Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
COMMUNICATE!
Wright, lover of Anabaptists, author of The Radical Kingdom,
123 and wise observer of the New Church movement.
Reviewing the first edition of Fire in our Hearts in Renewal,
Nigel wrote: ‘Whatever the Jesus Fellowship has done has its
parallels in Christian history. Those like the Hutterites or
Booth who took such stands in the past are now treated with
honour and respect.’ 124 He wondered if he could cope with
our ‘intense lifestyle’ (It’s not that bad!) and added, ‘But there
again it takes a movement that breaks the mould to reach
those who are unreachable.’
I had managed to reach at least one unreachable during my
abortive church-planting session in Oxford. The miracle of
unlikely friendship happened around the kitchen table whilst
singing ‘One touch of God’ to a very brewed up, growling
skinhead. Ben was larger than life, extremely funny and wept
easily. What hadn’t he done? Which ‘nick’ hadn’t he been in?
But the character loved Jesus (after a fashion) and followed
me back to Palm Tree Cottage next door to Cornhill. My diary
showed community life in a less than romantic light:
I came back to find a wife. Instead, I’m helping to look after six
assorted, so-called disciples who are up and down like yo-yos.
The need is to build, build, build and it’s hard work. Our house
meetings are good, sometimes powerful, but their day to day
battles with the flesh and all their instabilities, bickerings and
temptations to smoke, drink and split are quite something. A
few days ago one of them tried to strangle Alasdair. In the midst
of this I’m supposed to be doing another book!
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