Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSON THE MARCHand we needed to nurture them more effectively. Administrationimproved, although no amount of organisation could takethe place of the life of the Spirit.As the Jesus Army began to take shape, some of us hopedwe wouldn’t go overboard on this military thing. After all,Jesus Army was only our campaigning arm, the church on thestreets. As for the Salvation Army, they had been brilliant atsoul-winning, but had neglected baptism, communion, charismaticgifts, and much that makes for a full-orbed New Testamentchurch. Their outdoor, go-for-the-worst approach wassuperb, their holiness stance admirable, and their concept ofthe battle, marvellous — but their captains, peak caps anduniforms were a bit over the top. ‘At least there’ll be no uniformsfor us!’ we thought.Meanwhile, Noel had been noticing the combat jacket thatthe leader of Operation Mark was wearing.‘Ummm,’ he thought, ‘there’s a manly image. They’re easilyavailable and cheap... Let me see now — 300 men’s jackets...Sisters can have green skirts... We need to be an identifiablepeople on the streets.‘Yes. The Jesus Army! Now what about the logo? The crossmust be central to it. Ah yes! A blood red cross between JE-SUS and ARMY, and below LOVE, POWER AND SACRIFICE!That’s it — a people who live sacrificially.‘“The Army with a heart to fight for you!” can be the motto.Booth was right! An army of the blood of Jesus and the fire ofthe Holy Spirit — but also of covenant with God and with ourbrethren. Yes, BLOOD! FIRE! AND COVENANT! That mustbe our battle cry.’281