‘Jesus Revolution’: The True Story Behind the Movement Turned Hollywood Movie
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"‘Jesus Revolution’: The True Story Behind the Movement Turned Hollywood Movie"
A new Christian movie called Jesus Revolution is about to hit theaters. The film tells the true story of the Jesus Revolution, a movement that took place in the ’60s and ’70s across the world.
‘Jesus Revolution’ tells the true story of one man’s conversion to Christianity
Jesus Revolution tells the story of Greg Laurie, who was one of the real-life people involved in the movement. He converted to Christianity in the ’60s after crossing paths with pastor Chuck Smith, one of the leaders of the Jesus Revolution.
The movie also deals with the cultural clash that happened during the Jesus Revolution movement. Hippies and young people began attending church alongside more conservative older people, and both parties disagreed with the other’s views on life and religion.
The cast includes Frasierstar Kelsey Grammer as Chuck Smith and The Kissing Booth’s Joel Courtney as Greg Laurie. Other actors involved in the project include Jonathan Roumie, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Julia Campbell, and DeVon Franklin.
‘Jesus Revolution’ was in development for seven years
Jesus Revolution has been in development for almost seven years. According to Liberty University, producer Jon Erwin shared that he got the idea for the film after picking up a 1970s copy of TIME magazine that featured a cover story about the movement.
“I studied it for years,” Erwin said of the magazine cover. “We were just dreaming of being able to make this movie. It’s a miracle that Lionsgate let us make it.”
Part of the development process meant casting changes. For example, stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan was originally set to play Chuck Smith, but was replaced by Grammer.
The real-life movement that inspired ‘Jesus Revolution’
“The Jesus Revolution” began in the late 1960s on the West Coast and eventually spread across the globe, according to Encyclopedia. Some major themes of the movement included a return to simple and communal living and rejecting drugs and alcohol in favor of religion.
Members of the movement made music a central part of their faith, incorporating the rock and country sounds from popular songs of the day into their services. They also expressed their dissatisfaction with typical middle-class Christianity, preferring to blend it with their hippie sensibilities, according to The Conversation.
Some of the big names in the Jesus Revolution include Smith, who was the founder and pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, Nashville pastor Don Finto, and Steve Freeman, who opened the Kingdom Come Christian Coffee House in South Carolina.
The movement came to an end by the late ’80s, but its influences on Christianity can still be felt today. The Jesus Revolution brought more young people to churches, created youth groups for young Christians, and started the trend of modern worship songs being used during services.