Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!be showered with gifts, sweets, pictures, poems, propheciesand lots of love and esteem.At the Hall, we often had four brothers sharing a large room.Sometimes we welded hospital beds together into bunks —all of seven foot high. Fortunately, I was athletic. At weekendswe rolled out the spare mattresses and often guestswould end up snoring away in the library downstairs. Wethinned out more after the courtyard wing was converted,but such ‘close fellowship’ encouraged a great sense of brotherhood.There were frictions, of course. One brother wanted to bereconciled to a fiery Scotsman, so he took a bowl of water towash his feet. The argument broke out again so he tipped itover his head and ran!John Thom was keen to start up a common bank account.Noel counselled caution at first, but most of us at the Hallwere young and zealous and convinced that the common pursewas an example of Jesus we needed to follow.By the spring of 1975 we were pooling our income (beforethat we had paid rent). A common purse deacon collected themoney every week and put it into a household account. WhenMike Farrant moved in from Oxford with a flair for administrationand a degree in philosophy, politics and economics,the large tea pot in which we’d collected the money was replacedby a wall safe and an accounts book. We went to Mikefor what we needed and, apart from a little pocket money,were expected to produce receipts for all we spent.We were keen to nurture an atmosphere of the Holy Spiritand encouraged one another along the way of discipleship. Isuggested to Pete that perhaps we shouldn’t stop off at the122