Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSCOMMUNICATE!between two bronze lions, we sang and danced the afternoonaway in a fast moving programme of power, testimony andsheer exultation. Airbrushed tee-shirts, painted faces andbreak dancing emphasised its informality.A new Jesus movement was taking off and we wanted to bein at the start. We were limbering up, getting God’s new societyout into the open. Fortunately we had a crop of new discipleslike Frankie and Ronnie ‘Zealous’ who were better onthe streets than us oldies. They’d been there.Personally I liked the vision but took some time getting myhead round it. Surely, God’s revolution overturned the world’svalues. So what about this upbeat, like-unto-the-world stuff?It was to communicate with the youth-culture. Hence the beat,the colour and the drama. The shock did us good, but it wasreally for those we were trying to reach.Jesus called his people to be in the world but not of it. GeraldCoates reckoned that most Christians were better at being‘of the world but not in it’! We were finding the balance ofbeing different, yet relevant.Youngsters were hungry for warmth and experience. Theyfound God ‘mind-blowing’, community ‘amazing’ and the music‘cool’. But it was love that kept them. Houses where love wasweak stood half-empty. But houses where warm, inspired leadersdevoted themselves to their ‘sons’ both grew and prospered.Battlecentre and the Farm were outstanding examples— as I noted in my journal:At a Farm prayer time, someone saw a pair of shoes. The nextday Paul Raj, John Noble’s friend from India, walked in, took offhis shoes and worshipped. ‘I’ve never felt God’s presence like334