Fire in our hearts - The Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTSCOMMUNICATE!I’ve been crying in my soul; I’ve found the brotherhood,With a love not known before, now I know I belong;This love I’ve been shown is really so strong;And I’m crying with my brethren, tears of joy andlove.After a brief message hundreds came forward to receiveprayer. Then the baptistry was opened. Phil collared hold ofRufus backstage. ‘Bro, if I’m to get baptised, I need to knowthe Spirit is with me.’ As Rufus laid hands on him and prayed,Phil spoke in tongues for the first time. Then swiftly crossingthe stage, he jumped in and was baptised.The Spirit came so powerfully that Phil could hardly stand.During the final celebrations many went through the water,but Phil’s parents only learned about their ‘newly-washed’son when, in the midst of wild rave, stage-diving and flashinglights, someone grabbed the mike and shouted, ‘Phil’s beenbaptised!’He seemed to carry the torch of a new generation.We had called 1993 ‘The Year of the Spirit’. It had not disappointedus. Inspiration and creativity had been powerfullyreleased. God had given us 450 new people and some of ourown teenagers were coming through.We were flowing with the Christian mainstream, tappinginto the culture and communicating with ever increasing skill.But community had barely grown. Jesus, friend of sinners,was ever more popular. His passion for sacrifice was not soeasy to inspire. Maybe we’d lost it ourselves.371