Jesus Revolution
Mar 21, 2023
Jesus Revolution
I’m not generally a fan of Christian films. So, I was pleasantly surprised at how impressed I was with Jesus Revolution.
Jesus Revolution is the 2023 film about the origin of the Jesus People Movement in 1970s California. The film centered primarily on the experiences of Chuck Smith, Lonnie Frisbee, and Greg Laurie. Each have been influential Christian leaders.
What I appreciated about Jesus Revolution.
Here are 3 reasons I enjoyed Jesus Revolution and think you will too.
- Jesus Revolution is high quality.
- Jesus Revolution contains multi-dimensional characters.
- Jesus Revolution doesn’t present a false gospel.
Jesus Revolution is a high-quality film.
The cinematography was beautiful and smooth. At no point in the film did I find myself distracted by poor camera work. In fact, there were several times when I was impressed with the cinematography.
I really appreciated the way that they presented flashbacks and old film recordings.
The sensory experience during Greg Laurie’s baptism scene really drew me into the moment.
The cinematography was not flashy or overdone, but it enhanced viewers’ experience.
The characters were deep
Too often in Christian films, the characters are two dimensional at best.
The Characters in Jesus Revolution were on par with some of the best cinema has to offer. These characters were not all good or all bad. They had mixed motives, grief, pain, joy, altruism, and a love for Jesus.
The characters in this movie were on a journey of highs, lows, and plateaus.
As a pastor, I resonated with many of the frustrations the characters experienced. Also, Lonnie’s progressive succumbing to the temptation of pride birthed out of a desire to minister in and for Jesus was very relatable.
No False Gospel
So many Christian movies present Christianity as something for the good and holy or they display the Christian life as everything coming together in a nice package once people turn their lives over to Jesus.
Just think of how many Christian movies we have seen with a couple struggling with infertility and then the movie concludes with them getting right with God and the wife is miraculously pregnant.
The unintended message of these movies is that God is like a genie and when you make Him happy, He gives you everything you ever wanted, or if you are struggling with infertility, you must be in rebellion against God.
Living in a broken world is far more complex than we are often taught in Christian media.
Also, turning to Jesus is the start of a journey not the finishing line.
Why You Should See Jesus Revolution
Here are the two reasons why I believe that Christians should go and see Jesus Revolution in the theaters.
- Christians should support great Christian Art so that more gets made.
- The message of Jesus Revolution is a prophetic message for today’s church.
Supported Art Gets Reproduced
When people support films, they get duplicated and when films do poorly, they get abandoned.
The 10th Fast and Furious film is about to come out. People have flocked to watch and buy these films over and over again. As a result, they have continued to make more of them and other film makers have borrowed themes and plots so that they will hopefully be successful.
Film makers who had once only speculated if car racing films could succeed now know that the market is out there.
We need to send a message to film makers that there is a demand for Christian cinema done well.
A Prophetic Message
As my wife and I watched Jesus Revolution, we couldn’t help but be blown away by the attitudes of the 1970s American Church towards the Hippies.
The parallels between the church’s attitude towards the hippies is near identical to what we are hearing from former hippies who are now the church establishment.
The American Church’s attitude toward youth is often one of rejection and dismissal rather than guidance and welcome.
The very people once rejected by the church (former hippies) have become derogatory and profane toward those they are meant to shepherd now.
My hearts cry as I watched this movie and drove away from it was that God would protect me from adopting a pejorative and dismissive attitude toward the youth that He raises up in future generations.
In the film, Lonnie Frisbee describes hippies this way, “My people are looking for all the right things in all the wrong places.”
I choose to actively recognize that many who are abandoning values that I hold dear are looking to fill a vacancy that only Jesus can fill.
The Future
My prayer for the church is that we interact with this film and Christian cinema in the future is that we will embrace and demand high quality art that reflects truth and our experience rather than a flannel graph version made safe for Sunday School.
I am also praying that as we move forward the church as a whole will be more intentional about shepherding the next generation into an authentic faith that reflects God’s love in Christ and empowers generations of world changers.
How do you choose to empower the generations that follow?
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