Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!Another brother had recently joined us. We took him ratherquickly into leadership, despite his strong opinions. He enjoyedthe charismatic worship but found our radical principleshard to stomach. When we encouraged him to be an exampleto the flock and open his large home to the brethren,he refused. He soon left and, unlike Brian, became very criticalof us for a time.Loss of these leaders and confusion with the cults were twoaspects of the battle. The third was more poignant, and followedthe death of a brother.David was a gentle young man who had recently transferredhis job as articled clerk and moved up to Victor and Sheila’shouse on the estate. One Saturday in December he took hisBible and went for one of his ‘prayer walks’. It was sunny butvery cold and frosty and Dave had no coat on. When he didn’tappear after lunch, Victor sent someone looking for him butwithout success. As the day drew in, he grew uneasy and organiseda proper search. By seven in the evening we left offto attend chapel but continued afterwards. Perhaps he’d goneoff somewhere on impulse, as he’d told us he was prone todo.A time of great anxiety followed, especially for David’s parentsand for Victor’s household. The next week, a villagerwalking his dog found his body in a strip of scrubland. Nextto him was his Bible and, strangely, his neatly folded shirt,socks and vest. Accidental death from hypothermia was theverdict of the coroner. One symptom is the feeling of beinghot and confused and this probably explains why David removedsome of his clothing.155