If you had met Arthur White in the East End of London in the early 1990s, you would probably have given him a wide berth. You definitely wouldn’t have expected him to spend the next three decades as an evangelist.
When Arthur cried out to God early one March morning in 1993, he had a 12-inch diver’s knife strapped to his arm and a gun in his pocket. That night, he had been working as an illegal debt collector and was hooked on drugs, but Jesus was about to turn his life around.
The moment in a dark car park was a far cry from four years earlier. “I had everything going for me”, Arthur says of the time before his life spiralled out of control. “I was happily married with two children, running a successful business as a carpenter and had British, European and world powerlifting titles to my name.” The problem was he became addicted to the training, and as with all addictions, it needed feeding: “I started to dabble in drugs, thinking I could control them, but it wasn’t long before they were controlling me.”
Soon he became addicted to cocaine and steroids, and his life started to unravel. He began an adulterous affair and eventually lost both his marriage and his business. He made many enemies, and his situation felt so bad that death seemed like the only way out. Arthur attempted to take his own life several times.
“I certainly wasn’t looking for God”, he reflects, “but in one of my saner moments, I agreed to see a drug counsellor, who happened to be a Christian. He listened and spoke to me frankly, telling me I had choices to make and that my actions would have consequences.”
Despite Arthur “not really being sure” who he was calling out to that morning, God answered his cry for help. “There was no booming voice, no choir of angels, but something happened deep inside me”, he explains. “Fear and paranoia left me. A feeling of peace and new strength filled me. I stopped the drugs that morning and continued counselling, but the conversation was now about Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives.”
Hearing what happened next reminds me how beautifully God can redeem our brokenness and use our stories to reach others. Step by step, Arthur’s life was restored. He was invited to church and started to read the Bible and pray. Soon after, he reconciled with his wife, Jacqui, who had also become a Christian. They remarried and have now been together for more than 50 years. He even returned to powerlifting competitions, and it was this skill that God would use for His glory.
At a men’s breakfast in 1996, the course of Arthur’s life changed again. He met Ian McDowell, a former nightclub bouncer and bodybuilder, who had also found Jesus. Encouraged by his pastor, Ian had once given his testimony alongside some guys with a similar background and given a brief weightlifting demonstration. To Ian’s surprise, he started to get invited to share in other churches and in prisons. So before the end of the morning, Ian had invited Arthur on his next prison visit. It was the start of a journey that has lasted almost 30 years and taken them around the UK and across the world.
Their group, Tough Talk, became a registered charity in 2000. They’ve shared the good news of Jesus at open-air events, festivals, drug rehabs and with the armed forces. Members of the team are still on the road every week and regularly get letters from prisoners sharing how Jesus has changed their lives. One of them has even joined the team since their release, going back into prisons to share the hope of Christ. Their latest book, Lifting the Darkness: 30 years on the road with Tough Talk, shares more of their travels, struggles and highlights. Arthur concludes: “Our aim is always to boast in Christ and Christ crucified. We put our hands to the plough all those years ago and we aint looking back.”
Arthur’s story reminds me that, whatever our struggles, and whether the transformation is fast like his, or more gradual, God is merciful and faithful. The Lord meets us right where we are, even in a dark car park, with His wonderful light, and writes a story that shows His redeeming grace.
Find out more about Tough Talk at tough-talk.com
