Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
ON THE MARCH
cry out for a positive, militant, Christian lifestyle. Such sentiments
are not terribly popular today... Fear of accusations of
fanaticism and eccentricity prevail.’ 84
‘I once heard a neat definition of a fanatic,’ Clive wrote
later, ‘...someone who loves Jesus more than I do! Yet today
anything which seems to disturb our middle-class, middle-ofthe-road
existence is treated with a combination of caution
and contempt.’ 85
Good stuff! We agreed! Of course the cult smear was inevitable.
Any pioneering movement is likely to be called a sect
or a cult. The early church was no exception. Paul the apostle
was regarded as ‘a troublemaker’ and ‘a ringleader of the
Nazarene sect’ (Acts 24:5). He couldn’t deny it! ‘I admit,’ said
Paul, ‘that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of
the Way, which they call a sect’ (Acts 24:14).
Sociologically, Jesus and his followers bore many of the
marks of a cult! Our church was distinctive, as were the Jerusalem
church, the Quakers, the Methodists and many other
churches throughout the centuries. We were pioneers.
David Matthew, writing of radical movements, warned that,
‘It is important not to ridicule those moves of God that the
official church tends to frown upon as fringe groups, for the
outside runner, the breakaway has always played an important
role in God’s plan.’ 86
In Church Adrift he explained how a ridiculed Joseph and a
hounded David were raised up by God to bring blessing to
Israel. Such was our long term hope.
Ironically, when the Baptist Union was throwing us out, a
Baptist minister was staying with us on a sabbatical. In his
report he remarked how he felt there was great power to be
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