Jesus Revolution: The Message

By Jonathan Faulkner

Author's Note: this is part 1 of 3 of an examination of Jesus Revolution and its significance for us today.

For the last decade or so the general critique of Christian movies has been that they just are not that good. Regardless of how much we might like a certain movie, the quality of Christian movies has not lived up to what we would expect as a redeemed people. The characters are often stagnant, often mean to outsiders and fairly cliché. Despite their evangelistic zeal, some would have and have had the opposite effect of turning people away from Christ, not to Him. Some studios, such as Affirm and Lionsgate, have sought to reverse this trend with recent movies such as American Underdog and their most recent endeavor: Jesus Revolution. Following in the footsteps of shows like The Chosen, they are demonstrating that Christian art can be better. It is on the latter, Jesus Revolution, that we will focus in this three-part series.

Jesus Revolution follows the true story of Harvest Church Pastor Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) and his chance encounter with the traveling hippie street preacher Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie) as he gathers young people to Calvary Chapel, a modest, traditional church pastored by Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer). This is a move that begins what became known as the Jesus Revolution, an event in American church history that came on the heels of the charismatic movement and gave us several major denominations including the Vineyard Movement, and shaped both the Religious Right and Left that are active today, the Attractional Church model and more. The movie shows Greg's journey from burnt-out, military school kid who started tripping acid for a girl before they both come into contact with Frisbee at Calvary Chapel.

The movie does an excellent job of showing what life was like in the late 60's and early 70's: the clothing, music, and attitudes. It is fun to see how the secular philosophy of the time period is juxtaposed to the Christian message without the writers going out of their way to demonize the speakers. While it is clear that the secular philosophy is wrong, to the moviegoer it is portrayed as a kid would have heard it at the time: "Love yourself, love everyone, no more war, the way to self-fulfillment is freedom from the shackles of society and its norms." The underlying message of self-fulfillment and true freedom is then linked to drugs as a plane flies overhead dropping acid tabs.

On the other hand, there is the message of Christianity: Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. The only way to belong, the way to find true love and true life is in Him. Through catalytic events, both Greg and his girlfriend come to hear this message at Calvary Chapel as Lonnie Frisbee preaches there. Both become big parts of the movement, with Greg eventually founding Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California where it stands to this day. The radical difference between the new and old life is incredible, as it should be for us as believers who have the true life.

But this reality does not come without some pain, and this is where the real message of the movie hits home for both my generation and the generation of those brought to Christ during the Jesus Revolution.

The Struggle

The struggle begins early on as Chuck Smith's daughter Janette is at odds with him over the aging church he pastors and the lack of outreach to the younger generation. She sees the attractiveness of the hippie movement which leads to an argument where Smith says: "Show me a hippie who believes in Jesus and I will let him preach in my Church." This argument opens the door for the entrance of the hippie preacher Frisbee. The issue for Janette is that the church doors are closed to young people, closed to people who are searching for something real and true. Yet, because the church doors are closed, they have no place to find belonging except for the hippie movement, the gurus and sages of which are more than willing to provide such a place of belonging.

The church doors are not just physically closed, they are closed by the hearts of the older members who do not want "these people" in the church because they "were barefoot." The cost of entrance for these older members is that these hippies conform to their standards of dress, something that is not going to happen. "Either they go, or we go," is the ultimatum given by one elder. Eventually that man gets up and walks out in the middle of the service. Calvary Chapel is "his church" and does did not want "riff raff" in his church.

What About Today?

As has already been said: The message of the movie is for today, as much as it was to show us the message from 50 years ago. Today, we find a lot of young people looking for truth, acceptance and belonging and yet the church doors are closed, closed by the very people who once had the doors of Calvary Chapel thrown open to them. As much as things change, they stay the same. Young people are searching for a place they can find peace and hope and belonging and they are finding the doors of the church closed, both emotionally and spiritually by the hearts of a people who were once so open to the movement of the Spirit. This is at the heart of Deconstruction[1] in our modern times. The Church is closed to those seeking some semblance of hope, and those like Janette in the movie find that to be the opposite of what Jesus taught and contrary to how he told us to live. Janette even tells her father that she was ready to be done with Christianity before she met Frisbee, which might leave us to wonder: who are the Janis Joplins, the gurus, the influencers, who are keeping kids engaged in the world, and who are the Frisbees of today who might be keeping our youth engaged with their Christian faith in spite of any perceived or experienced shortcomings?

The challenge of the movie is to listen to those who are knocking on the door, to allow them to come and meet Jesus and to be open to the moving of the Spirit among the younger generation. But it also comes as a warning for us to check our attitudes towards the younger generation to make sure they are in line with God's Word. When we do not, we are like the elder who walked out of the church; we miss the movement of God when it is right in front of us. Yes, it will make us uncomfortable, and it will challenge us. It will not fit our mold. But if we stick around and sit with that discomfort, we may find that God is doing something new, once again turning deserts into springs.

Reflection Questions:

1. What types of people make you feel comfortable in your church community?

2. Are there those in your church group who make you feel uncomfortable? How do you treat them?

3. Where does power lie in your church group for making decisions? Who has that power? At what point can a younger person make a meaningful decision in your church group (meaningful in that it impacts what will affect the future and connects with the story of your church group)?

4. Do younger people in your church group have the ability to make decisions that include meaningful risk? If not, why not?

Footnote

[1] Deconstruction in our modern times means the taking apart of one’s learned behaviors and beliefs. Much ink has been spilled about this topic; deconstruction does not always mean leaving the faith, though that’s what opponents have claimed. Deconstruction leads to reconstruction, either into some other belief system or into a more deeply owned faith.

Rev. Jonathan David Faulkner is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary holding Masters in Divinity and Church History, a pastor, musician and writer. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Christian Education & Administration with a concentration in Urban Ministry. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Spokane, Washington.