Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
NEW GENERATION
tional and lukewarm. The mellow approach we had adopted
for the 90s was now sharpened up and ‘smoking guns’ were
again in evidence. As long as Noel was around sinners would
definitely not be ‘at ease in Zion’.
Reality had to be faced. When, at Vineyard, Cyril suggested
repairing the crumbling path up to the brothers cottage, Mike
‘Rockfast’ sighed: ‘The real need, bro, is for brothers to walk
on it!’ In his annual review Mike shared his longings to see
community houses fully revitalised:
What we have become in terms of counterculture fits exactly
with Jesus Revolution and God’s work of preparation in the nation.
I believe that new creation community is the answer to the
longings of many a seeking heart. But I am not so sure that the
version of it practised in many of our houses is as attractive as
we fondly imagine.
He likened our national movement to a bush fire: burning
at the edges but smouldering at the centre. The map showed
outlying areas as generally healthy and motivated but with a
central base that was sluggish. The Farm was an exception
but their scene majored on young singles.
Cornhill Manor was full and attracting new people. But established
families were moving out. Did community, Jesus
Army style, work in the real world of families, with so many
children around? Some said a hearty yes but others struggled.
For some it might be better to live in smaller houses
with less pressure and yet remain in a common purse. We
wanted to provide this as a positive option without the sense
that they had ‘failed’.
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