Fire in our hearts - Jesus Army

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS
amongst us. That’s taken us into a radical kingdom of God
lifestyle as barriers of class and race have come down. It’s
included community, discipleship, covenant and all the other
things that have made us controversial!
Roger: Do you think you could have avoided some of the
suspicion you encountered in Christian circles?
Noel: Yes, we could have been more open and trusting of
other Christians. We felt unjustly persecuted, and felt that
accepting isolation was really the only answer. I think we were
wrong in the way it got hold of us.
On the other hand, we have been faced with somewhat hysterical
opposition, especially from ‘anti-cult’ groups. Sadly,
many Christians seemed unable to differentiate between
groups opposing heretical movements such as the Jehovah’s
Witnesses or the Mormons for reasons of basic truth, and
those ‘anti-cult’ groups opposing on sociological grounds, who
have a problem with any church moving in strong kingdomof-God
covenant commitment and zeal.
Now that we have put away the defensiveness that characterised
us for a number of years in the heat of the battle we
are flowing much more freely with Christian leadership in
the nation.
Roger: You’ve received a good deal of personal criticism in
the past. What effect has that had on you?
Noel: At first I found it very difficult, very unjust and very
painful. However I had to come to terms with the fact that
any ongoing work of God will receive the persecutions and
false accusations of which Jesus spoke. In that light I’ve
learned to accept it as a commendation and a blessing and
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