I recently watched the film “Jesus Revolution” which recounts the rise of the Jesus Movement in the early 1970’s. It is based on the real-life experiences of Pastor Chuck Smith, founder of Calvary Chapel, and how he came to embrace certain elements of the hippie culture within the church as many turned to Christ for salvation. Just like the real-life events that unfolded in that era, the movie is a mixed bag. I don’t dispute that there were true and valid confessions of faith during that time as the secular hippie culture left disillusioned people to search for answers that could only be found in Jesus Christ as Savior. However, assuming that the depictions in the film were accurate (and based on what I know from those who were involved in the movement), while much good was done for the cause of Christ through that time, there were mistakes made as well that we should learn from today.

The question that we continue to wrestle with as a church is this: When are we crossing a line of compromise? For instance, I would unreservedly welcome anyone to come and worship at our church. This welcome is extended to anyone regardless of their race, hair color, hair length, clothes, culture, or anything else that makes them different from me, too much like the world or even makes me uncomfortable. However, it should be our hope as Pastors that once someone sits under solid, biblical preaching for a period of time that they will come to the faith and that the Holy Spirit will then convict them about areas where their lives are not in alignment with God’s Word. Remember, Jesus sat with sinners but those that stayed with Him didn’t continue in their sin. On the contrary, Jesus told them to “Go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

This is the real dividing line between true, loving, biblical Christianity and those churches who come across as legalistic, uncaring, unaccepting, and unfriendly to outsiders. We are called to love ALL people and share Christ with ALL people but we should also have the biblical expectation that once a person comes to Christ their old lives will be put behind them (2 Corinthians 5:17). The most loving thing we can do is to teach them Bible doctrine and allow them to examine themselves before the perfect mirror of Scripture so they can identify those areas which are not pleasing to the Lord. It seems that many in the Jesus Revolution of the 1970’s often ignored these standards, especially as they placed new believers who were largely undiscipled into leadership positions within the church. As a result, the hippie culture crept in and, at times, violated God’s standards for the church. Here are just a few ways (as illustrated in the movie) where they crossed the line of compromise:

1. Their leaders openly violated clear, biblical standards – Lonnie Frisbee was a key character of the movie who was a both a full-on embodiment of the hippie culture as well as a hard-core proponent of the Christian faith. The movie quickly shows him being elevated to the status as a leader and preacher in the church despite no outward evidence that he was conforming to the teaching of Scripture. For instance, he preached with his hair long (1 Corinthians 11:14), a clear violation of Paul’s teaching and an obvious sign that he would continue in his old ways. There were many other examples as well. Real-life documentation shows that Frisbee was known to do drugs and experiment with homosexuality during his time as a preacher. He died of AIDS in 1993. It is clear that he was not qualified to be a Pastor in the church.


2. Their leaders were not properly trained or mature – A clear mandate in Scripture for Pastors and leaders is that they not be a “novice” (1 Timothy 3:6). That is not to say that new believers can’t bring a message from time to time or have a word of testimony. However, a leadership position in the church requires training and maturity. Neither of these seemed to be present with the new believers in the Jesus movement who were quickly given positions of authority in the churches that embraced them. Scripture tells us that being a novice results in “being lifted up with pride” which is exactly what the movie depicts with Lonnie Frisbee as he took credit for the church’s growth and called it “his” church.


3. Their leaders promoted doctrinal errors – The small amount of doctrine present in the movie depicts Frisbee as a loose cannon that even Chuck Smith is unable to contain. He proclaims himself as a “prophet” (an office that is no longer valid) and also seemed to claim to have a gift of “healing” and other charismatic gifts that were reserved for the early church. We see him causing someone to be “slain in the Spirit”, a modern charismatic practice that has no biblical basis. He took Peter’s application of Joel 2 at Pentecost as being fulfilled in the Jesus movement. Clearly, there were many critical doctrinal errors that should not have been tolerated.

What should we be reminded about from these examples? Yes, we should embrace and love and accept all people who don’t know the Lord without reservation. That is what Christ would have us to do. Yes, we must be discerning to know the difference between things we don’t like and things that the Bible clearly says are wrong (i.e. Don’t make a biblical case for something that is merely your personal preference). Then, we must be careful to fully disciple and train new believers and confirm God’s work in their life before promoting them into leadership. To embrace a lifestyle and culture which is offensive to God’s truth will undoubtedly cause us to cross the line of compromise.