Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
the drop-out rate. Few of the early bikers were around and
some of the hippies had fallen away. The problem was that
these young sheep were not being shepherded enough. Often
the wolf picked off the solitary sheep who had been isolated
and made vulnerable.
1974 was a year when the concept of shepherding was much
abroad. Good shepherding was to bring depth and cohesion
to the growing charismatic churches. We needed men we could
follow. A group were maturing among us who carried particular
wisdom and love, and we felt the time had come to
recognise elders. Clearly God placed in the church ‘some to
be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists,
and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people
for works of service’ (Eph 4:11-12). These ministries were
emerging and we needed them desperately.
We hadn’t recognised elders yet — those invited to the
elders’ and deacons’ meeting assumed they were either deacons
or awed spectators! A number of originals went, including
Verna and Miss Campion. We realised that not everyone
who attended had pastoral gifts. We needed to restructure
the leadership without giving offence.
The solution was simple. Our fellowship began to plan a
breakdown into shepherding groups — mid-week regional
gatherings of up to thirty, designed for fellowship, caring,
and ministry. During the Ashburnham retreat, we formed the
groups and laid hands on the new leaders. A senior brother
was to be assisted by two others in pastoral leadership. That
was roughly ten ‘sheep’ to one ‘shepherd’.
We now had a male eldership whose authority was publicly
recognised — and frequently forgiven! (They were an imma-
112