KANSAS CITY – While reports of revival on the campus of Asbury University have dominated headlines and social media recently, it’s timely that another revival – this one among hippies in the early 1970s – is hitting theaters.
“Jesus Revolution,” a film produced by the team that brought us “I Can Only Imagine,” is based on the true story (or, as the opening credits tell us, “based on a true movement”) of the Jesus Revolution, a revival among hippies and young people that spread throughout the late 60s and early 70s. Specifically, the movie centers on Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif.; it’s older, conservative pastor, Chuck Smith; hippie preacher, Lonnie Frisbee; and eventual megachurch pastor, Greg Laurie. (Laurie wrote the book, “Jesus Revolution,” on which the movie is based.)
Greg Laurie
In the film, Greg (played gamely by Joel Courtney) is a wayward young man, all but abandoned by his checked-out, alcoholic mother (Kimberly Williams-Paisley). In a bid to get closer to his crush, Cathe (Anna Grace Barlow), he joins the hippie lifestyle, down to the clothes, drug use, and lingo. Meanwhile, Chuck (Kelsey Grammer) is lamenting the state of the world, specifically the hippies that seem to be infecting every bit of society. “You’ve never even spoken to a hippie,” his daughter points out. “When God bring me a hippie, then I’ll speak to him,” Chuck says, confident this will never happen.
Spoiler alert: it does, and in the form of the smiling, free-wheeling, long-haired, bare-foot, bongo-playing Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie). From there, we watch the growing pains of an intergenerational church, as more hippies join Calvary Chapel, as the original (and tithing) members of the church leave in protest, and as baptisms in the Pacific Ocean begin to draw more and more attention, and more and more crowds.
Is the revival legitimate? Are souls being saved and is the Holy Spirit working through people so many – including many in the Church – have written off? Only God can be the final judge, but the movie’s answer is yes, and so is mine. This “revolution” saw thousands of changed lives, including Laurie’s.
If I had a time machine and plopped into the tent meetings where Frisbee was preaching, there’s zero doubt I’d (accurately) be labeled a square and would be extremely skeptical. A lot of that can be chalked up to being too young to have ever seen a hippie in real life: the trappings of the lifestyle just seem so out there that it’s difficult for me to reconcile it with a redeemed heart. Some of that doubt also comes from the movie’s necessarily shallow theology and doctrine. But, it’s a movie, not an expositional sermon. You can’t tell a story in two hours while also carefully laying out foundations of faith, but I still found myself wincing when people were dipped into the Pacific without directly seeing how the Holy Spirit worked into their hearts first. These aren’t Missouri Southern Baptist hippies, so there’s also bound to be a few things we’d never find in one of our churches, including faith healings.
As a movie, there aren’t any major flaws, and it’s very well cast. It’s difficult to see Kelsey Grammer in any role other than his title role from “Frasier”, but if anyone can play a fuddy-duddy old preacher, it’s him. Likewise, Jonathan Roumie’s Lonnie looks so much like his character of Jesus from “The Chosen,” (the long hair, barefeet, loose clothing) that it’s a little disconcerting when he opens his mouth and, in a sing,-song lilt says, “Far out!”
Jonathan Roumie
Despite my initial skepticism and my distaste for bellbottoms and sideburns, I enjoyed “Jesus Revolution.” It’s clean enough – despite vague drug references – for families to enjoy together and will probably spark some humorous discussions (“Yes, Grandma and Grandpa really did dress like that”).
This is a story for believers (especially those of you who lived through the era), one that encourages and reminds us that, much like with Jonah, God still works among people we may have written off. People in the theater during my showing cheered as the credits rolled.
It’s also a story of warning. Just when I was beginning to think the story was too rosy and easy, a conflict arises between Chuck and Lonnie. At first it seems merely generational or philosophical, but grows into much more than that, so much so that one leader (rightly) must leave the ministry. The movie hints at sins such as pride and neglecting one’s marriage. These are quite serious and disturbing, but those who know the history of Calvary Chapel and the Jesus Revolution (or those who use Google), will know that the hidden sinful lifestyle goes far beyond that.