Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSON THE MARCHon which we had approached the EA. On that basis, we felt,many others could be disqualified from membership. Anyway,enforced resignation was an unusual way to strengthenrelationships!However, the EA prided itself on being an alliance of memberchurches at a local as well as a national level. In theirview, the word ‘alliance’ hardly described our position. TheCouncil sent Noel a letter assuring him that the question wasnot one of orthodoxy but of whether continued membershipof the EA was desirable. On other matters they ‘had no wishto sit in judgement’. It seemed as if they were washing theirhands of us. A saddened Noel wrote back:Is it not surprising that a saga, which began with our advisingEA of a defamatory pamphlet and requesting their support,should end with the EA virtually dismissing us?...The EA has found this church an embarrassment because ofopposition we are attracting in our stand for scriptural holiness...The issues were:1 Are the critics using lies, distortions, and unbalancedcomment, and should they be reproved?2 Is this smear campaign in the Spirit of Christ?Our appeal for support had been rejected. It felt like beinghanded over to our ‘crucifiers’. Once again we experiencedpain and humiliation. But the path of suffering would lead onto fruitfulness.And so, in 1986, the Jesus Fellowship Church resigned fromthe Evangelical Alliance. When Buzz magazine interviewedClive Calver, he was conciliatory: ‘We have encouraged the267