Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
ON THE MARCH
Jesus Fellowship to develop links with other Christians. There
were no doctrinal grounds for the EA’s decision.’ 82 The EA
recognised us officially as a ‘genuine Christian church’.
In April Buzz produced an article: ‘Bugbrooke: Cultic or
Christlike?’ which in places was quite positive and included
testimonies from our own people:
The Bugbrooke community have faced accusations of breaking
up families... and aggressive authoritarianism... No evidence
has been put forward to substantiate these claims... Theologically
they appear as sound as a bell... No other group of Christians
has been at the blunt end of so much criticism, lies, scandal,
accusations, and suspicion as the Jesus Fellowship. On the
other hand there are numerous Christians from house fellowships
and other denominations who have visited and gained a
very favourable impression of the Jesus People. 83
Buzz quoted a local vicar: ‘I see nothing less than God’s love
among them flowing from a radical discipleship which is a
reproach to most of us.’
They are a Christ-centred group,’ added one elder from the
Bethany Fellowship, whilst the local Baptist youth leader,
Harry Whittaker, felt: ‘We ought to be glad about Bugbrooke
when so many churches are dead.’
But the Baptist Union officials were also becoming keen to
lose us. There were complaints, letters and gossip, apart from
which, we appeared to have gone national. The Jesus Fellowship
had spread out in its church-planting activity and, in some
ministers’ eyes, we appeared to be stomping over ‘their patch’.
Also our links with the local Baptist Association had been
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