I knelt on the stage with my eyes closed, and I pictured myself getting kicked in the head by somebody’s boot as I sang. Then we began the concert. Like I said, I was sick and feverish. When we began, I felt stronger than EXAMPLE #114 ever. The authority of God was upon us, and I could feel the Holy Spirit OF PEOPLE WANTING in the audience. In this crowd of punks, skinheads, and rockabillies, TO KILL BRIAN: there was no trouble the entire concert. No fighting, no slam dancing, nothing. They stood quietly and listened to the music and read the I wanted to kill Brian once. words. If you understand this kind of scene at all, you know what a Not for any particular reason, miracle this was. the urge just suddenly came over me. After the concert, I preached for about twenty minutes while they listened. One punk girl gave her heart to Jesus that night, and many others talked with the members of our band about our message. I felt strong and full of power during the concert. Afterward, I returned to being sick again. God wanted to remind me that it wasn’t my strength, I guess. We played at the Komm again the following year and experienced much the same. Our drummer led a young man to Jesus after that concert. 4 DANCING W/SKINHEADS 2MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE ANARCHY FESTIVAL The apartment consisted mainly of a stereo and a mattress on the floor, and the room had absorbed the smell of marijuana. “Listen to this. You will not believe it — it’s amazing,” Bob1 said as he handed me the headphones. “But you have to listen to this song with the lights out,” he continued. I took the headphones and lay back on the mattress as he turned off the lights. The first thing I heard was a beautiful flute in a kind of ethereal New Age-like vibe. I could imagine myself walking through a field of surreal flowers. A woman was singing, “You may never come down, you may never come down, you may never come down.” It was beautiful music, and I was letting myself be carried away by her seductive trance-like voice. Then I heard mumbling in the background — but just barely. The beauti- ful voice repeated, “You may never come down.” The background mumbling became louder, and I could understand one of the words. It sounded like, “Ready, ready, ready.” The woman continued to sing, but the mumbling 1 NOT HIS REAL NAME & OTHER BIBLE STUDY TOPICS 5 started to drown out her voice. I could hear “Ready t-, ready t-” as the mumbling became stronger and overtook the woman’s singing. FINALLY, the only thing that I could hear was “Ready to die, READY TO DIE, DIEDIEDIE, DIEDIEDIE 6 DANCING W/SKINHEADS DDD III EEE & OTHER BIBLE STUDY TOPICS 7 While I was listening to this on the bed, I thought, “Wow, this music is great,” though it frightened me a bit.