The Movie vs. The Movement: Learning from Jesus Revolution

A Film That Sparked Nostalgia

In 2023, the release of the film Jesus Revolution brought the story of Pastor Chuck Smith, Greg Laurie, and Lonnie Frisbee to the big screen. For many, it was a fresh reminder of a time when the church cracked open its doors to an unlikely group of barefoot seekers. The movie became more than a faith-based film; it was a cultural moment that reignited conversations about revival.

Audiences laughed, cried, and left theaters asking the same question: Could it happen again?

The Risk of Romanticizing Revival

While the movie beautifully captured the drama and hope of the 1970s Jesus Movement, it also carried a risk: nostalgia. It’s easy to see revival as something safely in the past, wrapped in Hollywood’s glow. But the Spirit of God is not confined to history or cinema.

If the church treats Jesus Revolution only as a film instead of as a mirror, we risk becoming museum curators of the past instead of participants in what God is doing now.

The New Cast of Characters

Fast forward to 2025, and we find ourselves in another cultural crossroads. But this time, the stage doesn’t look like a Southern California chapel—it looks like a Spotify playlist, a TikTok feed, or a stadium concert.

• Brandon Lake, with his bold worship and boundary-breaking collaborations.
• Jelly Roll, with his raw testimony of addiction, prison, and redemption. A generation of fans who might never step into a church, but who will raise their hands when they hear a Hard Fought Hallelujah.

Just as Chuck Smith once welcomed barefoot hippies, these new voices are welcoming modern outsiders—and in doing so, they may be sparking a Jesus Revolution 2.0.

What Hollywood Missed

The movie couldn’t capture everything. It hinted at division, at the discomfort of tradition clashing with counterculture. But it stopped short of showing how messy revival really is.

True movements of God rarely come wrapped in clean narratives. They are unpredictable, disruptive, and often scandalous to the religious establishment. That was true in the ’70s—and it’s true today.

Which means: if revival is breaking out through tattooed country singers and unconventional worship leaders, the church shouldn’t be surprised. It should be ready.

From Screen to Streets

The lesson of Jesus Revolution is not to idolize what happened 50 years ago but to recognize the pattern: God moves when the church embraces the broken and the unexpected.

The question is not whether we can relive the 1970s. The question is whether we will recognize the movement of the Spirit in 2025—through artists, outsiders, and testimonies that don’t fit the mold.

Revival is not just a movie. It’s a movement. And it’s happening now.

Final Thoughts

Hollywood gave us a reminder. God is giving us an invitation.

If the first Jesus Revolution was about Chuck Smith opening the doors of Calvary Chapel, perhaps the second will be about us opening our hearts, our platforms, and our pews to the very people God is using to lead us back to Him.

The movie told the story. The movement is ours to live.

Related Reading by Sunshine Firecracker

• Brandon Lake: The Chuck Smith of a New Generation?
• Jelly Roll: A Tattooed Prophet in the Pews
• Music at the Margins — Why the Church Needs Outsiders to Lead Revival
• Is the Brandon Lake & Jelly Roll Pairing Igniting a Jesus Revolution 2.0?