Jesus Revolution shows a radical response to ’60s turmoil
Rusty Wright
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“Is God Dead?” a 1966 Time magazine cover asked. Just five years later, another Time cover heralded “The Jesus Revolution.” What caused this cultural shift?
A new film tells part of the story: how a hippie, a drugged-out teenager, and a straight-laced California pastor linked up to bring hope to millions. A Lionsgate film, Jesus Revolution is based in part on the book of the same name by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn. The cast includes Kelsey Grammer (Frasier), Jonathan Roumie (The Chosen), Anna Grace Barlow (The Big Leap), and Joel Courtney (Super 8).
Take it from a survivor: The 1960s were radical. Revolution was a watchword. Antiwar demonstrations abounded. There were civil rights marches, Kennedy and King assassinations, the sexual revolution, flower children. The film aptly depicts the turmoil, chemical influence, and music of the ’60s. So, how does Jesus fit into all this?
Southern California teenager Greg Laurie (Courtney) worked hard cleaning up his alcoholic mother’s messes. Married and divorced seven times, she often brought her lovers home. Greg never met his biological father until adulthood. Distrust and cynicism have clouded his prospects of finding love and fulfillment. Alcohol, dope, and LSD ease his pain.
Living in another SoCal universe is Chuck Smith (Grammer), a buttoned-down middle-aged pastor of a small church. The ’60s culture mystifies him. His parishioners are mostly establishment adults. Chuck thinks hippies should cut their hair, take a bath, and get a job.
Lonnie Frisbee (Roumie), a meandering California mystic, became what authors Laurie and Vaughn called “just another vegetarian nudist druggie.” But that changed when Lonnie met some hippie followers of Jesus. He chose to follow Christ and eagerly spread the good news about his life’s new meaning and purpose.
Lonnie meets Chuck Smith’s daughter’s boyfriend, who invites him to Chuck’s home. The film depicts many humorous moments as the straight-laced pastor adjusts to welcoming the hippie and his new wife to live with the Smiths. Lonnie invites strangers on the beach to join him living in Chuck’s home, then to attend his church.
While some members freak out, Chuck welcomes Lonnie’s help in understanding the day’s youth. A music group writes and performs contemporary music. The church grows and moves into a tent to accommodate the crowds.
When Lonnie speaks at a lunchtime faith meeting at a local high school attended by Greg, Greg’s cynicism melts as he observes the students’ joy. Greg eventually accepts forgiveness and friendship with God as a “free gift.”
As the 1971 Time cover story indicates, similar things were happening among university students nationwide. Including me. The Jesus Revolution found this skeptic in 1967 in North Carolina, with lasting results.
The film traces Greg’s involvement in Chuck’s church, Calvary Chapel, and the trio’s growing influence, setbacks, and challenges. I won’t spoil the details, which include Greg’s love life, Chuck’s and Lonnie’s ups and downs, and a magazine reporter’s reactions to what he observed.
The Calvary Chapel movement spread to over 1,700 affiliated churches worldwide. The real Greg Laurie regularly communicates with thousands in arenas and via media. Sadly, Lonnie Frisbee succumbed to AIDS in 1993. Chuck Smith died of cancer in 2013.
Jesus Revolution is an entertaining, realistic, inspiring reflection on a significant cultural phenomenon with life-altering implications.
Regarding why he accepted this role, Kelsey Grammer says, “I wanted to do something that meant something. … I was almost in a minor despair about doing something of value: ‘Does it matter?’ And then this script was delivered to me the next day. … I hope people feel tearful and joyful, all at the same time, and maybe inspired to rediscover their own faith.”
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Rusty Wright is an author and lecturer who has spoken on six continents. His film commentaries and columns have been published in newspapers across the country and used by more than 2,000 websites.