Jesus Revolution: A Review

During the late 1990s, I worked for Billy Graham's film ministry World Wide Pictures. My job was calling pastors to schedule evangelistic movie showings to reach people who might not go to a church otherwise. Many salvations and recommitments resulted. Some of Billy's movies were also shown in theaters.

It’s been two decades since World Wide Pictures released a new movie. Fortunately, other Christian filmmakers have filled the gap with quality productions. Some have done well financially. One that debuted last weekend was “Jesus Revolution,” which grossed over $15 million and placed third at the box office. I saw it this past Wednesday.


The movie is about the Jesus Movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It focuses on three California men who went on to have nationally known ministries. Chuck Smith is the pastor of Calvary Church, which hadn’t seen much growth until his daughter brought home a hippie named Lonnie Frisbee. Initially, Chuck is uncomfortable with him and other barefooted hippies staying at his house. He later washes their feet before walking into a Sunday service in response to congregation members complaining about the church carpet getting dirty. There’s also a young man named Greg Laurie, who Lonnie eventually baptizes (as well as many other newborn believers) in the Pacific Ocean after leading him in the sinner’s prayer.  


One point stated in “Jesus Revolution” is that God uses flawed individuals. Lonnie left Calvary Chapel due to disagreements with Pastor Chuck. In the end, the movie mentions their reconciling. It doesn’t reveal Lonnie had left his wife plus had homosexual encounters but repented before dying of AIDS. In addition to Christian songs, secular hits are heard. I noticed some were released after the movie’s timeline. One of them was America’s “Lonely People”, which reached the top ten in 1975. The movie concluded with Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 hit “Don’t Stop.”


Nitpicking aside, I encourage every Christian to take their unsaved friends to see “Jesus Revolution.” I also exhort every pastor to watch this movie, especially those struggling with low church attendance. A major reason congregations don’t grow is they don’t reach out to the lost. One scene I identified with in the movie was seeing believers hand out gospel tracts. While leaving the theater as the credits rolled, I handed out tracts to a few moviegoers still in their seats and said, “Let's go share the Good News with others.”


“Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.” - 2 Timothy 4:2


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