Jesus Revolution Movie Review
‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams. ~ Acts 2:17
In the 1970s, young Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) is searching for all the right things in all the wrong places: until he meets Lonnie Frisbee (Jonathan Roumie), a charismatic hippie-street-preacher. Together with Pastor Chuck Smith (Kelsey Grammer), they open the doors of Smith’s languishing church to an unexpected revival of radical and newfound love, leading to what TIME Magazine dubbed on June 7, 1971 a JESUS REVOLUTION.
My husband, parents, and I sat down to watch Jesus Revolution in the comfort of our home last evening and the joy of it is that on April 25th, you can too. It's going to be available On Demand, Blu-Ray, and DVD.
What makes this movie so special to my family is that we heard the Good News of Jesus Christ because of the "Jesus Movement". My parents from a group of interdenominational kids, The New Directions, who traveled and sang songs about the love of Jesus. In turn, I learned from both my parents and that group, I turned my life over to Jesus and even traveled with that group for three summers to share with others about Jesus. My husband was "saved" through a storefront ministry in Washington state. As I sat and watched the movie, I got emotional thinking about how this Jesus Revolution is part of our biographies.
Jesus Revolution begins in California around the infamous Summer of Love. Pastor Chuck Smith is preaching to his dying congregation and he shares the Time Magazine cover from April 8, 1966 with the words "Is God Dead?" and he laments about the lost generation of young people. As I watched this, I thought about the kids today, in modern times, and how many of us feel that the world is quickly headed for destruction and I realize that this was what those people felt as well. I was struck by a line in the movie that Lonnie Frisbee shared about the Summer of Love and the "hippie movement", that it was really a "quest for God". Those people were searching for all the right things in all the wrong places and, sadly, we continue to see that today.
Without giving away the story, Pastor Chuck Smith opens doors of the church to Lonnie Frisbee and his friends and by doing that, opens the door to the Holy Spirit to a huge movement and began what is considered one of the largest American revivals in history. While this alienates his congregation, who forgot that Jesus died for everyone, even those who don't look, dress, sing, or act like them, this new congregation explodes in capacity, bringing in more and more people to hear The Gospel. And THIS is the story called Jesus Revolution.
Pastor Greg Laurie is the only one of the three men who is still alive and he continues to lead his church, Calvary Chapel, from where all other Calvary Chapels in the US come from. I love that they still gather to baptize believers at Pirate's Cove, where they began baptizing back in the late 60s.
The truth is always quiet. It's the lies that are loud.
And, Jesus IS THE TRUTH.
And, Jesus IS THE TRUTH.
I'm completely bias here but I really loved Jesus Revolution and would watch it again. This is the story of so many people that I know. I even spoke to a friend who knew people who knew Lonnie Frisbee. Needless to say, because the story is set in the 60s and 70s, the music is fabulous and filled with songs that I sang along to from that time period.
Jesus Revolution is going to be available on April 25th On Demand, on Blu-Ray, and on DVD so grab your popcorn and don't miss it!
For more resources about Jesus Revolution click HERE.
Many thanks to Kingdom Story Company for providing a sample of the product for this review. Opinions are 100% my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.