Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSON THE MARCHsomewhat tenuous for a number of years. It seemed we didn’tfit the mould. Our church was one of the biggest on the BaptistUnion list. It was also their biggest embarrassment! Eventuallythe BU council threw us out, after refusing to allowNoel to address them. It was all a lesson in loving our Christianbrethren even when they rejected us and wanted little todo with us.However, the constant exchanges with press, critics, advisersand umpires were wearing down our PR man. Dave ‘Resolute’was a senior leader in the Warwickshire area and a goodevangelist. As editor of our Newness magazine he’d writtenprofound articles on the radical church and celibacy. In hisPR role he’d both sat down with Christian leaders, and fendedoff the tabloids. But it seemed that his visionary sword wasbeing hammered into a diplomatic shield.Dave came to feel that some of the critics were right — weshould tone down and accommodate. Gradually other seriousreservations became apparent. Some of us urged him toregain a radical vision, but he was adamant. Unless wechanged our whole approach he could see no future for himselfin the Jesus Fellowship. We stood firm but were sad tosee him go.Had diplomacy gone too far? It was great to have good relationships,but if other Christians chose to exclude us, thatwas their problem. The Anglicans all but kicked Wesley out;the Methodists kicked Booth out; and everyone kicked thePentecostals out! We were in good company. God had givenus a task and we were going to get on with it!That year The Fight Of Your Life by Clive Calver and DerekCopley appeared. In it they wrote: ‘Your heart is beginning to269