Here are some prompts to use in church or campus ministry gatherings to discuss the recent feature film, The Jesus Revolution. Use this review of the film by Rev Jim Burklo, PCU/ZOE’s executive director, for background.
What emotions did you feel in watching the film? High points, low points, inspirational moments, frustrating or confusing or anger-inducing moments? Do you wish you had been part of the Jesus Revolution?
What do you admire about the counterculture movement of the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s? What do you part of it do you not admire? Does the film do justice to the reality of that era, or does it trivialize and stereotype it?
Have there been other “Jesus Revolutions” in the history of Christianity? What caused them to happen? How do they compare with the one depicted in this film?
In the film, we meet Lonnie walking along a road in the country in his beard and long hair, wearing sandals and a poncho and holding a walking stick… looking a lot like we might imagine one of the desert monks of early Christianity. Is there any resonance between the lifestyle of the hippies and that of the early monastics?
When Lonnie and Chuck Smith first encounter each other, Lonnie says: I kept searching and searching and I just finally got to the end of it, and there was still a void. And my people, well, they're a desperate bunch. And in desperation, man, there's power in that word. What would it take for you, Chuck Smith, to be desperate? …. How do I describe my people? They're sheep without a shepherd, chasing hard after lies, and the trouble is, your people reject them. So I ask you, Pastor, how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? We can only walk through doors open to us, and your church, well, that's a door that's shut.
In what ways are you desperate? What would it take for you to be desperate? What power is there in desperation?
Chuck Smith ended up opening the doors of his church to the Jesus People. The Jesus People became members of evangelical churches like Chuck’s. Against whom are those church doors shut today?
The film was funded by conservative evangelical Christian donors, likely the reason that the film left out the fact that Lonnie Frisbee was gay and likely died of AIDS. How might Lonnie’s life have unfolded differently if we had a “Jesus Revolution” today?
The “Jesus freaks” stuck one finger in the air and chanted “One Way!”, declaring that Jesus was the only way to salvation. What is “salvation”? Is there only one way to reach it?
Chuck Smith and the Jesus People held their Bibles in the air in their worship services. What is the Bible? God’s word to humans, humans’ words about God, or something else? How do you understand and relate to the Bible?
Lonnie was pushed out of leadership in Chuck’s church when he started doing “faith healings”. Why did Chuck have a problem with that? Can Christianity be a real force for emotional and physical healing, and if so, how?
Thousands of young people in that era were baptized in the ocean at Pirate’s Cove. What did baptism appear to mean to them? What does it mean to you?
Chuck Smith’s daughter, Janette, reflected on what his church was like before the Jesus People showed up, asking the question: “Where was the love?” What would it mean for churches to show real love, in our time?
The Jesus Revolution of the 60’s and 70’s had a lasting impact on Christianity in America. What part of that impact is worth preserving, and what part needs to be left behind?
What should a “Jesus Revolution” look like today?