THE MODERN Jesus army is a church of the poor, a working class, underclass church. That's not to say there aren't people in our ranks who come from "privileged" backgrounds, but they, like the rest of us, have embraced a lifestyle of deliberate equality: brotherhood for real.

One mJa member (the son of a wealthy lawyer, now living in Christian community), had an email from an old university friend recently. In it she describes two very different reactions to the Jesus Army:

"I mentioned to a lawyer that I know that I'd met up with a uni' friend now in the JA. He went off on one about it being 'terrible' - and I was a bit like 'Whoa - have you actually ever met anyone or talked to anyone in the JA?!' Anyway, it was an eye opener as to some of the reactions you lot must inspire!

"To counter this I was also chatting to a homeless guy outside Harrods who was from Coventry and who knew the JA and said you were all great; in his words 'not like the skinny girls who go to that posh church across the road!...'

"Think it's probably telling that it's the homeless guy and not the middle class lawyer who is positive about your work."

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What's being said