Jesus Revolution

Title: Jesus Revolution
Author: Greg Laurie and Ellen Vaughn
Major Themes: Jesus People, Revival, Christianity, Culture
Synopsis: During the cultural turmoil of the 1960s, people started turning to Jesus en masse; this story is told within the framework of the life of one of the people whose lives were changed.

A few months ago I started hearing about the movie Jesus Revolution. This caught my interest because, back in the early 1970s, my dad came to the point of belief that there was actually a God through the Jesus People. Although I’m not very interested in movies, this one appealed to me because of its connection with my family history. Then, a few weeks ago, I happened to see that the story is actually in a book—and I found a book in a library I use! For me, it is much better to read than to watch, so I read the book. Wow. What a story.

Jesus Revolution tells the story of the tumultuous years of the 1960s and early 1970s, the hippie movement, and the Jesus People movement by relating the life of Greg Laurie. Greg’s first decade and a half of life were very chaotic, with no father and a mother who went from one man to another. It was no wonder he found himself drawn into the hippie/drug culture—but that all changed suddenly when he met Jesus. Greg’s life was transformed, and at the age of 19, he began leading a Bible Study. It took off, with hundreds and then thousands of people coming to Jesus. 

Jesus Revolution follows Greg’s life through the 1970s as he met the love of his life, raised two sons, and pastored what became a mega church. What happened to the other people who were involved in the early days of the movement? Their stories are told, too, especially where they intersect with Greg’s story, along with events that shaped the United States during that decade.

I really appreciated this look at how the events of the 1960s shaped the people, and how the people shaped the events. I also really enjoyed seeing the culture my parents grew up in and the movement in which my dad met Jesus. I highly recommend Jesus Revolution for anyone interested in movements of God in modern times.

WARNING: There are a lot of references to using drugs and to “free love.” There is also a mention in one chapter of the Manson family and the serial murders associated with them. In a later chapter, a man dies in a horrific car accident.

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