Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSAWAKE O ZION!We have overlooked Christ as the revolutionary teacher, thecontroversialist, the provocative preacher, the man who disregardedconvention and protocol, the implacable opponent ofthe religious establishment, the leader who associated with allthe wrong types and seemed intent on provoking rather thanplacating his critics. 42We felt we were pioneering something that God was trying toget across — holiness, brotherly love and kingdom culture. Itwas all part of what any church should be — Zion, a propheticpeople, a city on a hill.We received sniping and suspicion, but our communityhouses were open to visitors and our meetings public. Ourmessage was pungent but our hearts warm. True, our style ofworship was more sober and, though some groups were inspiredby frequent visits to us, we rarely ministered in otherchurches. Not that we got many invitations! We determinedto follow God’s call to build a strong fellowship. Like some ofthe new churches, we were pioneering within the radical traditionand seeking to rediscover the fullness of New Testamenttruth.So we dug in our heels and reached for our prophetic guns.Each week the chapel was packed out for the Saturday nightshoot-out as we urged Christians to full sharing and brotherhood.Noel was convinced the charismatic renewal movementwas losing steam for lack of radicality. Restoration leaderswere in agreement and from within the renewal movementcame the cry: ‘Where now?’Many came to us disillusioned by sloppy Christianity in thechurches and hungering for clarity and commitment. Like Vic-157