quite a turnabout. It was 'the world behind me, the cross be-

quite a turnabout. It was 'the world behind me, the cross be-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Our base was community. Zion was the rock, the central

ground, the pearl. Evangelism was exciting, but as one evan-

gelist sang:

My heart is held and planted in Zion;

And world and death and sorrow

Can never part this bond we have.

Sinners were coming home to Zion and the Jesus People

were breaking out! But not without reverence for all God had

shown us. Zion, her ways, her very dust and stones, were still

our 'joy and crown'.

The results of the new thrust in evangelism were encour-

aging and of our target for 200 people that year, we gained

175. Joining the Jesus People, even as a non-resident, was

quite a turnabout. It was 'the world behind me, the cross be-

fore me'. Nurture was all-important, and those baptised en-

tered into covenant, pledging loyalty to Jesus and the broth-

erhood. Covenant classes extended before and after baptism,

and members were expected to be at the meetings, especially

the weekly Agape.

Fellowship houses were the focus of our work, though in

Oxford and Banbury, where houses were not established, we

shared the Agape meal in our non-residents' homes.

Not everyone was ready for residential community. Indeed,

for some families and those with unconverted partners it was

impossible. Some would be unable to give the practical

commitment essential to community living, but we did ex-

pect them to carry the Zion vision.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Many did to a high degree, and some of our deepest pro-

phetic wisdom came from non-residents, who were often very

grateful for what those in the community houses easily took

for granted. They were frequently around, stayed overnight,

were active on the prayer watch, and used the Food Distribu-

tion Centre. They carried a vision for their neighbourhood,

and opened their homes to us. Non-residents were vital.

All new members belonged to a servant group and a disci-

pling band, as well as having a shepherd and a 'caring brother'

or sister. They were 'bone of our bone' and part of our 'fam-

ily'. A smaller proportion fell away than is normal with more

impersonal big mission evangelism. After a year some twenty

per cent of our new members were not actively with us. Even

that was heartbreaking.

We pushed further afield. Stoke was our northern frontier,

and Mick 'Temperate' visited two friends there, Pete and John,

who had 'split' from New Creation Hall some years ago. Pe-

te's mother hadn't slept properly for two years, but after they

prayed, she overslept and was late for work the next morn-

ing! Soon Mick had a coach team in Stoke where they met

one of John's friends. He sat in the meeting and, when the

call to Christ was made, he felt someone jabbing him in the

back. He turned round, but no one was there! He was con-

verted that night.

Roy and Maggie encountered the supernatural, too. Roy

had been a Christian for twenty years, but felt dry. What's

more, he didn't believe in miracles — until he met someone

who radiated life and spoke in tongues. He welcomed Mick's

servant group to Stoke and was filled with the Spirit. But

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

days later he keeled over and was rushed to hospital with a

collapsed lung. They discovered a blood clot.

Roy was in a bad way, so Maggie rang her friends and alerted

the prayer watch. In a couple of days he was sitting up in bed

and grinning at the doctor. The X-rays and tests showed per-

fect blood and his high blood pressure had disappeared.

Soon there were four servant groups in Stoke. The local

Teen Challenge used our Lifenews, but a pentecostal deputa-

tion warned them against our 'heretical' practices. We car-

ried on undeterred and John's little house in Stoke soon be-

came a sanctuary of friendship, praise and chip-butties.

In May we established the 'Eagles Wings' household at Mil-

ton Keynes. Apart from the lovely gardens, the house had

gold plated taps in the bathroom and goldfish in the pond!

The following month we bought another substantial property,

'Firstfruits', in Nottingham.

Servant groups extended our work. 'Search groups' roamed

free and 'Strike groups' aimed at distant towns. We followed

any lead. One day two of the Farm teenagers vanished with a

tent and were soon relaxing with their ice creams on the east

coast. Eventually some brothers came to collect them, but on

the way home they had a clear prompting to evangelise in

Yarmouth. As a result, two people showed interest and the

next week there were three more. All these were converted

and began to visit the Farm. Thus was born the Yarmouth

household.

One team went to the Glastonbury Festival and pitched their

tents. As the heavy rock pounded day and night, they moved

amongst crowds, chatting with people and sharing the gos-

pel. A Christian lady who lived nearby met them while she

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

was walking her dog. She thought they were marvellous, and

opened her home to them. On the last day she gave a farewell

buffet where Jesus People, punks and freaks were served

cakes, trifles and strawberries by a team of genteel Anglican

ladies!

In Birmingham there were plenty of stories and unusual

encounters. One was reported in Lifenews:

It was an ordinary flat, but the couple were not alone. Milk

bottles would fly around the kitchen and there were knocking

noises. The water heater and cooker would be turned on. An

apparition was seen, and visitors were fearful. So we went to

the flat and commanded the evil presence to leave in the name

of Jesus. Now it's a place of peace.78

Birmingham was still central to our vision. We held missions

in the city and in the autumn bought Cofton Hall, an historic

mansion, which stood in fine grounds below the Lickey Hills.

At 'Cornerstone' there were shades of the pioneering days at

Bugbrooke. It was large, cold and empty, and needed a lot of

repair. When Skaino Services got to work, the brothers had

to sleep in the baronial hall with its old oak rafters and stone

walls. The place was spooky — you half expected an ancient

butler to come downstairs and croak, 'You rang, Sir?' But af-

ter they had all gone round the house shouting the name of

Jesus, the atmosphere changed.

One person at Cornerstone saw an angel standing at her

bedroom door. Another night, a new convert came home drunk

and discouraged. 'God,' he said, 'if you're really there, why

don't you make a tree fall down or something?'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

The night was calm, but the next morning he wept when he

saw a huge tree sprawled over the lawn.

In Birmingham they met homelessness, poverty, violence,

addiction and loneliness. One woman, whom they were seek-

ing to lead to Christ, died drunk in bed. They saw afresh, as

Booth once did, how an army of Christians must arise to meet

the need. The powers of darkness were rampant, the occult

ran wild, and a great heartcry rose up from these inner cit-

ies. The evangelists wept at some of the things they saw.

They saw riots, race-hatred and unrest. We longed for a

multiracial church, and were saddened by our slowness to

reach blacks. Maggie from Liberia was one who found our

friendship. 'My life was very sinful,' she wrote in Lifenews,

'and I had reservations about a white church anyway. I made

sure I was out when they called, but they caught me una-

wares! What really surprised me was that they didn't mind

me being the only black. After that God worked in me, and I

became like one of the gang. I knew I belonged.'79

In Britain the harvest was ripening. We spent eight months

of mission work in central England, on top of a busy working

week. 'God is keeping his soldiers fighting,' we sang from the

Salvation Army song book, but with such a full programme

and the huge increase in raw converts many of us were get-

ting worn down.

Steve 'Genuine', the farm strong man and kiddies' hero,

went through a crisis at this time. Once he had 'seen the king-

dom', Steve had sacrificed his nice background, Christian

ambition, and degree, for tractors, straw-carting, and cattle-

rearing. He scorned false spirituality, but now had lost his

inspiration. In his own words, he was 'the farm slob'. In frus-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

tration, he decided to 'split', but his mates pleaded with him,

and he had a change of heart.

Steve began to pray a lot and often spoke at our informal

Sunday night 'Lost Sheep' gatherings at Cornhill for the un-

der-thirties. We were concerned for our own youth, some of

whom were strongly attracted by the world. Some feared we

might lose our second generation. Steve, for one, felt that

unreality amongst us was to blame and he became increas-

ingly burdened for the church.

Within two years our rather Hutteritish church-community

had been transformed into an army of would-be evangelists.

But, though we had almost reached our 200 target, many of

us were jaded, drained and spiritually thirsty.

20 Fire! Fire! Fire!

'What's got into Steve, Rufus?' Nathan scratched his head.

'He used to be one of the lads. Now he comes in from the

yard and disappears up the attic. We never see him.'

'Yeah. He was an honest slob!' said Steve 'Zealous'. 'He's

gone thoughtful like.'

'Yeah,' said Dave 'Forthright'. 'I found him in the orchard

— just staring into the sunset.'

'In this weather?' growled 'Zealous'. 'He's losing his mar-

bles!'

'He was in tears,' whispered 'Forthright'.

Nathan whistled. 'Man! He's sure got a serious dose of

somethin'.'

'Bros! Don't you see?' said Rufus. 'He's in love.'

'What, again?' sighed 'Zealous', clutching his forehead.

'With God, with God!' Rufus beamed.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'Wow!' said Nathan.

'...You what?' said 'Forthright'.

Steve 'Genuine' had been keen to get married quickly.

'Bro,' said Rufus, 'you're becoming dynamic, and the teen-

agers respect you. Zion is in need right now. Why not put this

off for six months? Let God really use you.'

'No way!' said Steve. But he was uneasy. His tough guy

image was crumbling and he longed for God. Lukewarmness

was around, and it was true — Zion was in need.

He spent hours sitting before God, and it wasn't long be-

fore his thoughts about marriage evaporated. God became

his passion. God's presence was captivating, awesome, holy.

'Sometimes,' he said, 'a stillness came on me. The brothers

called me for dinner but I couldn't move. I'd read how Evan

Roberts would spend hours lost in God. That was how I felt.

Then a burden for holiness came upon me.'

One evening the household went round claiming the power

of the Blood of Jesus over the rooms at the Farm.

'Bro,' Steve said to Noel, 'what we really need is to get low

before God. The church needs to regain its first love.'

'I knew this was God's word for us,' Steve said later. 'It

burned in me day and night and I cried out amongst the cat-

tle, "Lord restore your Zion!" I was jealous for God, and tired

of our flippant ways.'

The flame spread and one of the farm teenagers burst into

action. Steve 'Strengthener' and Steve 'Genuine' would pray

together and were fearless in speaking out.

One night Rufus was leading the house meeting.

'Rufus, bro, you haven't got the word!' said Steve 'Genu-

ine', as he stood up.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'Look, brethren, we've gotta stop grieving God. Where is

his fear? Can't you see his judgements amongst us? Breth-

ren, our God is a consuming fire. Look how Ezra felt: "O my

God, I am too ashamed and disgraced to lift up my face to

you" (Ezra 9:6). We ought to cry for mercy! We gotta let him

plough us up! O God remove our reproach! God will make

Zion beautiful again if we stop our arrogance and get low

before him.'

Everyone went quiet as an awe settled on the room for what

seemed like hours. All was still, apart from a few whispered

prayers. Some fidgeted and couldn't handle the silence. Out-

side the cold wind blew up clouds of snow.

'Right!' said Steve. 'I'm going outside. I'm walking once

round the lawn out front to show God I mean business. It's

got to be everything, brethren! If you want to follow me, then

you come — but make it real!'

One by one, they walked out into the snow. That night was

a turning point. Rufus got fired up — praying, and fasting

and going for long walks. He felt like he was married to God.

'It was like heaven!' said Rufus, 'But I couldn't convey the

bliss I felt.'

Jess and the kids soon brought him down to earth!

In February we started Friday night revival gatherings in

chapel. There was no formal leadership. We came in silently

and prayed, and it was obvious who carried a real burden.

Often it was sisters crying to God for their houses, and that

meant a lot of pride-swallowing for leaders. Our eyes were

opened to backsliding — rebellious kids, prayerlessness, shal-

low conversions, complainings, worldliness and lack of zeal.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

We confessed sins and pleaded for our households and busi-

nesses.

Rufus and the two Steves visited other houses, bringing

the message of repentance. Sparks flew when a few elders

resisted this input, but the revivalists were undeterred. Zion

was going to be cleansed.

The tide began to turn. Some brothers were praying at Corn-

hill when, around two in the morning, Steve 'Genuine' broke

into a chuckle. Then he laughed and laughed. The joy of the

Lord came on them; the other Steve trembled and shook, and

Rufus was prostrated and overcome.

Cornhill caught the fire, and when one of their sisters at-

tended her disciple band at Vineyard the flame spread. It was

electric. They prayed, wept and sang in tongues. Mike 'Rock-

fast' had found a breakthrough too and late that night came

home to Vineyard with a sense of expectancy. He found the

disciple band leader aglow, and, as others joined them they

began to pray. When one sister entered the room she cried

out because of the presence of God.

'Mike came up,' wrote one brother, 'and said, "Come down

quick! The Lord's doing something." We rose and dressed,

and found the sisters calling on God. I felt a flood of the Spirit

and fell on my face. "Lord!" I cried, "I feel like Jonah who

must be thrown overboard!" It felt like white light. Sin was

instantly exposed and you either broke down or hardened

up. My sins were so many I thought they would bring judge-

ment on the house. We continued praying for hours, and one

sister all night.'

The next evening after Agape, a sister wrote in her diary:

'We gathered as soon as possible. Even the children confessed

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

their sins. The elders knelt in the middle and the children

prayed over them... I feel different now and the joy of my

salvation is returning.' She put down her diary and contin-

ued praying — in her sleep!

'That night,' wrote another, 'the Spirit kept rising within

me. Tears came to my eyes and I got up to tell someone what

was happening. Such gratitude was in my heart.'

Amazed, Mike surveyed his new household and wept for

joy. 'Everything was topsy-turvy,' he wrote. 'Sisters carried

the anointing and leaders were humbled. The issues of bless-

ing and judgement became so real. Everything was transpar-

ent — it was marvellous! As we knelt, praying and weeping,

and singing and rejoicing, I wished it would never end.'

There were similar stories in other houses. We virtually for-

got evangelism, and people prayed in the morning, at work,

after lunch, and at night — they prayed any time, any place.

We duplicated accounts of past revival movements and circu-

lated them around the houses. We saw a pattern in revivals,

as hunger for God, repentance and brokenness were followed

by the cleansing blood and the power of the Spirit.

An old revival song was popular at this time:

Now the cleansing blood has reached me.

Glory Glory to the Lamb!

We saw the power of the blood as never before. Revival

was blood and fire! Holy Fire was the title of a book by Colin

Urquhart,80 whose community at The Hyde had also experi-

enced God's awesome holiness. Fire was our watchword too.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

By April many households were revived and love for Zion

rekindled. Children responded well, as one mum from Eagles

Wings recounted: 'Peter (8) felt water moving inside him and

knew he was being filled with the Spirit. He prayed with James

(6) and during Agape, Peter, James, and Rachel (11) were

confessing their faults. Later I looked into the bedroom and

they were on their knees, hymn book open. So I left them.'

During Easter week forty hours were given to prayer, and

each house aimed for a corporate pentecost. 'Then Zion shall

be holy ground,' wrote Noel, 'and the presence of God will

convict sinners.' We daren't resume mission work till we had

received the 'power from on high'. But not everyone had.

There was still pride around and elders were amongst the

worst offenders.

Noel spoke to the leaders from 1 Kings 13 on the man of

God and the prophet of Bethel. The altar there had been given

over to the worship of Baal, but the old prophet had said noth-

ing. God sent a young man to prophesy against the altar, but

out of jealousy the old prophet deceived him and he was killed.

So, too, would pride in leadership destroy the anointed ones

of God. When the ministry had finished many were prostrate

or knelt and wept. That night God humbled us.

May Bank Holiday was scheduled for 'praise and pentecost'

on the Hall lawn. When the day came, it rained and rained

and rained. We sang 'Rain from heaven, fall', and laughed.

God had done great things among us. We leapt and shouted

and sang. Many testified at the microphone and one brother

reminded us of how Elijah drenched the sacrifices before the

fire of God fell.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Noel suggested we sing 'The Lord reigns'! We booed and

clapped. Revival had done little for his corny humour. Verna

played the organ under a wet towel and we sang, 'When I

survey the wondrous cross'. Many knelt in the puddles as the

tears mingled with the rain. That day everyone was soaked

and the brothers went off with half the Hall's spare jeans!

Noel was ready for action. 'Faith works with God!' he wrote

on the notice sheet. 'Faith carries the gospel of grace and

sinks it in the souls of men. Faith is active courage, a flame of

holy fire! Faith yearns, prays, receives. Faith blazes, glows,

burns! Faith dares, fights, wins! It embraces every trial as a

friend. Faith is visionary. It heals the sick, casts out demons,

raises the dead! Faith sees the kingdom and will not rest un-

til "Jerusalem is a praise in all the earth!"'

It was now June and all systems were go. Among us Jesus

85 had been forecast as a year of Pentecost, Pioneering and

Peoplehood. In Jesus 84 we had been in large meetings most

of the time. Jesus 85 was to be grass-roots again. This meant

pioneering evangelism from small teams and 'Spirit-anointed

initiatives' which would operate on five levels.

First there were servant groups. We had 150 of them (not

yet 200!) and the target was for one new member in each.

'Do you have the explosive power of Pentecost?' wrote Noel.

'Are you soul-winners?'

Second, Jesus Pilgrims would travel around for up to a week

using a Jesus People caravan.

Third, Fire Teams would live in an area for two or three

months to evangelise, gather or plant.

Fourth, Beachfire Teams would go out to the holiday re-

sorts. 'The crowded beaches are fields white to harvest,' wrote

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Noel. 'Revival will see multitudes of young people saved. The

need is immense and we want to get where they are.'

The fifth level of evangelism involved Jesus Marquee Mis-

sions in each of the areas where we were working. 'We are

buying a marquee and we want it filled with sinners; a place

of revival with many conversions and signs following.'

The Marquee Missions would be led by four special JET or

Jesus Evangelism Teams which included healers, singers, and

intercessors. Marquee meetings would run all week (apart

from Agape night) with Noel leading on Saturdays and

Wednesdays, and the other meetings taken by the JET teams.

The preachers were Mick 'Temperate', Kelly, Pete Matt and

Mark 'Strong', another main leader.

The Golden Marquee looked fit for a jousting tournament.

It was in Jesus People colours: yellow and white stripes, with

blue panels and red crosses. A large banner with ENGLAND

FOR JESUS! rode the crest. At the entrance was WELCOME!

GOD LOVES YOU POWERFULLY! while THERE IS POWER

IN THE NAME OF JESUS! hung in red letters over the plat-

form. The brother in charge had some experience with big

tops and tent evangelism. John 'Fortitude' was huge, soft-spo-

ken, and built like a tank. You didn't argue with him!

In Northampton, where the mission lasted three weeks, we

began with a march. For old-timers, it was uncanny to be

marching once again from Midsummer Meadow to All Saints.

The early seventies freaks had become the Jesus People of

the eighties. One hundred had become eight hundred, the

boys were men, and the men were veterans. Kneeling at All

Saints, we marvelled at God's mercy. There had been heart-

breaks, but God had given us a second generation.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Our interest in revivals gave us a shot of old-time religion.

We were a blood, fire, and hallelujah church and introduced

kneeling benches at the front for the 'altar call'. The counsel-

ling room was abandoned and the action remained in the meet-

ing. We painted a tea chest black, placed it up front and wrote

SIN BIN in white letters. Night after night we emptied it of

drugs, lighters, cigarettes, syringes, charms, studded jack-

ets, records and earrings. John 'Fortitude' had a regular bon-

fire.

What with the brightly coloured Marquee, the march, daily

street work, large badges, and three editions of Lifenews, we

had well and truly hit town! Handouts invited folk to lunch

and a team of catering sisters arose with endless supplies of

filled rolls, teas and soup.

The late night spot attracted bikers, punks and drunks.

While John 'Fortitude' kept a fatherly eye on things, time was

spent making friendships and gaining trust. Then Kelly or

Rufus might share at the microphone. Sisters sang moving

solos or gave their testimonies. One brother touched many

hearts with his folksy songs. 'Seek the mercy of God, my

friend,' he sang gently, 'he has opened a door in Jesus.'

Visitors increased. There were conversions, healings and

deliverances, and stories abounded in the daily Marquee

News. Touches of God were many but often claims were too

high and too soon. Testimonies were encouraging but mira-

cles were few. And where was spontaneous revival?

The firebrands were disappointed and Steve was heartbro-

ken. He had expected something more. But as he cried to

God he took heart. This was but a beginning. The reviving

work had begun 'at home' and was a preparation for some-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

thing greater. A new wave would hit Britain, and the Jesus

People would be amongst the front line.

Meanwhile, our burden was how to touch the heart of this

generation, how to stem the flood of darkness in the land. 'As

I marched through Northampton,' wrote one brother, 'I

thought, "Imagine if all the Christians in this land stood for

the Lord and marched on their town. What a revival of faith

and holiness would follow!"'

In 1985 many Christians in the UK were stressing the ur-

gent need for national repentance and there was a growing

hunger for revival. But what were we looking for? Shouldn't

the trumpet first sound in Zion? Indeed, one article in Buzz

magazine spoke of the church 'spiralling into an abyss of

worldliness,' and being 'guilty of a massive accommodation

to the world'.81 God was wanting to refine his people, and

restore the purity of the church.

David Pawson was one among many who warned against

the inadequacy of ventures like Billy Graham's Mission Eng-

land. He insisted that the charismatic movement had come to

prepare for greater things — the establishing of New Testa-

ment radicalism. The purpose of renewal was restoration of

the church, holiness and national awakening.

Our July Church Week was in Northampton and once again

we focused on Zion, the people of God. After that it was back

to the mission field. The marquee moved to Milton Keynes.

What a potential harvest amongst the aimless youth! But we

needed 'on fire' youth to reach them. Our lads wanted some-

thing adventurous, and some were already on Beachfire in

Yarmouth and Hastings. We sought to channel their youthful

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

aggression against the devil. A meeting was held for under-

thirties (plus a bit over) and Operation Mark was born. (Mark

had been a zealous young disciple of Jesus.)

We printed leaflets:

OPERATION MARK!

A RESISTANCE MOVEMENT OF HOLY REBELS! WANTED:

500 young men and women:

* committed to Jesus Christ

* alive with the enthusiasm of the Spirit

* ready to be Jesus commandos and fight the sins that

are degrading the youth of England!

Our weapons were the love of Jesus and the word of God, and

during marches the 'rebels' carried crosses and Bibles. REBEL

FOR JESUS stickers appeared and the logo showed a figure

with raised Bible and cross. Operation Mark 'rebels' prom-

ised to live for Jesus and be loyal disciples and inspired per-

sonalities. They were to accept trials and never give in, gain

others for Christ, and actively witness to their faith.

Songs appeared: 'We are at war!' and, 'I'm revolting!'

Nathan put, 'I'm a rebel for Jesus, from head to toe!' to a

rock tune! Some made waistcoats with a red cross and REBEL

FOR JESUS on the back. Ian, the solicitor, was like Super-

man. When he got home from the office, he threw off his pin-

stripes, donned his 'rebel' waistcoat, and went out evangelis-

ing. One night, as he was talking to people in a pub, he began

to feel very warm. Someone had set his waistcoat alight!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

One young man turned up at New Creation Hall who fitted

the bill exactly. He'd even been a soldier. Mark 'Warrior' was

twenty-three, a muscle man and a rebel. He'd seen the world

in the merchant navy and his arms were tattooed and scarred.

As a biker he'd smashed a lot of shop windows in Hudders-

field, fled the law and crashed his bike. He'd lived with the

Hare Krishnas, and ended up in the Spanish Foreign Legion.

He deserted, escaping in a yacht, but it ran aground, and he

was caught, flogged, imprisoned, and put to hard labour un-

der the scorching sun.

One day, in preparation for a ceremony at the Spanish

prison, Mark climbed a roof to fix a statue of Christ on to the

cross. Alone up there, the eyes of Jesus seemed to pierce his

soul. 'I forgive you, Mark,' they were saying. He broke down

and wept. On his prison bed, reading his Bible, the power of

God came upon him and he was baptised in the Spirit. The

Spanish officers were so shocked by the change that they

offered him promotion! He declined, and was released from

the Legion.

Mark arrived back in Huddersfield to find his family already

converted. The parish church was good, but Mark felt like a

caged lion. He wanted a twenty-four hour a day commitment.

He considered Bible college or a monastery, but the church

sent him down to us! Mark wasn't disappointed. He wrote

later:

I walked into the Hall and the Spirit came on me again. I was on

cloud nine for three weeks. They had a church gathering in a

theatre and all I heard was Zion, Zion, Zion! But it was the

brotherhood that really amazed me.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Simon came up and met my folks. We walked on the moors.

He enthused about Operation Mark and offered me a place in

the Banbury household. It was like a family to me. I was very

excited with the kingdom of God and keen to learn, but I was

hot-headed, too.

At one Banbury meeting, I prophesied.

'What did you think of that?' I asked.

'Not a lot,' Simon grunted.

I was so frustrated with him when I got home that I smashed

the bedroom door down! But we had to laugh — lying there on

the door was a convicting text: 'I can do all things through Christ

who strengthens me!'

We were inspired by the New Testament image of the army of

God. The apostle Paul expected his men to endure hardship

and be fully committed. 'No-one serving as a soldier gets in-

volved in civilian affairs,' he wrote to Timothy (2 Tim 2:4).

The New Testament unveiled a spiritual war — on one side

the kingdom of God — on the other, the world, the flesh and

the devil.

'We are the Jesus Army' was splashed on Marquee News,

and Operation Mark took the lead. At their 'War Council' they

read the Salvation Army Articles of War and spoke of city

invasions and dawn raids. We wanted a strong image and felt

the church in Britain needed vigorous men on the front line.

More flak came our way as we took our Marquee over the

Midlands. But, flak or not, the army of Jesus People marched

on into 1986 with increasing determination.

21 When They Exclude You

JESUS CULT — REV STANTON'S KINGDOM. That was us —

according to a pamphlet that started to have a wide private

circulation! This virulent little job carried allegations of heavy

shepherding, deprived kids, infallible authority, legalism, em-

pire building, world-hatred, recruitment and even forced la-

bour. The authors twisted the truth until it was barely recog-

nisable, and Noel in particular came under vicious personal

attack.

Sadly, there was a ready market for sensational rumours,

half-truths, and lies. What gave this pamphlet more credibil-

ity was that it was written by two ex-members, supposedly

with 'inside knowledge'. But as Stanley Jebb had pointed out

in Renewal, few churches would want to be judged by those

who left them. The views of these brothers were particularly

distorted. One elder who had left us received a copy and tore

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

it up in disgust. Then he pieced it together and passed it on

to us!

A group was formed to 'pray' against us, and they moti-

vated a smear campaign. The 'Jesus Cult' pamphlet was dis-

tributed to ministers, relatives, new converts and the press.

The Jesus Fellowship was discussed in churches, on radio,

and even in Woman magazine! Letters flew around, and the

media were fed with titbits.

The effect was poisonous, and suspicion spread like can-

cer. A Christian church had been reviled, and the name of

Jesus dishonoured. New friends and converts stumbled as

critics sought to turn away those whom we had led to Christ.

We expected opposition, but this was shameful.

On December 24th the Daily Star accused us of denying

our children the innocent joys of Christmas. Innocent joys! In

fact, we had already scheduled December 26th as a special

Children's Day. (The Hall kids enjoyed an outing to a wildlife

park.) Many laughed at the press, and relatives and friends

were often supportive of the Fellowship. In the school where

I worked they respected us. (They said I had a 'calming influ-

ence' on the staff room!) However, many Christians seemed

gullible.

Dave 'Resolute', our PR man, had a busy time. In 1986 we

were embarking on a two year programme of 'explosive pio-

neering' all over England, evangelising and planting 'church

households'. Noel had his hands full and Dave had the unen-

viable task of heading up a PR battle, answering the press

and shuttling between leaders. Eventually we asked the Evan-

gelical Alliance to stand with us publicly.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

The Jesus Fellowship had joined the EA after Gilbert Kirby's

visit in 1982. They regarded us as a controversial but doctri-

nally orthodox church. Not everyone agreed with us and some

regarded 'community' as near heretical. Nonetheless they

knew we were true evangelicals and the Alliance had wel-

comed us.

The EA suggested a meeting with our attackers, but we felt

that unless they desired reconciliation, a meeting would

achieve nothing. We were keen, though, to meet with respon-

sible leaders and answer their questions. Dave corresponded

with Clive Calver, the General Secretary of the Evangelical

Alliance. In January 1986 Clive proposed a meeting of three

of our leaders with some of the EA executive, and with lead-

ers representing our opponents, to investigate 'the accusa-

tions made against the Fellowship... that these matters might

be properly resolved'.

We arrived in London eager to clear our name, but the EA

had been receiving complaining letters and phone calls and

feelings were running high. Churches, it was rumoured, had

even threatened to leave the Alliance if we remained. The EA

were under pressure.

We had innocently expected the accusations to be dealt with,

the vendetta exposed and our integrity upheld, but the mat-

ter of the accusations was dealt with quite briefly. However,

a different issue of poor relationships with local churches was

raised. The EA felt compelled to suggest that we resign on

this issue.

We felt totally let down. As Noel wrote to the chairman: 'It

was an unusual experience. It was like being condemned with-

out trial.' Relating to other churches was scarcely the issue

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

on which we had approached the EA. On that basis, we felt,

many others could be disqualified from membership. Any-

way, enforced resignation was an unusual way to strengthen

relationships!

However, the EA prided itself on being an alliance of mem-

ber churches at a local as well as a national level. In their

view, the word 'alliance' hardly described our position. The

Council sent Noel a letter assuring him that the question was

not one of orthodoxy but of whether continued membership

of the EA was desirable. On other matters they 'had no wish

to sit in judgement'. It seemed as if they were washing their

hands of us. A saddened Noel wrote back:

Is it not surprising that a saga, which began with our advising

EA of a defamatory pamphlet and requesting their support,

should end with the EA virtually dismissing us?...

The EA has found this church an embarrassment because of

opposition we are attracting in our stand for scriptural holi-

ness... The issues were:

1 Are the critics using lies, distortions, and unbalanced

comment, and should they be reproved?

2 Is this smear campaign in the Spirit of Christ?

Our appeal for support had been rejected. It felt like being

handed over to our 'crucifiers'. Once again we experienced

pain and humiliation. But the path of suffering would lead on

to fruitfulness.

And so, in 1986, the Jesus Fellowship Church resigned from

the Evangelical Alliance. When Buzz magazine interviewed

Clive Calver, he was conciliatory: 'We have encouraged the

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Jesus Fellowship to develop links with other Christians. There

were no doctrinal grounds for the EA's decision.'82 The EA

recognised us officially as a 'genuine Christian church'.

In April Buzz produced an article: 'Bugbrooke: Cultic or

Christlike?' which in places was quite positive and included

testimonies from our own people:

The Bugbrooke community have faced accusations of breaking

up families... and aggressive authoritarianism... No evidence

has been put forward to substantiate these claims... Theologi-

cally they appear as sound as a bell... No other group of Chris-

tians has been at the blunt end of so much criticism, lies, scan-

dal, accusations, and suspicion as the Jesus Fellowship. On the

other hand there are numerous Christians from house fellow-

ships and other denominations who have visited and gained a

very favourable impression of the Jesus People.83

Buzz quoted a local vicar: 'I see nothing less than God's love

among them flowing from a radical discipleship which is a

reproach to most of us.'

They are a Christ-centred group,' added one elder from the

Bethany Fellowship, whilst the local Baptist youth leader,

Harry Whittaker, felt: 'We ought to be glad about Bugbrooke

when so many churches are dead.'

But the Baptist Union officials were also becoming keen to

lose us. There were complaints, letters and gossip, apart from

which, we appeared to have gone national. The Jesus Fellow-

ship had spread out in its church-planting activity and, in some

ministers' eyes, we appeared to be stomping over 'their patch'.

Also our links with the local Baptist Association had been

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

somewhat tenuous for a number of years. It seemed we didn't

fit the mould. Our church was one of the biggest on the Bap-

tist Union list. It was also their biggest embarrassment! Even-

tually the BU council threw us out, after refusing to allow

Noel to address them. It was all a lesson in loving our Chris-

tian brethren even when they rejected us and wanted little to

do with us.

However, the constant exchanges with press, critics, advis-

ers and umpires were wearing down our PR man. Dave 'Reso-

lute' was a senior leader in the Warwickshire area and a good

evangelist. As editor of our Newness magazine he'd written

profound articles on the radical church and celibacy. In his

PR role he'd both sat down with Christian leaders, and fended

off the tabloids. But it seemed that his visionary sword was

being hammered into a diplomatic shield.

Dave came to feel that some of the critics were right — we

should tone down and accommodate. Gradually other seri-

ous reservations became apparent. Some of us urged him to

regain a radical vision, but he was adamant. Unless we

changed our whole approach he could see no future for him-

self in the Jesus Fellowship. We stood firm but were sad to

see him go.

Had diplomacy gone too far? It was great to have good re-

lationships, but if other Christians chose to exclude us, that

was their problem. The Anglicans all but kicked Wesley out;

the Methodists kicked Booth out; and everyone kicked the

Pentecostals out! We were in good company. God had given

us a task and we were going to get on with it!

That year The Fight Of Your Life by Clive Calver and Derek

Copley appeared. In it they wrote: 'Your heart is beginning to

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

cry out for a positive, militant, Christian lifestyle. Such senti-

ments 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-of-

the-road existence is treated with a combination of caution

and contempt.'85

Good stuff! We agreed! Of course the cult smear was inevi-

table. 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 Jeru-

salem 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 impor-

tant 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

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

released through Christians, like us, who were deeply com-

mitted to one another in love.

'Their existence,' he wrote, 'is a prophetic witness to the

church which has, by and large, rejected radical obedience

to God's word. Therefore the Christian establishment find

them a thorn in the flesh.'87

We would not be ashamed of our cutting edge. Break-

throughs are made by breakaways! As we realised this we

found renewed vigour and vision. The beauty of Zion blazed

up afresh in our hearts and the courage of a Gideon's army

inspired us. The religious had rejected Jesus, but 'the com-

mon people heard him gladly' (Mark 12:37). We addressed

ourselves to the need. The poor in spirit would welcome God's

message of love, equality and justice.

'Rough is the sea that we're sailing, and the storm clouds

burst overhead! Rebels, we are rebels. We're the outcasts,

the outcasts of hell!' So growled Steve 'Zealous' in his song.

The concept of being 'Jesus rebels' against the powers of

evil flourished amongst us. We issued a regular leaflet, Join

Us! We were so fed up with the taunt of 'recruiting' that we

took the idea aboard. Yes, we would recruit an 'army' of zeal-

ous disciples. Like David on the run, we received 'all those

who were in distress or in debt or discontented' who were

gathering to us (1 Sam 22:2).

Booth had encouraged his soldiers to go for the worst. We

looked for vagabonds and hoped to turn them into a force for

God. As Jesus had remarked, it was the tax-collectors and

prostitutes who made it into the kingdom before the religious.

1986 was a hectic year with Operation Mark, Fire Teams,

Beachfire, Jesus Street Teams, Marquee Missions, Jesus

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Church Planters and Elisha Leadership Training. No rest for

the righteous!

Share Our Bread was our 1986 outreach slogan, taken from

Isaiah. This was what God required of us: 'to share your bread

with the hungry' and to 'bring the homeless poor into your

house' (Is 58:7, RSV). There would soon be room for 250 new

people in our houses, our businesses prospered and resources

had grown. Everything was the Lord's and we wanted to share

it with others.

We set targets for 50 church-households, with 250 leaders,

250 servant groups, 250 celibates, 250 new members, 250

new residents. 250 was the number! There were now 250 on

the Prayer Watch, too. The work was expanding and we all

wanted to hear from the front line and give prayer support.

Evangelists sent in their reports to Jesus Happenings, a

monthly news-sheet. They were getting bolder in following

their spiritual intuitions. John Wimber's book Power Evange-

lism88 had inspired us and we expected 'power confrontations'

of the supernatural.

Jesus Happenings reported that in Leicester a broken wrist

was visibly healed, and in Tunstall they prayed with a woman,

rebuking demonic powers. Shrieking and shaking followed

and evil spirits were cast out. They left a New Testament and

soon she was born again and healed of a ten-year back com-

plaint.

Jesus Happenings also told how a Christian in Loughbor-

ough asked our young evangelists to pray with a friend with

leukaemia. That week she saw her consultant.

'What pain killers are you taking?' he asked.

'None,' she said. 'There is no pain.'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'I'll soon trace those pills with a blood test!' he said.

The test revealed no trace of pills — or leukaemia!

One story was of a sister who had to be at hospital for 11.15

am. It was 11.00 am and raining. It was a forty minute walk,

so she prayed and set out. The Lord seemed close and she

felt unusually light. When she reached the hospital, she looked

at her watch and gasped; it was 11.15 am! Then she noticed

her clothes — they were dry!

Healings, deliverance and the supernatural were increas-

ing along with our faith!

We were now enamoured with the Army image. Join Us!

carried a photo of an Irish lad: 'Sign Up! Mark has joined the

Jesus Army!' The next one read: 'Urgent! Join the Jesus Re-

bellion' and showed a grinning street lad with a cross around

his neck, badges, army jumper, and a broken nose!

That summer Operation Mark ran a small 'Jesus Army Camp'

for our teenagers in the Peak District. Badges and car stick-

ers also appeared inviting people to 'Join the Jesus Army!'

We wanted to plant twenty church-households at short dis-

tances from the thirty we already had. LEAP teams (Location

Evangelism And Planting) would evangelise and hold meet-

ings in these areas. Supported by Marquee Missions and

church evangelism, they would form a core and build others

in. So we would 'leap' from one location to another close by.

However, a survey showed new activities as far afield as New-

castle, Liverpool, Chester, North Wales, Sheffield, London and

Margate. We also sent historian Trevor with our Dutch breth-

ren to Holland.

In June we were campaigning in Birmingham, where faith

was running high, and visitors often outnumbered members.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'I was snorting coke and heroin, smoking pot, and eating

hash cakes,' one lad told us, '...it was getting me nowhere but

high! I believed in God and called him Jah, but hated him

when things got heavy. I dabbled in witchcraft, travelled

around, and ended up in prison. The first time I heard about

Jesus, I thought it was crazy, but I was moved by seeing these

Jesus People really cared.'

He went to the Marquee and cried for the first time in two

years. 'I knew my sins were washed away and my guilt was

gone. The Jesus People are the sort of friends I've always

been looking for.'89

Teams visited the beaches at Hastings, Weymouth, Black-

pool and Brighton. We were loaned a farmhouse in Luton and

bought more houses: Standfast in Birmingham, Trumpet in

Northampton, and New Wave in Yarmouth. In Birmingham

we made friends with Muslims and Sikhs and now established

a terraced house in the heart of the Asian population.

In Nottingham, a local paper reported:

A fanatical Christian group has set up a tent mission on Not-

tingham Forest's site. And its extreme stand against 'today's

sick society' has seen petrol bomb attacks on the marquee and

guy ropes slashed. The Jesus Fellowship campaigns against

crime, unemployment, drugs, the occult, sexual permissiveness,

marriage breakdown, abortion, child abuse and other social ills.

The members, who share their possessions, intend to march

through the city centre.90

The media hadn't finished with us. That August a journalist

came to our Bank Holiday Conference at Cornhill, and stayed

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

at the Hall masquerading as a Christian from another church.

She was welcomed, and Ken, an amiable five-footer, looked

after her. Within weeks we were splashed over the Sunday

Mirror.

The man with the manic eyes moved closer. Lips pursed in fury,

he prodded me with his finger and demanded, 'Where have you

been?' I froze and he raged on. I had slipped away from a mara-

thon all-day prayer session. Now I faced the wrath of Noel Stan-

ton's henchmen. It was brother Ken, previously a kind, friendly,

father figure. 'We had you watched. You sneaked out of the

meeting to go to the pub.' His piercing stare unnerved me... 91

It was gripping stuff! But it bore only the faintest resemblance

to reality.

They wail and go into a trance-like state. Their chants reach a

crescendo as 'Svengali' Stanton murmurs Bible passages and

whips them up to a frenzy. He brings them down again, saying,

'Beloved, can ya hear me?'... and quotes more of the Bible with

a slow drawl.92

Noel was a 'power crazed lunatic'! It was the usual stuff. C. T.

Studd once remarked that 'a lost reputation is the best de-

gree for Christ's service.' We were well qualified!

In September we issued our first Jesus Army magazine. ALL

OUT WAR! was the front-page headline, and Noel had this to

say:

Britain is sinking into moral chaos! Only a moral and spiritual

revolution in the power of the living Lord Jesus Christ will change

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

that! That revolution must shake the nation and change its heart!

And God is forming an army of Christians who are ready to pay

the price!

Blow the trumpet! Church of Jesus!

Rise up and fight!93

22 A Sound of Marching

'I saw our Zion as a woman, her clothes tattered and torn

from battle. She sat alone, looking weary, the lines of travail

etched upon her face. She bore the marks of age — yet was

ageless. In her quiet strength, she carried a simple beauty.

'Her Lord approached. "My beloved daughter," he said

kindly, "has the battle proved too much for you?"

'The woman looked up into his face. The sight of him brought

strength and his voice cheered her heart.

'"I have much yet for you to accomplish in this land. Come,

my daughter, and follow me."

'He led her to a high mountain and she looked upon the

land where she lived and worked for her Lord. There, a light

radiated from his face, but below, all was darkness save for a

few patches of light that shone like stars in the night.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'"Listen," he said. She heard the piercing cries of an im-

prisoned multitude and began to weep.

'"It is good to weep, but not enough."

'"But, Lord!" she cried. "I am weary and the task is great."

'"It is I who call you and I shall strengthen you."

'They went down the mountain and he led her to a solitary

place, where they were alone, Zion and her Lord.

'"My daughter," he said tenderly, "I need to gain the fulness

of your heart. Love for yourself has crept in. I called you as

light to this land, but how dimly you shine. Remember when

you loved me more — when the cross filled you with sweet-

ness?"

'She slipped to her knees. He was right. The darkness had

rubbed off on her and she was grieved.

'"Remember when I first called you Zion. The thrill of it

filled your heart and your delight was to be mine."

'She remembered and was ashamed. Then the Lord

stretched forth his hands. In one was a sword, in the other —

a tiny golden cross.'

The wisdom was prophetic. It was now December 1986 and

campaigning was over. We had broken through to the 'forgot-

ten people': street kids, addicts, the poor, the homeless. We

were learning to be patient with our new friends and 'lay

down our lives' for them. Over a thousand had passed through

the Marquee. Conversions and healings abounded and de-

mons were removed.

Operation Mark had targeted for seventy young men and

sixty-four were baptised in 1986. Although the majority of

them were still around at the end of the year almost a quar-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

ter had gone. In Birmingham, four campaigns had left our

people drained. With two new houses there, leadership was

thinned out and overstretched. The work required sacrifice

of time, energy and personal feelings. The battle was fierce

and some began to fall. The team was shaken and by the new

year three of the Birmingham leaders had left the work. For

a while our hopes there seemed shattered.

Then God brought us wisdom in the Spirit. Where was the

secret of a love powerful enough to reach the masses? The

answer was in the heart of Jesus. It was the cross.

'"Let me plant this cross in your heart again," he said.

'"It will hurt, but it will be healing for yourself — and for

your nation."

'She flinched, then nodded quietly. He took the sword and

cut through till her heart lay exposed and there he buried the

golden treasure. From the cross came a sweet, healing oil,

and soon, with new strength surging within her, she arose,

her face shining. He smiled.

'"With this sword of your suffering you will cut into the

darkness and release the captives... Now take this also..."

'A tiny jewel lay in the scar of his hand.

'"This jewel of Covenant is worth more than all riches. Guard

it with your life! When temptation is near, look upon it, for I

have promised to be your God and you are my people."

'She bound it to her and now Zion was ready. With the sword

of suffering going ahead and the light blazing from her heart,

she descended into the darkness. The light penetrated and

exposed, and many fought against her. They snatched at the

jewel, but as she held it fast and advanced, a glorious thing

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

happened. For following her was a path of light. Stepping out

of the darkness, many caught hold of her robes and danced

like children in the radiance she brought. And so Mother Zion

was joined by the multitudes who longed for her coming, as

she travelled on heralding the dawn in a darkened land.'

Samson used a jawbone. So would we. JAWBONE was con-

ceived as the Jesus Army War Battle Operations Network.

Inspired by the early Salvation Army, we continued to think

in military terms. A 'War Fund' was set aside, community

houses were seen as battle stations, the Marquee as a battle-

field and inner city houses as 'Battlefronts'.

JAWBONE co-ordinated leadership. We had brought sys-

tem and management to our businesses, but church adminis-

tration had been fairly loose, with households running their

own affairs and 'covered' only informally by senior brothers.

Now was the time for efficiency. The group of Covering Au-

thority brothers had expanded to ten and began to meet

monthly. There was more delegation. Pastoral administration

shifted towards Mark "Strong", more of the community man-

agement came under Mike "Rockfast" and evangelism was

headed by Mick "Temperate".

More brothers came into JAWBONE to motivate and ad-

minister special areas such as discipleship, literature, new

converts, backsliders, LEAP teams, distant households and

campaigns. PR fell mainly on Noel's secretary, Liz, who be-

came, for the press, the no-nonsense spokeswoman of the

Jesus Fellowship.

JAWBONE toured the church, motivating the household

leaders. The drop-out rate of our converts was disappointing,

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

and we needed to nurture them more effectively. Administra-

tion improved, although no amount of organisation could take

the place of the life of the Spirit.

As the Jesus Army began to take shape, some of us hoped

we wouldn't go overboard on this military thing. After all,

Jesus Army was only our campaigning arm, the church on the

streets. As for the Salvation Army, they had been brilliant at

soul-winning, but had neglected baptism, communion, char-

ismatic gifts, and much that makes for a full-orbed New Tes-

tament church. Their outdoor, go-for-the-worst approach was

superb, their holiness stance admirable, and their concept of

the battle, marvellous — but their captains, peak caps and

uniforms were a bit over the top. 'At least there'll be no uni-

forms for us!' we thought.

Meanwhile, Noel had been noticing the combat jacket that

the leader of Operation Mark was wearing.

'Ummm,' he thought, 'there's a manly image. They're eas-

ily available and cheap... Let me see now — 300 men's jack-

ets... Sisters can have green skirts... We need to be an identi-

fiable people on the streets.

'Yes. The Jesus Army! Now what about the logo? The cross

must be central to it. Ah yes! A blood red cross between JE-

SUS and ARMY, and below LOVE, POWER AND SACRIFICE!

That's it — a people who live sacrificially.

'"The Army with a heart to fight for you!" can be the motto.

Booth was right! An army of the blood of Jesus and the fire of

the Holy Spirit — but also of covenant with God and with our

brethren. Yes, BLOOD! FIRE! AND COVENANT! That must

be our battle cry.'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

He could see the Army in action — banners waving, colours

flying, guitars strumming, shouts ringing, and the name of

Jesus echoing through the streets. The Jesus Army! It would

be a beacon to the masses and a cause for the radical. It meant

commitment, compassion, loyalty and self-sacrifice.

We quoted C. T. Studd in our magazine:

I would sooner have a few dare-devil, care-for-nothing-and-no-

body soldiers aflame with love for Christ than a million workers

just ten per cent below the standard... Christ's call is to raise

living churches of souls amongst the destitute, to capture men

from the very jaws of hell, to enlist and train them for Jesus and

to make them into an almighty Army for God. This can only be

accomplished by a red-hot unconventional, unfettered Holy

Ghost religion. Soldiers of Jesus! Nail the colours to the mast!94

Jackets would be purchased. Colours would be displayed —

army green, red for the blood of Jesus, white for purity, black

for the darkness and gold for God's glory. We would buy a

double decker and paint it up in Jesus Army colours — and

the coaches, Crusader 1 and 2. Patches would be ordered —

and badges, arm bands, khaki shirts, flags and banners! We

would march in London! There in Trafalgar Square we would

read the Jesus Army Manifesto. But first there would be a

commissioning in Northampton Town Hall, and this time we

would invite the press!

On April 18th, 1987, the Jesus Army was born.

A long column, something under a thousand strong, moved

through the busy shoppers. Combat jackets, banners and ex-

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 sing-

ing, 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 com-

bat 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 activ-

ity marked by plastic pins. A brother pointed out our projects

with a cane — all good Montgomery stuff. We planned cam-

paigns 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

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

and back streets, the Jesus Army would befriend people and

bring them the love of God.

Noel spoke of how the harvest was plentiful and a hunger

for God was growing in the nation. The church as an army

was becoming a visionary concept throughout the radical

churches. We, and others, were to go on the offensive, chal-

lenging the devil, storming his strongholds, and proclaiming

release to the captives. Mark 'Strong' read out the Jesus Army

Manifesto in his clear preacher tones:

'The Jesus Army is the campaigning arm of the Jesus Fel-

lowship Church. It is created in response to God's call for his

church to be an army of his kingdom conquering the spiritual

powers of darkness...

'The Jesus Army campaigns aggressively against the social

evils so common in our ungodly British society, and also

against religious hypocrisy...

'The Jesus Army will go where others will not go. It will

take the gospel to the "forgotten people", the crowds outside

the influence of Christian religion. It will bring healing to the

sick and deliverance to the oppressed...

'The Jesus Army respects all Christians and churches, and

will not deliberately compete. It will not however allow the

necessary all-out offensive to be slowed down, nor the pro-

phetic word silenced, because churches are defensive.

'Jesus Army soldiers pledge full loyalty. They will receive

any training to make victory possible and are committed to

sacrifice and hardship...

'The Jesus Army unites believers into holy and loving church-

communities, which show the end of all divisions and demon-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

strate a sharing lifestyle, true brotherhood, and a light to

this world...'

In fifteen clauses we promised to be a one hundred per cent,

red-hot, Christian army. Then the Revd Ken Thomason, a faith-

ful friend from the early days, stepped forward.

'My brothers and sisters,' he said quietly, 'acknowledging

the supreme authority of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

who has commissioned his church to "make disciples of all

nations", do you receive his commission as members of the

Jesus Army? Do you promise to obey his commands?'

A loud, 'We do!' shook the air.

'Do you promise to be faithful in prayer, in reading of the

Scriptures, to be loyal to your brothers, to build the church in

truth and peace, to live a life worthy of this calling as mem-

bers of the Jesus Army?'

'We do! The Lord being our helper.' We bowed in rever-

ence.

'Eternal God, our Father, strengthen with thy Spirit, these

thy servants in the Jesus Army, as now, with prayer we set

them apart as ambassadors of the gospel.'

I looked up and saw that many were moved. After this, we

sang 'Onward Christian Soldiers!' and a stirring Salvation

Army song: 'Wanted hearts baptised with fire!':

Wanted, hearts to love the masses,

Hearts to help him seek the lost,

Hearts to help him save all classes,

Hearts to help him save the worst.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

A time of loud praise followed, then Noel asked us to look

up. High on the wall, encircling the hall in huge golden let-

ters, was engraved a verse from Psalm 115. We read it out

together: Not Unto Us, O Lord, But Unto Thy Name Give Glory!

I found myself loving God. His faithfulness was superb! What

God had begun with some humbled failures in a tiny chapel

with a funny name was now a challenge to the nation. Buzz

magazine had called us 'one of the most controversial Chris-

tian groups in the country'.95 As we joined under those ban-

ners, I felt the thrill of God's call.

The commissioning finished and we filed out. I glanced up

at a friendly portrait. William Carey, Missionary Pioneer. Carey

once spoke of the power of 'loving brotherhood', and out in

India had set up a multiracial household with 'all things in

common'. The school where I worked was yards from where

he once laboured as a shoemaker, and every day, for years, I

had read on Carey's plaque:

Expect great things from God!

Attempt great things for God!

That was our heart, too.

'The Jesus Army will go where others will not go.' As I pon-

dered the words from the Manifesto, my spirit rose to the

challenge. I smiled at my combat jacket with its colourful

badges — We Fight For You!

'Lord,' I thought, 'how did you get me into this?'

I looked up. 'Power Coach leaving in three minutes!' some-

one shouted.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

And then a familiar voice in my ear. 'Don't miss it again!'

said Malcolm, the music teacher.

The Jesus Army marched into the press and on to radio and

television. We now courted publicity, and certainly couldn't

avoid it. With jackets, banners, marches, city action days,

marquee missions and convoys, we were unmistakable. We

even had a four-man, Jesus Army quadricycle!

Soon we were in London and pitching the Marquee in

Battersea Park. Mounted police flanked our 'march for Jesus'

from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. It was an unforgettable

day. There in the square we had a rally and a national com-

missioning. Then Mick 'Temperate' took a small group and

carried the flag to 10 Downing Street. The letter they handed

in to the Prime Minister (one also went to the Queen) was

printed in shortened form in Heartcry, our magazine of 'so-

cial concern and action':

Dear Mrs Thatcher,

We urge you to call the nation back to faith in God. Christians

are praying for a revival that will change society. The members

of this church have become a Jesus Army to fight the evils in

society and bring the gospel to the victims of vice. We pray that

God will give you wisdom, compassion and strength for your

responsibilities.

Yours respectfully,

The Jesus Fellowship.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Heartcry focused on areas of need: homelessness, alcohol-

ism, racism, abortion, AIDS, drug addiction, violence, prosti-

tution and crime. It was great to tell the stories of those who

had broken free. We issued a 'blood and fire' edition of Jesus

Army magazine. 'We declare WAR!' it read, 'on behalf of every

man, woman and child in need of God's life-changing love.'

Two brothers were arrested in Soho for obstruction. The

pimps had got annoyed — the gospel wasn't too good for busi-

ness! The case was dismissed and we were awarded costs.

All this appeared in the press. Our courage grew. We prayed

on the street and often people felt a touch of God.

'I met a Jewish man in London,' wrote Bill 'Truthful'. 'We

talked and I prayed with him to receive the Spirit. As I laid

hands on him and spoke in tongues, he reeled backwards un-

der the power of God. "Where did you learn Hebrew?" he

asked as he got up!'

We became well-known as people recognised our jackets.

Street kids found us unusually down to earth and friendly for

Christians. 'Anyone in the Jesus Army is a friend of mine!'

said one skinhead. At London's Cardboard City, Victor's wife,

Sheila, was treated with reverence — like a nun. They even

called her Sister. With her Army headscarf she looked like

one!

Channel 4 filmed us at the Glastonbury Festival when we

took our Crusader 2 bus there in July. Several came back from

the new age hippy scene and joined us in community. Two of

them had their wedding in chapel. The local newspaper

showed them in uniform with an archway of flags behind them.

The sister's kit included a green skirt, blue body warmer, khaki

blouse and headscarf. Brothers, as ever, wore jeans.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Of course, the image provided a field day for critics. North-

ampton's Archdeacon compared us to paramilitary rebels and

one local MP described us as a 'Rambo' cult. Others found

the association with war a little disturbing. We understood,

and ensured that the jackets were well adorned with badges

and a large golden JESUS ARMY patch on the back. Red ep-

aulettes were added to distinguish us further from any other

'street people' with combat jackets!

But many greeted the army image enthusiastically. It was

strong and dynamic. God was in this latest initiative. Men

and women were attracted and a fresh batch of zealous Chris-

tians joined us.

The press was full of headlines like 'Onward Christian Sol-

diers!' and 'Jesus Army Marches In!' 'Bugbrooke' still car-

ried some shrouds of mystery but 'Jesus Army' belonged to

the public. It crystallised our vision of commitment and com-

passion. As the months went by we learned more and more to

lay down our lives and love the needy ones. As this was seen,

our acceptance with church and people increased. We 'did a

good job' — there was room for us in Britain.

But what of Zion? A hunger grew amongst the veterans. What

about our standards, our depth, our holiness? The eighties

had doubled the church and now many knew little of the way

we'd come. The glory of the early days burned in our memory.

Then we had thrilled to be a people for God. Jesus Army was

exciting, but did we really have the depth and anointing to

take the nineties for Christ?

23 The Anointing

1987-88

Church Week 1987 came round in July and Jesus Army ban-

ners spanned the Golden Marquee in Coventry. Below, a thou-

sand people praised God, hands raised and scarves waving.

There in the crowd stood Zion's veterans: Dave Lants, Kelly

and Norma, Val, Rufus and Jess, Ralph, Victor and Sheila,

and many others. Verna was still going strong, her fingers

now skimming over a synthesiser. Miss Campion had passed

away peacefully at the Hall at the age of ninety-three. Some

had left us; those who remained were weather-worn and wiser.

From the first charismatic discoveries in the manse to the

vision of community at Malhamdale, from the hilarious hippy

days of Argyle Street, through to the rubble and chaos of the

Hall and the first wintry days at the Farm, God had urged us

on. Almost hallowed now were memories of the summer days

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

at Ashburnham when we learned to meditate on God, open

up our hearts and disciple one another.

There the vision of Zion had exploded on us. We were never

to be the same.

God's word had inspired us and revealed the narrowness of

Christ's path. As we sought to reach out to others with the

gospel of the kingdom, we found humiliation in the press and

suspicion from churches. At times the battle had been intense,

but we had pressed on regardless. When friends deserted,

more came to join us. Slowly we had forged a culture that

was godly, deep and precious. How could veterans forget?

Now years of campaigning had gone by and the church had

expanded. A new generation of Jesus People had arisen who

didn't fully understand a beauty born of tears.

We had put everything into launching the Jesus Army. On

one hand there was an aggressive evangelistic endeavour, on

the other, an almost mystical heritage of community. Cam-

paigning had stirred Zion to pour out her life, but many of us

longed after purer brotherhood and the deeps of God.

As the sun filtered through the marquee, Noel stood up in

his Jesus Army jacket and began to speak of the 'treasures of

Zion'. Once more the preciousness of brotherhood passed be-

fore us — its loyalty, simplicity and sacrificial love. We sang a

new hymn that expressed this longing for Zion:

Treasures of Zion here we seek;

Wisdom of all these God-filled years,

In which were formed the wise, the meek,

Mature in warmth and love and tears.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

A generation new arise!

To stand on ground that we have trod;

Live for the sight that thrills our eyes,

The sight of kingdom brotherhood!

This touched a deep nerve among us and some wept. As

Noel ministered, pride in our heritage sprang up again. Treas-

ures were unearthed and the simplicity and beauty of God's

kingdom shone out. As I looked around, I thanked God for the

many younger ones ready to launch us into the future. Some

were already in leadership, for now we had a hundred elders

and many trainee 'Leading Serving Brothers'.

Most of the leaders needed to move in greater confidence,

so we arranged monthly 'Elisha' training sessions where lead-

ers could be encouraged and put through their paces. The

leaders' meeting at Cornhill now started in the mid-afternoon.

Noel would speak informally and then we would split into

groups to pray and share together. The serious old guys (even

the young ones) looked as though they needed loosening up.

'Right, sit back,' said Noel one afternoon. 'I'm going to play

you part of a Wimber tape.' We looked surprised and smiled,

winked or frowned at one another. This was a new departure.

We were aware of a 'third wave' in the Christian church, but

hadn't seen it all as quite our scene. We listened to the tape

of John Wimber chatting to a large gathering of leaders about

the need for emotional healing and release. Then he asked

the Spirit to take over.

'Let it come!' Wimber said quietly.

'Let the fire fall!' he said more loudly.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

Slowly we heard the sobbing start, then outbreaks of cry-

ing and laughter until the auditorium sounded like a farm-

yard! Most of us enjoyed the tape and felt it was probably

what we needed. We went home saying, 'Let it come! Let it

come!' in an American accent and wondered what was in

store!

In 1987 the Jesus Army had burst on the scene, and was here

to stay. We had pushed outwards in our church-household

planting and now had additional houses in Northampton, Ket-

tering, Hastings, Hinckley and Leicester. Battlecentre in Ac-

ton, London, was also a significant new development. We had

seen two years of 'explosive pioneering'. By the end of De-

cember there were 49 households with 900 adults in cov-

enant and 200 children.

Mike 'Rockfast' wrote to Noel of the need for a sabbath, a

year of rest. The church had to regather strength. Expansion

in business and community had stretched us to the limit. We

lacked extra finance and leadership and many needed refresh-

ing. 1988 must be a year of waiting on God, of inspiration

and rediscovery of Zion. Noel (ever dynamic) agreed, but saw

it as a stepping stone to even greater activity. 1988 and 1989

must be vital years of preparation for a massive launch into

the nineties. We had only just begun!

In the early spring, prophetic wisdom indicated that a fresh

wave of spiritual power lay ahead for us. We were shown that

as we moved into a new level of worship, God would bring to

us a new and powerful anointing. This would be as holy fire,

infectious and unstoppable and would bring upon us a man-

tle of love-power that would reach the hearts of men. Zion

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

would yet be a 'city sought out', a clear trumpet sounding in

the nation.

We were reaching into our destiny. Yet still we were lack-

ing. What of deeper purity and sanctification? And what of

greater power? We continued to hear interesting things of

the ministry of John Wimber and Reinhard Bonnke, but were

reserved about the spectacular: what some called 'being slain

in the Spirit', and so on. It was intriguing, 'But,' we asked,

'does it build the church?'

Nonetheless, some of us, like Bill 'Truthful', were keen to

see God's power demonstrated in such ways. When Bill prayed

over a drug-dealer at the end of March For Jesus in London,

the guy was floored by the Holy Spirit!

March for Jesus, held in April 1988, and organised by na-

tional Christian leaders, was a new departure for us. We fran-

tically learned Graham Kendrick's songs and sent 400 'sol-

diers' down to London to join in the March. Enthusiastic, com-

bat-jacketed, original and noisy, we marched past Gerald

Coates, Roger Forster and the other charismatic leaders. A

few eyebrows were raised, but they had known we were com-

ing and we felt accepted. The response from fellow Chris-

tians was heartening.

'Hey! You look great! Who are the Jesus Army then?'

'You heard of the Jesus People... or Bugbrooke?'

'Bugbrooke?... Bugbrooke!! (You could see wheels turning

rapidly in their minds.) The smiles faded and returned: 'Well,

good on you! Praise God! Times are changing!'

They were. It was time to bury differences. The harvest

was great and we needed to join hands for revival. Our warm

(if cautious) reception encouraged Noel. His seat in the of-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

fice was taken over by the farm cat as he went off round the

country visiting Christian leaders. The day of communication

had arrived.

Another spin-off from the March was the birth of our music

group. The songs we learned opened us up to other Christian

music and we caught up on the praise songs of recent years.

Praise took us back into liberty. At the Easter Jesus Army

Festival we leapt, danced, stood on chairs, waved scarves and

sang 'Jesus is Risen!' We shocked even ourselves as we threw

off our inhibitions. But worse was to follow!

Reinhard Bonnke was partly to blame. In July Noel, with

others, called in on the Eurofire Conference at Birmingham

and there people were 'falling under the power'. Noel was

impressed but still a little sceptical.

'Well, God likes this, even if I don't,' he thought. The Spirit

urged him to 'go for it' so he wasted no time and introduced

it at the young leaders' meeting the next day. Two days after

that was the beginning of our annual church week. Seven

newly-baptised members lined up to make their covenant

pledge and receive the right hand of fellowship.

'Right! If brethren could stand behind them,' said Noel (as

if it was always done like this!). As he moved along the row

laying hands on each of them, they went down like nine-pins!

'Anybody who wants prayer for the anointing, just come to

the front,' Noel offered.

'Bill "Truthful", come and give me a hand!'

From then on, all heaven was let loose. It was chaos! There

were people on the floor everywhere, heaped up on the plat-

form, or sprawled all over the auditorium. The musicians tried

to strike up some worship songs, but it had gone beyond that.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

One leader rolled under his seat in a daze, laughing uncon-

trollably. He was the first of many to be carried home.

A whirlwind swept over the church. Some responded like

concrete blocks but others were as leaves in a gale. The fire

spread and households flared up with spiritual activity. The

new anointing immediately exposed the powers of darkness

and a number of us were delivered from long-standing prob-

lems. Demons were expelled and the supernatural was al-

most commonplace.

Many, like Janice, found emotional healing. 'A real joy hit

my being and worship rose powerfully,' she wrote. 'All the

strength went from my knees and I fell to the ground. I found

amazing joy and love for my Lord as I'd never experienced

before. I was aware of the meeting but unable to move till

laughter in great waves rolled over me. It was so healing, as

hurts and discouragements just melted away.'96

As the days went by we saw the funniest sights. Janice

slipped under her desk at Skaino — incapable. In the same

office, Ian 'Willing', one of our leaders at New Creation Hall,

was too weak to leave his seat. Henry, his fellow elder, took

him home in a Goodness Foods lorry. But Henry soon came

under the anointing and they had to pull into a lay-by!

When the Tuesday Agape came round, Henry went to bless

the wine and burst out laughing.

'Lord,' he said recovering himself, 'how good and pleasant

it is for brothers to dwell in unity.'

'Oooh!' exclaimed Ian. 'Say that again!'

'How good and pleasant it is for brothers to dwell in unity.'

Ian reeled backwards, went bright red and began to trem-

ble on the floor, overcome by God's power. Then Chris, a larger

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

elder, crashed down and began to breathe heavily and twitch,

as if he'd been connected to the mains! Others fell and lay on

the floor laughing, weeping or looking quietly beatified. I sur-

veyed the scene amazed, amused, and annoyed at my calm-

ness. I'd read lots about revivals, mystics and pentecostals.

Raptures, visions and crisis experiences were marvellous in

my eyes — but they never happened to me. Oh well.

Linda went down with her hands clasped gracefully like a

praying madonna. She lay there all night. About one in the

morning someone threw a quilt over her.

The word "covenant" was burned into my heart,' she said.

'Something happened inside, and I've never really been the same.'

The Birmingham campaign followed a few days later and

Linda was there as an evangelist. One night she saw lights in

the darkness of her room and sensed the angels. She wrote:

'In the mornings the team prayed for the anointing before

going out. We were getting bold and God touched people when

we prayed with them. One or two even landed on the pave-

ment, and some of our own evangelists had to be carried back

to the bus!'

'What will happen at the leaders' meeting?' we

thought. When it came, Noel spoke from Scripture about fall-

ing and trembling under the power of God. He expected a

time of weeping away past sins, and emotional hurts, but soon

the King's Room at Cornhill was in an uproar. Laughter was

everywhere — great guffaws and belly laughs! One brother

swayed on his feet groaning and bellowing as Noel tried to

minister. He gave up! Respected elders were rolling on the

floor clutching their stomachs. Others were in varying de-

grees of consciousness.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

'A sense of awe descended on us,' wrote one young leader.

'I heard the words "Lord anoint this one..." then the floor

gave way, and I felt myself caught up into the heavenlies. I

lay there for hours, trembling and talking in tongues. Time

appeared unimportant as I bathed in God's presence. Later

they dragged me into the minibus, got me home, and put me

to bed. I stayed there for hours but not asleep, and came to

about five in the morning with praises on my lips and peace

in my soul.'97

An evangelists' gathering ended up the same way. Cornhill

Manor had never seen such days. One brother was delivered

of a spirit of rejection as he lay under the power of God. It

wasn't long before his 'mouth was filled with laughter, and

his tongue with singing'. Even I got a little 'inebriated'! But

as Peter had said at Pentecost, 'These men are not drunk, as

you suppose' (Acts 2:15). They were filled with God.

Linda saw the room on fire! A flaming sword hurtled to-

wards her and she went over. Gripped by God, her senses

were paralysed. An awesome presence pervaded her soul and

she felt as if she were held in the very sanctuary of God.

'I read St Teresa shortly afterwards,' she told me casually

and I thought, "That's it! That's how I felt."'

'Man!' I thought and realised the truth afresh: 'In the last

days, God says, I will pout out my Spirit on all people. Your

sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see

visions, your old men will dream dreams' (Acts 2:17). In the

Bible, ecstasies, trances and fallings under the power were

well-known and happened to men like Peter, John, and Paul.98

There were later pioneers: mystics, Quakers, Methodists

and the like, but since the awakening at the turn of the twen-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS ON THE MARCH

tieth century, these experiences had become widespread. Now

we lived in days of pentecostal spirituality. Singing in tongues,

miracles, visions and raptures — all were New Testament phe-

nomena. And they happened now!

And so we approached the end of a memorable year. The new

wave of power had landed us on higher ground. Twenty years

had passed since the Holy Spirit had first fallen on the manse

in Bugbrooke. One of our stewards was then a village teen-

ager laughing under the manse chairs. He was now doing it

in our Celebrate Jesus gatherings — along with his son!

1988 had been, to quote our new generation of hippies,

'Amazing!' But, amidst all the supernatural activities of that

summer, the word of God had emerged, giving us clear pro-

phetic direction. With a fresh anointing, and a renewed sense

of destiny, we were to take our place in the mainstream of

God's purposes in Britain.

The years ahead seemed full of hope for all who could hear

the 'sound of marching'. It appeared to many that revival was

drawing near and a new dawn was breaking in British Chris-

tianity. Noel's vision now was of a 'fire movement' in Britain

— a million people ablaze for Christ's kingdom:

Twenty years ago we were caught up in the charismatic move-

ment. Christians everywhere received the bubbling, liberat-

ing baptism of the Spirit. Hundreds of churches found new vi-

tality. Now there is a new beginning. New fires are being lit!

Another movement of God has begun! And the power of a throb-

bing holiness is going to drive back the forces of moral deca-

dence in this nation.99

Communicate!

1989-1993

24 Flowing with the Mainstream

I saw a beam of light that was slowly emerging out of a dark

mist. As it came into focus I could now see it was a city whose

light was of many beautiful colours. This was so striking that

many, who'd paid little attention to it while it was in the mist,

now looked on with great interest.

Of all the colours of this city, gold was the most powerful and

represented the kingship of Christ among his people. Deep red

symbolised the blood of Jesus proclaimed in power. A penetrat-

ing white stood for the purity of lives laid down and shared in

community. Weaving through them all was a fresh green light:

a fearless army who were reaching out to those who were lost

in the blackness all around.

The Holy Spirit brought this vivid picture to Pete 'Just'

shortly before the Jesus Army was launched. We adopted these

colours for our banners. By 1989, after the impact of the

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

anointings, many were seeing us in a new light as we entered

a major phase of communication. After pondering on the 'wis-

dom picture' he'd seen, Pete explained:

For many years God kept us in a mist of quietness, misunder-

standing and rural isolation. In this way he caused our colours

to develop undisturbed and uninfluenced by others. Through

much patient endurance God has established our foundations

and given us some radical distinctives. We can be confident as

we arise and shine as the Jesus Army.

God had been urging Christians in Britain to tear down barri-

ers, to forgive and to support one another. We had responded

and were now building bonds of trust with others. The out-

come was dramatic. As we flowed with the mainstream we

found ourselves being swept along by a new wave of the Spirit.

Heaven alone knew where it would lead us!

The second half of 1988 had run its chaotic course as the

new wine stretched, burst, and overflowed the wineskins of

our hearts. God was healing our emotions, bringing a deeper

sense of his love and rekindling the fires of worship. None

but the cynical could fail to realise that we were entering a

new era.

The Jesus Army was carried along into 1989 with an unpar-

alleled freshness and creativity. This expressed itself in mu-

sic and dance. We threw ourselves into wild praise and in-

vited others to 'Celebrate Jesus and Catch Fire' with us. Praise

brought tremendous spiritual release and the upbeat style of

music communicated the strength of the gospel.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

It was fun too, and the celebrations we held throughout the

country ended with streamers, balloons, party-poppers and

air-horns. Our liberty had grown once more to 'worrying' pro-

portions and I got a lot of exercise dancing in these meetings

(writers need it!)

The music group led us into unexplored regions of wor-

ship, and some of us (brought up on Bach) were amazed to

hear sanctified disco-sounds, as guitars and drums, keyboard,

fiddle and flute joined in praise to God. Together we found

jubilation and joy, as adoration songs from the Vineyard Fel-

lowship, the melodies of Graham Kendrick, and prophetic

songs from the People of Destiny blended with our own to

convey the energy and anointing of the Spirit.

Many responded to the powerful atmosphere of these cel-

ebrations and streamed forward to meet with God, or were

filled (and felled) by the Spirit where they stood. It was when

God's temple was filled with music and praise that the cloud

of glory came down100. Music was high on God's agenda.

The anointing that inspired celebration was still urging us to

communicate, to take risks in this area, and to be vulnerable.

Noel had already enjoyed renewed friendships with men like

Gerald Coates and Roger Forster. Now, he reached out fur-

ther, visiting many other leaders and sharing with them.

Interviews with these 'men of vision' soon appeared in Je-

sus Lifestyle which had quickly changed from a small maga-

zine on community lifestyle into a 32-page quarterly of wide

prophetic thrust.

We had our own contribution to make to the Christian scene:

special treasures like covenant love, celibate commitment,

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

community life and compassionate street work. Other streams

like Ichthus and Pioneer had developed their own distinctives

and we were beginning to enrich one another.

Flowing with the mainstream was a whole new chapter in

our story. What was now happening amongst us was precious.

I wept to see our church becoming young again. At times we

had been proud and pushy. The sword we wielded had

wounded people unnecessarily. But God had applied it to us.

We had tasted humiliation, rejection, failure; God's woundings

had caused us to need others, to recognise our mistakes and

weaknesses, to forgive and be forgiven. And through that open

door sprang a new anointing.

Noel's new vulnerability touched me, his painstaking ef-

forts at reconciliation and the genuineness of his vision for

Britain. But some Christians elsewhere doubted his motives.

Was it all a cosmetic job? Another ruse to sign people up,

promote ourselves? Cynicism came our way and it hurt —

tremendously.

We held a big Celebration that April in Westminster Central

Hall, London. There we presented our first Jesus Army video,

Fighting For You, along with Reinhard Bonnke's A Blood

Washed Africa. Also a well known worship leader joined us

for the evening. The next day in Basingstoke, he sported a

sweatshirt with these words:

Dave Bilbrough appeared with the Jesus Army

And survived!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

Dave's warm-hearted support provoked a fresh burst of con-

troversy in the magazine 21st Century Christian. The editor

had to call a halt to the avalanche of letters with a final word

from John Noble pointing out: 'All the criticisms of Noel Stan-

ton and the Jesus Army were also made of William Booth and

the Salvation Army.'101

John stepped forward at a crucial time for us. As a pioneer

in the house churches himself, he was convinced that God's

agenda was far wider than restorationism, renewalism, or

any other 'ism'. We were grateful for his support, for this was

no time to be isolated and ostracised.

Criticisms continued to come our way but it was the heart

to heart exchanges, the integrity of Jesus Lifestyle, our com-

passionate outreach and the genuine efforts to 'pursue peace

with all men' that helped soften suspicions about the Jesus

Army. It might take a few years and we wouldn't please eve-

rybody (sharp swords aren't meant to!) but, as Roger Forster

assured us, many now admired what we were doing.

The Spirit brought a surge of creativity in the whole area of

communication. Photographers, writers and editors; art, de-

sign and graphics bods; technicians, musicians and songwrit-

ers all put their talents to work. Rufus came into his own in

prophetic drama and a host of prop-makers arose in his train.

John 'Good', the part-time cattleman, played stage manager

for the Celebrate Jesus events. (When the smoke-machine

went wrong, John was to blame!)

We developed our own Jesus Fellowship Resources. An old

outhouse at Sheepfold Grange was converted into a sound

studio where Andy, the lead-guitarist, edited some live wor-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

ship tapes. At Festal Grange John 'Perceptive', our communi-

cations man, took over the attic as a video studio, adding it to

his poky office and darkroom.

The circulation of Jesus Lifestyle mushroomed and was now

reaching many countries. Literature that originated from a

little village in England was being read in Spain and Russia.

One magazine was picked up from a dusty African road on

the way to market! In fact, an overwhelming number of let-

ters began to flood in from Africa with requests for help,

money and Jesus Army jackets!

Our influence was far wider than we'd imagined. Some

looked to us as pioneers. Others waited in the wings to see

how things would turn out. A few groups wanted a closer link

with us, so we arranged occasional gatherings at Battlecen-

tre in London where leaders of other churches could meet

with us over a meal for friendship and encouragement.

As well as offering encouragement, we also had a lot to re-

ceive. From the fiery zeal of Bonnke to the relaxed humour of

Wimber there was so much by way of example. Noel would

return from his Christian travels with more than just new

friendships: anointed songs, ideas, advice and sheer exam-

ples of skill.

One example was the New Zealander, Bill Subritzsky. We

had often cast out demons, but Bill had something to teach

us. The accuracy of his words of knowledge, his sensitivity

and the success with which he ministered, all impressed us.

At our July conference we watched him on video. Then, as we

challenged the demons ourselves, the place erupted with the

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

sounds of screaming, coughing and vomiting. God's temple

was being cleansed and some nasty squatters removed!

But even more inspiring that summer were the delicate ex-

periences some had of smelling beautiful perfume, feeling a

gentle breeze or sensing the presence of angels.

God had created a culture-shock amongst us. Fresh sight blew

away narrow-heartedness, opened up new horizons and bap-

tised us into an awareness of God's movement world-wide.

We felt his heart-throb for the nation and his urge to reach

the unreached. It permeated the songs we sang; 'I have a

destiny', 'We'll walk this land', and 'Heal this nation'.

'Rise up you champions of God!' we cried — 'we'll reach

this generation'. But how? How could we touch a generation

so desperate for reality? Only by being approachable and rel-

evant. To reach and win people was the fire in our hearts that

demanded constant change, ever-fresh initiatives.

Before the melting experiences of 1988 there was a degree

of stiffness in our bones, of awkwardness in our style and of

narrowness in our approach. God coloured us in. We became

warm and attractive again.

Symbolically the now rather drab and tatty combat jackets

were laid aside in preference for bright tee-shirts and sweat-

shirts. New 'space-age' jackets were also on their way. Mot-

tled in red, green, blue, black, brown and khaki, with yellow

patches — the Jesus Army would be about as camouflaged as

a parakeet in Trafalgar Square!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

That summer we scattered 75,000 highly coloured Jesus Revo-

lution Streetpapers around cities, towns, beaches and festi-

vals. (At least one road sweeper came to the Lord!)

We felt the time was ripe for a new Jesus movement — for

Christians to swarm the streets, promoting Jesus as the hero

of the 90s. It was now twenty years since Britain had seen

such an upsurge of excitement amongst the youth with all

their 'Give us a J!' shouts and 'One Way' signals.

Noel (who aims to initiate something every day) came up

with a greeting for the 90s Jesus Movement. When you meet

a Christian, whether in the street or a crowded supermarket,

you lift your right hand and with five fingers spread out (rep-

resenting the five letters of Jesus) you shout 'JESUS!' to him.

Hopefully he returns the greeting. The 'Say Jesus' campaign

was launched, complete with tee-shirts, badges and stickers,

at our summer festival.

These bank-holiday festivals, now held three times a year

in the Giant Marquee at Cornhill, were becoming major land-

marks in our calendar. Many stayed in our community houses.

With so many guests around, this generated a very lively and

brotherly atmosphere.

The programme began with baptisms on Friday evening

and finished on Monday with a queue of people telling how

God had met them over the festival. Some of the stories were

hilarious, others deeply moving. Sandwiched in between was

a lot of vigorous preaching, the occasional video, much per-

sonal ministry, music, praise and rolling in the aisles (for

some). As a leader of King's Church, Chatham, remarked at

the microphone, 'If I'd known the meetings were going to be

this long I'd have brought my flask and sleeping bag!'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

The Spirit that urged us to celebrate and communicate in-

spired us into greater evangelism. Our frontiers opened out.

Mick 'Temperate' was church-planting in Liverpool using a

rented house as a base. His team travelled up from Birming-

ham gathering new friends and developing links with local

leaders, but not without some opposition.

Kelly was on the go in Glasgow and others were pioneering

in Sheffield, Norwich and Oxford. We held 'Beachfire' mis-

sions in coastal resorts and Pete, our Dutch medic, took a

team to Amsterdam. The English double-decker had to have

its tyres deflated to get under the bridges! Proud thing.

At Glastonbury Festival we joined with groups like YWAM

and British Youth For Christ as part of Vic Jackopson's 'Hope

Now' team. The evangelists provided a real Christian pres-

ence there and more than one searcher was baptised in a

barrel of water!

Once a month we ran four-day missions in London known

as EDP (Eat, Drink and Pray!) Brothers and sisters would

walk the streets well into the small hours befriending night-

clubbers and the homeless. At intervals they would return to

the warm bus at Trafalgar Square, sit their friends down with

a cup of tea and fix them a hot meal. They shared God's love

and often prayed with them.

Dave Wilkerson once prophesied that God would 'adopt the

lost generation'. We found the young homeless very open to

God. Spiritual experience and brotherly love made a big im-

pact on them. Quite a few came back to community, and the

Farm, especially, began to burst at the seams with young men

finding life in Jesus, a family and a cause to fight for.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

On our part, we needed to be gracious and tolerant. With-

out the soul-healing dynamite of the Spirit some of us fuddy-

duddies would never have got there! As it was, it seemed like

things were hotting up. Revival was in the air.

At our August Festival we staged some drama which brought

home this sense of a spiritual awakening. Lights went out in

the Golden Marquee as the keyboards built up some intrigu-

ing sounds. The narrator (a heavily-bearded Rufus) was read-

ing from Ezekiel 37:

'So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was proph-

esying there was a noise and the bones came together, bone

to bone.'

A puff of smoke, a play of coloured beams, and three skel-

etons jerked upwards from the stage! Gasps arose from the

thousand-strong crowd. But before they could recover there

was a quick light change and the skeletons were replaced by

a host of farm brothers standing perfectly still, dressed as

the fierce warriors of Israel.

Some of our friends from Chatham looked mildly surprised.

Mind you, they'd seen us doing 'prophetic drama'102 down in

London. Rufus was in his element.

'Come O breath! Breathe into these slain that they may live!'

The music grew stronger as it portrayed the swirling winds

of God's power. At its climax Rufus thundered:

'They came to life and stood up on their feet, a vast army!'

As the motley bunch of ex-homeless, converted new-agers,

travellers and old stagers threw themselves into a wild dance,

we all sang, 'Mighty warrior, dressed for battle!' 'Dry bones'

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were springing to life in this land and taking their place in

God's army.

On the eve of the nineties we all met together for a bumper

Celebration in Northampton. Noel spoke of what lay ahead:

'Beloved, the nineties will be a time of great victories in the

midst of great pain. You see, it's warfare! Praise God we're

fighting, and not drifting! It's a wonderful thing — all that

God has brought us into. Thank God we responded!

'Now the hours of an old decade are dwindling away. For

us, nothing is negative, either now or in the future. As I read

Acts 2 and 4, I'm twice as enthusiastic about Pentecost and

community lifestyle as I've ever been. Nothing I've found in

my travels has persuaded me there is anything better. There

isn't!

'So let us stand with our brethren and sound the trumpet

more clearly than ever before. And in this nation where sin

and desolation have reigned, there will arise the glorious

sound of the triumphs of the gospel!'

The Spirit's wind was blowing stronger now — not only

through obscure little chapels, but over peoples and nations.

As the last day of a decade rolled by, who could not feel that

this was an hour of destiny? So we sang:

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For the glory of the Lord, we advance united!

Following Christ's blazing sword, his dominion

sighted.

All that has been taken, it shall be restored!

This eternal anthem: 'For the glory of the

Lord!'103

Before the midnight chimes of Big Ben were relayed to us

from London, many flocked onto the stage to rededicate their

lives to God. Others moved around praying and counselling.

Then the floor was cleared for a dramatic sketch based on

the message of Luke 14 and Matthew 21: a king sent out mes-

sengers to call his people to a feast but these despised his

invitation and beat the messengers. So he sent them out a

second time to bring in the homeless, the needy and the poor.

And these feasted at his table.

There was a buoyant spirit around and some of us, seeing

our friends putting on a superb act, were reduced to tears of

laughter. But at one point the action paused. As the lights

dimmed and the laughter faded away, Rufus walked on in rags,

sat on the table and spoke gently to the audience:

'You know, it's all for real.

'It seems to me that the call of God starts with the reli-

gious. And he had a pretty good go at getting through to the

likes of me and you! But there comes a time when the Lord

says: "Look, there are people out there who are hungry and

thirsty and desperate." And then he needs messengers who

are willing to go. And that's me and you.

'And that's serious. Because Britain is hard and people are

cold, spiritually. We've got to relate to where people really

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

are. We've got to get down on their level. We've got to weep if

we're going to heal the weeping. We've got to feel rejection if

we're going to get to the rejected. You see what I'm saying?

And that's God's call to us as Christians — to be his messen-

gers for the nineties.

'And let's face it! We may never see a sudden explosion.

We're going to know a lot of hard work. A lot of tears. A lot of

rejection. Probably receive a little bit of violence as well. Are

you ready for that?

'Because the reward is beautiful. The palace of the King is

going to be filled — not just in the eternal kingdom — but

here on earth. That is, people can be brought in to the ban-

quet feast here and now.

'But we've got to do it and take the beatings. We've got to

do it and take the rejections. We've got to do it and take the

critical looks. And most of all, we've got to do it together —

as servants of the King.'

25 Refiner's Fire

1989-1990

During the summer of 1989 disaster had suddenly struck New

Creation Farm. Driving up to the Farm office one afternoon I

noticed that smoke was pouring into the sky above the hill on

which the Farmhouse stood. I guessed that a haystack had

caught fire.

But when I reached the top of the drive the stark reality hit

me. Flames were leaping high into the air. The pigyard was a

raging inferno. Haystacks, sheds and poplar trees were all

alight. Women and children looked on in horror. The Farm

brothers ran around desperately carrying squealing piglets

to safety as the smoke and smell of the roaring fire increased.

Worse was to follow, it seemed, for the wind was steadily

blowing a wall of fire towards the house. Soon New Creation

Farm would be engulfed. Noel and the others in the office

started praying and commanding the flames to retreat. The

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

wind dropped, the firemen arrived and the advancing flames

began to falter.

Thus far and no further would they come. Some of the pop-

lar trees, the proud protectors of our large orchard, had al-

ready been destroyed. But the tree nearest the house re-

mained unburnt, a silent witness to God's intervention.

These natural events now seemed highly symbolic. A spir-

itual fire was raging through the church and some of her

trusted 'protectors' were going through the flames.

A prophecy, written just before the new anointing, had

warned that God would 'search our motives, chase out

deadness and awaken the very soil in which Zion was planted'.

So it proved to be. The Spirit we had first experienced as

sweet wine and healing oil now came as gales of upheaval

and fires of cleansing. At the height of the anointings God

had spoken about this very dramatically to two brothers.

The leaders' meeting was going wild. Many were shaking,

laughing, crying and falling under the power of God. As Ru-

fus was quietly praying he saw a field of wheat. At its centre

a swirling storm was brewing up. Rufus opened his eyes to

view the present chaos.

'Wow! Is this really happening?'

Steve 'Capable' was spinning like a top, swirling round and

round, his arms going up and down, his body swaying and

bending. Lower and lower he swept, faster and faster.

We looked aghast.

'Amazing!' said some.

'Demonic!' muttered others.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

'Prophetic!' whispered Rufus.

'Impossible!' thought Steve as an unseen hand lowered him

onto the floor. He landed, his legs shaking violently and his

head banging from side to side on the wooden floor of the

King's Room at Cornhill. Steve felt an incredible peace, a

mental clarity and a beautiful closeness to God. Physically, it

was impossible — the angle and speed. Spinning of any kind

made Steve feel sick. But he felt wonderful.

'What's going on, Lord?' he asked.

God spoke in his heart: 'This is a sign. I'm doing a new

thing and there will be upheaval. I'm shaking up the whole

mindset of your church.'

Steve remembered how God told Peter, in a trance, to eat

what was unclean and then sent him to the non-Jews.104

'What I am doing will be equally shocking,' the Lord said.

'This new direction will take you forward into my purposes. I

hate your nice British culture. Mine is a new creation. I will

bring upheaval and there will be division.'

Steve sensed a group of leaders who were standing outside

the circle, detached and cynical. He knew they wouldn't last

in that condition. The Spirit continued to speak:

'Some looking on think this is demonic, counterfeit. The

reverse is true. People in this nation have been seeing the

counterfeit for too long. Now is the time for the real thing, a

demonstration of a supernatural Christian counterculture. The

counterfeit, the cults, the New Age — all these are but imita-

tions. This will be my culture, my Zion.'

Now, a year later, there was a divine insecurity around. God

was disturbing us, bringing back the freshness, buzz, and

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

sense of adventure we'd known at the start. But as we en-

tered the new era some clung to the past. Others held onto

wrong attitudes: self-righteousness, hypocrisy, lukewarmness

and legalism. As God shook us up everything came to the

surface. Hearts came out for good or ill. And in the midst of

the shaking some of us were caught out.

Over the years some had been unable to cope with our pio-

neering and had left. Any army on the advance has its losses.

But now there was a double reaction. Some welcomed our

new direction as offering them a broader path and the oppor-

tunity to embrace the world. Others were too narrow and

resisted the innovations, whether boisterous praise, drama,

videos, flashing lights or flowing with the mainstream.

As for Noel, he seemed an annoying blend of stubbornness

and flexibility. Though resistant to criticism, he was full of

surprises and ready for change. When sufficiently convinced,

he could enthusiastically preach what he had once had little

time for. Some couldn't take that. They saw the way we were

now going as a sell-out, the end of what we'd fought and sac-

rificed for. They lost confidence in the prophetic direction

and became cynical.

Amongst those caught up in this was the senior man at Corn-

hill. Mark had been with us almost from the beginning and

typified all we were in terms of 'Zion'. A leading celibate, his

emphasis was on purity, unworldliness and brotherhood. Mark

was highly regarded and influential.

Over recent years he'd developed reservations about the

direction we were taking and, despite being one of Noel's

closest advisors, was unable to resolve them. Mark wasn't

keen on the Jesus Army image, nor was he impressed with all

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

the changes that had come from hob-knobbing with other char-

ismatics. Shoutings and shakings, dancing and drama were,

in his eyes, so many fireworks that distracted us from our

true calling.

Most of us were happy with the new direction, but those

who resisted it increasingly lost their bearings. Some of them

gravitated towards Mark, who became more and more bogged

down with their problems. The new anointings came as a di-

vide. The cloud moved on, and those who did not move with it

found themselves struggling.

The whole Fellowship was going through a time of sifting

and refining. The central ground was under attack and en-

thusiasm for our special distinctives was being eroded in the

minds of some of our members.

Families who'd found it hard to keep up with the pace in

the Jesus Army were tempted to compare our rigorous stand-

ards with the less demanding lifestyles enjoyed in other Chris-

tian scenes. Maybe community, or even covenant commitment,

wasn't such an important issue after all, they thought.

Some celibates began to question their lifelong vows; a few

brothers were losing their way by getting too involved with

sisters. The London household was badly hit when their main

celibate brother and a leading sister whom he pastored sud-

denly left together.

September 1989 was declared a month of cleansing. The out-

ward move into the mainstream had partly strengthened,

partly weakened our central vision. It was sorting people out.

The focus now shifted to the internal strength of the church:

her holiness, distinctives and prophetic call.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

Victor, myself and Justin, a bright-eyed hippie, met privately

to encourage one another in the pursuit of holiness. Wesley

was a major inspiration to us at the time:

Refiner's fire go though my heart,

Illuminate my soul. Scatter

Thy life through every part

And sanctify the whole.

The experience of 'entire sanctification' had been at the

heart of the Methodist revival and the Salvation Army and

we wondered if it was a treasure to be recovered in our day.

A much broader group of brothers and sisters, led by Steve

'Capable', rose once a week before dawn and converged on

New Creation Hall to pray. There, above the foodstore, inspi-

ration flowed as the 'watchmen' prayed, lay prostrate, lis-

tened to God and gained fresh vision. Prophetic wisdom came

thick and fast; judgement had begun at the house of God.

God was humbling and purifying his people.

That autumn we reprinted an article by John Wimber, whose

Vineyard churches had received some corrective input from

Paul Cain. God was pruning many vineyards, exposing sin,

humbling the proud and creating holiness. John wrote:

The true call of the church is to the cross. We are called to die

to ourselves and the world. This might mean lowering stand-

ards of living and giving up a significant amount of recreational

and entertainment time for higher purposes.105

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

John Wimber felt that Western Christianity was lukewarm

and needed to repent of its materialism. God was after serv-

ants not self-helpers. With the people crying out for reality,

God was intent on blasting away the blockages in the church

and getting us into shape for the harvest.

1990 opened with tremendous vision for Christians in Brit-

ain. Life and colour was invading the churches and every-

body was talking (and writing) about revival. We too were

expectant. Men Alive for God, our own leaders meetings and

the first Wembley Praise-Day all carried a 'buzz'.

Noisy, colourful and powerful, Wembley was for us a land-

mark, a prophetic pointer to the wide and warm-hearted

friendship that was beginning to characterise Christian lead-

ership in Britain. As John Noble shared, he admired the fiery

spirit of Peter, but we also needed the heart of John to mend

the nets. Philip Mohabir from the Afro-Caribbean Evangeli-

cal Alliance moved some of us to tears as he pleaded for a

'passionate passion' and for the healing of divisions.

We realised there was a need for us to forgive. This was

emphasised by some wisdom that a sister had received.

I saw a beautiful city. It stood on a hill whose warm red glow

was drawing the people like a magnet. The hill was made up of

thousands of interlocking tiles. Each tile represented a single

act of forgiveness. 'Because there has been so much forgive-

ness,' the Lord said, 'I have been able to raise my city high. But

should you not forgive, then it will sink and none shall see her

beauty.'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

We determined to forgive one another and to forgive all

who'd written or spoken against us. We also took what steps

we could to be reunited in heart with the Baptist Union and

the Evangelical Alliance. We prepared a Declaration for Wem-

bley in which we resolved 'to love, forgive and encourage

one another and enthusiastically believe that fires of revival

are breaking out in church and nation.'

At Wembley, Lynn Green from YWAM challenged us to catch

some of the fire now blazing in much of the third world and to

plant churches throughout Britain. We had already set tar-

gets for church-planting but resources were low and some

problems still unresolved. We opened a new house in Oxford

but it was our only purchase. 1990 was a year for mending

nets.

The tearing and repairing went on. Church membership

was growing but more were moving out of community than

in. These included a handful of committed celibates who now

wanted to marry. Such breakdowns in celibacy showed the

need for pure motives, caution and wisdom in dealing with a

gift as vulnerable as it was precious. We urged a trial year

before making a celibate vow.

Happily many who struggled with temptations found a

deeper reality, not in repressing their emotions, but in rekin-

dling their passion for Jesus. First love was really what all

this upheaval was about.

At the Easter Festival the theme was full surrender. Many

came forward for 'sanctification' but I found it hard to be-

lieve that all who shot their hand up afterwards had really

entered the sunlit regions of perfect love. Especially those

who then lit up outside!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

By this time I was between the millstones. I'd moved to

Oxford full of vision and expected God's glory to follow my

ministry. I wanted to call the new place 'Shekinah House'.

'Crucifixion House would be more like it,' retorted Noel. He

was right, of course. God's agenda of humbling proud lead-

ers graciously took me in. Desolation and inadequacy clipped

my wings. I forsook my crumbling celibate commitment, re-

linquished all my apostolic aspirations and came home with

a broken heart.

More serious was the situation with the critics. The boil of

cynicism seemed to be growing. Noel's interest in the 'pro-

phetic movement' did little to please them. During the May

Festival we listened to a tape about the 'Kansas City proph-

ets' with their uncanny words of knowledge and predictions

of fireballs of revival falling on London.

When Roger Forster went to see Paul Cain, Paul prophesied

over him: 'There's a breakthrough like you've never dreamed

of. God's new thing is coming to England, and he's going to

call it his strange act. It is going to be revolutionary.'

Though we couldn't approve of everything we heard about

them, these men did bring a timely emphasis on the prophetic

dimension — especially as it related to purity in the church.

Amongst us things came to a head. During the festival some

of the community stalwarts stood at the back of the marquee

or disappeared into the grounds. It was all too much; all this

bopping to the beat and falling around!

'What's Zion coming to?' they murmured. 'Spirituality

means holiness and discipleship, not a load of circus dramat-

ics.'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

As the July convocation came round, Mark and others aban-

doned ship. At Cornhill disillusionment threatened to set in.

Some there felt that God was judging their household. They

prayed fervently and repented. Amidst a tottering scene, a

banner of loyalty was raised and the humble stepped forward

to fill the gap. Their young musician sang this lament to the

church:

For those who once walked in your light,

For those who once fought with us in the fight,

For those who have wandered away,

For those ones we pray.

Rob walked off stage unable to finish and many wept.

The rest of the summer revealed the sad effect of compro-

mise and human cleverness throughout the church. Well-es-

tablished families were shaken and a few made a sad exit

from community. Most remained in membership, but others

left us completely with all the pain of breaking covenant.

Pete, my buddy from the Hall days, was on the way out with

his family. It gutted us to see 'princes in Zion' and old friends

leaving. Breaking covenant wasn't some kind of legalistic

crime. It was more like divorce. We had stood side by side,

had fought, loved, laughed and cried together. How could we

forget that? These guys were precious. They were Zion's heart.

The senior men now closed ranks and trod gently in a situ-

ation which could have been very serious. The quality of rela-

tionships amongst its leaders determines the fate of any

church. We had to get this right for the future.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

At our leaders meeting we sang 'For the glory of the Lord

we advance united' with a new determination. But it was a

chastened people who were entering the 90s. Building the

church and bringing the gospel was nothing if not heartbreak.

We felt, deep down, that an amazing spiritual revolution would

sweep Britain. But, as our songs reminded us, this meant 'sow-

ing in tears', and 'bleeding with Jesus'.

A new wave of prophetic leadership emerged. Steve 'Capa-

ble' said goodbye to his sheep (woolly variety) at Plough Farm

to rebuild the damaged household in London. Pete Valiant

left Shalom farmhouse to take the helm at Cornhill. He ar-

rived like Nehemiah; sat, listened and grieved. Then he rolled

up his sleeves and got down to work. God gave Pete one word

for Cornhill: 'Behold I make all things new.'

Huw, an Oxford man and old friend of mine, came to the

fore combining school-teaching with magazine editing,

church-planting and writing the occasional hymn. Huw oozed

warmth and friendship and was a brilliant advert for celi-

bacy. He wanted to see its cutting edge sharpened. 'Go for it

if you dare!' he wrote in Jesus Lifestyle:

The spirit of the world has invaded the church in this whole

area. But God is raising up a band of spiritually undiluted men

and women whose sacrificial offering and prophetic sharpness

will be the strength of the future.106

Huw, Pete and Steve (and a married Rufus) were a part of

God's move to establish the church in the new anointing.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

At the August Festival Noel referred to The Gravedigger File

by Os Guinness.107 This book spoke of the devil's strategy to

subvert Western Christianity. Doubts and discouragement

sown in the mind would produce cynicism causing the church

to abandon its radical call. Only constant pursuit of the pro-

phetic vision could stop the church digging its grave.

It was time to tackle cynicism head on. We launched a cam-

paign to strengthen the heart of community and to sharpen

up our distinctives. The previous year we'd used in our weekly

Agape a basic Bible study by Bob Gordon. We now focused on

our own accumulated wisdom about 'Zion', setting out the

biblical basis of our radical teachings and lifestyle.

Opening ourselves to the mainstream had threatened to

blunt our prophetic edge. Easier paths were on offer. That

was why we had once stood apart. The city needed to stay

firmly on the hill, undiluted, undiminished and uncomprom-

ised if ever she was to meet the desperate need for God's

alternative.

It was the Zion vision that had captured Steve 'Capable's'

heart back in 1975. As a searcher and psychedelic hippie,

Steve was looking for a spiritual counterculture. His instinct

for holiness found a home in Jesus and amongst us.

Now Steve was a sensitive leader and the anointing that

had swallowed up his negativity began to work wonders in

London. The family at Battlecentre rallied to Steve's warmth

and inspiration as he spoke of the city of God from Isaiah:

'Your sons come from afar and your daughters are carried on

the arm. Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will

throb and swell with joy' (Is 60:4, 5).

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Things began to happen. Ian 'Courageous', desperate to

break with the cynicism in and around him, went down to

join Steve. Another young leader who'd left us in frustration

returned.

Steve correctly prophesied that the phone and the doorbell

would be constantly ringing as people sought them out. Chris-

tians with real kingdom sight began to turn up — one arriv-

ing after the wind had wrapped a streetpaper round his feet!

During one mealtime Steve suddenly had a conviction that

God would knit a black brother to them. He said so. The next

day YWAM rang about a young man from Zimbabwe looking

for a church. Edwin took to this vigorous brotherhood and

made a lively addition to the London scene.

Glastonbury brought another 'son from afar'. Aussie Tim

was on a world tour. He knew about Jesus but couldn't relate

to the middle of the road Christianity he had encountered.

For him it was all or nothing. So he continued his pursuit of

pleasure. Then a bad LSD trip at Glastonbury shook him. He

stumbled his way to the Christian tent and gave his life to

God. Back at London Tim seized the radical vision with both

hands and soon took his stand for celibacy. Steve was de-

lighted. Tim grinned. His girlfriend burst into tears.

So it went on. Other prophetic words were fulfilled. A strong

core developed. Battlecentre became a 'city sought out.' Com-

munity, covenant brotherhood, consecration, celibacy; wher-

ever the anointing flowed the four 'C's flourished. God showed

us the reality of this in some very significant wisdom.

In the centre of Zion stood an old leather chest which contained

the many treasures God had given us. A crowd of demons were

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trying to drag the chest away and were meeting with some suc-

cess. As I watched them, I grew anxious. Then suddenly a mag-

nificent young lion sprang in and scattered the demons. He sat

majestically on the box and guarded the treasure. To my horror,

some were ordering him to go.

Ironically those who had feared for 'old Zion' fought most

against her. They wanted a tame lion. But the anointing had

come in wild and was renewing her. Only pride and legalism

were blown out. The heart of it all, brotherhood love and radi-

cal New Testament faith, remained and was made young.

1990 had been a painful turning point. A second Wembley

Praise-Day later that year was a resounding success and re-

ceived support from a very wide spectrum of church leaders.

Dave Fellingham from New Frontiers helped to lead the wor-

ship and spoke of many streams flowing together as one great

river. Then the American, Larry Alberts, spoke with a pro-

phetic clarity that said it all:

'God is shaking us. A sword is passing low over the body of

Christ. The proud are being taken out.'

In the world, the nations too were being shaken, and in the

climate of failed materialism people were turning to God. But

only from a humbled church would God's river truly flow.

26 Jesus Revolution

The rock group explodes into action and 600 worshippers jump

to their feet in an eruption of happiness. Arms stretched heav-

enwards, feet tapping, they sway together, exuberant in their

song of praise. They belt out 'I believe in Jesus. I believe he is

the Son of God.'

Many are in their late teens or early twenties. All are casu-

ally dressed. Disillusioned by the selfish, grabbing philosophy

of the 80s, these new young Christian soldiers, many of whom

come from broken homes or have been in trouble with the law,

are seeking happiness and fulfilment. For more than an hour

they sing their heart out until the atmosphere among the Jesus

Fellowship becomes electric. Then, standing in front of a huge

banner proclaiming Love, Power and Sacrifice, their leader, Noel

Stanton, tells them; 'We are part of a revolution that is taking

place in the land. A revolution of love, of joy, of justice.'108

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

So ran a colourful centre-page spread in the Daily Mirror.

As 1991 broke upon us, national papers focused on the star-

tling results of a UK church census that had just been re-

leased in the book 'Christian' England.109

As the Mirror informed us, 'Figures show that the evan-

gelical movement is booming — fuelled by the more extreme

charismatics.' The report continued:

Half a million people have stopped going to church in the past

10 years, yet each Sunday 130 Christian soldiers swell the ranks

of a new church army. While the pews are continuing to empty,

a huge religious revival is underway.110

The Daily Mirror reported that 'house-churches have gath-

ered more than 120,000 followers in an explosion of commit-

ment.' It concluded: 'Though more traditional forms of reli-

gion are in decline, the new churches — noisy, informal pas-

sionate go from strength to strength.'111

The Independent On Sunday was also hot on the trail of

these Christian enthusiasts and sent a journalist out to inves-

tigate. She arrived at our second Wembley Praise-Day:

At the sound of the very first note, hundreds leapt to their feet

with hope in their eyes and hunger in their hearts. There fol-

lowed 12 hours of exhausting bouts of singing, excited preach-

ing by a succession of speakers from around the world, and a

circus of 'signs and wonders' as faith healers, exorcists, tongue

talkers and prophets performed... And, on cue, hundreds poured

forward to be saved.112

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

The 'highly charged' atmosphere at Wembley was not

unique. The reporter noted that, 'hundreds of such gather-

ings took place last year'. Her research ranged from John

Wimber, ex jazz-player, to George Carey, the new Archbishop

of Canterbury; from the Evangelical Alliance and March for

Jesus to new churches like Ichthus and Jesus Fellowship.

She judged that 'the continuing ascent of the evangelicals

can only be accelerated this year'. The press had been alerted

to an 'extraordinary charismatic renewal worldwide' — and

it was transforming church life in the UK.

There was now a strong sense of destiny for Britain. The empty

materialism of the 80s had produced a huge reaction and spir-

itual hunger was taking millions into drugs, mysticism and

the occult. It was also drawing them to Jesus. As the media

travelled from New Age sites like Findhorn, Glastonbury and

Stonehenge, to the Jesus marches, Christian festivals and cel-

ebrations, they noted a major spiritual uprising in the UK.

We were in for an interesting decade as New Church and

New Age movements both gathered momentum.

Fresh winds were also blowing into the more traditional

Church of England. But whatever form church life took, it

needed to be sufficiently anointed and relevant to reach peo-

ple.

The Daily Mirror had told the story of Frankie, one of a

group of warm hearted and quick-witted young men whom

the Farm brothers first met as homeless rogues in London:

Frankie McGaughey, 19, had already served 11 months for bur-

glary and was on the run with an 18-month suspended sentence

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

hanging over him, when he met two members of the Jesus Army.

'The world was doing my head in. I was a tear-away, a thug.

Prison didn't change me, it only made me worse. I changed

when I decided to follow Jesus,' he said. 'I gave up crime and

drinking. It's beautiful what Jesus can do. My mum can't be-

lieve the change in me.'113

When this issue reached his home town in Northern Ire-

land, all copies quickly sold out as people read the amazing

news that 'bad' Frankie had been converted. Thousands heard

Frankie tell of his conversion on Irish radio.

Ronnie, a young Anglo-Indian, soon joined Frankie in his

pilgrimage from the streets of London to the home-fires of

the Farm. As Ronnie 'Zealous' told me: 'We got a lot of racial

abuse in the East End. My dad got stabbed on his own door-

step. We had to board the windows up at night. For two years

I was living on the streets doing crime and dope. I knew about

God and my conscience plagued me. Then three of us were

invited up to the Farm for a weekend. As soon as I stepped

into the house I knew I belonged. I could be myself. The next

day there was a wedding in chapel. We skinned up and went

for a smoke outside. Rufus was brilliant. He came out and

prayed with us. I found the Lord in a big way.'

Roger Ellis, leader of Revelation, a new youth church in

Chichester, made this observation to the Daily Mirror:

'Young people among us find a Christianity that is relevant to

their everyday needs. Sometimes youngsters with nose rings

and spiky hair aren't welcome in traditional churches. They don't

feel comfortable. We welcome anyone. We don't say, "Get your

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hair cut, take your earrings out, get a Cliff Richard smile." We

say it's the heart that's important.'114

Charismatic worship had made some amazing inroads into

the churches yet the mood was too often white, western, mid-

dle-class and selfish. So many were good with the comfort-

able, but not so bright with the outsiders and rebels.

During the 60s Jesus Movement in America many in the

counterculture found in Jesus their model revolutionary —

the Messiah who kicked the old system and established the

new. Sadly few evangelicals were big enough to accommo-

date their unconventional zeal. Some of the hippies became

cult fanatics. Others fizzled out. Those who stood were often

isolated in a youth-culture which lacked the breadth of God's

real alternative.

The searchers of the 60s found the establishment a turn-

off. But things were changing. God's Spirit was breaking the

chains of culture and freeing his people emotionally.

At our first Marquee campaign in Liverpool, Noel spoke of

three breakthroughs — in the heavens, on the streets and in

the church. The angelic war had been engaged and God's

power was breaking through. Hearts were hungry as never

before. The 60s Jesus Movement had barely touched this coun-

try but now a new wave was on its way. Thousands would find

God at festivals, on the beaches and in the streets. This was

God's hour for the church as one favourite hymn declared:

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The time has come to favour Zion,

The King of glory is marching in this land!

Oh, a mighty Jesus revolution

Is advancing! The kingdom is at hand!

One person was guaranteed to be ecstatic about all this, as

my journal showed:

Yesterday Huw and I bumped into an inspired Rufus on the black-

currant field. He'd had a brilliant prayer walk with his new 'son'

Ronnie 'Zealous' and they'd prophesied together. He was full of

this Jesus uprising; the hunger, teachability and readiness for

sacrifice among the youth.

'Ah bro', he said, 'people are desperate for Jesus. They've

tried everything. They know it's all a rip off. It never produced

the goods. Now's the time for Jesus. They're talking about him.

They're singing about him. They're writing about him. The very

earth is crying out for him. Can't you feel it? It's had enough of

new-agers and priests and pagans. The very soil of Britain is

thirsty for God!'

That summer we concentrated our faith and resources on the

Jesus Revolution. Image and dress were progressively up-

dated. Exuberance, festivity and buzz characterised a church

that was beginning to put on its festal garments and dance

through the streets. A drab nation needed a colourful church

and all over Christendom God was waking his sleeping beauty.

Under a hot August sun we staged a Jesus Demonstration

in Trafalgar Square. With the foot of Nelson's column adorned

by a Revolution Flame banner and the band belting it out

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

between two bronze lions, we sang and danced the afternoon

away in a fast moving programme of power, testimony and

sheer exultation. Airbrushed tee-shirts, painted faces and

break dancing emphasised its informality.

A new Jesus movement was taking off and we wanted to be

in at the start. We were limbering up, getting God's new soci-

ety out into the open. Fortunately we had a crop of new disci-

ples like Frankie and Ronnie 'Zealous' who were better on

the streets than us oldies. They'd been there.

Personally I liked the vision but took some time getting my

head round it. Surely, God's revolution overturned the world's

values. So what about this upbeat, like-unto-the-world stuff?

It was to communicate with the youth-culture. Hence the beat,

the colour and the drama. The shock did us good, but it was

really for those we were trying to reach.

Jesus called his people to be in the world but not of it. Ger-

ald Coates reckoned that most Christians were better at be-

ing 'of the world but not in it'! We were finding the balance of

being different, yet relevant.

Youngsters were hungry for warmth and experience. They

found God 'mind-blowing', community 'amazing' and the music

'cool'. But it was love that kept them. Houses where love was

weak stood half-empty. But houses where warm, inspired lead-

ers devoted themselves to their 'sons' both grew and pros-

pered. Battlecentre and the Farm were outstanding exam-

ples — as I noted in my journal:

At a Farm prayer time, someone saw a pair of shoes. The next

day Paul Raj, John Noble's friend from India, walked in, took off

his shoes and worshipped. 'I've never felt God's presence like

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this in Britain,' he said. Then Paul, who's in revival back home,

prophesied how God would use us. Already the homeless, ad-

dicts and rent boys are finding God. They're coming home with

extremist hearts. But they need fathers.

Most books I'd read on revival majored on prayer, spiritual

warfare, and the like. But the father-heart was also vital. Much

of the anointings had been to this end, not just to bring power,

but to release us in love. It was one thing to minister from the

platform, quite another to get deeply involved with people.

Leaders who experienced hearty friendships were very at-

tractive. Our group in Leicester was one example. Spring-

field House had been having a bad year. Clive, the cutting

celibate, couldn't gel with Victor, the mystical married. But

when Victor went off to Africa, Clive soon rang him up to tell

him how much he was missing him. That day they became

friends and when Victor got home things started to happen.

Jez had been deeply affected by a visit to our community a

long time ago but had blanked God and devoted himself to

his guitar. For ten years he'd fought his conscience, plunging

deeper into the music scene — drink, drugs, and the like. At

last, with his friend Craig playing drums, he began to make it

big in Spain. Then, with success in his grasp, Jez flew back to

England, climbed a hill and gave his life to God. He laid down

his guitar, cut off his long ginger dreadlocks, burned his de-

signer clothes and embraced celibacy. Amazed, Victor and

Clive welcomed him in. Craig soon followed.

Springfield's sisterhood also thrived as two girls, friends of

Jez and Craig, came to the Lord and moved in. Lesley, a lead-

ing celibate, was already looking after a pair of sisters who'd

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

come out of the New Age scene. She was now surrounded by

a growing flock — motherhood!

Africa was one of God's surprises. A student from Ghana had

met us on our Oxford campaign, stayed at Vineyard for a while,

and returned to Kumasi as a covenant member. Before long

Steve 'Ambassador' had gathered 80 people around him. Mike

'Rockfast' (prophetic administrator), Victor (inspirational

teacher) and Bill 'Truthful' (the power man) went out to nur-

ture the young church and meet others from Ghana and Ni-

geria. The team found new power in healing and deliverance

and baptised 34 members of Jesus Fellowship Kumasi in the

river — once a thirsty camel had moved out of the way!

Shepton Mallet was another surprise. We'd targeted 28 new

households in cities ranging from Brighton to Manchester

and from Norwich to Bristol. Shepton wasn't among them.

But a cell group mushroomed there through prayer, faith and

a lot of travelling. Mature Christians were joining them.

Shepton attracted one seeker who'd taught Krishna con-

sciousness in India. Graham's search for purity had been frus-

trated till he found Jesus back in England. When he visited a

friend who was also newly converted, Graham heard our lat-

est tape, Blazing Sword, and was very challenged.

Days later his friend was throwing some things from his

past onto the fire when the music-centre switched itself on.

The song came through, 'Not for nothing are we leaving all

behind'. They were stunned. That night they met with the

Shepton group and Graham was baptised in the Holy Spirit.

All thanks to an invisible finger on the ON switch!

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Angelic activity seemed to be increasing. Some often saw an-

gels — especially women and young children. It was not unu-

sual for a little girl to tell me that two angels were dancing at

my side or that a huge warrior was guarding the Golden Mar-

quee with a drawn sword. One blind sister informed me that

the angels got excited when we sang 'Servant King' and our

own song, 'One touch of God'. Well of course.

Late one night Wilf and another brother from Living Stones

were up late making a recording of 'Servant King'. When they

played the song back they heard a high, sweet voice joining

in. The hair on Wilf's neck stood on end.

Another incident at Living Stones was also remarkable. A

Spanish sister had gone to her room to pray before dinner.

She received a powerful anointing of the Spirit. This spread

to the other sisters and soon the shrieking and laughter alerted

the rest of the house. When two brothers reached the foot of

the staircase they were overwhelmed by a wave of power. It

was swiftly followed by a pair of intoxicated sisters who tum-

bled down the stairs. They all crawled into the lounge where

the household had gathered to 'say grace'.

There was more grace than bargained for! As the worship

became awesome many saw or sensed angels; some in the

room joining in the praise, others dancing on the lawn or sit-

ting in the trees. One striking figure Norma saw was so tall

that his belt buckle was level with the ceiling.

The worship time lasted all evening. Wilf, one of the least

affected, spent most of his time getting dinners out of the

oven, looking on in dismay and putting them back again! At

1.00 am Kelly, the practical mystic, suggested they call it a

day. After all, they did have work in the morning.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

Another story came from our Sheffield evangelism; a brother

was trying to rescue someone from being beaten up by a gang

when one of them flew at him with both fists. Suddenly a

smart young man leapt in and shielded him from the blows.

'Thanks!' said the brother afterwards.

Noticing he was carrying our Streetpaper, he added: 'I'm

from the Jesus Army.'

The stranger smiled warmly. 'Oh, I know all about you!'

And he wandered off.

The evangelist turned to the sisters opposite. 'Did you see

that?'

'Yes. Amazing. His fists kept stopping in mid-air.'

'I mean the guy in the suit.'

'What guy?' they asked.

Angels, anointings, adventures! The summer began to crackle

as the disappointments of 1990 turned into to a fresh exhila-

ration. The first edition of Fire in our Hearts was well re-

ceived and many, on hearing the story 'from the horse's

mouth', became firm friends and supporters. Not all were

convinced, but new church leaders like Gerald Coates were

very appreciative, and Bryn Jones described God's work

among us as 'a miracle in our time'.115

New members glimpsed the treasures of our heritage and

veterans sniffled and laughed their way through a story they

knew so well. It was all part of a rediscovery — of our call to

be a people for God and of our mission to the 'poor'.

After the book was launched I locked horns with Mike and

Huw over my intention to marry. Sometimes authors disa-

gree and Mike lived up to his name — 'Rockfast'! I decided to

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

go for a walkabout. It was a chance to see how green the

grass was outside.

Visiting new churches broadened my outlook, but I missed

the 'gutsy' types I'd grown to love in the Jesus Army. The

absence of tattoos, weird haircuts, nose-rings, lace-less

squaddy boots and friendship bands made me a little home-

sick amongst the well-mannered, the groomed and the beau-

tiful. There were exceptions, but it struck me how hard the

average Christian finds it to relate to people 'on the level'.

Hence so few of the liberated, the outrageous and the differ-

ent. I missed the raw energy of the sons of thunder.

And where on earth was the church on Monday? Seriously.

I tried the Yellow Pages. The City Christian Fellowship or the

Lord's Community Church sounded tasty, but all I got was a

recorded invite to the Sunday meeting. I could be dead by

then! In the early days at Bugbrooke we met six nights a week

and God led us into a kingdom culture. I knew that without

such an ever-present alternative many of our guys would never

make it. Nor would I. The church was in my blood. 'Zion' was

my life, my dream, the fabric of my soul.

Fortunately, the brethren at home proved more accommo-

dating than first appeared. After meeting some good people

and tasting a little of the sweetness elsewhere, I found my-

self back at Wembley. Back to excitement and colour; to flash-

ing lights and videos, to fast-moving programmes and to wild

and tattooed youngsters. To loud music and to noise. To noise!

'Oh God', I groaned, 'do we really need all this?'

My mind turned to pleasant house-groups, to quiet early

nights in my own room, to undisturbed morning meditations,

(Ah!) and to the sweet freedom of sunny October days.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

Then the lights went on. Noel had asked three lads onto the

stage and was telling their stories:

'This is Pete "Noble". Pete's mum was 15 when he was born

and he was adopted by a middle class family. In his early

teens he left home a rebel. Living on the streets and in squats

he got into drugs; speed, coke, crack, anything. Pete had a

faith in God but didn't know where to find him. He became a

registered heroin addict and a dealer. At 18 he jumped off a

30-foot bridge on acid and broke both his legs. After he came

out of hospital things got worse. When a sister met him in

Bristol he weighed 5½ stone and had been given less than a

year to live. Pete came back to one of our houses, found the

love of Jesus and was baptised in the Holy Spirit.'

The tears began to fall. I was overwhelmed by God's kind-

ness, amazed that these were my brothers. Here was conver-

sion, raw, radical, powerful. Soon all who'd been homeless,

abused or in prison were climbing onto the stage. And they

just kept coming. This was it. This was Jesus. Then the Corn-

hill family came on doing a dance routine. Rob was rapping:

A new revolution's happening in town,

We're the Jesus People, come on down!

There's revolution talk right out there -

There's revolution power right in here!

You see, this revolution is one of love,

And this revolution is one of joy,

And this revolution is one of peace,

And this revolution is one of justice;

Where people of all class and race

Get saved and healed in Jesus' grace;

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The lame, the sick, the dirty, the drunks,

The posh, the poor, the bad, the punks,

The tall, the short, the fat, the thin;

Anyone who wants can all join in.

And in they came: dear old John 'Venerable' dressed as a

vicar; Lionel wearing a dinner jacket and Marion in a gown,

Janie as a hippie, a sister on a stretcher, a traffic warden, a

lollipop lady, street kids tumbling in, a beggar and a bishop

— even the BBC — all joined in, till the stage was all life,

energy and colour. The audience was taken by storm. The

young lion had sprung into Cornhill. The revolution had be-

gun.

The author of 'Christian' England predicted that 'leaders, pio-

neers and visionaries will be of the essence in the 90s'.116

Alpha magazine too was urging us all in the new churches to

'break the mould'.117 By 1991 people in Britain were begin-

ning to realise that a giant had awoken in their midst — if an

article in Elle magazine was anything to go by:

Evangelicals are successfully tapping into a collective mood that

crosses all boundaries and satisfies the desire for spiritual ab-

solutes. Their campaign to win the nation for Jesus will be long

and arduous, and not without its casualties. But know this; in

the battle for souls, tomorrow belongs to them.118

27 New Horizons

The Wembley gatherings expanded our vision way beyond

our own work. Reports of growth in South America, India

and Korea were staggering. We saw Chinese believers on

video, tearstained and passionate. Africans in their thousands

looked like fields of ripe wheat waving under God's power. In

so many nations there was fervour, spirit, life.

In the light of this, Europe was a darkened continent, a

secular jungle. If Britain looked a little brighter, the flight

from the churches continued here unabated. And if North

America had its display of power, it lacked the purity of the

people's movement that was sweeping the third world.

The West was in trouble. Whilst poor Christians were spir-

itually rich, rich Christians were poor. In the global church,

pale faces now stood in the minority. Interest in church growth

soared as white westerners stooped to learn from their col-

oured brothers.

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Peter Wagner wrote of the pentecostal churches in Latin

America.119 Here were red-blooded enthusiasts who took the

good news to the people. Pastors were poor, often illiterate,

and bore more resemblance to the disciples of Jesus than the

bible students of the West. Poverty kept them in touch with

the common man. Their college was the street, their success

measured by the number of churches they'd planted. In the

third world poverty and hardship had produced good soil for

the gospel. By contrast so many westerners were weighed

down with wealth and stunted by comforts. What hope was

there for us? In 1989 Rob White of British Youth for Christ

told us in an interview for Jesus Lifestyle how he'd seen Jesus

with his back on Europe.

'You've waved me goodbye in Europe', the Lord said.

'Do you really need me?' And this he asked three times.

'Yes Lord, we really need you!' I cried in earnest.

'But do you realise that will mean holiness?'

And it was like hanging on his coat tails saying, 'Turn round

Lord. Please turn round!'

And he began to turn round.120

Within a year communism had collapsed in Europe and peo-

ple were dancing on the ruins of the Berlin Wall.

Economic recession, family breakdown and moral decay had

opened people up spiritually in Europe, especially Britain.

The massive response to March for Jesus revealed a grass-

roots movement hungry for spiritual life. When 50,000 Chris-

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tians crammed the streets of London some had felt that a

major awakening in the UK was at last a possibility.

Many Christians now carried a vision to see a vibrant church

operating in every local community in the UK by the year

2,000. Lynn Green of YWAM, who was closely involved with

this Challenge 2,000 vision, explained:

In some cities church leaders were already working together in

a shared strategy. Against this background a consultation on

church planting was held at the invitation of March for Jesus,

the Evangelical Alliance and the Bible Society.121

They agreed on a method which had met with success in

the third world. DAWN (Discipling A Whole Nation) was a

strategy to mobilise all the Christian groupings into wide-

spread church-planting throughout their nation. Planting new

churches, according to church-growth experts, had proved

the most effective method of evangelism in the third world. It

was clearly the way forward for the UK.

The DAWN Congress gathered leaders from 32 denomina-

tions in the UK. These agreed on a target of 20 per cent of the

population attending church by the year 2,000. To achieve

this goal, Christians in the UK would have to plant 20,000

new churches in the space of eight years — a staggering

number.

Some of our own men attended this Congress and submit-

ted the Jesus Army targets for those eight years. Shortly af-

ter, a DAWN representative spoke to our gathered leader-

ship. From then on it was all targets, goals, reports and end-

less reams of paper! Our plan was to divide up the UK into 24

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regions and apportion them to regional leadership teams. New

style Jesus Army maps were soon hanging boldly in our houses

displaying these 24 regions and their pioneering activities.

We had now converted a two-storey outbuilding at the Farm

to house our enquiries, communications, accounts, resources

and graphics departments. Alongside Noel's crowded Farm

office these Central Offices formed a well defined 'HQ' that

shouldered much of the administrative burden for the newly-

formed regions. Under its watchful eye, regional leaders de-

veloped their own genius as pastors of the Jesus Army con-

gregations in their area. The main regional men met together

regularly with Noel as the senior leaders of the whole church.

Steve 'Capable's' region included London and the South East

and he was responsible for Brighton, Hastings and the two

households at Battlecentre. His new 'sons' were doing well

and Steve had targeted for a third London household in 1992.

They'd been looking for property for months but weren't

sure where God wanted them. Eventually Steve found a large

detached house in Ealing, a bit upmarket for the Jesus Army,

but OK. The purchase was about to go through when Steve

went for his usual prayer walk up his street. He suddenly

noticed a FOR SALE notice at Number 13. NO CALLERS, it

read. He knocked anyway.

'I see your house is up for sale,' said Steve.

'What!' the man exclaimed. He rushed out and uprooted

the sign. 'I told them not to put one up!'

'Oh well, you might as well have a look around.'

The house was tempting, but too small. If only they had the

one next door — but that would take a miracle. Steve went

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home and mused. The sign had only been up for half an hour

— funny. That evening there was a knock at the door.

'Hello, I'm the lady from Number 11. I hear you're looking

for a house and wondered if you would like to buy mine.'

Two houses in one day! Next to each other — and four doors

up from Battlecentre! Steve was stunned.

That was how we got 'Spreading Flame'. Evidently God

wanted their community to stay together — as one big fire.

My diary captured the general excitement in Emanuel Av-

enue, Acton:

They're pretty wild down there — lots of praise and presence

and laughter. Steve says: 'If revival is just round the corner it's

time we went round the corner.' At one mealtime someone had

a picture of a man carrying a flaming torch. Another saw a spark

setting the whole land alight. Fire is the image time and again.

That summer we held a marquee mission near Acton. A young

New Zealander with a backpack met us at Trafalgar Square.

She was soon unpacking it at Spreading Flame.

We had a word in one prayer meeting about someone cry-

ing out to God on the Embankment. At about the same time a

young man was praying desperately for God to help him. Paul's

girlfriend had left him, he'd hit the bottle, lost his job and

was now homeless on the Embankment. We brought him back

to the Marquee where he found Jesus and joined the team.

That year the London congregation gained 32 people, a col-

ourful mix originating from Trinidad, Tobago, Fiji, Zimbabwe,

Ireland, Cornwall and 'Sarf' London.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

With our continued expansion I noticed many new faces at

the leaders meeting. The southern brothers I knew pretty well,

so I assumed these hailed from up north; from Manchester,

Burnley, Newcastle or Preston (not to mention Scotland).

Ian 'Greatheart' was an old worthy now operating up north.

Twenty years ago Ian and his wife had moved to a quiet vil-

lage called Bugbrooke. Discovering a little chapel down the

road the stalwart evangelicals had walked straight into a

bunch of charismatic, communitarian fanatics. Normal life

soon came to an end as the young family began the journey of

a lifetime. Now Ian was a Senior Leader, manager of Skaino

Services, and church planter in Sheffield.

Though we were famous for reaching 'street-people', this

was hardly the whole picture. Up in Sheffield a notorious

criminal soon joined hands with a university boff. A young

Polish doctor, Andrzej and his wife Sharron (who'd once

planned to be a nun) also provided the strength for a second

household there. Likewise in Manchester; it was a university

lecturer and his wife who opened their large house to pro-

vide a good base in the city.

The shape of things was changing. The previous year had

seen record growth among those who did not, as yet, live in

community. This type of membership we called Style 1. Style

2 embraced a greater degree of accountability and financial

giving whilst Style 3 was our classic all-things-in-common

community membership. Growth in this style was disappoint-

ing.

However there were encouraging signs. In areas where new

groups had no community house, people just wanted to be

together. Church households were springing up in places like

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Glasgow and Manchester which produced their own home-

grown leaders. All this encouraged initiative.

Then there was the 'Multiply Network'. Multiply was

launched as a new stream uniting Jesus Fellowship churches

with other groups with a similar vision. King's Church,

Chatham, was one of our first open supporters and 'friends'

who eventually joined us in Multiply. They also released a

few of their people to us who were eager for community. One

young family lived at Battlecentre for a while before heading

up our work in Brighton.

Many still came to us from far and wide hungering for a

Christian alternative. Cornhill Manor, (led by Pete the Dutch-

man), had a European flavour and a daughter household in

Sweden. The Farm had members in Spain who were inter-

ested in community. We were also friendly with a number of

community groups in Europe and one dynamic youth-church

in Germany, led by Walter Heidenreich, joined us in the Mul-

tiply Network.

Relating to others was very healthy. Some of our senior

men spent more than one enjoyable afternoon with Tony

Morton and team from Southampton. We found Tony down to

earth, humorous and very brotherly. But he didn't lack punch:

'God uses zealous, idealistic, sacrificial people who are out-

spoken, possibly obnoxious' was one of his comments in Je-

sus Lifestyle.122

We probably fitted that description! But we didn't relish

isolation. It was encouraging to be invited to talk about our

work at London Bible College. We also spoke at Spurgeon's

College where Steve 'Capable' and I bumped into Nigel

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Wright, lover of Anabaptists, author of The Radical King-

dom,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!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

I was writing about church as a counterculture and asked

some of the Palm Tree crew why they'd joined us. One sister

with a degree in philosophy explained: 'The churches I knew

catered for middle class couples and were a bit boring. I was

looking for something more unworldly. The group at Oxford

attracted me. There were so many different types; skinheads,

hippies, a doctor, a zany housewife, an ex-actress. They were

getting to grips with the need.'

The ex-actress, Mary, and her friend from theatre were both

single mums who enjoyed the everyday drama at Palm Tree

Cottage. Mary was finding some deep healing in community:

When I arrived five years ago with my two-year-old boy, my

husband had just left me. I'd known a lot of heartbreak. At 17 I

was assaulted and had numbed the pain in a succession of fan-

tasies: Teddy boys, Gothics, New Age and theatre. Marriage

gave me some happiness till that was shattered. But then I found

Jesus. The day I walked into this little haven in Northampton-

shire I felt God's presence and a real peace. There are some

right characters here, but among them, and with prayer, I've

begun to find the real me.

A gracious addition to this eccentric bunch was a family

who had fled from war-torn Uganda. Ketty was a tall young

woman whose father was an African pastor. She'd lost her

home and her husband but had found refuge with her two

children in this English oakbeamed cottage.

Ketty was a prayer-warrior (we needed her!), loved holi-

ness and often praised God. We must have tried her patience,

but as Ketty remarked, with a very wide smile: 'I feel I've

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

found a family.' That said it all. Sadly this noble African refu-

gee was seriously ill and the first to grace our new burial

ground at Cornhill. Zion was truly a home for the widow, the

orphan and the stranger.

At Palm Tree I delved into the writings of former radical

Christians and noted the frequent use of the word 'Zion'. In-

spirationally it described the church. But it wasn't that sim-

ple. In scripture, 'Zion' could mean natural Israel, the church

or the heavenly city. I felt it was a touch of heaven when 'broth-

ers dwell together in unity' — but I'm a poet.

One evening I sat down with Andrzej and asked what 'Zion'

meant to him. He responded with total enthusiasm: 'It was

like when I first met Sharron. Something leapt inside.'

Andrzej gesticulated, flinging his arms around wildly.

'I was Catholic, you see... charismatic. But I longed to see

evangelism, community. You know... the zeal of the early

church. So did Sharron. Well, we met the Jesus Army singing

in Sheffield. Ian 'Greatheart' was playing a banjo in the square.

I can see his face now. God spoke to us and we started com-

ing around. It was all so exciting — the vision — everything.

It was like... like falling in love again. Zion! You know! It was

just like coming home... coming home.'

He sank back exhausted with inspiration. I laughed. But

his heart fire had touched me. The next morning I grabbed a

pen:

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We have found the best all,

Zion, joy of every soul;

Drinking of one spirit now,

Jesus takes the royal crown,

World and sin are trampled down!

Zion is our home!

Inspired by the new bloods at the Farm, Noel added a verse:

Satisfy your deep desire

In this church of love and fire!

Here the friends for whom you cried

Always loyal at your side,

Arms of welcome opened wide:

Zion is our home!

Such was the beauty of covenant love. Celibacy too was

advancing. The 200-strong meeting of vowed and probation-

ary celibates excelled in worship as one sister recorded:

It was incredible! When we started to worship I sensed fire

racing through our hearts. I was weeping to God to so cleanse

me that the fire would stay and never go away. I heard instru-

mental music and angels with really high voices. An amazing

spiritual song swept around the hall in ever increasing waves.

After that we all broke out in thunderous Jesus claps and

cheers.125

A celibate power-switch was thrown and the whole spirit of

celibacy became futuristic. Frankly I was amazed to see young

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people with everything going for them in terms of marriage

cast it all aside for the sake of the kingdom. The day of sacri-

fice wasn't over. We were limbering up. There were signs of a

golden age to come.

Our strategy in 1992 was not only to regionalise but also to

release the dynamic of the converted. Regular leadership

training sessions were held at Cornhill and included many

potential 'Timothies'. The apostle Paul had 'fathered' and ap-

prenticed young Timothy. This kind of spiritual mentoring was

growing amongst us and was really the hope of the future. All

around we sensed the mood of a new generation looking for

challenge. The need for adventure, to take life on and to ex-

plore the limits was raw material for the Spirit of God. MEN

WHO DARE! was a bold headline that summer in our Jesus

Revolution Streetpaper:

Rugged, lively, new Christians! High profile, outfront! They be-

long to the revolutionary dynamic of the early church. They

take up the torch of those who 'turned the world upside down'.

New Christians are courageous, daring! Dangerous to demons!

They live to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. Ready to give

up jobs, sports, wealth, marriage. Sold out to the new Christian

cause. These are men and women who dare!126

But the future of our own youth caused concern. Many Fel-

lowship sons and daughters had been brought up in our most

sober, disciplined era. Though we were more flexible nowa-

days, our children still faced a major crisis when they be-

came teenagers. Many rebelled as they fought for their per-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

sonal identity. Some left the church outright but a number

returned after tasting what the world had to offer. But whether

they stayed or not, all needed their own experience of Jesus.

Twenty years had flown by since Noel and his friends had

patiently won the hearts of people like Rufus and Jess, sitting

where they sat — on orange boxes, drinking herbal tea and

just listening. Noel and Rufus now found themselves in a simi-

lar situation with two of our teenage 'rebels'.

Nathan and Phil were both sons of Fellowship leaders. Nath-

an's parents had joined our Oxford group in the early 70s.

They were gripped with the vision of Christian community

and had left everything to follow it. Now, as a large family,

they all lived at King's House in the Warwickshire country-

side.

Nathan was 16 and making friends at sixth form college in

Rugby. A group of them had a good scene together and would

often meet up, chatting late into the night, playing reggae

and smoking dope. The brotherhood appealed to Nathan.

There he could relax, be himself and do his own thing.

Phil, who lived in our Nottingham house and attended drama

school, was on a similar journey, experimenting and 'finding

himself — often at all-night raves and parties, sleeping on

floors and returning home as little as possible.

Nathan and Phil compared notes and smoked hash together.

Nathan was the more emotional and keenly felt the conflict

that was raging within. 'What's happening to me?' he asked

himself. 'I love God and the church, so why am I going off the

rails like this ? Why do I want this scene ?'

After one meeting Noel encouraged him:

'Nathan, you're going to be a real man of God.'

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

'How?' was the curt reply. Nathan badly needed some an-

swers.

One night he was feeling so desperate that he turned up at

the Farm. He found Noel and Rufus very helpful. Over a pe-

riod of months they talked things through; Nathan, rash, con-

fused, defensive, trying to understand himself; Noel and Ru-

fus quietly listening and giving help where they could. Often

Nathan rang up in the middle of the night, stoned. They un-

derstood.

At one Jesus Revolution meeting in Coventry Nathan

brought his girlfriend along. But when she started to mock,

he lost his cool. 'I would die for these people,' he shouted.

Realising what he'd said, he rushed backstage and wept.

The next evening he appeared with the band in Northamp-

ton (to the delight or dismay of many). Noel invited Nathan,

Phil and two others to the parents meeting at Cornhill the

following night. He intended to focus on our community teen-

agers and wanted the 'rebels' to speak for themselves.

Nathan's frank sharings had alerted Noel to the acute needs

of our youth. Growing up within the 'straight and narrow',

some had struggled with feelings of frustration and rejec-

tion. As they now entered maturity they needed to be trusted

and given space. Many had made friendships with older broth-

ers and this helped enormously to work things through out-

side the family circle. Parents could often do little more than

step back and cling to God's promises.

At the packed meeting in the King's Room Noel spoke of

his vision for our somewhat neglected teenagers. We'd given

much to evangelism but these young men and women were

destined to be the springboard for greater things amongst

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us. Isaiah had once mourned that Jerusalem had 'none to guide

her' among 'all the sons she bore' (Is 51:18). Zion's sons were

meant to cherish her, 'take her by the hand' and lead her on.

Ours first needed winning, healing, and giving opportunity to

express their creative energy.

Nathan and Phil soon had the gathering in stitches with

their memories, candour and funny remarks. During that

memorable evening mums and dads faced their failures and

triumphs as forgiveness, humour and hope flowed between

the generations. When Nathan and Phil sat down they were

clearly rebels. But, strangely and movingly, the impression

that lingered was of their love for the church — and her Lord.

Nathan continued to struggle. His ambitions were set on mu-

sic and he'd started to play for a local band. At this point Jez

came into the story. Jez had heard about one of 'Zion's kids'

who had a talent for keyboard, was on the way out, and wanted

advice on the music scene.

Rufus set up a meeting for them at Sheepfold where they

could make some sounds together. The two musicians gelled

from the word go. Soon Rufus had an inspiration. He'd been

wondering how to capture the energy and mysticism of crea-

tion in music. Maybe... Yes. He shot off and came back with a

copy of The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis.

Nathan and Jez were still jamming as the December sun

sank low over the hills and the little studio began to fill with

atmosphere. Rufus began to read aloud and Nathan's key-

board followed with moody, mysterious sounds. The guitar

sang and soared. Caught up in the imagery of the moment,

Rufus began to weep. They'd hit on something deep.

28 Spiritual Searchers

'Hush!' said the Cabby. They all listened.

In the darkness something was happening at

last. A voice had begun to sing. Its lower notes

were deep enough to be the voice of the earth

herself.

Mary and her six year old son, Faolan, sat entranced as the

low music throbbed and rumbled through their seats at the

Derngate Theatre in Northampton. Then...

Two wonders happened at the same moment.

One was that the voice was suddenly joined by

other voices. They were far higher up the scale:

cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second won-

der was that the blackness overhead, all at

once, was blazing with stars.

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The high ceiling was lit by a thousand points of light as the

deep throb was joined by delicate silvery cadences. Rufus

continued the drama, as he read, by pencil light, from The

Magician's Nephew.127

'Glory be!' said the Cabby. 'I'd ha' been a better

man all my life if I'd known there were things

like this.'

The music grew stronger and, as the lights came on slowly...

The sky grew paler, then changed from white to

pink and from pink to gold. The Voice rose and

rose, till all the air was shaking with it. And just

as it swelled to the mightiest and most glorious

sound it had yet produced, the sun arose. As its

beams shot across the land the travellers saw

the mountains. The earth was of many colours,

fresh and vivid. They made you feel excited;

until you saw the Singer himself, and then you

forgot everything else.

The theme was creation, and this was the founding of Nar-

nia. It was Faolan's favourite story. But to see it now with real

scenery, coloured lights and mist. Ah!

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The Lion breathed out a long, warm breath.

Then came a swift flash and every drop of blood

tingled in the children's bodies, and the deep-

est, wildest voice they ever heard was saying,

'Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think.

Speak.'

As the drama reached its climax the ambient music glided

upwards from a song about creation to heavenly worship.

Voice and flute, guitar and keyboard harmonised and danced

with the colours as we joined in the spiritual song.

As the anointing of the Spirit fell, the atmosphere became

thick, golden, heavenly. On and on went the sounds, weaving,

blending, soaring. What was programmed for 15 minutes had

run wild in the Spirit. Then people began to come forward,

deeply moved. For Mary, the ecstasy of that moment on New

Year's day re-awakened her waning love for God. For guitar-

ist Jez it swallowed up ten years of wilderness.

A.W. Tozer complained that the evangelicals of his day lacked

awe in God and wonder at his creation. Not so the searchers.

As a teenager, I found that sunset, stream and star awakened

in me a deep desire, but the Christians I knew seemed cosmi-

cally numb. Their attitude to the planet was to abandon it as

soon as possible! With such a negative outlook in the church

it was small wonder that all the nature mystics, earth crusad-

ers and pagans were on the increase.

Our view of creation was positive. We recognised that man

was made in God's image, and though fallen, he was hardly

Satan's friend. He desired goodness. This was easier to see

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in the spiritual climate now developing. All around were con-

fused, longing people sick of material values and hungry for

love, warmth and reality. Our task was to identify, show a

brotherly alternative and gently guide them to Jesus.

In the light of this, any aggressive overtones in the army

image were played down. We Fight For You! and Love, Power

and Sacrifice were mellowed to Jesus People—Loving Peo-

ple. We were a JESUS army with the emphasis on Jesus. Re-

cently God had changed the face of our church. We now needed

a new image, a new approach. So at the 1993 Easter Festival

we launched the 'modern JESUS army' in all its rainbow col-

ours: its commission — to flow with the people.

The following months found us at raves, in pubs and night-

clubs, at parties, on the beaches and at festivals. We baptised

people in rivers, the sea, even the fountains at Trafalgar

Square. A fast-moving video, We're Jesus Revolutionaries,

captured some of the excitement. But the heart of this revo-

lution was Jesus, friend of sinners. Loving people was the

key.

The creation sketch from Narnia was repeated in Manches-

ter and Sheffield and the marked anointing on it suggested

that God could use technology as a servant of the Spirit.

At clubs and festivals we noted the tremendous influence

of music. If music communicated so powerfully, then maybe

God was calling us to speak in its language. Everywhere we

saw the instinct to worship. Whether dancing before a totem

pole or raving the night away on ecstasy, people wanted to

abandon themselves in a group experience akin to worship.

The present culture was also highly visual. Pictures speak

more than words and even books were becoming outdated in

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a world of videos and high tech computers. God communi-

cated visually; through creation, and in water baptism, oil

and wine. Christianity was full of visual symbols.

So we began to develop our media technology using film,

sound and lighting. Techno took us down two lines:

videographics and computerised music. John 'Perceptive' and

his boffs could handle the first. For the second we drew on

Jez who gingerly introduced Noel to a world of modern dance;

of jungle, rave, ambient and house music; of drum machines,

sequencers and samplers. Noel was interested, for he had

something (in the Spirit) up his sleeve.

We'd done prophetic drama many times now since we filled

Westminster Central Hall with smoke in 1989. The risk of

using drama was that a serious message could degenerate

into mere entertainment. It also took a lot of time in prop

making, organisation and rehearsal.

Our dramatic presentations needed refocusing to commu-

nicate the gospel effectively. We'd gained new skills and bet-

ter equipment. We also wanted to harness the creative en-

ergy of the youth. Was it time for a big project? A presenta-

tion that would speak into the current mood?

The idea evolved of a multimedia event using videographics,

film, sound, light displays — the lot; powerful images show-

ing the beauty of creation and its devastation; sights that cap-

tured the desperate need of humanity; songs that spoke of

God's love; colourful celebrations of a new brotherhood. All

from the gut, raw and in tune with the cries of the people.

The vision caught on.

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Rufus asked Nathan and Phil to get involved but Nathan was

blowing hot and cold, afraid of being drawn in. A meeting

was arranged at the Farm but they turned up four hours late,

stoned out of their heads. They put a downer on the whole

thing. It was far too square and, besides, Nathan had his

musical career to consider. Rufus felt like strangling him but

swallowed a further dose of patience and humility. He remem-

bered a difficult young actor from the past.

Soon Noel was ringing up Phil with questions about the

latest music and fashions. 'What exactly is Grunge?' Noel

asked.

He saw Phil as a link with the youth culture. Saved or not,

Nathan and Phil were our men on the ground and in touch.

Phil gladly sent down tapes and articles. He even spent an

occasional night at the Farm, beating a hasty retreat back to

Nottingham in the morning.

One night Nathan was celebrating his seventeenth birth-

day when Rufus and another Farm brother turned up. They

piled into the car and drove out to the Derbyshire hills. There

was a mad climb in the dark and, on the top of Black Rocks,

swept by a wild, chilling wind, Phil unburdened his guilt to

Rufus. As they prayed Phil broke down, found forgiveness

and was freed from a spirit of rejection.

This was his first touch of God and he ran down the hill

feeling like air. From then on his spirit began to come alive.

But there was no sudden clean-up. That summer Phil aban-

doned himself to loose-living, wild parties and raves. God was

there too, waiting.

Nathan was equally wild and had left King's House to live

with friends near Rugby. Noel stayed true to him through a

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few explosions and gave him an occasional lyric which he put

to music. One evening Rufus found him in his gran's sum-

merhouse, stoned (as usual). They worked on a song that Rufus

and Ronnie were going to introduce at Spinney; 'Do you wanna

have a father's heart, brother?' It was apt. Rufus's own fa-

ther's heart was working overtime.

Recently we had focused on soul healing. Many came to us

with deep emotional scars and there were some heart-rend-

ing tales. A survey showed that one out of five girls had suf-

fered sexual abuse by the age of 18. Many youngsters in fact

left home in their early teens fleeing from some kind of abuse.

So many wounds, so many wounds,

Heal me deeply with your powerful love.

Many sang this with tears. It seemed that the erosion of

real family life had devastated the youth of Britain.

Paul had walked out of a broken home when a young teen-

ager and was roughing it on the Strand in London when Steve

'Capable' met him. Steve gave him his card and Paul thought

no more of it. But soon the rejection that had dogged his life

became unbearable. He decided to throw himself off Water-

loo Bridge. As Paul stood looking down at the murky waters

of the Thames he felt something in his pocket. It was Battle-

centre's phone number. He rang it up and Steve came out

and brought him home. With a powerful combination of heal-

ing prayer, family life and some good fathering, Paul soon

became a young man of God and a valuable worship leader.

He doubled in weight too!

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Darren also left home in unhappy circumstances at 13. Af-

ter four years living on the streets in Ireland and in London,

Darren staggered onto our Jesus coach at Trafalgar Square,

drunk and abusive. He wept his way to God. His friend Trev,

who'd slept in shop doorways and squats, begging and mug-

ging for a living, saw the change in 'Daz' and joined him up at

New Creation Farm.

These strong characterful men responded to fathers in God.

But many of us old-timers needed healing too. A true leader

was warm-hearted, patient and loving. Rigidity and legalism

was a curse. We'd learned that. Relaxed flow was where it

was at. When we allowed God to love us and heal us, we gladly

shed our hard 'Christian' skins and began to win hearts.

So many were searching. Not just new-agers but ordinary

people who through hurt, heartache and distress longed for

what was good. We wanted to accommodate ourselves to them,

use any means, make a bridge, help them reach out to God.

We aimed at being more user-friendly and informal in our

gospel presentation. Sunday nights at Spinney Hall, North-

ampton, now included a snack and coffee bar in the foyer.

With smiling welcomers, colourful resources, background

music and lots of friends, a good scene was well on the go

before the main programme started.

When it did, our new friends were encouraged to relax and

enjoy the atmosphere without feeling obliged to join in. The

non-threatening approach attracted many who might avoid

religious meetings. Invitations were to a:

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Sunday Evening At Spinney (SEAS)

A Jesus Revolution evening of music, friendship,

faith, life and worship with the Jesus Praise Band

SEAS soon employed UV lamps, strobes and 'intelligent'

lighting. The London congregation's version involved a

brother switching coloured light bulbs on and off — fast!

That summer 100,000 festival-goers converged on Glaston-

bury pouring into the campsites, marquees and field-markets.

The Glastonbury Festival was a showcase for the many ways

folk in the 90s were searching for spiritual reality. Drugs,

occult, New Age, eastern religion, music, they were all there.

Centuries old druidism rubbed shoulders with high-tech at-

tractions like virtual reality; as did rich yuppies with hippie

travellers.

One of our teams was in the thick of it all seeking to bring

the Jesus experience, as our Streetpaper reported:

'I guess you Christians are going to tell me I need to be filled

with something like your Holy Spirit because I have a gap in my

life.'

Sam and Fabian were down by the main stage talking to a

young man when his friend burst in with these words. They

liked his comment and asked if they could pray for him. The

Spirit came upon him and he fell over right in the middle of the

crowd. When he got up he was so excited he started to hassle

his friends to get prayer too!128

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Many felt a touch of God's love. Not all were immediately

converted, but God responded to their openness. From the

hills that overlooked the festival one could see thousands of

searchers. So many were on a spiritual journey.

New Age seemed to mimic the charismatic movement. Here

were prophets, healers and counsellors; here too we could

find prayer and music, conferences and festivals; and, for the

radical element, simple lifestyle and community.

So many had a thirst for wisdom, a hunger for experience,

and a desire for a better world. We weren't interested in sim-

ply faultfinding. True, much was deception and seduction.

But among it all were kingdom seekers and God's men of

tomorrow.

Our place was to respect, listen and look for common

ground. They counted creation as sacred. The world-denying

image that Christianity portrayed was not only sad but false.

Scripture placed earth on centre-stage as man's first para-

dise and, when renewed, his final destiny. It was this ache for

a lost Eden that motivated them, as I wrote in our revamped

Jesus Life magazine:

The vision of a Golden Age! How it captures the romantic, the

idealist and the radical. In its purest form it embodies the aspi-

rations of a man awakened to his fall; the quest for a lost inno-

cence, for social transformation, for an age of peace, for New

Jerusalem.129

We had what so many longed for; the hope, the promise

and the certainty of a golden age. We, if any, were the 'people

of the rainbow', the keepers of the keys. Where we stood on

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

the Rock, they sailed on dangerous seas. How important then

to communicate our vision with humility.

Here were echoes from the 60s of quiet protests and hippie

alternatives. 'Gurus came to these shores by the boatload,'

Rufus remarked, 'but where were the Jesus radicals? Where

were the spiritual masters with the true enlightenment?'

Timothy Leary, a leading psychedelic, had accused the Chris-

tians of his time of being 'emotionally constipated' and un-

spiritual. Hopefully, in the 90s, the charge was no longer ac-

curate. God was making his people attractive to spiritual seek-

ers.

One night Nathan and Phil were out in the fields all night

tripping on acid. Looking up at the stars through rustling

leaves and waving branches the semi-Christian searchers

were spellbound. Lying on the cool earth they talked about

God.

Eventually the charm of the night gave way to a stunning

sunrise. As they revelled in the song of birds, the pure morn-

ing light, the cool breeze and the million diamond dewdrops

scattered on the grass, they worshipped. Then wild, free and

loudly singing the praises of God (though still tripping), they

danced through the dawn-streaked streets of Rugby.

By July Noel had persuaded Nathan to get involved with

Jez in the multimedia project and threw a massive wad of

lyrics their way. They worked non-stop in a little studio at the

Farm turning out sounds for 'Jesus Live'.

Phil worked with Rufus on the drama side and relished

friendships at the Farm. His heroes had always been the raw

converted street lads like Daz and Ronnie. He was now fed

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

up with his hippy-trippy image and the rather 'poncy' scene

at drama school. The time had come to open a new chapter in

his life. But what? And where? Rufus encouraged Phil to get

baptised at Jesus Live. 'No way!' said Phil the cool. But in

secret he was very encouraged that Rufus believed in him.

The flurry of creativity ran straight into the August Festival

and by now Nathan was softening up. As the new band set

their kit up amongst the regular musicians, Jez was nervous.

'Techno, a stoned keyboard player and a computer? Will this

be acceptable? Will God really be in it?'

At the opening bars of the song 'Jesus is Live' the whole

audience rose to its feet in excitement. Jez breathed a sigh of

relief. Then as they launched into 'So fed up with myself and

reached the second line, 'Longing for love that is real', the

Holy Spirit touched Nathan and he wept. That day the Beta

band was born.

Immediately after the Festival Nathan went up to the Lake

District and immersed himself in the beauty of the mountains

and lakes. As he sat on a hill in the moonlight, absorbing the

stillness, he turned things over in his mind. He was young.

Life was before him. Should he pursue his own wild path —

or flow with the Jesus Army? Noel and Rufus were good friends

and the Beta band was taking off. A door had opened and it

seemed easy now to just walk through. In the solitude of the

moment Nathan felt the kiss of heaven.

As summer rolled on a colossal amount of work went into

the preparations for the premiere of Jesus Live in November.

Apart from all the prop-making, band practice and stage re-

hearsals, there was the sheer complexity of the programme.

The 40-page script included graphics, background music, film

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

sequences and hundreds of slides, statistics and newsreel

items. All had to be orchestrated through a relay of headsets.

As the deadline loomed, the autumn stress levels gave ample

opportunity for abiding in Christ. Talk about team effort!

One inspiration was to use a group of 'searchers' dressed

in brown hessian clothes that represented their various back-

grounds. A young couple who'd lived as new-agers in Corn-

wall spent their spare evenings making hippie gear out of

sackcloth. Others created suits, African dress, even a bowler

hat and brolly, all out of sacking material!

When the big day eventually arrived, we all hit the ground

running. Wembley opened with a leaders' breakfast and con-

tinued through two long sessions of guest speakers, music

and sketches. After refuelling at teatime we fastened our

safety belts for four hours of non-stop, multimedia action.

Jesus Live was nothing if not a sensory experience. If the

theme was creation, the audience had to see, taste and smell

it as stewards passed round grapes and sprayed us all with

strawberry mist! If our worship was as 'fragrant incense ris-

ing', they were there again, swinging some smoking objects

that looked decidedly Catholic. Boring it was not.

During the praise there was a mass distribution of fluores-

cent yellow cloths and red crosses. Ultraviolet in the dark

not only highlighted an impressive praise wave and 2,000

glowing crosses but did amazing things for my white shirt!

But this was no mere extravaganza. There was tenderness.

Through deeply moving songs and images we felt, with the

searchers, the pain, the outrage and the shame. Rob sang

gently:

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

Dear broken-hearted ones, your face is full of hurt,

Feelings of agony; we long to share your pain.

Let our eyes run with tears,

Let our hearts flow with love;

Our arms stretched out to you our friends,

Like his who wept and died.

At one point Daz and Trev were dragged on stage, put into

stocks and pelted with words like 'hatred', 'rejection' and 'in-

justice'. The searchers, who could no longer endure all the

abuse they'd already witnessed, rushed onto the stage shout-

ing 'Enough!' It was powerfully symbolic. As the section 'Je-

sus, Radical and Redeemer' unfolded, the searchers were

found at last kneeling at the cross.

A garden and a cup, a cup of suffering,

A cup filled to the brim, a cup only for him.

A moment of quiet followed the song. Suddenly Daz jumped

up shouting: 'He is risen! He is risen!' The searchers went

wild. With 'angelic' music filling the air, they threw off their

sackcloth, revealing the brilliant clothes of resurrection and

hope. Soon, during the 'Church' sequence, all who'd been

homeless or in prison gathered on stage. As they sang and

swayed together, the video-camera zoomed in on Paul from

London. We could see him on screen as he smiled, arm in arm

with his friends. For those who knew, it was a moment of

tears. It was his song:

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS COMMUNICATE!

I've been crying in my soul; I've found the brotherhood,

With a love not known before, now I know I belong;

This love I've been shown is really so strong;

And I'm crying with my brethren, tears of joy and

love.

After a brief message hundreds came forward to receive

prayer. Then the baptistry was opened. Phil collared hold of

Rufus backstage. 'Bro, if I'm to get baptised, I need to know

the Spirit is with me.' As Rufus laid hands on him and prayed,

Phil spoke in tongues for the first time. Then swiftly crossing

the stage, he jumped in and was baptised.

The Spirit came so powerfully that Phil could hardly stand.

During the final celebrations many went through the water,

but Phil's parents only learned about their 'newly-washed'

son when, in the midst of wild rave, stage-diving and flashing

lights, someone grabbed the mike and shouted, 'Phil's been

baptised!'

He seemed to carry the torch of a new generation.

We had called 1993 'The Year of the Spirit'. It had not disap-

pointed us. Inspiration and creativity had been powerfully

released. God had given us 450 new people and some of our

own teenagers were coming through.

We were flowing with the Christian mainstream, tapping

into the culture and communicating with ever increasing skill.

But community had barely grown. Jesus, friend of sinners,

was ever more popular. His passion for sacrifice was not so

easy to inspire. Maybe we'd lost it ourselves.

New Generation

1994 onwards

29 Passing the Torch

We'd just come back from a community tour and Jason was

staring at a picture on the oak-panelled wall of Cornhill Manor

where I now lived. The tapestry showed a golden city out of

whose gates a river flowed down a hill into the chequered

fields below.

Jason looked spaced out. After a while he turned to me.

'Babylon's the world, isn't it?'

'That's right.' I nodded, rather surprised.

'And that city? It's Zion isn't it? The bride.'

I smiled. (This was music to my ears).

'Yes, Jason.'

'That's well sound.'

I agreed.

The house meeting was about to start so we sat down on

the carpet. This was the first time I'd met Jason. I wasn't sure

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

how he was getting on. He was a funny bloke, now dreaming

at the picture again. I'd met his friend a week back on a Bris-

tol coach campaign. There had been a word of knowledge

that we'd meet a young man who was going through a mar-

riage breakdown. We had. He was now paying us a visit and

had brought Jason down as a bonus.

Soon we were sharing and praying together. Jason, now

out of his coma, explained, in a Bristol tongue, how his head

had been 'done right in' by what he had seen of our commu-

nity. Apparently this was a favourable response. Jason reck-

oned we were 'well dodgy'. Not 'dodgy', meaning suspect,

but 'well dodgy', which meant radical, distinctive and dan-

gerous to the devil. I marvelled at the English language.

Moments later it was my turn to be gob-smacked as the

one-time glue sniffer, burglar and car thief went on to reveal

a depth of biblical knowledge and spiritual insight that shook

me. God, and no one else, had opened this young man's eyes.

We discussed the kingdom of God and he bubbled on about

'the holy bride' from Isaiah and Revelation, elated to find

someone who understood. We made friends. I laid hands on

him; the Spirit of God came and he started to shake.

So began an episode which, repeated with many other peo-

ple, was prophetic of a new phase amongst us — the dawning

of a new generation, the passing of the torch.

1993 had been an inspiring year with record growth. Jesus

Live had been a definite hit and was scheduled for a six city

tour of the UK. Searchers were everywhere, with people queu-

ing up for baptism. My diary for 1994 began on an unusually

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

positive note (maybe coloured by the fact that Mary from Palm

Tree had just agreed to marry me!):

Jan 4: The year of the people. Away with spiritual snobbery! In

with Jesus, the One who walks with the crowd. This is all about

release — of heart and spirit — of colour and creativity. Nowa-

days we are vulnerable and accessible. The flag that flies from

our turrets is stained with blood; and the more colourful, the

more attractive for that. It is the warm blood of compassion.

Zion may have walls. She is holy to the Lord. But her gates are

open. The drawbridge is down. The dancing is in the streets.

Poetry apart, the times were good and a lot was 'cracking

off'. At the Easter Weekend we received over 100 new mem-

bers on stage amongst a happy chaos. The Festival theme

song, 'Now the strong wind is blowing', was backed by hail

and fierce winds that shook the tent and threatened to rip it

open. To us, it symbolised a spiritual wind that was blowing

ever stronger in Britain.

A major encouragement was the way fellowship sons like

Nathan and Phil were beginning not only to come through

with God but also to find a burning vision for community. Phil,

now mentored by Rufus, gave up his place in drama school

for discipleship at New Creation Farm. Phil had already

cleaned up his life; now he decided to get rid of his posses-

sions and follow the call of Jesus to full commitment. Nathan

was to follow.

This was the break we were hoping for: a second genera-

tion not just sticking around, but radically taking up the torch.

There was also a growing number of visionary new people,

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

whether zealous Christian couples or streetwise Jasons who

came, like Jesus Live, 'raw, deep and from the heart'. Here

was our future.

Since 1989 the focus had been on communication with fellow

Christians and with the youth culture. Whilst retaining this,

God's spotlight now turned on the heart of the church. We

realised that it was only apostolic character that could pro-

duce apostolic fruit. Mellowness was good but the future lay

in courageous mission, passion and self-denial.

The Jesus Army had become a national movement. Noel's

ministry maintained a strong, united vision. But now we'd

spread throughout the UK the need was for key men to bring

that kind of apostolic spirit to their own regions. Noel was

nearly 70 and his mantle must eventually fall on a new gen-

eration.

The Jesus Fellowship was now undergoing a major trans-

formation. Only apostolic power would ensure that the new

version would be belter than the old. The torch must be passed

on. Inspired leaders and their spiritual 'sons' must reinforce

the simplicity, sharing and sacrifice that was the heart of our

'Zion' vision.

This was what searchers were crying out for; something

solid and undiluted. 'Looking for a cause to fight for' was a

popular song in Jesus Live. Youth were drawn to the bold, the

wild and the strong; definitely not middle-class boredom, but

risky adventure, challenge and exploring the limits. Red-hot

Christian brotherhood fitted the bill. We had become cultur-

ally relevant. That was a good step. But it was our holy vision

that really brought in the radicals.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

Jason went back starry-eyed to work things out in Bristol. His

church was shy of charismatic gifts, let alone community. He

enthused, inspired, and even raged about 'Zion'. They under-

stood. He was young. But in the end he was unable to cope

with a tamed life. Jason pined away and began to stumble. I

found him in Bristol and brought him back to our Men Alive

For God Day. Jesus Life captured the mood:

Bright banners and swirling patterns; the name of Jesus in col-

ours spinning on the wall. Smoke, lights and wild dancing. The

strength and sound of 600 men worshipping together, holding

high the torch. Masculinity and friendship. Informal seminars.

Energy, buzz and anointing. Flowing with the river or climbing

the spiritual mountain. Exuberant youth abseiling from the ceil-

ing and challenging us to be daring. Adoration and rave culmi-

nating in a spine-tingling finale, 'All hail the power of Jesus

name'.130

But it wasn't the amazing technicolour that touched Jason.

It was the prophetic clarity and the common cause. Jason wept

his heart out. The following morning, as we all worshipped

together, he seemed to see just one man, one body. 'This is it,'

he said. 'This is the bride.' And the tears flowed. We called

him Jason Tenderheart.

A few days later, he said goodbye to his old council estate

in Bristol and moved to Cornhill Manor. Jason was a hungry

disciple who wanted the works and milked me for wisdom.

We would go off adventuring, sometimes following 'words'

from the Lord. 'Fox and Hounds' was one of his. But there

were so many inns with that name in the county that our

would-be evangelism turned into a non-alcoholic pub-crawl!

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

I had a word too while praying one morning: 'Go to Bath

and you will find a group of young people who meet regularly

in a pub seeking spiritual things.' Then: 'The White Dog'. I

looked up this name in the Yellow Pages but it didn't exist!

Undeterred we set off: destination — Bath; mission — lo-

cate hippies and evangelise. The friends we stayed with knew

of two off-beats, Dave and Steve, who had a kind of Jesus pub

scene going. So the next day we headed out with our guitars,

hot on the scent. A guy with a twelve-string caught us up in

the park.

'Hi! Who do you play for then?' he chirped.

'The Lord.' I said.

'Good. I'm off to a prayer meeting. Do you want to come?'

'Definitely,' said Jason. 'Let's go for it.'

Next thing, we were in a pentecostal church, singing and

praying. Then two hippie characters walked in. I nudged Ja-

son, 'I bet these are the ones, Jase.' When the meeting ended

we walked over to them:

'I'm Dave,' said one with a grin.

'I thought so,' I said. Turning to the other, I added:

'And you're Steve and you meet in a pub every week seek-

ing spiritual things.' They were wide eyed.

'How do you know?'

'God told us about you in Northampton.'

'Wow!'

We made friends, laughed about The White Dog', and spent

the afternoon singing in the streets. Mission accomplished,

we met the rest of the group the following week. Half way

through the evening, Dave blurted out. 'Hey look! Amazing!'

In trotted a white dog. Jason was well impressed.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

We used to drive up to Bristol every Wednesday night for

housegroup and evangelise at weekends. At one Jesus Revo-

lution meeting in Bristol I spotted a colourful character wav-

ing a big flag with his long hair wrapped in a red bandanna.

He looked like a pirate. 'Looks a pretty normal Jesus Army

recruit,' I thought and smiled.

The following Wednesday he turned up at our house-group.

Stroppy, streetwise and loveable, Andy took to us right away

and joined the gang. He was himself, praised God with swear

words and regarded discipleship like medicine, nasty but

needful. But he loved us to bits.

Andy had been brought up in care. Jason had rarely seen

his dad. This was the pattern; family break up, adoption and

even abuse. When these young guys sang 'This is home' or

'This is my family' it meant so much.

The fathering we gave them was not just passing on some

kind of spiritual mantle but really getting involved. This was

the task of us golden oldies, now well into our 40s. Rejuve-

nated veterans brought solidity and security to the lads and

shared from their treasure store with the buzz of a new era.

Young dynamos, for their part, jostled, goaded and wheeled

us out onto the streets. So two generations took their place

for the harvest and the church regained her youth.

Cornhill, a community flagship, was in the throes of such a

renewal and was gaining new people. Jason, with his passion

for God and prophetic artlessness reminded me of an early

Franciscan. Andy came as a rougher version! A young couple

who'd been new-agers in Germany also rolled up with a trav-

ellers' bus and a restlessness for a new society. Cornhill, strug-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

gling out of her institutionalism, was given a helping hand

and a raw taste of the future.

Youth was in upsurge. 'A rising star, that's what I am!' was a

hit when Crossrhythms reviewed our tape The Greatest Cause.

New bloods wanted to win their spurs and this could mean

releasing treasured sons to pioneer new scenes.

From Ian 'Greatheart's' base in Sheffield, the north was

wide open. Ian was keen to give his 'young turks' their head.

We now had a bus, kitted out with bunks, that lan's men took

over the Pennines in search of adventure. The mould-break-

ing team, without established leaders or community mem-

bers, descended on Barnsley, Wakefield, Bradford, Halifax and

Huddersfield ending up in Leeds where a church plant was

now under way. Their success pointed the way ahead.

Ian was emerging as a pioneer with an apostolic spirit. Steve

'Capable' was another folk hero with church-building skills.

Charismatic personalities like these foreshadowed the future

which must lie in gifted people birthing church and commu-

nity at a distance.

Our Northampton community had come into being through

apostolic ministry but daughter churches in Warwickshire,

Birmingham or even London were transplanted from mother

stock. Locals swelled the numbers, but the core group al-

ways came from 'home'. This wasn't on. We couldn't be for-

ever dividing up the clump.

Ian's base was 100 miles away. He felt their situation was

similar to Antioch's in the early church. The Jerusalem com-

munity had spread through Judea and Samaria and up to An-

tioch by migration. But from Antioch onwards the thrust out-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

wards was mainly from small apostolic teams. Ian believed

this missionary model was the way ahead for his region.

When we'd first commissioned Ian to lead the new house

God's word to him was to 'multiply'. Ian envisaged Sheffield

not just as a satellite of 'Jerusalem' but as a new centre of

missionary activity. He'd experienced church-building on the

Bugbrooke estate and in Warwickshire. Now Sheffield was

prospering and Andrzej was all set to lead a second house

there. Ian had set his sights on the regions beyond.

At the present rate, planting in new territory was taking at

least three years. At that rate Ian might plant six households

before he was 70. But that was using the community house

model. We had already begun to shift the focus away from

community houses to congregations. The old mindset was hard

to change, but the shape of the future was going to be a church

with a minority of community members.

Ian realised that the dynamic of church planting was not in

shipping in ready made communities but in the outworking

of the kingdom word. God's messengers weren't called to

transplant; but to sow seed which would spring up, 'first the

stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear' (Mk 4:28).

At Bugbrooke the steps into community had been slow and

steady. Noel had steered the Northampton base through a

long and, at times, turbulent history. Ian could hardly do that

in each new location. Sheffield would have to function as a

mother church sending out small church-planting teams.

These would produce a body of people whose future would

be mainly in the hands of local leaders.

By 1994 things were taking shape. In Preston five single

brothers made an attempt at community living. The experi-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

ment failed. Ian balanced their zeal with wisdom and by Au-

gust the Preston group, which included three families, was in

good fettle and recognised as a new church household.

Mick 'Temperate' shared lan's vision. His Birmingham-

based team had established a group in Manchester and was

now working on a small church in Stockport. At Tyneside too,

in the north-east, Pete 'Just's' 'baby' was showing some prom-

ise. These groups were all led by northern 'natives'.

Each new work would develop its own flavour. Central Of-

fice could give strong input with resources, directives and

leadership days, but the pressing need was for holy sowers;

brothers with apostolic vision. Given that, new fires of com-

munity would spring up elsewhere. The UK might yet see a

multiplied repeat of the 'Bugbrooke Miracle'.

Church plants had their own special genius. Whilst the

brothers up north were seeking to plant small churches in

many towns, the Shepton team in the rural west was drawing

Christians into community. On the south coast our huge new

house in Seaford, near Brighton, was led by a young couple

who'd never been to Ashburnham or lived through our 'golden

days'. But with the help of three Farm 'missionaries' the Abun-

dant Grace enthusiasts were gathering a very Farm-looking

bunch.

In London Steve had his head down building up his Acton

base which was becoming very multiracial. In cosmopolitan

London, at least, we saw the rainbow church take shape with

many nationalities represented in the congregation. Jesus

Army, London, with its kingdom aggression and Holy Spirit

intoxication, was also a hit with many black churches.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

The secret of Steve's success? He admired Noel's spirit,

drank deep of the community vision and was a happy mix of

prophetic spirituality and winning love. His team in London

had a knack of attracting 'quality' people and were produc-

ing a new generation of community lovers.

Brokenness, soul freedom and yielding to God were vital

ingredients. Steve had known frequent anointings since our

general outpouring in 1988. They were a rocket boost into

new ministry. Now, at the summer campaign in London, Steve

was doing strange things again in the worship times (like

running backwards with his eyes closed). During the mission

his team was so 'intoxicated' that passers-by came in to the

marquee looking for the bar!

We, like many Christians, were discovering a new closeness

to God through what the media were calling the 'Toronto Bless-

ing'. In May we'd heard the story of Eleanor Mumford's visit

to Toronto and the subsequent 'bedlam' of laughter, shaking

and 'swooning' in the highly-respectable London Anglican

church, Holy Trinity Brompton. The power-wave, connected

with Toronto's Airport Vineyard Fellowship, was nothing if

not startling. Before long it had spread into hundreds of Brit-

ish churches and alerted the national press.

Some of the things they reported were pretty bizarre. Roar-

ing like lions, jerking like chickens and pogoing about like

pneumatic drills didn't easily fit into the British mindset! In-

evitably evangelicals of a more rational bent questioned

whether this was really the Holy Spirit at work. However re-

search into genuine historic revivals showed that such mani-

festations were not entirely new.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

We viewed the whole thing in a basically positive light. Our

own leaders didn't make the pilgrimage to Toronto but we

did receive fresh input and inspiration from all that was hap-

pening around the country. Renewed scenes of laughter and

rolling in (and out of) the aisles were described in a Jesus

Life supplement devoted to the worldwide 'refreshing'. Chil-

dren and teenagers were especially touched. 'It was like eat-

ing lovely food!' Faolan told us at the July Festival.

Emotional experiences and physical manifestations had

been fairly common amongst us; especially since 1988. This

got a mention in Patrick Dixon's new book Signs of Revival in

which Noel reminded us that pentecostal wine was not just

to intoxicate us but to produce pentecostal results.131 I guess

our attitude now was similar to John Wesley's; we welcomed

the signs, but got on with the job.

Through our experiences of anointings in 1988 God had

taught us to beware of selfishness and to pour the blessing

out where the need was greatest — into a weeping world.

The 'soft wind' of Toronto was bringing healing and refresh-

ing to many of us. We welcomed that. But we looked forward

to the stronger winds of repentance in the church and an

awakening of the British people.

We were so grateful for the evident signs of a new breed now

rising amongst us. These included many mature fathers like

Rufus, Ian and Steve and inspired sons such as Jason, Phil

and Nathan. The hymn 'Treasures of Zion' was apt as the

Jesus Fellowship entered its second generation:

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

Now pass the torch to precious sons,

Fathered from central Zion's ground.

Trained in these costly truths, these ones

Like new Elishas flock around!

Zion awake! Arise! Arise!

See now the depth that you have known;

Transcend it far! Press for the prize.

Now bring the sons of Zion home!

So many of us, new, old or middle-aged were longing for all

that 'Zion' stood for. As the year ended a new song expressed

that strong undercurrent of hope.

I see a golden age, a golden age

And laugh at the days to come.

30 UK, We Love You!

A figure emerged from the cold store outside the Goodness

Foods building and stepped into the warm January sunshine.

The scruffy young disciple sauntered through the warehouse

and burst into the rest room singing cheerfully. Nathan paused

to wipe the mist off his John Lennon glasses, stuck them back

on his nose and strode over to Jason Tenderheart'. He gave

him a boisterous bear-hug.

'Hallelujah! Praise God, bro!' he shouted. 'Your song was

excellent last night.'

Jason had a reputation for being 'bananas about Jesus' and

was a good songwriter. He was generally buoyant but this

lunch time he looked down in the mouth.

'Hey, are you all right man?' asked Nathan stepping back.

'I suppose so,' muttered Jason. Then he straightened up

and his eyes flashed.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

'It does my head right in!' he blurted:

'What's that, bro?' asked Nathan.

'Babylon mate! Worldliness, negativity. It cabbages me. I

see it leering at us, trying to get in. It does my head right in.

Right in, I tell you. Ooow... You devil!'

'Calm down bro,' said Nathan soothingly.

'Calm down? — Grrr!' retorted Jason. 'I hate it! I hate it

when the church isn't holy. She's supposed to be a praise in

all the earth. She's the light, man, the light! And people

whinge. I feel like smashing their Walkmans with a hammer!'

'Ah, I know bro,' smiled Nathan and picked up a guitar that

was lying on one of the old beat-up armchairs.

'Don't let it bug you, Jase. There's some brilliant things

cracking off. You know that. This is a new era, man!'

Nathan started to strum his guitar. Then he paused, and

with a look of determination, he pointed a finger at Jason.

'It's going be better than its ever been — better than when

I was a kid. They're hungry out there, bro. It's incredible.

These new guys at the Farm — they're radical man!

'Yeah — they're buzzed right up,' chuckled Jason. 'You're

right. You know I really love this church. I love Cornhill, and

the warehouse, but I get frustrated sometimes.'

'It's gonna be all right bro!' grinned Nathan. 'You wait!'

And he launched into a new song.

As the curtain fell on 1994 we didn't expect a huge applause

— at least not from God. There were hard facts to face. We

were well behind in our planting programme and had achieved

less than two-thirds of our targeted membership increase.

After several years of growth, numbers in community were

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

showing a decrease, and finances were becoming stretched.

Stunted growth and short supplies were signs of a diseased

heart and clogged arteries.

A new apostolic spirit had certainly been released. There

was 'a call to holy passion'. But it was meeting a backlash of

dead institutionalism. This had been a repeated pattern

amongst us when any new initiative dared disturb the

slumberers. Though people nowadays were more free to be

themselves, there was less 'holy fear' around — more of a

casual attitude to God.

Community was a particular cause for concern. Through

all the comings and goings, changes, phases and anointings,

the number of core members had hardly grown. Had the vi-

sion dimmed? Did the high note of discipleship sound as sweet

and acceptable as once it had? Some houses began to rattle

as families moved out to their own place. The Bugbrooke es-

tate began to fill up again. Only this time it wasn't the gold

rush into the promised land. It was the quiet retreat out.

Not that anything was grossly wrong. There was no scan-

dal, no rebellion — at least, none worthy of the name. Just the

quiet ongoing work of discouragement and the drooping spirit

of the settler. Some of us had been communified for twenty

years. Maybe 'Mother Zion' was growing long in the tooth.

On the positive side a new spiritual generation was on the

boil. But the question was, who was in it? Who was for the

future? Some of us who'd been reckless idealists in the 70s

were now hitting mid-life crisis. The challenge was to main-

tain our spiritual passion.

The renewed call to sacrifice was rocking the boat. For the

apostolic challenged, by its very nature, all that was institu-

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 na-

tion. 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 es-

tablished 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 strug-

gled. 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'.

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

The vision of main community houses as radical discipleship

centres was intensified. Struggling businesses too were re-

ceiving some emergency input both spiritually and practically

from a team led by Mike 'Rockfast'. Zealous 'young Davids'

like Jason, Phil and Nathan, responded wholeheartedly and

with sights set on a new golden age of community, pushed

things along, engaging any cynical Sauls, proud Goliaths or

worldly Philistines they met on the way.

God's word to us was to 'cleanse the house of the Lord'. In

spirit Noel saw an angel pouring out bowls of judgement and

blessing on the church. The following months revealed the

outworking of this as some scenes dwindled and others blos-

somed. As the Jesus Army steamed on into 1995 the growing

cry was 'Lord, revive our church households' — from the roots

up!

Towards the end of 1994 things had begun to hot up in Lon-

don. The year had been OK, but not stunning, and they were

a little weary with all the stress and pain of church building.

Community families were struggling there too.

'There must be more' was a popular song and a common

sentiment. Steve asked God for a new spirit of prophecy in

the group. They had experienced a renewed soaking in the

Holy Spirit with ecstatic worship, laughter, people under the

table and the like. But Steve was hungry for more. He wanted

the complete Acts 2 power package: dreams, visions and

prophecy — plus a startlingly new community.

As leaders we could motivate, push and preach the apos-

tolic message. And we did. But the power of revival was per-

sonal encounters with the Lord Jesus and a prophetically awak-

FIRE IN OUR HEARTS NEW GENERATION

ened spirit. 'Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your

young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams'

(Acts 2:17). That, in a nutshell, was our need.

Steve spoke about restoring God's house, quoting Ezra and

Haggai. There was a marked prophetic anointing and a real

sense that the Lord was coming through: 'You expected much,

but it turned out to be little. What you brought home, I blew

away. Why? Because of my house which remains a ruin, while

each of you is busy with his own house' (Hag 1:9).

As Steve pressed the word home it sliced into self-motiva-

tion. Power was at the altar of sacrifice. Whilst in full flow he

suddenly stopped: 'I've just seen an angel on his way with a

golden bowl of oil and a scroll.' Then he began to prophesy.

The response was dramatic. People were weeping and repent-

ing all over the room. Some were freed from demonic op-

pression. Others just cried out for their first love. A hymn

they often passionately sung was this:

Jerusalem, ablaze with light;

The gold, the glory in the night!

Gaze on her till your spirit's flame

Leaps upward, kindled at the name;

Zion! Where Jesus reigns.

The message of Haggai was poignant: 'Who of you is left who

saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you

now?' (Hag 2:3). Some tended to look back at 'the good old

days'. There, in a hazy mist, before techno-colour, communi-

cations, Jesus Army, or even evangelism, lay the quiet green

fields, the noble hymns and exquisite brotherhood we had

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