Jesus movement

The Jesus movement was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture, or, conversely, the major hippie element within the Body of Christ. Members of the movement are called Jesus people, or Jesus freaks. The movement arose on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and spread primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. The Jesus movement left a legacy of various churches and other Christian organizations, an impact on the development of the contemporary Christian left, and Jesus music, which greatly influenced contemporary Christian music.

Origins

The terms Jesus movement and Jesus people were coined by Duane Pederson in his writings for the Hollywood Free Paper. The term Jesus freak was originally a pejorative label imposed on the group by non-Christian hippies, but members of the Jesus movement reclaimed the phrase as a positive self-identifier.

Though still a part of the broader hippie movement, the Jesus movement was partly a reaction against the counterculture from which it originated. Some people became disenchanted with the status quo and became hippies. Later, some of these people became disenchanted with the hippie lifestyle and became Jesus people. However, the Jesus movement kept many of the mannerisms and styles of the hippies, but changed the cultural content to reflect their newfound Christian faith. For example, the Jesus people gave hippie slang a Christian spin: "free love", instead of designating a rejection of traditional morality regarding sex, became "free love" of God and people (see agape); phrases like "One Way" supplanted the focus on the individual with a focus on God, and; "Just Drop Jesus" replaced "dropping" acid.

The Jesus movement was part of what some consider to be the Fourth Great Awakening, one of the periodic shifts in religious thinking that have occurred throughout American history.

Beliefs and practices

The Jesus movement was restorationist in theology, seeking to return to the original life of the early Christians. As a result, Jesus people often viewed mainline denominations, especially those in the United States, as apostate, and took a decidedly anti-American political stance in general. The theology of the Jesus movement also called for a return to asceticism. Also, the Jesus people had a strong belief in miracles, signs and wonders, faith healing, spiritual possession and exorcism. The movement tended towards strong evangelism and millennialism. The group's theology rejected the excluded middle. What they lacked in theological depth, Jesus people made up for in zeal for Christ and love of others. They strived for social justice and seemed to simply be in love with Jesus. Some of the most read books by those within the movement included Ron Sider's Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger and Hal Lindsey's The Late Great Planet Earth.

Perhaps the most illustrative aspect of the Jesus movement was its communal aspect. Most Jesus freaks lived in communes. Though there were some groups, such as the Calvary Chapel movement, which did not live in communes, these remained more on the fringes of the Jesus movement. Within the commune, the group became more important than the individual, and communal sharing of possessions was the norm. Some of these communes became highly authoritarian.

Jesus music

There has been a long legacy of Christian music connected to the Jesus movement. Jesus music, also known as gospel beat music in the UK, primarily began when some hippie and street musicians of the late 1960s and early 1970s converted to Christianity. They continued to play the same style of music they had played previously, but began to write lyrics with a Christian message. Many music groups developed out of this, and some became leaders within the Jesus movement, most notably Barry McGuire, Love Song, Second Chapter of Acts, Larry Norman, Phil Keaggy, Randy Stonehill Randy Matthews, Andraé Crouch (and the Disciples), and later Keith Green. In the UK, Malcolm and Alwyn were the most notable agents of the gospel beat.

Leaders and organizations

Calvary Chapel

Unlike many other Christian movements, there was no single leader or figurehead of the Jesus movement. Some of the larger names include Duane Pederson, founding editor of the Hollywood Free Paper; Jack Sparks, who led the Christian World Liberation Front, as well as: Lonnie Frisbee, who, along with Chuck Smith, started the Calvary Chapel movement. Frisbee was the primary evangelist responsible for the growth of the Calvary churches; Smith was one of the few pastors who welcomed in the Jesus Freaks, and thus allowed for the dramatic future growth of his affiliate church network. Sparks and Pederson later became priests in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The international Potter's House Church (CFM) was birthed out of this movement.

Children of God & Jesus People USA

Another early leader was Linda Meissner, who formed the Jesus People Army in Seattle. She later joined her group with the Children of God, not discovering until later the controversial practices of that group.

One of her disciples was Jim Palosaari, who, along with his wife, Sue, started a number of Christian communes, discipleship schools (to develop theological depth), and rock bands. One group toured through Europe, developing Christian music and drama. Another eventually became Jesus People USA (JPUSA), the largest and most enduring of the Jesus people communes.

Jesus Army

In the UK, the Jesus Army was among the groups most influenced by the Jesus movement, embracing (former) hippies, bikers and drug addicts, among others. Many of the church adopted a communal lifestyle, which continues to this day.

Decline and legacy

It may be that the height of the Jesus movement was in the week-long gathering in Dallas, Texas known as Explo '72, which brought the hippies of the Jesus movement together with young people from traditional, Christian families and churches.

As society changed, the Jesus movement did not. Since it was primarily a reaction to the hippie counterculture, as the hippie movement died out, the Jesus movement lost its relevance. In addition, the Jonestown mass suicide, though not at all related to the Jesus movement, tarnished the image of religious communal living. By the early 1980s, the Jesus movement had, for the most part, died out. Its influence persists, however, in the alternative Christian music industry, Calvary Chapels, and JPUSA, all of which found ways to stay relevant in a rapidly changing culture. Christian writer Maynard Pittendreigh made the observation that most of those in the Jesus movement moved as individuals into different churches. Some moved into the Calvery Chapels with its emphasis on charismatic theology, less traditional worship and contemporary music, while others moved into very traditional and liturgical churches.

Bibliography

David Di Sabatino, The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1999).
Ronald M. Enroth, Edward E. Ericson and C. Breckinridge Peters, The Jesus People: Old-Time Religion in the Age of Aquarius (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 1972). ISBN 0802814433
Donald Heinz, "The Christian World Liberation Front," in The New Religious Consciousness, Charles Y. Glock and Robert N. Bellah, eds. (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1976) pp. 143-161. ISBN 0520030834
Edward E. Plowman, The Jesus Movement (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1972). ISBN 0340161256
Young, Shawn David, M.A., Hippies, Jesus Freaks, and Music (Ann Arbor: Xanedu/Copley Original Works, 2005). ISBN 1-59399-201-7
Frisbee: The Life And Death Of a Hippie Preacher A Jester Media production. Produced, directed by David Di Sabatino. Camera (color, DV), Di Sabatino; editor, Ron Zauneker; music, Larry Norman; sound, Zauneker. Reviewed at Mill Valley Film Festival, Oct. 16, 2005.

External links

Charismatic and Pentecostal Christianity | Christian group structuring | New religious movements

Jesus-People | Jézus-mozgalom | Jezusbeweging | Jesusfolket

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