Re: Jesus Freaks

[Steve Hayes]

On Tue, 10 Apr 2012 09:14:34 -0700 (PDT), mov_nov <mov...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
>When I was a child, growing up in the sixties and seventies just a few blocks away from the notorious Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, I was surrounded by the hippie movement. It was a “turn on, tune in, drop out” age of sexual freedom, cultural revolution and social recklessness.

Please fix your line lengths -- they should not be more than 72 characters.

And please don't multipost. You should rather crosspost (but only if your post
is relevant to all the newsgroups you post it in)

>Happily, I was never caught up in the hippie movement, but being so close to it, I could not help but observe its development. One thing I clearly remember is how many hippies were labeled “Jesus freaks.” As I surf my childhood memories, nearly four decades later, this euphemism strikes me as having been decidedly peculiar. These hippies were considered “Jesus freaks” because they dressed as Jesus did, grew their hair as he did, renounced materialism as he did, and propagated devotion to God, peace, charity and communal love.

It wasn't a euphemism.

Not all hippies were Jesus freaks, though all hippies were called "freaks".
They were initially called "freaks" by members of "straight" society, but
quickly adopted the label and wore it with pride.

Some, but not all hippies were Christians, followers of Jesus, and they called
themselves "Jesus freaks" to distinguish themselves from other freaks who were
not followerrs of Jesus. Hippies experimented with and followed a variety of
religions; not only Christianity, but Hinduism, Buddhism and New Agre were
also common.

At that time there were lots of "underground" newspapers emanating from the
hippie movement, and one of the Christians ones was "Right On", produced by
the Christian World Liberation Front. The editor, Jack Sparks, later became an
Orthodox Archpriest.

There was also a movie about Jesus freaks, called "The Son Worshippers".

>Now, many whom embarked upon this path fell into hallucinogenic drug use and wanton sexual proclivities—practices which are far from the example of Jesus—but this is not why these hippies were called Jesus freaks. Rather, they were called Jesus freaks for their long hair, loose clothing, asceticism, communal unity and passivism, all a result of their effort to live like Jesus. The House of Love and Prayer, located nearby in the avenues, was a collecting point for many of these well-meaning souls, and the title of the institution reflected their focus in life.

Yes, some sought salvation in hallucinogenic drugs, and some in unrestrained
sex, but the ones that were Jesus freaks said they didn't need drugs to get
high, they got high on Jesus, and those weren't called Jesus freaks for their
long hair, but because they were followers of Jesus.

[ Islamic propaganda deleted. If you want to discuss the difference between
Christian and Islamic views of Jesus, then have a subject line like "Jesus in
Christianity and Islam" or something like that. It's not really a topic that
interests me, but Jesus freaks do interest me. Were there any Islamic freaks?
]
--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://khanya.wordpress.com
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com

For information about why crossposting is (usually) good, and multiposting (nearly always) bad, see:
http://oakroadsystems.com/genl/unice.htm#xpost

[Steve Hayes]

About Jesus Freaks [Eng]

As Jesus Freaks we claim that in spite of crusades, burning of witches, boring
church services, TV preachers who rake in money, and all the pseudo- religious
affectation, there is something true and very wonderful behind the story about
Jesus!
To be honest we even believe that there isn´t anything better in this whole
world than to live with Jesus. Relationship with Him is the meaning of life!
The important thing is that neither religion, nor any kind of wisdom or rules
for life are what it's about, but a personal relationship with the creator of
this earth. Jesus lived on this earth as the son of God. He died on the cross
for our sins and rose from the dead, and is the only one who can close the gap
between God and us today. Jesus is the way to God.

We experience that the words of the bible have extraordinary power, and that
its statements about life and God are absolutely true. God introduces himself
to people, and shows His unique plan for mankind and very individual.
We believe that He turned particularly to the outcast and poor, to those who
do not fit the values of our society. As Jesus Freaks we want to live as Jesus
did; he is our example. Everybody can come as they are, no matter which social
backround they come from.

It is not our aim to entertain people or to improve their lot but to introduce
many to the ressurected Jesus.

Our vision is to see our generation stand up for Jesus in our country, in
Europe and all over the world, because living with Jesus is the most cool,
compelling, intense and exciting thing of all.

This Jesus movement will encourage people to build their own churches in their
own style and in their culture.
We like to see other churches who have Jesus at their center. We regard all
christians as a big family. Every church and every christian is special and
has a mission from God - and we want to carry out ours!

The past
When three of us met in 1991 in a living room in Hamburg there was one thing
that connected us:
We loved Jesus and we believed that He had not only died for us 2000 years ago
but had also risen from the dead. He therefore still lives today and has an
immediate interest in men.

We went for this Jesus and really wanted to see Him in action. Many of us
began to pray in someone's sitting room, without restraint, for the first
time. We were there before God just as we were, and wanted everything that He
had for us. Most of the people who joined us later on came because they
believed in Jesus, but hadn´t been accepted as they were in their lives. The
Jesus we find in the bible is extreme. He did not mince His words and he
criticised everything He didn´t like. We asked Him:
“Is it possible to be as we are and to live radically for You?
How could we design things like services, preaches and worship that works for
us?“
The first answer came relatively unexpectedly: we felt God´s presence blow us
over. Jesus was so real that we felt we could touch Him by simply stetching
out our hands. At this stage many miracles happened. Almost every prayer was
answered. Many suddenly stopped taking drugs because they were completely
filled with Jesus. He did everything to make it clear to us: “I like the idea,
it is from me, I want to bless you, I love you, just as you are!“
We tried out several things to find out how we could have services without
organs, lithurgy and traditional rites. In the Hamburg scene it got around
that these freaks who were crazy about Jesus were holding meetings, and so
people from different youth cultures came to us. Most of them realised that
there was something going on which they could not grasp and came again.

One meeting we held was called “Jesus- Abhäng- Abend“ (Hang out with Jesus),
and this grew enormously. Shortly after neighbours threatened to throw us out
of the flat if we (25 of us) went on praying the Lord´s Prayer at 1 in the
morning, we moved to a Café in the Schanzenviertel district. Until 1994 the
group grew to more than 200 people joining each “Abhäng- Abend“. In the
meantime the whole thing had become a kind of church, and we baptized and even
married some people. Many Freaks began a new life with Jesus in this place.

In the next years the whole thing grew to an extent that was beyond the
borders of Hamburg. All of a sudden we got mail from freaks all around Germany
who had the same idea but had never dared to make it happen. In a very short
period of time Jesus Freak groups sprang up like mushrooms. We decided that
although we came from and worked in different cities, we had to be close to
one another. We realised that we could only pull through our vision, a Jesus
movement in Europe, when we worked together. So, Jesus Freaks International
was founded as the official union of all churches and groups. Once a year
Freakstock takes place where we all meet and party together with Jesus. Since
the Jesus Freaks have existed many people have come to know the resurrected
Jesus. We ourselves went through ups and downs. To walk with Jesus as a
church, a group and a movement is not always easy and it involves changing
ones mind and continual development. But as long as we are willing to be
guided by the Holy Spirit, it will always continue and we will come to the
destiny that God has for us.

http://jesusfreaks.com/content/about-jesus-freaks-eng

[Steve Hayes]

Title:
Jesus in Berkeley, Christian World Liberation Front
Creator:
Christian World Liberation Front
Subject:
Sparks, Jack N.
Spiritual Counterfeits Project
Christian World Liberation Front
Jesus People
Evangelicalism
Hippies -- Religious life
Description:
Besides the Free Church --considered a social gospel oriented ministry
supported by mainline churches-- there were other street ministries on
Telegraph Avenue. The Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF), founded in 1969
by Jack Sparks and others from the Campus Crusade for Christ, were among the
best organized. Disagreeing with the need for headquarters approval of any
published material, they became an independent entity. One of the points in
their platform was that Jesus "will create a soulful Christianity in
Berkeley." Their paper, "Right On" is one of the first Jesus People
underground newspapers and among the most respected. The CWLF actively sought
converts while providing crash pads, help for drug users and free food. They
provided street theater and encouraged radicals to convert. This flier was
distributed to over 10,000 students during one weekend in 1969. The CWLF
disbanded over questions of authority in 1975. One of the splinter groups
founded the Spiritual Counterfeits Project, a Christian anti-cult group. The
Jesus People Movement (Jesus Freaks) traces its origins across the Bay to the
Haight, where Ted and Liz Wise founded the "Living Room" in 1967.
Publisher:
Graduate Theological Union;
Contributor:
York, Richard L.;
Date:
1969

http://content.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/kt8h4nf4bb/

[Steve Hayes]

History of the Jesus Movement
David di Sabatino, Mississauga, Ontario
Posted on Ottawa Inner City Ministries, Nov. 1997

For more information on the Jesus Movement please see,
"The Jesus People Movement: An Annotated Bibliography and General Resource"
Quick Index:
Bethel Tabernacle | Arthur Blessitt | Christian World Liberation Front |
Chuck Smith/Calvary Chapel
The Children of God | Explo '72 | Lonnie Frisbee | Gospel Outreach
Lighthouse Ranch
House of Acts Community | David Hoyt | Jesus People Army | Glenn Kaiser
| Greg Laurie | Hal Lindsey
Lighthouse Ranch | Love Inn | Mario Murillo | Milwaukee Jesus People |
Larry Norman | Duane Pederson
Kent Philpott | Edward E. Plowman | David Rose | Martin Meyer 'Moishe'
Rosen | Salt Company Coffeehouse
Shiloh Youth Revival Centers Organization | Toronto Catacombs | Victor
Paul Wierwille

By most accounts, the Jesus People Movement began in 1967 with the opening of
a small storefront evangelical mission called the Living Room in San
Francisco's Haight Ashbury district. Though other missionary type
organizations had preceded them in the area, this was the first one run solely
by street Christians.

Within a short time of these first stirrings a number of independent Christian
communities sprang up all across North America. In Seattle, the Jesus People
Army was born in response to a vision experienced by evangelist Linda
Meissner, who had seen an "army of teenagers marching for Jesus." On the
Sunset Strip, evangelist Arthur Blessitt opened the His Place nightclub and
coffeehouse as a 24 hour way station for youth. At the University of
California at Berkeley, Dr. Jack Sparks and some other members of Campus
Crusade decided to begin a countercultural outreach program called the
Christian Liberation World Front (CWLF) directed towards reaching campus
radicals.

The ensuing groundswell of activity spawned a number of other developments as
well. Realizing the need to open their churches to the hippie generation, many
conservative pastors recruited hippie liaisons to their ministerial staff.
Both Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel (in Santa Ana, California) with the
recruitment of Lonnie Frisbee, and Lyle Steenis of Bethel Tabernacle (in
Redondo Beach) with the recruitment of Breck Stevens found their churches
radically transformed in the wake of their decisions.

In order to proclaim the message of the gospel, hippie Christians simply
adopted existing forms of communication. Mirroring the development of
underground newspapers such as the Berkeley Barb, in 1969 evangelist Duane
Pederson began publishing the Hollywood Free Paper as an evangelistic tool.
Jesus papers with names like Right On!, The Fish, Street Level, and
Cornerstone became a fundamental component of each street Christian community.

Another development was Jesus Music, the controversial combination of rock
music and the gospel as one of the most effective (and subsequently lasting)
institutions of the revival. Artists and groups such as Ron Moore, Love Song,
John Fischer, Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, Agape, and the All Saved Freak
Band are just a few of the performers that felt the need to communicate
spiritual truths through a popular medium. Christian coffeehouses and Jesus
rock festivals emerged as the music gained momentum as a popular alternative
to the mainstream industry. Contemporary Christian radio shows sprang up as
did magazines devoted solely to monitoring the fledgling Jesus Music scene.
While many conservative church-goers lamented that Jesus Music was a spiritual
compromise, these pioneers maintained that they were combating the negative
influence of mainstream rock music. In an attempt to develop an apologetic for
their evangelistic efforts they echoed the sentiments of reformer Martin
Luther when he asked "why should the devil have all the best tunes."

Adding to the excitement of the era was the sense that the revival was a
foreshadowing of the impending apocalypse. Hal Lindsey's runaway best seller
The Late Great Planet Earth hit upon a deep seated nerve in the public with
his combination of biblical prophecy and news events. Lindsey based much of
his writing on the premise that the re-establishment of Israel as a nation was
a prominent signal that the "countdown to Armageddon" had begun. Coupled with
this end times theology was a premillennial doctrine concerning the "rapture
of the saints" which taught that prior to the rise of the Antichrist and final
war believers would be "raptured" (or 'caught up') to escape a time of
tribulation perceived as being foretold in the Book of Revelation. Jesus
musician Larry Norman's haunting song "I Wish We'd All Been Ready" touched on
this theme:
Two men walking up a hill
One disappears
and one's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

The revival also spawned a number of extremist groups such as the Children of
God, The Alamo Foundation, and the Way International. Although at first
accepted and welcomed as more militant and committed street Christian groups,
as apologetic ministries such as the CWLF's Spiritual Counterfeits Project
rose to expose doctrinal deviations, these groups were branded as heretical.



Though the revival had progressed for four years, the mainstream media did not
really focus on the story until 1971. Though Christianity Today and Christian
Life had followed the story from its beginnings in the Haight Ashbury, it
wasn't until 1970 when articles about 'street Christians' and 'Jesus freaks'
appeared in Time and Commonweal. The major breakthrough came in February 1971
when Look magazine printed a story that anyone had described it as anything
more than a local California event. This article spawned a virtual cottage
industry of press articles, denominational ruminations, television exposes,
and films all detailing various facets of what was now being called a
"movement." Ocean baptismal services, exuberant prayer meetings, long-haired
evangelists, and Jesus rock musicians were portrayed throughout national
magazines like Time, Newsweek, Life, Rolling Stone, and U.S. News & World
Report. In 1971 the Jesus People were the religious event of the year while
ranking third in Time's story of the year poll. Alongside the emergence of
Black Panthers, hippies, Yippies, Diggers, student activists, Weathermen, and
women's liberationists, the 'Jesus freak' was certainly the most curious
social phenomena of the late 1960's and early 1970's.

Although the media's interest in the movement waned by the end of 1971, there
was much evidence that the revival was still going strong. The Jesus People
USA, an offshoot ministry of the original Seattle Jesus People Army, would
soon find a home in Chicago ministering to street youth. In 1972 Campus
Crusade organized Explo '72 in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas where many of
the movement's top performers were invited to sing. In 1973 former Calvary
Chapel pastor Kenn Gulliksen was just starting a string of Bible studies that
would culminate in the Vineyard churches.

With Watergate and President Nixon's promises to end the war in Vietnam
dominating the front pages, the counterculture receded thus removing the
mission field that the revival had targeted. Where previous efforts of
evangelism had been as simple as playing a guitar on a street corner for a
group of spiritually interested hippies, the cynicism born of societal fears
towards "cults" and their "brainwashing" techniques made evangelism a less
fruitful endeavor than it once had been. As the counterculture came to an end,
Jesus People groups either disbanded, institutionalized as churches, or
stubbornly clung to their countercultural roots. Though the Jesus People
Movement had effectively ended by the mid-1970s, there were still a host of
churches, parachurch organizations, apologetics ministries, converts, Jesus
musicians, independent evangelists, and missionary workers that had been
funneled into Protestant and Catholic denominations of all theological skews.

Though the Jesus People Movement remains relatively neglected by mainstream
and religious historians, its influence throughout the church was influential.
It is our hope that through your participation on this page that we can offer
insightful analysis of this period with the knowledge that historical
reflection is an important part of our Christian heritage.


People and faces of the Jesus Movement

Arthur Blessitt and His Place - The minister of the Sunset Strip and founder
of the His Place nightclub, the psychedelic evangelist came to prominence in
the late 1960s after preaching at a local strip club. Blessitt was responsible
for Christianizing some of the counterculture's sayings, including "turn on to
Jesus," and comparing salvation to an "eternal rush." The local businessmen
were successful in getting His place shut down in the summer of 1969 but
Arthur chained himself the 12 foot cross in front of the building and fasted
for 28 days,--- until they got another building just down the Strip that was
kept open for two more years. It was open even as Arthur carried the cross
across America and felt called of God to go overseas in the summer of 1971. He
has continued to do so until the present.

Lonnie Frisbee - After a short stint with the original street Christian
community in San Francisco, Lonnie was recruited by Chuck Smith, then pastor
of a fledgling congregation in Costa Mesa, California, to be one of his
evangelical liaisons to the counterculture. Frisbee was successful in drawing
many to come to Calvary Chapel. During his tenure (1968-1971) as unofficial
youth pastor, the church grew from 200 to several thousand members. He was
also involved in the Shepherding movement before coming into contact with John
Wimber in 1980 where he was integral to the development of the "signs and
wonders" theology. In 1993 Frisbee passed away resulting from AIDS. At his
funeral he was best eulogized as a Samson figure.

Larry Norman - One of the most popular Jesus music performers, his 1969
release Upon This Rock contributed some of the most lasting anthems of the
Jesus People Movement. Songs like "I Wish We'd All Been Ready," with its theme
of expectation for the second coming, and "Why Should the Devil Have All the
Good Music," with its apologetic for using rock music as a tool of evangelism,
did much to bolster Norman as the premier Jesus rock performer of the revival.
His trilogy of albums (Only Visiting This Planet, So Long Ago the Garden, and
In Another Land, were extremely influential. Though controversy has continued
to follow him, Norman has continued to tour and perform his songs throughout
the world.

Jack Sparks and the Christian World Liberation Front - One of three founding
fathers of the Christian World Liberation Front (CWLF) on the Berkeley campus
of the University of California in 1969. A former statistics professor and
Campus Crusade worker, Sparks felt the need to begin a campus outreach to
left-wing student activists. In 1975 he and a number of other Campus Crusade
members made the move into the Eastern Orthodox church. Most recently he has
worked on the Orthodox Study Bible while continuing to teach at St. Athanasius
Academy.

Linda Meissner and the Jesus People Army - Former staff worker with David
Wilkerson's Teen Challenge program, Meissner founded the Jesus People Army
(JPA) in Seattle in response to having vision of "thousands of youths marching
for Jesus." After opening a number of outreaches in other areas in the Pacific
Northwest basin, the JPA dissolved when she threw her support to the Children
of God who took her with them to England. Disillusioned with her decision, she
left the group and settled in Denmark.

Jim Palosaari and the Milwaukee Jesus People - Saved at a tent revival meeting
in 1969, Palosaari and his wife Sue joined Linda Meissner's Seattle outreach
before venturing off to begin a similar outreach in the Midwest in 1971. After
growing to approximately 200 members, the Milwaukee Jesus People split into
four groups with Palosaari's crew (The Jesus Family) settling in England.
While there, the group staged the Lonesome Stone rock musical and founded the
annual Greenbelt Music Festival. Returning to the United States, Palosaari
established another community in Oregon called the Highway Missionary Society
from which the rock group Servant originated. After HMS disbanded, Palosaari
continued to work in the CCM business.

David Berg and The Children of God - After taking over responsibility of a
Huntington Beach coffeehouse ministry, formerly operated by David Wilkerson's
Teen Challenge Organization, evangelist David Berg and his musically-inclined
family by 1968 had recruited a modest number of hippie followers. Berg's
message centered on compelling listeners to make a radical break with society
(the "systemites") by making an "one-hundred percent commitment" to his "Teens
for Christ" ministry. Recruits were assured that by this action they would be
joining the one true remnant of Christian faith in the last days before the
return of Christ.

But because they encouraged teenagers to make such a radical break with
society, the group came under the scrutiny of local law enforcement who
responded to a number of irate parents wondering where their children were.
Charges of "brainwashing" and "kidnapping" ensued. Berg and his group were
subsequently chased from their California location and on to the road. Despite
these initial rumblings, however, in early 1971 the newly dubbed "Children of
God" were still considered orthodox by most, although they were branded as the
most radical (and perhaps eccentric) arm of the larger Jesus Movement. The
favorable attitude changed soon after, as the charges from parents intensified
and some of Berg's internal writings laced with profanities escaped to the
public. After stops in Arizona, Quebec (Canada), and a one in the Pacific
Northwest where they took over the main operations of the Jesus People Army,
Berg and the Children of God (COG) fled to Europe leaving behind a number of
lawsuits and scandals.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s "The Family of Love" (as they renamed
themselves) continued to evangelize with the belief that that the Second
Coming of Christ would occur in 1993 as Berg had prophesied. Controversy still
surrounds the group as many ex-members have brought forth accusations of
sexual abuse and child molestation. Family spokespeople deny the charges.
David Berg passed away in 1994 and his legacy is still promoted by his
followers.


Scott Ross and Love Inn - Seeing the powerful but destructive force rock music
could generate from his vantage as a former celebrity disc-jockey, Scott Ross
desired to impact teenagers by combining the attractive elements of rock music
with positive spiritual messages. In 1968 Ross approached CBN owner Pat
Robertson with his vision from which the first Christian rock radio program,
Tell It Like It Is, was born. In 1969 Ross opened a community called Love Inn
in Freeville, New York where they established a Jesus paper (Free Love) and a
record label (New Song) around the talents of guitarist Phil Keaggy. By 1979
Ross left the community to become more involved in the Discipleship movement.
By the mid-1980s he returned to CBN where he continues to work.

Chuck Smith and Calvary Chapel - Frustrated by church growth contests and
recruitment techniques, in 1965 Smith took over as pastor of a tiny
congregation in Costa Mesa, California. While watching hippies gather at
Huntington Beach he and his wife were moved to find some way to reach these
lost youth with the gospel. In 1968 Smith recruited Lonnie Frisbee and John
Higgins to start a drug rehabilitation and commune called The House of
Miracles. Smith's openness to the hippie culture sparked thousands of hippies
to come to the church where he functioned as their father figure. Heavily
influenced by premillennial interpretation of the Bible, Smith has become one
of the leading figures of prophecy books and end-times publications selling
thousands of copies of his various texts. Under his leadership, Calvary Chapel
has spawned hundreds of similar churches and is cited as one of this half
century's church growth phenomenons.

Ted Wise and the House of Acts Community - Converted in 1966 Wise is
remembered as the first street Christian converts of the ensuing Jesus People
Movement. In 1967 he and his wife Liz (and three other couples) opened The
Living Room mission in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco. Although
in operation for only 18 months, the staffers suggested they talked with
several thousand people. Wise and his group also came to live in community,
taking the Acts' account of the early Christians as a literal guide. The
resultant House of Acts community, the first Jesus commune of the movement,
stood as a model for other similar communities that sprung up all across the
continent. After this, Wise was recruited by Ray Stedman of Peninsula Bible
Church (PBC) to work with drug addicts and open rehabilitation clinics. He
remains affiliated to PBC to the present. (Read a recent interview with Ted)

Jim Durkin and Lighthouse Ranch - In the summer of 1970 while Jim Durkin was
experiencing dissatisfaction with his ministry, he was approached by several
Jesus People looking to begin an evangelistic ministry to the hippies. Though
initially hesitant, Durkin allowed the young group access to one of his
apartment complexes helping them establish a coffeehouse outreach program. As
the ministry blossomed they looked to him for leadership. He acquired an
abandoned coast guard station eleven miles outside of Eureka, California
allowing the young Christians to use this as their new home.


Gospel Outreach Lighthouse Ranch, Table Bluff Road in Loleta, CA - Dubbed the
Lighthouse Ranch, by 1972 the group had grown to almost 300 active members.
Under Durkin's oversight the group began to send out church planting teams all
over the world eventually calling their growing organization Gospel Outreach.
Throughout the 1970s and 80s, Gospel Outreach continued to send out missionary
teams including successful campaigns in Mendocino (California), Germany,
Nicaragua, and Hawaii. With 100 affiliated churches worldwide the Gospel
Outreach network is one of three denominational legacies of the Jesus People
Movement.

Victor Paul Wierwille - A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary and
ordained in the United Church of Christ. Believing that much of the Christian
was in error, in 1955 Wierwille founded The Way to educate young men and women
in the "correct way of biblical education." In 1968 Wierwille contacted and
recruited two members of the first street Christian community in the Haight
Ashbury, asking them to head up Way International training centers in
California and New York. The Way International raised the ire of other
Christian groups, labelled a "cult" because of their antitrinitarian views.
One of the largest of all the extremist groups of the Jesus People movement,
by the mid-1970s the organization boasted over 20,000 active members.
Wierwille died in 1986 leaving The Way International in a state of disarray
having to deal with financial mismanagement, accusations that he had
plagiarized some of his writings, and sexual immorality.

Greg Laurie - In 1970 Greg Laurie was profoundly influenced by an encounter
with hippie evangelist Lonnie Frisbee who was preaching on the lawn of
Laurie's Newport Harbor High School. After this experience, Laurie was invited
back to Calvary Chapel where in 1972 he was offered oversight over a
congregation that had been nurtured by Frisbee at All Saints Episcopal Church
in Riverside, California. Under Laurie's leadership the Harvest Christian
Fellowship has blossomed into one of the flagships of the Calvary Chapel
denomination. In 1990 Smith took his protege and began billing Laurie as the
featured speaker for what has become the annual Harvest Crusade meetings. He
is noted by some as being the "evangelist of the MTV generation."

Duane Pederson and the Hollywood Free Paper - Originally a ventriloquist from
Minnesota, Pederson moved to California and founded what became the most
widely distributed underground Jesus newspaper of the movement called the
Hollywood Free Paper. Used as a tool of evangelistic communication the paper's
editors boasted that their largest circulated copy had a printing of 500,000
copies. Pederson wrote a number of books in the early 1970s while serving as
pastor of a California congregation. In the mid-1980s he tried unsuccessfully
to resurrect the Hollywood Free Paper and eventually followed former Jesus
People associate Jack Sparks into the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Hal Lindsey - In 1970 Lindsey left Campus Crusade to begin the Jesus Christ
Light and Power Company, a youth oriented ministry on the Los Angeles campus
of the University of California (UCLA). Previous to this he had begun to
compile a number of eschatologically based sermons publishing them under the
title The Late Great Planet Earth later that year. The book became an
overnight best seller hitting on a raw nerve of excitement concerning the
close proximation of the second coming of Christ. With one eye on the Bible
and one towards the daily news, Lindsey's book enchanted Christians into a
wave of expectational end-times frenzy. Launched by the success of his first
book, Lindsey was commissioned to begin writing others. In 1972 he published
Satan Is Alive and Well on Planet Earth, a book based on the theme of
worldwide satanic conspiracies. Lindsey has continued to be one of the leading
experts of Biblical prophecy traveling throughout the world and continuing to
be a popular conference speaker.

Bethel Tabernacle - One of the obscure hippie churches to gain notoriety
during the intense media frenzy in 1971. Drawn into the movement when Pastor
Lyle Steenis recruited ex-drug addict Breck Stevens to be the church's
evangelistic liaison to the counterculture. Although the church claimed that
over 100,000 people passed through their doors, the congregation never grew to
more than several hundred. After Steenis died in a plane crash in 1972,
Stevens took over control of the church despite the protestations of Steenis'
widow who may have realized that the young man lacked the necessary maturity.
Though he led the church for another 14 years, Stevens committed suicide in
1986.

Toronto Catacombs - In 1968 Gord Morris and Don Rossiter desired to begin a
Christian club on the campus of their Toronto high school. After approaching
their music teacher who was also a Christian, they formed the Catacomb Club.
By 1971 they had grown into a group of 850 and began meeting in St. Paul's
Anglican Church where they held a Thursday night 'Praise and Worship
Celebration' that at its peak attracted 2,500 enthusiastic teenagers. The core
group eventually spawned a church that lasted into the late 1980s.

Explo '72 - Billed as the "Spiritual Woodstock" or "Godstock," the Campus
Crusade sponsored event featured a number of evangelical leaders and Jesus
Music performers in a week long campaign (May 12-17). Featured artists were
Love Song, Larry Norman, Randy Matthews, Children of the Day, Johnny Cash, and
Kris Kristofferson. The week was closed with a sermon by Billy Graham who had
recently penned a book affirming his allegiance with "The Jesus Generation."

John Higgins and the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers Organization - Saved in 1966
after reading the Bible in an effort to disprove it, the former New Yorker
started attending the fledgling Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. Along with
Lonnie and Connie Frisbee, John and his wife Jackie were asked to be the
elders of the very first House of Miracles communal home in 1968. Under
Higgins' leadership a number of other communities opened throughout the
southwestern United States all subsequently dubbed The House of Miracles.
While scouting some property up in Oregon, Higgins received a vision to move
their various ministries north. Naming this first Oregon communal location
'Shiloh' after an Old Testament prophetic passage, the Shiloh Youth Revival
Centers Organization (SYRCO) began planting other communal houses throughout
the Pacific Northwest. It is estimated that from 1968 to 1978 the SYRCO
established 178 locations although no more than 50 houses were in operation at
one time. After charges of financial mismanagement and authoritarianism were
brought up against Higgins in 1978, he was asked to leave the ministry. The
SYRCO battled to stay afloat for the next several years but finally sold their
remaining properties and closed operations in 1988. John Higgins moved to
Arizona and is presently the pastor of a Calvary Chapel affiliate.

Kent Philpott - As a young pastor and student at Golden Gate Baptist Seminary
in 1967, Philpott felt compelled to begin evangelizing in the Haight Ashbury
after hearing Scott McKenzie's song "San Francisco." Along with his wife he
opened a number of communal houses and was a member of a Baptist organization
called Evangelical Concerns which funded some of the street Christian
activities in the area. Philpott is presently a pastor in the San Francisco
Bay area.

David Hoyt - A member of the Krishna temple when first approached by
evangelist Kent Philpott in the Haight Ashbury, Hoyt had a powerful conversion
experience and worked towards opening numerous Christian communes. In 1970 he
moved to Atlanta and opened Upper Streams and the House of Judah before being
the first Jesus People leader to align with the Children of God. Hoyt left the
COG after their exodus to Europe. While in England he teamed up with former
Milwaukee Jesus People leader Jim Palosaari and his crew. Hoyt is currently
writing a book about his experiences.

Don Williams and the Salt Company Coffeehouse - Having just obtained his
doctorate from Columbia University, Williams became the youth pastor of
Hollywood First Presbyterian Church. Feeling a "Call to the Streets" (the
title of a book he wrote on his experiences in the JPM), he began a
coffeehouse ministry called the Salt Company where many notable Jesus
Musicians played. The church also sponsored a Jesus paper and a couple of
communal homes for new converts. Wrote a book on his experiences called "Call
to the Streets." After the JPM he taught at Claremont MacKenna College before
becoming involved in the Vineyard movement.

Connie Frisbee - While living at a number of hippie communities, Connie became
acquainted with and eventually married Lonnie Frisbee. In 1968 they became the
fifth couple to live at the House of Acts community in Novato, California
where she helped out with the daily routines of making soup and preparing the
storefront mission for the regular stream of guests. Though the two were
divorced in 1973, Connie remarried and is presently living in Auburn where she
shares her experiences with troubled youth.

Sandi Heefner, Judy Doop, Liz Wise, and Sandy Sands - The wives of the four
men who organized and ran The Living Room storefront mission in the Haight
Ashbury and The House of Acts (the first countercultural Christian community
of the revival). Although Ted Wise usually gets credit for being the first
convert of the Jesus People Movement, it was Liz's going back to church which
really began the desire to search the Bible. Like many unsung participants of
the Jesus People Movement, these four women deserve credit for doing the
behind the scenes work at The Living Room and House of Acts.

Kathryn Kuhlman - A charismatic healing evangelist who briefly embraced the
Jesus People as they became front page news. Kuhlman befriended a number of
converted hippies from Calvary Chapel and was convinced to do a number of her
"I Believe in Miracles" television shows with them as the main guests.

Edward E. Plowman - As editor of Christianity Today, Plowman was one of the
first to report on the emerging 'street Christians,' and follow through with
many subsequent stories and editorials on the Jesus People as they progressed
into a movement.

Glenn Kaiser - Was a young hippie blues guitarist in Milwaukee when he made
contact and subsequently joined a community of Jesus People while they were
holding revival meetings in the early 1970s. Was the focal musician in one of
the community's two rock bands (named Charity) which eventually was renamed
Resurrection Band. After two custom cassette projects the band released their
first album entitled Awaiting Your Reply in 1978. Beyond his duties as lead
guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist for the band, Kaiser has been an
uncompromising voice within the CCM industry and larger evangelical movement.
Still serves as a pastor to the Jesus People USA community in downtown
Chicago, Illinois where the Jesus People Movement continues.

Martin Meyer 'Moishe' Rosen - While in California as the leader of a
missionary organization to Jewish people, Rosen befriended a number of Jewish
hippie converts in the late 1960s. He subsequently founded the Jews for Jesus
organization which gained a lot of media attention in the early 1970s for
their confrontational style of evangelism.

David Rose - Young charismatic hippie who converted and was later influenced
by Jack Sparks of the Christian World Liberation Front. Compelled by a vision
to open a mission to teenagers in the midwest, he returned to Kansas and
opened the House of Agape. By the early 1970s their efforts had spawned a well
attended church out of which came the music of Paul Clark and The Hallelujah
Joy Band. After joining a mission team to the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Rose
ventured to Israel where he functioned as the church's overseas missionary for
a number of years. Rose presently runs a successful Hollywood video production
company.

Mario Murillo - Pastor who directed Resurrection City, a Pentecostal styled
ministry and outreach geared towards presenting the gospel to radical activist
leaders at the University of California at Berkeley campus. His ministry
continues today and he also has a popular bible study on Christian TV.