Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
AWAKE O ZION!
sitting with each other in some of the meetings. It didn’t sound
too romantic.
We had kept a degree of segregation since first establishing
mixed community at the Farm and Sheepfold. Men shared
their feelings mostly with men, and women with women. That
encouraged depth and avoided the subtle dangers of flirtation.
We mixed together in company but avoided being left
alone together. Romantic inclinations stirred under the surface,
of course, but we were open about these with our friends
and were determined to tackle our feelings in a mature way.
Community could so easily be littered with gone-wrong relationships.
So over the years we gradually developed our community
‘relating procedure’. When a brother wanted to approach a
sister, her pastor would find out if anyone else was interested
and she could choose which brother to get to know first. This
all helped to remove the pressure to flirt.
In Ralph’s case, he was keen on Clare and felt marriage
was his calling. So he spoke to Kelly, who asked her for her
thoughts on the matter. She was unsure and Kelly suggested
that she and Ralph spend some time together. As it happened,
they both felt that their marriage would be of God and would
enhance their ministry within the church.
At one time Clare had considered remaining single for God.
We were becoming very positive towards the single state and
were well aware of Paul’s advice: ‘Are you unmarried? Do not
look for a wife’ (1 Cor 7:27). We saw that the teaching of
Jesus in Matthew 19:11-12 also indicated a gifting either for
marriage or celibacy. ‘Not everyone can accept this word,
but only those to whom it has been given. For some are eu-
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