In 1969, Greg Laurie, was
seventeen and going to high school Newport Harbor High School in California.
Fourteen miles from Disneyland. Just one mile from the beach.
Laurie was raised by a single mother who had seven marriages
and struggled with alcoholism. They moved often, sometimes to vastly different
locations such as New Jersey and Hawaii. He was not raised in the Christian
faith or a church environment.
He began participating in the hippie movement, doing drugs,
dropping out, because it was fun and maybe this was the way.
The 1960s and early 1970s was the height of the hippie
movement, which sought love, beauty, honesty, and fun. Hippies felt that “The
Man” (the establishment, the authorities, those in charge, Big Brother) had
caused huge problems. And they wanted to drop out of that society. Leave it
utterly. Find a new way.
Why? What was the problem?
The 1960s was the decade of the Vietnam war. It was the
decade we came to the brink of a nuclear World War 3 with the USSR over the
Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the decade when a huge portion of the United
States strove for equal rights for minorities and women against a lot of
opposition. There were riots. Protests. Beatings. This was the decade when
Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy were assassinated. There were
problems galore.
Now the 1960s was also a terrific decade. We passed civil
rights legislation, men landed on the moon, super nerds introduced BASIC
computer code which opened the door to the computer revolution. It was a decade
of many good things, including the decade when Lovely Wife was born. Let’s not
forget that.
But it was certainly a tumultuous decade. And the hippies
offered a counterculture. A different path.
A lot of youth followed that path. For example, in 1969 half
a million hippies showed up at the Woodstock festival to protest the war,
capitalism, convention, and celebrate peace, love, and individual freedom.
This is the world young Greg Laurie was living in. And he
was heading down the drug-hippie path.
But then he met a man named Lonnie Frisbee who looked
like a hippie, had been a hippie, right at the epicenter in San Francisco, but
was now inviting fellow hippies and youth to a different path.
A path that featured Christ. But not in the way of many of
the churches at the time.
Did Greg turn around? How was this path different?
There’s a new movie out that is based on these true events.
You can watch it and find out.
It’s called Jesus Revolution.
Nellie and I enjoyed the heck out of it. We laughed, were on
the edge of our seats, moved, and inspired. In fact, I enjoyed it so much I
want to watch it again.
It’s a great entertainment for the whole family.
If you’re looking for a terrific, feel-good show, I think
you’ll love Jesus Revolution. Give it a try.
