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Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today
God has always been interested in turning unlikely people into his most fervent followers. Prostitutes and pagans, tax collectors and tricksters. The more unlikely, the more it seemed to please God and to demonstrate his power, might, and mercy. America in the 1960s and 1970s was full of unlikely people--men and women who had rejected the stuffy religion of their parents' generation, who didn't follow the rules, didn't fit in. The perfect setting for the greatest spiritual awakening of the 20th century.
With passion and purpose, Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn tell the amazing true story of the Jesus Movement, an extraordinary time of mass revival, renewal, and reconciliation. Setting fascinating personal stories within the context of one of the most tumultuous times in modern history, the authors draw important parallels with our own time of spiritual apathy or outright hostility, offering hope for the next generation of unlikely believers--and for the next great American revival.
Those who lived through the Jesus Revolution will find here an inspiring reminder of the times and people that shaped their lives and faith. Younger readers will discover a forgotten part of recent American history and, along with it, a reason to believe that God is not finished with their generation.
With passion and purpose, Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn tell the amazing true story of the Jesus Movement, an extraordinary time of mass revival, renewal, and reconciliation. Setting fascinating personal stories within the context of one of the most tumultuous times in modern history, the authors draw important parallels with our own time of spiritual apathy or outright hostility, offering hope for the next generation of unlikely believers--and for the next great American revival.
Those who lived through the Jesus Revolution will find here an inspiring reminder of the times and people that shaped their lives and faith. Younger readers will discover a forgotten part of recent American history and, along with it, a reason to believe that God is not finished with their generation.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
735 people are currently reading
1533 people want to read
About the author
Greg Laurie
294 books229 followersGreg Laurie is an American author and pastor who serves as the senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, Harvest Corona in Corona, California Harvest Woodcrest in Riverside, California, Harvest at Kumulani in Kapalua, Hawaii, and Harvest Orange County in Irvine, California.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 287 reviews
March 8, 2023
Last weekend I went to see the movie, Jesus Revolution. I started this audiobook on my way home from the movie theater.
The movie, a dramatization of the events in this book, was thought provoking. Though some details were edited to fit the storytelling medium of the movies, the spirit of the story was kept intact. A little over 50 years ago, hippies started turning to God, and the result was wonderful and messy, disruptive and revitalizing.
This book tells the story but, instead of walking alongside the people involved, it focuses more on the historical setting and Christian beliefs that fueled the events of the late 60s and early 70s.
Though I'd heard of the Jesus Revolution before, my mind doesn't go to revival when I think of this decade of American history. The Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and the heyday of Rock & Roll are far more prevalent in my understanding of the 70s--just like the mainstream attitudes and events of today shape my thoughts of the possibility and probability of a revival in my lifetime. But if God could work through the stagnant churches and rebelling youths of the 70s, He might just do it again today.
This movie and book have inspired me to pray more earnestly and hopefully for revival in our time. They have challenged me to look for my own biases and how they impact my perspective on church.
The movie, a dramatization of the events in this book, was thought provoking. Though some details were edited to fit the storytelling medium of the movies, the spirit of the story was kept intact. A little over 50 years ago, hippies started turning to God, and the result was wonderful and messy, disruptive and revitalizing.
This book tells the story but, instead of walking alongside the people involved, it focuses more on the historical setting and Christian beliefs that fueled the events of the late 60s and early 70s.
Though I'd heard of the Jesus Revolution before, my mind doesn't go to revival when I think of this decade of American history. The Vietnam War, the sexual revolution, and the heyday of Rock & Roll are far more prevalent in my understanding of the 70s--just like the mainstream attitudes and events of today shape my thoughts of the possibility and probability of a revival in my lifetime. But if God could work through the stagnant churches and rebelling youths of the 70s, He might just do it again today.
This movie and book have inspired me to pray more earnestly and hopefully for revival in our time. They have challenged me to look for my own biases and how they impact my perspective on church.
October 23, 2022
3.5 stars. This book is a history more of Calvary Chapel than of the “Jesus Revolution” that occurred around the same time C. C. began. It also has suggestions for how to “revive” the church.
It would greatly benefit from photos and it might have been helpful to have an index.
I was slightly bored by the chapters on basic history... Laurie didn’t exactly explain their connection to the “Jesus Revolution.”
I attend Calvary Chapel Lebanon in Pennsylvania.
I enjoyed reading about the “history” of my church’s founders, but was disappointed that there wasn’t more about how the “Revolution” effected the rest of America. I think the book is misnamed.
It would greatly benefit from photos and it might have been helpful to have an index.
I was slightly bored by the chapters on basic history... Laurie didn’t exactly explain their connection to the “Jesus Revolution.”
I attend Calvary Chapel Lebanon in Pennsylvania.
I enjoyed reading about the “history” of my church’s founders, but was disappointed that there wasn’t more about how the “Revolution” effected the rest of America. I think the book is misnamed.
January 7, 2019
Summary: An account of the Jesus Movement centered around Calvary Chapel and Chuck Smith, who mentored Greg Laurie into ministry, and how such a revival might come once more.
Some might argue that the last major American Awakening took place in the late 1960's to mid- 1970's in what was known as the Jesus Movement. Young men and women were coming to faith out of the hippie, drug culture. It was happening all over the United States in locality after locality. There was no national campaign. I know. I was a part of it.
So was Greg Laurie, and in this book, he, along with Ellen Vaughn offers a personal narrative of the times, the Southern California movement that centered around Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel, and Greg's conversion to Christ, growth as a young believer under Smith's mentoring, and the beginnings of his own ministry, resulting eventually in Harvest Christian Fellowship.
Laurie and Vaughn narrate the times: the transition from the staid 1950's to the tumultuous 1960's, the rise of the civil rights and anti-war movements, the proliferation of drug use, the rock festivals, and how the promise of Woodstock rapidly unraveled, leaving the children of the counter-culture desperate for something better.
Greg's own story involved growing up in a single parent family with his mother and a series of her boyfriends. He didn't know who his father was. Then he encountered Lonnie Frisbee, a charismatic minister who, at the time, was working with Chuck Smith, an older pastor who was open to this movement of God among young people and taught them the Bible, training converts to be disciples and witnesses.
Greg narrates coming to faith, and plunging into the life of Calvary Chapel, learning that drugs and discipleship could not go together. He began bearing witness to his faith, using art talents to create what became a popular pamphlet. Eventually he is invited to lead a Bible study over in Riverside that explodes, at which time Chuck Smith helps him plant a church that became Harvest Christian Fellowship.
The book goes on to interweave the subsequent life of Greg Laurie, and his wife Cathe, also converted through the ministry, and the subsequent narrative of the next forty years in the U.S. This includes some of the personal tragedies in his life including the death of his own son, and the falling out he had with Chuck Smith when he planted a church in Orange County, where he grew up and where Calvary Chapel was based. Fortunately, the two of them reconciled before Smith's death.
One of the most significant parts of the book for me were a couple pages where he cited Billy Graham's The Jesus Generation (a book I read during that period, so grateful for the affirmation of the evangelist for the work of God we were seeing all around us). Graham noted strengths of this movement that were evident in Greg's narrative and that I saw as well:
"It was spontaneous, without a human figurehead..."
It was "Bible based." All of us had dog-eared, marked up Bibles.
"The movement was about an experience with Jesus, not head knowledge."
There was an emphasis on the Holy Spirit.
"[L]ives were dramatically transformed" as people were liberated from "addictions, and ingrained patterns of sin."
"The movement's emphasis was on Christian discipleship." We talked about being "sold out" to Christ in every area of life.
"It was interracial and multicultural."
"The movement showed a great zeal for evangelism." I've often joked that if it moved, we tried to witness to it!
"The movement emphasized the second coming of Jesus." Given the turbulence of the times with assassinations, Middle East conflict, and so much discord in the country, we thought Christ could come in our lifetime (pp. 165-166).
An odd characteristic of the book is that references to Laurie are in the third person, perhaps due to it being a co-authored work. Nevertheless, the book offers an eyewitness account of the times and the Jesus Movement that is helpful for anyone who wants to know more about this revival. While the cultural history offers a broad summary, and the account is centered in Southern California, I found that it rang true to my own experience, and that of others I've talked to from other cities.
It has been debated whether the Jesus Movement was a revival. The authors argue that it was, as a movement orchestrated by God and not human agency, in which Jesus was powerfully transforming lives through the Holy Spirit. Their purpose is not nostalgia, but rather to challenge the church that it can happen again. They ask whether, like the youth, and some of the churches of the 1960's, we are desperate enough in our day:
"God grants revival. He grants it to those who are humble enough to know they need it, to those who have a certain desperate hunger for Him. Only out of self-despair--a helpless understanding of the reality of sin and one's absolute inability to cure it--does anyone ever turn wholeheartedly to God. That desperation is sometimes hard to come by in America, because it is the opposite of self-sufficiency. In the US, many of us live under the illusion that our needs are already met, that maybe God is an add-on to our already comfortable existence" (pp. 232-233).
___________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
Some might argue that the last major American Awakening took place in the late 1960's to mid- 1970's in what was known as the Jesus Movement. Young men and women were coming to faith out of the hippie, drug culture. It was happening all over the United States in locality after locality. There was no national campaign. I know. I was a part of it.
So was Greg Laurie, and in this book, he, along with Ellen Vaughn offers a personal narrative of the times, the Southern California movement that centered around Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel, and Greg's conversion to Christ, growth as a young believer under Smith's mentoring, and the beginnings of his own ministry, resulting eventually in Harvest Christian Fellowship.
Laurie and Vaughn narrate the times: the transition from the staid 1950's to the tumultuous 1960's, the rise of the civil rights and anti-war movements, the proliferation of drug use, the rock festivals, and how the promise of Woodstock rapidly unraveled, leaving the children of the counter-culture desperate for something better.
Greg's own story involved growing up in a single parent family with his mother and a series of her boyfriends. He didn't know who his father was. Then he encountered Lonnie Frisbee, a charismatic minister who, at the time, was working with Chuck Smith, an older pastor who was open to this movement of God among young people and taught them the Bible, training converts to be disciples and witnesses.
Greg narrates coming to faith, and plunging into the life of Calvary Chapel, learning that drugs and discipleship could not go together. He began bearing witness to his faith, using art talents to create what became a popular pamphlet. Eventually he is invited to lead a Bible study over in Riverside that explodes, at which time Chuck Smith helps him plant a church that became Harvest Christian Fellowship.
The book goes on to interweave the subsequent life of Greg Laurie, and his wife Cathe, also converted through the ministry, and the subsequent narrative of the next forty years in the U.S. This includes some of the personal tragedies in his life including the death of his own son, and the falling out he had with Chuck Smith when he planted a church in Orange County, where he grew up and where Calvary Chapel was based. Fortunately, the two of them reconciled before Smith's death.
One of the most significant parts of the book for me were a couple pages where he cited Billy Graham's The Jesus Generation (a book I read during that period, so grateful for the affirmation of the evangelist for the work of God we were seeing all around us). Graham noted strengths of this movement that were evident in Greg's narrative and that I saw as well:
"It was spontaneous, without a human figurehead..."
It was "Bible based." All of us had dog-eared, marked up Bibles.
"The movement was about an experience with Jesus, not head knowledge."
There was an emphasis on the Holy Spirit.
"[L]ives were dramatically transformed" as people were liberated from "addictions, and ingrained patterns of sin."
"The movement's emphasis was on Christian discipleship." We talked about being "sold out" to Christ in every area of life.
"It was interracial and multicultural."
"The movement showed a great zeal for evangelism." I've often joked that if it moved, we tried to witness to it!
"The movement emphasized the second coming of Jesus." Given the turbulence of the times with assassinations, Middle East conflict, and so much discord in the country, we thought Christ could come in our lifetime (pp. 165-166).
An odd characteristic of the book is that references to Laurie are in the third person, perhaps due to it being a co-authored work. Nevertheless, the book offers an eyewitness account of the times and the Jesus Movement that is helpful for anyone who wants to know more about this revival. While the cultural history offers a broad summary, and the account is centered in Southern California, I found that it rang true to my own experience, and that of others I've talked to from other cities.
It has been debated whether the Jesus Movement was a revival. The authors argue that it was, as a movement orchestrated by God and not human agency, in which Jesus was powerfully transforming lives through the Holy Spirit. Their purpose is not nostalgia, but rather to challenge the church that it can happen again. They ask whether, like the youth, and some of the churches of the 1960's, we are desperate enough in our day:
"God grants revival. He grants it to those who are humble enough to know they need it, to those who have a certain desperate hunger for Him. Only out of self-despair--a helpless understanding of the reality of sin and one's absolute inability to cure it--does anyone ever turn wholeheartedly to God. That desperation is sometimes hard to come by in America, because it is the opposite of self-sufficiency. In the US, many of us live under the illusion that our needs are already met, that maybe God is an add-on to our already comfortable existence" (pp. 232-233).
___________________________
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.
October 14, 2024
The Story of the Jesus Movement
I have appreciated Greg Laurie's ministry for many years. Now, after reading this book, I appreciate it even more. Jesus Revolution tells the story of the Jesus Movement that started in California and spread all across America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This movement was a real revival - a genuine move of God. We certainly need that again in America today. Let's pray that another Jesus Revolution moves across this nation and the world.
I have appreciated Greg Laurie's ministry for many years. Now, after reading this book, I appreciate it even more. Jesus Revolution tells the story of the Jesus Movement that started in California and spread all across America in the late 1960s and early 1970s. This movement was a real revival - a genuine move of God. We certainly need that again in America today. Let's pray that another Jesus Revolution moves across this nation and the world.
July 18, 2021
I really loved learning more about this time in history and the Jesus Revolution. It made me long for a revival like that to take place again. I was encouraged and challenged by this book.
July 28, 2023
I watched the movie a couple of months ago and figured it was time to read the book.
Audiobook source: Audible Plus
Narrator: Nan McNamara
Length: 7H 34M
March 22, 2023
Revival is a hot topic currently with the Asbury phenomenon and the movie for this book being released. This book is a mix of the Laurie’s testimonies and world history with a huge call for revival in the church. All of this inspired me. Several parts of history that were mentioned I wasn’t very familiar with and I liked how he tied this all in with our current political and spiritual climate. I am so ready for another Jesus Revolution and the movie and book have got me asking myself questions on how that would look. Holy Spirit please work in our culture!
March 20, 2023
This is a memoir/ history of Greg Laurie, his life, his family, and his life story of becoming an evangelist during the Jesus Revolution.
Bear with me, I did not dislike this book as a whole, but I’ll start with the parts that bored me. This story is not focused on the revolution itself. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but a slight change in title might cause less confusion. Much like The Cross and the Switchblade, in which David Wilkerson’s creation of Teen Challenge becomes the main point of that book, this book ends up being more about the creation of Calvary Chapel. The subject of the “Jesus Freaks” tends to blob people all together as if their importance is simply boiled down to how MANY “barefoot hippies” there were, rather than the importance of what was happening to individual souls. Laurie, being an evangelist, would naturally look at success as a matter of numbers. I’m not sure how I feel about that. We also focus on what was happening in California. I would have been interested to know about the effects on the whole country.
Now that I have my complaints out of the way, I must say that the first part of this book was a phenomenal history of the USA from the late fifties through the seventies. It explained how the events of the times produced a perfect environment for the sparks of the Jesus Revolution to burst into a wildfire. It was absolutely WONDERFULLY done. Social changes today are still happening at a breakneck speed, but the sixties and seventies were MY time, and I want to shout from the rooftops that this book should be read for the first part, if for no other reason!
I was happy to read about the accomplishments and setbacks of the pastors in this book. Their stories are told with just enough humor and just enough background to root them in with the rest of us humans. One of the grassroots hippie preachers, Lonnie Frisbee, was a fascinating yet tragic man whose story (if he could have told it) would have definitely been something I would have liked to have known more about.
Because the first part was without a doubt a five star, and the rest a three star for the above reasons, I’ll average this to four stars.
Bear with me, I did not dislike this book as a whole, but I’ll start with the parts that bored me. This story is not focused on the revolution itself. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but a slight change in title might cause less confusion. Much like The Cross and the Switchblade, in which David Wilkerson’s creation of Teen Challenge becomes the main point of that book, this book ends up being more about the creation of Calvary Chapel. The subject of the “Jesus Freaks” tends to blob people all together as if their importance is simply boiled down to how MANY “barefoot hippies” there were, rather than the importance of what was happening to individual souls. Laurie, being an evangelist, would naturally look at success as a matter of numbers. I’m not sure how I feel about that. We also focus on what was happening in California. I would have been interested to know about the effects on the whole country.
Now that I have my complaints out of the way, I must say that the first part of this book was a phenomenal history of the USA from the late fifties through the seventies. It explained how the events of the times produced a perfect environment for the sparks of the Jesus Revolution to burst into a wildfire. It was absolutely WONDERFULLY done. Social changes today are still happening at a breakneck speed, but the sixties and seventies were MY time, and I want to shout from the rooftops that this book should be read for the first part, if for no other reason!
I was happy to read about the accomplishments and setbacks of the pastors in this book. Their stories are told with just enough humor and just enough background to root them in with the rest of us humans. One of the grassroots hippie preachers, Lonnie Frisbee, was a fascinating yet tragic man whose story (if he could have told it) would have definitely been something I would have liked to have known more about.
Because the first part was without a doubt a five star, and the rest a three star for the above reasons, I’ll average this to four stars.
May 8, 2023
Don’t be confused by the fun cartoonish cover of this book. This is a history book. But it’s a good one. Ellen Vaughn writes history and biography very well! I enjoyed reading about the late 60s and 70s as it was the generation my parents grew up in. Also loved the perspective of Greg Laurie. I learned so much!
June 16, 2023
This was one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. It caused me to reflect on the shocking events of the 1960s in whole new way. The powerful moving of the Holy Spirit during the 1960s and 1970s was explained in a way that I had never understood before. Although I attended Calvary Chapel of San Diego in the mid-1970s and early 80s, and sat under the teaching of those who were saved through the ministry of Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie, I never before understood the significance of the revival that is now called the "Jesus Movement." I don't recommend this book for children, because of the detailed descriptions of the unfortunate childhood circumstances of Greg Laurie and others.
January 28, 2025
“The Holy Spirit works in all kinds of strange and surprising ways. His effects can’t be graphed. His movements can’t be dissected; they are alive.”
Such a good thought to ponder while reading this-God is always working, in ways we can’t always pin down, define or tie with a neat bow. He is saving people now, just as he did during this unique time known as the Jesus Revolution.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one by Ellen Vaughn, one of my favorite authors. She mixes such hard hitting truth with down to earth language, and tells stories honestly, with an accurate portrayal of broken humans but a mighty God who uses us in spite of ourselves.
The first part of the book was my favorite, an engaging history starting in the 50’s, getting a running start into the 60’s and beyond. I was absolutely gripped learning about a not so distant history that I know so little about. What a crazy time!
“Chaos and desperation are far more likely to lead to revival than comfort and complacency.”
Chaos and desperation are good words for this strange and volatile period of time. I kept asking my parents and grandparents as I read what they remembered about some of these events. It was wild few years and no doubt has an enormous effect on our world today. Knowing people who were saved during through the Jesus Revolution and still faithfully serving the Lord made it even more meaningful.
The last few chapters seemed a bit drawn out, and I had a few small quibbles here and there, but definitely a book I’d recommend.
Such a good thought to ponder while reading this-God is always working, in ways we can’t always pin down, define or tie with a neat bow. He is saving people now, just as he did during this unique time known as the Jesus Revolution.
Thoroughly enjoyed this one by Ellen Vaughn, one of my favorite authors. She mixes such hard hitting truth with down to earth language, and tells stories honestly, with an accurate portrayal of broken humans but a mighty God who uses us in spite of ourselves.
The first part of the book was my favorite, an engaging history starting in the 50’s, getting a running start into the 60’s and beyond. I was absolutely gripped learning about a not so distant history that I know so little about. What a crazy time!
“Chaos and desperation are far more likely to lead to revival than comfort and complacency.”
Chaos and desperation are good words for this strange and volatile period of time. I kept asking my parents and grandparents as I read what they remembered about some of these events. It was wild few years and no doubt has an enormous effect on our world today. Knowing people who were saved during through the Jesus Revolution and still faithfully serving the Lord made it even more meaningful.
The last few chapters seemed a bit drawn out, and I had a few small quibbles here and there, but definitely a book I’d recommend.
March 15, 2023
I loved learning more about Calvary Church and what was going on when the Jesus Revolution started. If you’ve seen the movie, there are a few minor differences in what really happened opposed to what’s in the movie, but I get why they changed it for the movie. Overall it’s a great read and I highly recommend it.
April 11, 2023
13 years ago I was searching for a daily devotional but really wanted something that came each day to my inbox - enter Pastor Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries! I wish I could remember how I truly happened upon it - don't know if it was Google or something more significant!! Ever since then I have slowly gotten to know Pastor Greg Laurie and his life as he reveals through his daily message. I love his simple connection to daily life and a relationship with God and of course his So Cal surfer life with his wonderful Wife, Sons and Grandchildren! I love my church at home, but definitely fulfilled a bucket list last year when my hubby and I got to go and be at his church service in Orange County while on vacation. Definitely a moment to remember!!
I knew that he had written a few books, although I have not read any of them as they seem to be biographies about other famous people, I had no idea that this was his story. I also knew he had been making/filming the Movie Jesus Revolution - which everyone that I know who has seen it has raved about!! So of course I had to read the book before I see the movie. Actually listened to this on audio which was great - available through Hoopla. I imagine the movie to be so much more dynamic and vivid than the book and can't wait to see it!!!!
I knew that he had written a few books, although I have not read any of them as they seem to be biographies about other famous people, I had no idea that this was his story. I also knew he had been making/filming the Movie Jesus Revolution - which everyone that I know who has seen it has raved about!! So of course I had to read the book before I see the movie. Actually listened to this on audio which was great - available through Hoopla. I imagine the movie to be so much more dynamic and vivid than the book and can't wait to see it!!!!
July 2, 2023
I watched the film adaptation of Jesus Revolution and immediately walked to the Barnes & Noble next to the movie theater and bought the book.
Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn tell an interesting story of revival and awakening in this book. Picture this: it’s 1969. Wayward youth are growing their hair down to their ankles, popping tabs of acid like candy, going to Led Zeppelin concerts stoned out of their minds, and concerning their straight-laced, hard-working parents. Back then, Greg Laurie was one of those wayward youths. His mom didn’t care about him, he’d never met his father, and he was a cynical kid who didn’t have much hope for the future.
Until he met two very different Christians.
The first was Lonnie Frisbee, a former hippie turned Jesus follower. One day, Frisbee hiked out to a canyon in Southern California, naked and high as a kite on LSD, and screamed at the sky, “Jesus, if you’re really real, reveal yourself to me” (Laurie 75). And Jesus did just that. After Lonnie met some Jesus followers on the street who were organizing an outreach program for the hippies, he encountered the Big Man himself. And one day he showed up at Greg’s high school to present the gospel and ask the crowd of students to decide if they were for Jesus, or against Him.
After struggling to stop smoking weed and dropping acid, Greg decided he was for Jesus. Soon, he got plugged in to a local church in Corona Del Mar, California called Calvery Chapel. There he met Pastor Chuck Smith, who had opened his very conservative church up to barefoot hippie youth like Greg. Pastor Chuck and Lonnie Frisbee met and started working together to reach out to the hippies with God’s message of love, hope, and peace.
The rest is history. Greg met and married his wife, earned the keys to a church at the age of nineteen, became a pastor, and shepherded a church family as well as his family at home.
This book will take you through the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s. The closing chapters also offer some thoughts about the spiritual revivals and awakenings of faith that have occurred throughout human history, and what a revival might look like in our modern day. If you want to know more about how Jesus moved mightily in the tumultuous times of the 1970’s, read this book. If you’re interested in the 1970’s, but you don’t know much about how Jesus fit into all of the “peace, love, and happiness” mentality, read this book.
Watch the movie, too. The book is a good way to get more context about what was happening in mainstream culture during the 70’s when the Jesus Movement was going on. The movie really adds an extra touch and makes you feel like you’re there with the characters in the story.
Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn tell an interesting story of revival and awakening in this book. Picture this: it’s 1969. Wayward youth are growing their hair down to their ankles, popping tabs of acid like candy, going to Led Zeppelin concerts stoned out of their minds, and concerning their straight-laced, hard-working parents. Back then, Greg Laurie was one of those wayward youths. His mom didn’t care about him, he’d never met his father, and he was a cynical kid who didn’t have much hope for the future.
Until he met two very different Christians.
The first was Lonnie Frisbee, a former hippie turned Jesus follower. One day, Frisbee hiked out to a canyon in Southern California, naked and high as a kite on LSD, and screamed at the sky, “Jesus, if you’re really real, reveal yourself to me” (Laurie 75). And Jesus did just that. After Lonnie met some Jesus followers on the street who were organizing an outreach program for the hippies, he encountered the Big Man himself. And one day he showed up at Greg’s high school to present the gospel and ask the crowd of students to decide if they were for Jesus, or against Him.
After struggling to stop smoking weed and dropping acid, Greg decided he was for Jesus. Soon, he got plugged in to a local church in Corona Del Mar, California called Calvery Chapel. There he met Pastor Chuck Smith, who had opened his very conservative church up to barefoot hippie youth like Greg. Pastor Chuck and Lonnie Frisbee met and started working together to reach out to the hippies with God’s message of love, hope, and peace.
The rest is history. Greg met and married his wife, earned the keys to a church at the age of nineteen, became a pastor, and shepherded a church family as well as his family at home.
This book will take you through the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s. The closing chapters also offer some thoughts about the spiritual revivals and awakenings of faith that have occurred throughout human history, and what a revival might look like in our modern day. If you want to know more about how Jesus moved mightily in the tumultuous times of the 1970’s, read this book. If you’re interested in the 1970’s, but you don’t know much about how Jesus fit into all of the “peace, love, and happiness” mentality, read this book.
Watch the movie, too. The book is a good way to get more context about what was happening in mainstream culture during the 70’s when the Jesus Movement was going on. The movie really adds an extra touch and makes you feel like you’re there with the characters in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 3, 2023
This book is not what I thought it was going to be. I was very interested in reading it because there is a movie that just came out based on the book. I have not seen the movie yet, but would still like to see it to compare it to the book. The message of the book was genuine, but the writing was mediocre at times. It was about the life of Pastor Greg Laurie and the Jesus Revolution that came out of the 70's "hippie" movement. I didn't like that it was written in the 3rd person even though Laurie co-authored the book. I didn't feel overly captivated or engaged in the story a lot of the time; there would be really interesting parts and then I would get bored with it.
Update 6/2/23 - I have now watched the movie and it was phenomenal and incredibly moving. I definitely enjoyed the movie more than the book, but it made me appreciate the book more after the movie and I feel a little bad I didn't rate it higher, so 3.5 stars for the book and 5+ stars for the movie.
Update 6/2/23 - I have now watched the movie and it was phenomenal and incredibly moving. I definitely enjoyed the movie more than the book, but it made me appreciate the book more after the movie and I feel a little bad I didn't rate it higher, so 3.5 stars for the book and 5+ stars for the movie.
September 14, 2018
I grew up in a college town, but still wasn’t ready for hippies. Yes, even in upstate New York, we had heard of hippies. After all, we were only 220 miles from Woodstock; I was 17, and getting ready to start college, but never made it to the festival. Still, when the word came that a group of hippies were actually going to be nearby, it was big news, and a lot of people, me included, went to where they were camping to get a look at this new phenomenon. Make love, not war; flower power, long hair on men, the music, the clothes, everything about it was different from what I had grown up with. Still it fascinated me, and the fact that they were doing drugs, having sex without the benefit of marriage, and living in communes made them seem even more exciting. Forbidden, but exciting.
And out of this group of misfits and outcasts, at least according to polite society, came the Jesus Movement. It seems like all that free love and flower power wasn’t filling the void that so many people were looking for. They were looking for something to answer the deepest questions of their souls, and not getting the answers in the nightly news reports about crooked politicians, or an unpopular war. They weren’t finding the answers in the staid churches of their parents: churches where the ladies were dresses, hats and gloves, and the men wore a coat and tie. Barefoot or sandals, bright colored tie-dye shirts, and bell bottoms, or maybe togas, just weren’t appropriate for such a solemn occasion as a Sunday morning worship service. Even the music preferences were so different that this new generation couldn’t understand why anyone would want to listen to dirges played on an organ. Peace, Joy, Love were the words of the day.
And in the midst of this Cultural Revolution, a young man of 17, dealing with a dysfunctional homelife, involved with drugs, and trying to find his way in the world, stumbled into a different kind of worship experience and fell in love with Jesus.
Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again (Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn, Baker Books, 2018) tells the story of Calvary Chapel, of Harvest Christian Fellowship, how a generation turned back to God, and yes, how God can do it again.
I grew up and had my own identity crises during the same time frame, it just took me a little longer to get my act together than it took Greg Laurie. This book is not only a wonderful stroll down memory lane for people like me, but an amazing chronicle for those who were born too late to experience it. Woven among the stories of what was happening at the time, are story after story of how God was at work among a most unlikely group of people.
With what is happening in the world today, perhaps it’s time to start praying as if we expect to see God respond. To start praying that most dangerous of prayers: Lord, do it again!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a part of their blogging program. I was not required to write a positive review.
5/5
And out of this group of misfits and outcasts, at least according to polite society, came the Jesus Movement. It seems like all that free love and flower power wasn’t filling the void that so many people were looking for. They were looking for something to answer the deepest questions of their souls, and not getting the answers in the nightly news reports about crooked politicians, or an unpopular war. They weren’t finding the answers in the staid churches of their parents: churches where the ladies were dresses, hats and gloves, and the men wore a coat and tie. Barefoot or sandals, bright colored tie-dye shirts, and bell bottoms, or maybe togas, just weren’t appropriate for such a solemn occasion as a Sunday morning worship service. Even the music preferences were so different that this new generation couldn’t understand why anyone would want to listen to dirges played on an organ. Peace, Joy, Love were the words of the day.
And in the midst of this Cultural Revolution, a young man of 17, dealing with a dysfunctional homelife, involved with drugs, and trying to find his way in the world, stumbled into a different kind of worship experience and fell in love with Jesus.
Jesus Revolution: How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again (Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn, Baker Books, 2018) tells the story of Calvary Chapel, of Harvest Christian Fellowship, how a generation turned back to God, and yes, how God can do it again.
I grew up and had my own identity crises during the same time frame, it just took me a little longer to get my act together than it took Greg Laurie. This book is not only a wonderful stroll down memory lane for people like me, but an amazing chronicle for those who were born too late to experience it. Woven among the stories of what was happening at the time, are story after story of how God was at work among a most unlikely group of people.
With what is happening in the world today, perhaps it’s time to start praying as if we expect to see God respond. To start praying that most dangerous of prayers: Lord, do it again!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher as a part of their blogging program. I was not required to write a positive review.
5/5
August 29, 2018
Revival, spiritual Christian revival, Many of us are praying for it because we weep for a nation that has lost it’s way and wandered. The last large scale movement of the Holy Spirit/revival occurred in the 60’s and early 70’s when young people became disillusioned with the emptiness and excesses of the Hippie culture. Lives were changed, kids were healed and delivered from addictions to drugs and their redemption and their willingness to follow where God would lead them changed a nation. There is a new book that looks at this move of God.
The book is titled Jesus Revolution and is written by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn. It actually chronicles Greg’s journey from a lost and disillusioned teenager in an age of confusion and unrest, that looks a lot like today, to what Greg has now become through the Grace of God. Greg is a well respected pastor and a well known Evangelist as the the leader of Harvest Christian Fellowship and the Harvest Crusades. And it begs the question if it happened once why not again?
The book is a very good read and is filled with a lot of history of the times, not only those directly involved but also those outside the revival. Historical figures world wide. The book also tells the story of the birth of Calvary Chapel and Chuck and Kay Smiths outpouring of love and concern for the lost souls they saw while walking the beaches in Orange County and how that concern would be a catalyst for the growth of the revival. Many of these young men became powerful men of God that reached many areas of this nation. As mentioned Greg Laurie, Mike McIntosh, Raul Ruiz, Skip Heitzig, Jeff Johnson and many others. They were lost in a time and world they didn't understand and they turned to drugs, mystic religions, sex and a life of no cares or concerns. Out of this through the simple acts of love and concern by those willing to follow God’s lead they witnessed a move of God that impacted Christianity in America. And yes it can be done again. A lot of the unrest and anxiety we see today in the young looks very similar to what was taking place in the 60’s and they are definitely looking for some truth and answers but they lack trust in the “establishment”, sound familiar?
Revival wont come if we force it, we must want it and realize that only God will bring it. But we can pray for revival and follow Gods lead and start to reach out in love without condemnation to those who are lost and seeking and let God work. Read Jesus Revolution and see how God moved in the hearts of a lost generation. See how those reaching out relied solely on the leading of the Holy Spirit with a simple message of Gods unwavering love for mankind and how that simple message contained so much power. Then as you pray for revival ask God to give you the same heart. And then move to action because we truly are in need of revival.
#JesusRevolutionBook
https://harvest.us18.list-manage.com/...
The book is titled Jesus Revolution and is written by Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn. It actually chronicles Greg’s journey from a lost and disillusioned teenager in an age of confusion and unrest, that looks a lot like today, to what Greg has now become through the Grace of God. Greg is a well respected pastor and a well known Evangelist as the the leader of Harvest Christian Fellowship and the Harvest Crusades. And it begs the question if it happened once why not again?
The book is a very good read and is filled with a lot of history of the times, not only those directly involved but also those outside the revival. Historical figures world wide. The book also tells the story of the birth of Calvary Chapel and Chuck and Kay Smiths outpouring of love and concern for the lost souls they saw while walking the beaches in Orange County and how that concern would be a catalyst for the growth of the revival. Many of these young men became powerful men of God that reached many areas of this nation. As mentioned Greg Laurie, Mike McIntosh, Raul Ruiz, Skip Heitzig, Jeff Johnson and many others. They were lost in a time and world they didn't understand and they turned to drugs, mystic religions, sex and a life of no cares or concerns. Out of this through the simple acts of love and concern by those willing to follow God’s lead they witnessed a move of God that impacted Christianity in America. And yes it can be done again. A lot of the unrest and anxiety we see today in the young looks very similar to what was taking place in the 60’s and they are definitely looking for some truth and answers but they lack trust in the “establishment”, sound familiar?
Revival wont come if we force it, we must want it and realize that only God will bring it. But we can pray for revival and follow Gods lead and start to reach out in love without condemnation to those who are lost and seeking and let God work. Read Jesus Revolution and see how God moved in the hearts of a lost generation. See how those reaching out relied solely on the leading of the Holy Spirit with a simple message of Gods unwavering love for mankind and how that simple message contained so much power. Then as you pray for revival ask God to give you the same heart. And then move to action because we truly are in need of revival.
#JesusRevolutionBook
https://harvest.us18.list-manage.com/...
October 11, 2018
Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn provide a wonderful first person account of the Jesus Movement from the late 1960s and early 1970s. Greg experienced his conversion, call to ministry, and the founding of his first church, Harvest, in the midst of this amazing movement by the Holy Spirit. In reviewing his own story, Laurie calls the church to be sensitive to the ways the Holy Spirit is moving today. He also provides some significant pointers toward becoming a people ready for revival.
First, Laurie and Vaughn challenge the church to preach the Gospel. We need to let go of all the gimmicks and programs and light shows and trust that the message of the good news will be used by the Holy Spirit to produce revival. Over and over again, as they review the vital time in history that was the Jesus Movement, they emphasize that the Gospel was preached.
Secondly, they challenge the church to be a praying church. We need to pray for revival and pray that the church might be sensitive to God's movements in history. We need to pray that God would take the attitudes of an unbelieving generation and turn hearts toward Him.
Third, we need to be aware that God moves when life is challenging, there is no resurrection without death! Laurie shares the very personal story of the death of his oldest son in a car crash to emphasize how God takes the struggles and tragedies of our lives, works through them as we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and brings about His victory.
We also need to be aware of the way in which God moves as people start to hunger, as there is more and more emptiness and pain and brokenness in our world, God responds and brings renewal and resurrection.
This book provides much to ponder. While the authors touch on some of the current things and culture that bear watching, I wish they had spent more time prepping hearts. In this manner we might know better what to pray for, we might know better how God's Spirit is moving. Perhaps they wish to leave this open within our own context, but more pages spent exploring this would be advantageous as we consider the next great movement of the Holy Spirit.
I received this book as part of Baker Books' Blogging Program.
First, Laurie and Vaughn challenge the church to preach the Gospel. We need to let go of all the gimmicks and programs and light shows and trust that the message of the good news will be used by the Holy Spirit to produce revival. Over and over again, as they review the vital time in history that was the Jesus Movement, they emphasize that the Gospel was preached.
Secondly, they challenge the church to be a praying church. We need to pray for revival and pray that the church might be sensitive to God's movements in history. We need to pray that God would take the attitudes of an unbelieving generation and turn hearts toward Him.
Third, we need to be aware that God moves when life is challenging, there is no resurrection without death! Laurie shares the very personal story of the death of his oldest son in a car crash to emphasize how God takes the struggles and tragedies of our lives, works through them as we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and brings about His victory.
We also need to be aware of the way in which God moves as people start to hunger, as there is more and more emptiness and pain and brokenness in our world, God responds and brings renewal and resurrection.
This book provides much to ponder. While the authors touch on some of the current things and culture that bear watching, I wish they had spent more time prepping hearts. In this manner we might know better what to pray for, we might know better how God's Spirit is moving. Perhaps they wish to leave this open within our own context, but more pages spent exploring this would be advantageous as we consider the next great movement of the Holy Spirit.
I received this book as part of Baker Books' Blogging Program.
September 7, 2020
Well researched overview of the different decades from the fifties forward. Good mixture of nostalgia and hard truth. She tells enough of Greg’s story to fill out the narrative of God’s sovereign work in my generation. Also a very good look at the heart of God for this generation and hope for His next move.
March 11, 2023
This is such a hard book to rate.
The first half was an incredible overview of history. It took me emotionally through the 50s as a setup for the 60s and 70s, so that I could experience what it was like as if I had been there, reading almost like a narrative version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." I'd never really been intrigued by my parents' era before in the same way I was as I listened, and later I went and asked my mom what it was like when this or that happened, where she was, and what she remembered.
All of this was a cultural setup for the experience Greg had as a young man in the early days of the Jesus Revolution, when hippies seeking something different than what their parents had experienced and pursuing it in sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll found that all those things were hollow. Because these were real seekers, I had the impression that was the actual setup for the hunger for God. As he described what these communal churches were like, it took me back to my college days when I was in Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru)--the good parts of it, anyway--even down to the place where we once had Bible studies in what we called "The Underground," complete with bad 70s couches and green shag carpeting. He really captured the feel of getting swept up in the emotion of the era, even though he was rather explicitly against emotionality for its own sake. And I agree... those who seek God only for the emotional high are likely to be like the shallow or rocky soil of Jesus' parable (and he quotes that parable in the book.).
What I disliked about the book isn't really something I can fault him for, it just didn't hit me right. The author never came out against Pentacostalism, but everything he said about it was implicitly negative. I can see why, at least as seen through his experiences: Lonnie Frisbee was the main example he had before him, and he was clearly out of balance, which led him to very unwise choices. It just seems to me that in general, humans have a tendency to swing to one extreme or the other. If signs and wonders can be abused (and of course they can -- look at the Corinthians), then the reaction is to completely shun them. If believing God for prosperity and health can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, better to embrace tragedy and pain, believing those are His only true and reliable means of refining His people.
In nearly every subject, I think, it's human nature to seek extremes (ironically for emotional reasons, as a backlash against a distasteful opposite), but wisdom and truth is usually found in the nuance of balance between the two. And I could tell the author was attempting to strike this balance at the end, when he made a statement about how no one denomination or 'stream' in the body of Christ has it all right. I give him credit for this... but the substance of what he said didn't convince me that he really believes it.
The first half was an incredible overview of history. It took me emotionally through the 50s as a setup for the 60s and 70s, so that I could experience what it was like as if I had been there, reading almost like a narrative version of Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire." I'd never really been intrigued by my parents' era before in the same way I was as I listened, and later I went and asked my mom what it was like when this or that happened, where she was, and what she remembered.
All of this was a cultural setup for the experience Greg had as a young man in the early days of the Jesus Revolution, when hippies seeking something different than what their parents had experienced and pursuing it in sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll found that all those things were hollow. Because these were real seekers, I had the impression that was the actual setup for the hunger for God. As he described what these communal churches were like, it took me back to my college days when I was in Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru)--the good parts of it, anyway--even down to the place where we once had Bible studies in what we called "The Underground," complete with bad 70s couches and green shag carpeting. He really captured the feel of getting swept up in the emotion of the era, even though he was rather explicitly against emotionality for its own sake. And I agree... those who seek God only for the emotional high are likely to be like the shallow or rocky soil of Jesus' parable (and he quotes that parable in the book.).
What I disliked about the book isn't really something I can fault him for, it just didn't hit me right. The author never came out against Pentacostalism, but everything he said about it was implicitly negative. I can see why, at least as seen through his experiences: Lonnie Frisbee was the main example he had before him, and he was clearly out of balance, which led him to very unwise choices. It just seems to me that in general, humans have a tendency to swing to one extreme or the other. If signs and wonders can be abused (and of course they can -- look at the Corinthians), then the reaction is to completely shun them. If believing God for prosperity and health can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, better to embrace tragedy and pain, believing those are His only true and reliable means of refining His people.
In nearly every subject, I think, it's human nature to seek extremes (ironically for emotional reasons, as a backlash against a distasteful opposite), but wisdom and truth is usually found in the nuance of balance between the two. And I could tell the author was attempting to strike this balance at the end, when he made a statement about how no one denomination or 'stream' in the body of Christ has it all right. I give him credit for this... but the substance of what he said didn't convince me that he really believes it.
January 15, 2021
This is a great book. It is far from perfect, but it is insightful, well written and very moving. Ellen Vaughn describes the book as a history of the Jesus People movement of the early 1970s as seen through the story of one man, Greg Laurie. Laurie is known now as the founding pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in southern California and the main evangelist for Harvest Crusades. Both ministries have been wildly successful by any standard but most importantly in upholding the name of Jesus Christ and sharing the message of the gospel. But Greg Laurie was a stranger to the Christian faith until late in his teens. His story of growing up in a broken, dysfunctional home, searching for meaning in drugs and the other attendant vices of the late sixties, and finally making a radical commitment to Jesus Christ, mirrors the experience of hundreds of thousand of other hippies who became Jesus Freaks. Vaughn uses Laurie's story to explain the Jesus People revival in Southern California. They discuss it as both a sociological phenomenon, part of the clash of generations and cultures happening in the sixties, and as a genuine religious revival. There is really no other way to explain what happened in the life so many in such a short period of time. It was miraculous and their chronicle of it is both amazing and honest. As the story of the growth of Calvary Chapel through Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee, among others, gives way to story of Greg Laurie and Harvest Christian Fellowship the book becomes less a history and more of a memoir. Laurie shares about his family, his evangelism ministry, his thoughts on the changing American culture and finally his side of the story of his riff and reconciliation with Chuck Smith before he died. In all of this Laurie asks us to look forward. He was there, in 1970 and it was wild. But that is over and we need to ask God for revival again even as we seek to be faithful every day in the work of the church. The last chapter, an epilogue, mirrors the first and it brought me to tears.
October 25, 2018
"I admired their complete contentment, with nothing of the material realm. All they needed was a box of raisins and some oats and they were ready to minister for God anywhere they were called. It was so beautiful, their simplicity of faith and trust in Jesus. " - Pastor Chuck Smith, reflecting on hippies who came to know Christ.
Before reading "Jesus Revolution" I was oblivious to this event. Imagine taking a time machine back to the 60's & 70's to a time of drugs, sex, protests, rejection, and rebellion. Often this time period is overly glamorized or glorified but this generation was not all that beautiful, it was desperate. Desperate to find answers, to find love, to find meaning which led to a journey of regrets, pain, destruction, and more confusion for some. It is during this time of crisis and skepticism that God moved in the hearts of hippies and many found hope, joy, peace in Christ.
I enjoyed reading about this generation and their struggles, to see it from a non-commercialized perspective; to see its bright spots as well as its dark times. "Jesus Revolution" does highlight great, life changing events as well as focusing on the lives of certain people who may have been overlooked. I wish that I could have given it 5 stars ;however, personally - there was some material (regarding miracles/ "slain in the spirit") that I disagree with ...so I reluctantly wish I could give 4.5 stars. I do appreciate the transparency in this book, sharing the struggling, fears, and heartaches of both Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. Perhaps the best part of the book is the glimmer of hope that is given that if we become desperate enough to know God, perhaps we will see a great "Jesus Movement" happen again.
The storyline and details make this book a good read; very well written. Definitely worth reading.
Before reading "Jesus Revolution" I was oblivious to this event. Imagine taking a time machine back to the 60's & 70's to a time of drugs, sex, protests, rejection, and rebellion. Often this time period is overly glamorized or glorified but this generation was not all that beautiful, it was desperate. Desperate to find answers, to find love, to find meaning which led to a journey of regrets, pain, destruction, and more confusion for some. It is during this time of crisis and skepticism that God moved in the hearts of hippies and many found hope, joy, peace in Christ.
I enjoyed reading about this generation and their struggles, to see it from a non-commercialized perspective; to see its bright spots as well as its dark times. "Jesus Revolution" does highlight great, life changing events as well as focusing on the lives of certain people who may have been overlooked. I wish that I could have given it 5 stars ;however, personally - there was some material (regarding miracles/ "slain in the spirit") that I disagree with ...so I reluctantly wish I could give 4.5 stars. I do appreciate the transparency in this book, sharing the struggling, fears, and heartaches of both Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. Perhaps the best part of the book is the glimmer of hope that is given that if we become desperate enough to know God, perhaps we will see a great "Jesus Movement" happen again.
The storyline and details make this book a good read; very well written. Definitely worth reading.
November 30, 2023
When three members of my family all read this book and recommended it, I knew I needed to read it at some stage. But since it takes a while for me to get to books sometimes, it was a good few months later when I finally managed to pick up the audiobook myself. Once I got into it, however, I couldn’t put the book down—and finished it the next day. What a story!
I really appreciate the down-to-earth, heartfelt way this story is written. For someone who is a couple of generations removed from the hippie movement in the 60s and 70s (my grandparents were hippies before Jesus found them), portions of this story were familiar to me, but much of it was also new. I appreciated that this book didn’t glorify hippies or what they stood for, and I also appreciated how it consistently brought out the hope we have in Jesus in its pages. The message of this book is timeless—and I love that.
Probably the biggest thing that stood out to me from this story was how Jesus can work in people’s hearts if we are willing and obedient in listening to His calling. I was challenged personally on many levels through this story—ranging from how I think about sharing the gospel to how I think about other believers who might be different from me. Most of all, though, I was awe-inspired as I was able to witness, through this book, one of the more recent major movements of God in history—and the sobering realization that I could easily not be where I am today if it weren’t for these believers who stepped out in faith some 60 years ago and shared Jesus with those they felt called to serve.
Written in a very readable, interesting manner, this would be a great book for any Christian to pick up. I came away blessed, inspired, challenged, and spurred on in my faith after reading this book. Highly recommended!
I really appreciate the down-to-earth, heartfelt way this story is written. For someone who is a couple of generations removed from the hippie movement in the 60s and 70s (my grandparents were hippies before Jesus found them), portions of this story were familiar to me, but much of it was also new. I appreciated that this book didn’t glorify hippies or what they stood for, and I also appreciated how it consistently brought out the hope we have in Jesus in its pages. The message of this book is timeless—and I love that.
Probably the biggest thing that stood out to me from this story was how Jesus can work in people’s hearts if we are willing and obedient in listening to His calling. I was challenged personally on many levels through this story—ranging from how I think about sharing the gospel to how I think about other believers who might be different from me. Most of all, though, I was awe-inspired as I was able to witness, through this book, one of the more recent major movements of God in history—and the sobering realization that I could easily not be where I am today if it weren’t for these believers who stepped out in faith some 60 years ago and shared Jesus with those they felt called to serve.
Written in a very readable, interesting manner, this would be a great book for any Christian to pick up. I came away blessed, inspired, challenged, and spurred on in my faith after reading this book. Highly recommended!
January 7, 2024
A short, approachable exploration of the Christian revival among youth hippie culture in the 60s and 70s, told through the lens of one man’s life, co-author of the book and pastor Greg Laurie. I loved the cultural commentary and historical context of the book; it made me want to learn more about this time period. It was also interesting to reflect on how the Jesus Movement in the 70s contributed to the creation of the megachurch movement in following decades. My favorite element, though, was Laurie’s reflections on how the revival affected and changed local churches, which were forced to reckon with their own prejudices as hippies opposite their clean-cut, picture-perfect self-images flooded their services. Occasionally Laurie makes a few broad brush stroke conservative comments that I disagreed with; but overall I loved his personal story and the way it represents a much broader movement. Such a good reminder of the work God has done in the past and hopefully reflections on His ability to do it again. He can revive our own personal lives, and He can revive our generation.
September 25, 2018
This book is an insightful look at the Jesus Movement that formed in the 1960s and 70s. Greg Laurie uses his personal experiences throughout this time frame to give a fresh look at a time that it seems mainstream media has forgotten. However, Christians of any age should read this book. It gives a great account of Christianity and the way to grow the church. Specifically using verse by verse Bible knowledge to educate and help the growth. The further inclusion of the hippie culture in Cavalry Chapel that then spread through the world through church plantings and missions aids in illustrating to modern Christians the true aspects of Christianity that of love. The interweaving of historical events, such as the JFK assassination places the reader in a context that we can all understand with the effects of these events on Christianity. This is a must read for the US, as we need a new Jesus Revolution to bring the US back to God!
March 28, 2023
A good history from the 50's days of Leave it to Beaver, drink whole milk and the TV would turn off at midnight to a rainbow test pattern. 2 decades later as the hippy movement of drugs, sex and rock n' roll.
The hippies were about revolution, flowers and everyone getting along.
Studies show that Americans are the most stressed people on the planet.
Many who came to Jesus were desperate, would go to any lengths or on any trip to find what they were looking for.
God's grace changed Chuck Smiths life and church of 30 members in Costa MesaCA called Calvary Chapel in 1965. In 18 months the church quadrupled in size with hippies with long hair, sandals and bel bottoms.
Some successful comedians had troubled child hoods.
Lonnie Frisby would travel the world with John Wimber, a Calvary Chapel pastor who left to found the Vineyard movement. Having been apart of The Vineyard, I disagreed with the assessment making Vineyard seem like a cult. When I went we focused on worship, random acts of kindness, healing, tongues, the gifts of the spirit and evangelism.
Lonnie would slide in to a homosexual lifestyle, contract AIDS and pass in March 1993 at 43.
Many today tolerate everything except the truth.
Many Jesus people today are sent to jail for speaking the gospel as the only way to Heaven as offensive hate speech. Jesus people are sent to prison or forced to do community service and sensitive training workshops
The hippies were about revolution, flowers and everyone getting along.
Studies show that Americans are the most stressed people on the planet.
Many who came to Jesus were desperate, would go to any lengths or on any trip to find what they were looking for.
God's grace changed Chuck Smiths life and church of 30 members in Costa MesaCA called Calvary Chapel in 1965. In 18 months the church quadrupled in size with hippies with long hair, sandals and bel bottoms.
Some successful comedians had troubled child hoods.
Lonnie Frisby would travel the world with John Wimber, a Calvary Chapel pastor who left to found the Vineyard movement. Having been apart of The Vineyard, I disagreed with the assessment making Vineyard seem like a cult. When I went we focused on worship, random acts of kindness, healing, tongues, the gifts of the spirit and evangelism.
Lonnie would slide in to a homosexual lifestyle, contract AIDS and pass in March 1993 at 43.
Many today tolerate everything except the truth.
Many Jesus people today are sent to jail for speaking the gospel as the only way to Heaven as offensive hate speech. Jesus people are sent to prison or forced to do community service and sensitive training workshops
August 29, 2018
What a wonderful book! As a believer this has opened my eyes to a time when Christianity was fresh and growing. Greg Laurie, along with Ellen Vaughn, dive deep into a tumultuous time in US history that God used to grow his church. Through mainstream historical events, we see the growth of a movement that allowed for church plantings and missions to flourish. Here in this relevant work, pop culture, and history are elevated and used to enlighten the reader to the true meaning of following Christ.
Everyone in the US should read this book! We need to bring America back to God with a new Jesus Revolution!
Everyone in the US should read this book! We need to bring America back to God with a new Jesus Revolution!
June 24, 2025
Very well- written and intriguing history book! I loved this movie (for the premise as well as the outfits) and this book dug deeper into everything the movie touched on. It describes the “why” behind the revolution, as well as the “how.” I was inspired by Greg Laurie’s story, and continue to be. I learned a lot from this book.
Lastly, slightly unrelated to the above review, but posting a quote here simple because I just don’t want to forget it. Pastor Chuck states in the book, as a Christian, “Never trade what you know for what you don’t know.” You know God has you and you know he has a plan for you. Never let the “why” behind your situation confuse that.
Lastly, slightly unrelated to the above review, but posting a quote here simple because I just don’t want to forget it. Pastor Chuck states in the book, as a Christian, “Never trade what you know for what you don’t know.” You know God has you and you know he has a plan for you. Never let the “why” behind your situation confuse that.
August 1, 2023
Excellent book! I’m not sure how much of the writing was Greg Laurie’s and how much was Ellen Vaughn’s, but based on what I have read before of Ellen Vaughn’s, it is no wonder this was such a well written book.
This book tells the story of the Jesus Movement in the late 60’s/early 70’s, focusing on Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. There’s lots of interesting cultural context that was educational for me. Have Kleenex ready towards the end when the death of his son upends Greg Laurie’s life - what a powerful testimony of trusting God through unimaginable pain.
This book tells the story of the Jesus Movement in the late 60’s/early 70’s, focusing on Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. There’s lots of interesting cultural context that was educational for me. Have Kleenex ready towards the end when the death of his son upends Greg Laurie’s life - what a powerful testimony of trusting God through unimaginable pain.
March 1, 2023
An encouraging read about the work God has down in generations past with an unlikely group of people. A quote that stuck out was, "Chaos and desperation are far more likely to lead to revival than comfort and complacency. That's true in the celebrated revivals and awakenings of America's past."
The times feel chaotic and desperate, yet these are the times the hope of the gospel shines brightest! Do it again, Lord.
The times feel chaotic and desperate, yet these are the times the hope of the gospel shines brightest! Do it again, Lord.
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