Retro Jesus Movement
Just the other day I heard a commercial advertising a major concert with the Village People and Cool and the Gang. Although I lost interest in pop music years ago, I found myself releasing the steering wheel to my truck and begin forming the letters as the commercial played the 70s tune Y-M-C-A.
Before I knew it, the words “Celebrate good times, Come on!” came from my mouth as well. Fortunately, my spiritual senses kicked in and I switched channels on the dial before I pulled over and began to disco in the grocery store parking lot!
These two groups were advertised as part of a “retro concert” at the local amphitheater. Retro is a buzzword in our day, an integral part of pop culture. Have you ever seen such a collection of tie-dyed shirts, stacked heel shoes, or bellbottom jeans? All these were staples of my teenaged years. Thankfully, leisure suits haven’t made the cut so far, although I did see a guy sporting a shag hairdo the other day - pretty scary!
What if there is more to this retro phenomenon than your typical youthful interest in the culture of the previous generation? I mean, in my high school days we observed a “fifties days” each year, complete with bobbie socks and the jitterbug. But wait a minute - this is not a once a year deal where teenagers dust off their parents’ Sly and the Family Stone records and do the Hustle. No, the youth culture is transfixed to no small degree with the 70s, and society has followed suit, with everything from songs from the 70s becoming common jingles on commercials to shows such as That Seventies Show, to a resurgence of such 70s television programs as The Brady Bunch.
This is an unusual day, and the retro movement hearkens back to an unusual era. The 60s and 70s were a momentous turning point in our nation’s history. Admittedly, a lot of the changes were not popular - such as politics. We struggled through controversy surrounding the Vietnam War and Watergate. Socially, the Civil Rights movement awakened America to our entrenched racism. Nuclear protests were common, and the sexual revolution forever changed American morality. Change became the norm rather than the exception, helped in no small part through the rise of the one-eyed monster, television. And, this era marked the coming of age of rock and roll music.
But everything in that time period did not bring bad news. In the 70s, not all teenagers plunged headlong into the drug culture. Not all opposed the Vietnam War. Some had other things to do than stage a sit-in. A youth movement, a spiritual awakening of sorts, was sweeping across the evangelical world, touching the hippie culture as well. I am referring to the Jesus Movement, which touched thousands of youth in and out of churches in the late 60s and early 70s.
Now, the Jesus Movement was nothing like the first Great Awakening with the thundering preaching of George Whitefield, Jonathan Edwards, and others. It had its problems, including a lot more emotional heat than theological light. But do you remember the index finger pointing upward, accompanied by the cry “One Way through Jesus!” Or, can you recall the coffeehouses, youth musicals like Good News, and songs like I Wish We’d All Been Ready?
Think about the positive features. To name a few (you may actually have participated in some of these):
Hundreds, even thousands, of youth choir tours on mission across America singing Good News, Celebrate Life, or a similar score;
Drug-laced teens in California and elsewhere taking the eternal trip offered in the gospel, including mass baptisms in the Pacific Ocean;
SBC baptisms surpassing 400,000 for five years in a row, the only time this has ever happened (and the largest percentage of youth baptisms ever);
A generation of believers touched by the Spirit of God, many of whom now are leading the cry for revival in our time;
The rise of contemporary Christian music, and the development of praise and worship music in churches;
An explosion of megachurches, many of which can be traced to the Jesus Movement;
Perhaps most significant, a zealous commitment by multitudes of youth to share Christ one on one.
Why do I mention this? Richard Ross of LifeWay Christian Resources, and the catalyst behind the True Love Waits campaign, recently said there seems to be a different spirit in the youth of our day, in particular those age 16 and under. I have observed a similar phenomenon. The same idealism seen in the Jesus Movement seems to be growing. The millennials, or bridger generation (those born after about 1980), may bring the greatest hope for a fresh touch of the Spirit of God in many decades. The reality of our nearing the millennium resounds with apocalyptic fervor not unlike the focus on the return of Christ, which swept evangelicalism in the early 70s. More and more I meet youth pastors and other leaders who comment on their youth who really believe they can change their world.
What if the retro movement in culture, with its fascination of the 70s, was matched by a passion for Jesus as seen in the Jesus Movement? What if churches, which tended to ignore or avoid the longhaired converts in the last movement, this time welcomed youth who sought to follow Christ, looking past their piercings and baggy clothes to their heart? What if the retro movement in culture became paralleled with a revival movement in the hearts of God’s people?
One thing is clear: we as a denomination have failed to influence the youth culture significantly over the past twenty-five years. At the very least, the retro phase should give those of us who lived in that period a great means to interact with young people in order to share Christ.
In 2006, the largest number of youth in American history will be all around us. What will the church do differently between now and then to reach them? About a year ago I picked up a cassette which featured a collection of songs which debuted in the Jesus Movement. This collection of tunes composed by Larry Norman, called by some the “Poet Laureate of the Jesus Movement,” took me back to the early 70s. Only this time, I thought less of disco, rock festivals, and psychedelic drugs, and more of a youth group who radically loved Jesus.
Maybe the retro phase can lead us to encourage youth to seek revival fire in our day. Maybe we can take them to a further, more distant retro movement, the original Jesus Movement, where a gaggle of Galileans followed the Man we know now to be the Son of God. Young people will rise to the level we set for them. Historically, students have played a critical role in genuine revival. Perhaps, at the dawn of this new millennium, God would use youth in a mighty way again. It could happen - what if it did?
