Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSCOMMUNICATE!Wright, lover of Anabaptists, author of The Radical Kingdom,123 and wise observer of the New Church movement.Reviewing the first edition of Fire in our Hearts in Renewal,Nigel wrote: ‘Whatever the Jesus Fellowship has done has itsparallels in Christian history. Those like the Hutterites orBooth who took such stands in the past are now treated withhonour and respect.’ 124 He wondered if he could cope withour ‘intense lifestyle’ (It’s not that bad!) and added, ‘But thereagain it takes a movement that breaks the mould to reachthose who are unreachable.’I had managed to reach at least one unreachable during myabortive church-planting session in Oxford. The miracle ofunlikely friendship happened around the kitchen table whilstsinging ‘One touch of God’ to a very brewed up, growlingskinhead. Ben was larger than life, extremely funny and wepteasily. What hadn’t he done? Which ‘nick’ hadn’t he been in?But the character loved Jesus (after a fashion) and followedme back to Palm Tree Cottage next door to Cornhill. My diaryshowed community life in a less than romantic light:I came back to find a wife. Instead, I’m helping to look after sixassorted, so-called disciples who are up and down like yo-yos.The need is to build, build, build and it’s hard work. Our housemeetings are good, sometimes powerful, but their day to daybattles with the flesh and all their instabilities, bickerings andtemptations to smoke, drink and split are quite something. Afew days ago one of them tried to strangle Alasdair. In the midstof this I’m supposed to be doing another book!349