Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
ON THE MARCH
cited faces broke into the Saturday scene. Jesus shouts split
the air. Green, gold, red, white and black — the flags waved
defiantly in the spring breeze. A few skinheads marched with
us and others tagged on the end!
We arrived at the Guildhall and streamed inside. Still singing,
we squeezed through the stone corridors. Somehow we
all got in and from the platform I enjoyed the sight of my
friends.
Mick ‘Temperate’ tapped my shoulder from behind. ‘All right,
“Overcomer”?’ he asked. ‘Good to see you wearing your combat
jacket!’
That irritated me (slightly). I was a pacifist at heart and
might have felt more at home in a friar’s habit!
My eyes scanned the portraits on the wall. What would those
dignitaries make of the Jesus Army? ‘These men who have
caused trouble all over the world have now come here!’ I
quoted to myself, and smiled. They didn’t look very amused.
We had gone off the rails — again! The Jesus Army were
‘rebels’, soldiers of the Lamb. Our heart had opened to the
needy and our community houses would be places of healing
that welcomed the downtrodden and attracted the strong.
Up on the platform stood a map of England. BRITISH CAM-
PAIGN! (Noel loved exclamation marks!) Every community
house now had this wall map with places of Jesus Army activity
marked by plastic pins. A brother pointed out our projects
with a cane — all good Montgomery stuff. We planned campaigns
in London and the larger cities. Marching through
them, and pitching our Golden Marquee, we would witness
to thousands. In pubs, night clubs, red-light areas, squares
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