Movie Review: Jesus Revolution
A short time ago, my home church here in Ecuador watched the movie Jesus Revolution together. The aim of this movie was to dramatically portray the revival of the Jesus Movement that swept through the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Since I had grown up in that turbulent era and was converted to Christ myself. I had been wanting to see it for quite some time.
The movie takes place in California, when America was in a period of great turmoil, caused by the converging influences of rock and roll, the woman’s liberation movement, increased drug usage and sexual promiscuity, and the very unpopular Vietnam War. Much of the younger generation was turned off and fed up with the “establishment,” and they were both disillusioned and rebellious. Accurate portrayals of a Janis Joplin beach concert and a pro-LSD message by Timothy Leary lended credibility to the film’s coverage of the Southern California culture in those days.
Jesus Revolution is an interwoven story of three primary characters, Pastor Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel (played by well-known actor Kelsey Grammer), Lonnie Frisbee, a hippie evangelist (Jonathan Roumie of the hit series The Chosen), and Greg Laurie, who would later become the founding pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship (played by Joel Courtney in the film).
As the movie unfolds, we learn that middle-aged Pastor Chuck Smith is struggling with a small church of mostly elderly people. His own daughter Janette is on the verge of checking out, and she frequently challenges her father and the effectiveness of his ministry. Then one day, Janette picks up a hippie evangelist named Lonnie Frisbee hitchhiking on the coastal highway and invites him to her home. Now Pastor Chuck must meet his first hippie who loves Jesus. As Lonnie shares with him about his love for Jesus, and the possibility of reaching an entire generation of youth who would not fit into a traditional, conservative church, we witness the pastor’s internal struggle. He now faces a great dilemma – should he maintain the status quo and watch his church die, or does he open his heart to these hippies? We begin to see the pastor’s heart melt and the stage is set. Chuck and his wife open their hearts, and then the doors of their church to these unlikely members. Everything immediately starts to change – the messages, the dress code, the music, the whole atmosphere! This, of course, increases the tension with some of the older church members and their pastor.
During this same time, teenagers Greg Laurie and Cathe Martin are already disillusioned teens drifting in the same direction. A relationship between the two begins to develop while both are caught up in the counterculture of the hippies.
We are now confronted with the mounting tensions, and the movie shows in convincing detail the family tensions, personal struggles of a pastor who finds it hard to change, and the young people’s downward spiral into alcohol and drug abuse as they search for love and purpose. The film does a great job of depicting the hippie culture of Southern California in the late 60s.
Lonnie soon appears on campus, preaching about Jesus, where he also meets Greg and Cathe. More and more hippies keep pouring into Calvary Chapel, but some of the older members finally leave. Before long, the church has outgrown its building and must use a large tent for their revival meetings. The movie accurately portrays the emergence of a new style of contemporary worship bands and several mass baptisms in the Pacific Ocean. Lives are transformed as people find hope, freedom and salvation in Christ!
When her sister nearly dies from a drug overdose, Cathe becomes determined to change and starts going to the church. Greg continues on, but eventually realizes that he too desperately needs a change. At one of these mass baptisms, Cathe is baptized and Greg finally surrenders his life to Christ and is baptized as well.
As the church’s ministry and influence grows, Greg and Cathe get more involved. Greg begins to feel a strong call to serve God, and their relationship continues to grow, despite the doubts and
pressure of Cathe’s parents. Lonnie Frisbee’s role in the ministry continues to grow as well, but after awhile there are growing tensions between him and Chuck Smith. Lonnie seems to want more of the spotlight, and some of his Charismatic or Pentecostal practices aggravate the situation. Eventually, we see this relationship unravel, and Lonnie Frisbee moves to Florida with his wife. The ministry of Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel continues to flourish, and the stage is set for Greg Laurie to pursue his own ministry that would become Harvest Christian Fellowship.
Throughout Jesus Revolution, the movie honestly alludes to other events or problems, but it does not go any further. The film producers chose to downplay some of the details of the events and lives of the characters, and I believe for good reason. Further details about the hippie culture, the early development of the Calvary Chapel movement, the romantic relationship between Greg and Cathe, the personal struggles and sins of Lonnie Frisbee, or his later involvement with the Vineyard movement, would have all been like rabbit holes that would diminish the thrust and message of the film.
In this regard, I think they were masterful in striking a balance, while remaining true to the message or purpose of the movie.
Only now do we realize that the events that unfolded in Southern California were actually but one part of a heavenly outpouring that was sweeping across America through high schools and universities, and in cities, both large and small.
I highly recommend Jesus Revolution to anyone who wants to learn more about that period of American history, as well as the ongoing impact that the Jesus Movement has had on the Church in the United States and around the world since then. I also think there are many parallels between the late 1960s and the early 2020s, such as social unrest, the drug epidemic, riots, war, increased crime, violence, and racism. And most importantly, anyone alive today that is searching for purpose and hope will find in this movie a source of inspiration in the right direction.
David Batcheller
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