Our Need for Another Nation-Wide Spiritual Revival

When I first became a committed disciple of Jesus during the winter of 1971-1972, there was a revival happening all over the United States. In the established churches it was sometimes called the charismatic renewal because of the manifestation of charismatic gifts. Among young people it was usually called the Jesus Movement or the Jesus Revolution. The young people getting saved and filled with the Holy Spirit were often called Jesus People.

Among the Jesus People there was some shallowness and immaturity, but that was to be expected. After all, young people are not yet mature, and a deep relationship with the Lord takes time to develop. But in spite of the flaws and foibles of the Jesus People, there was a genuine move of the Holy Spirit in the late 1960s/early 1970s. It was so powerful and wide-spread that even the secular media could not ignore it. The cover story of Time magazine on June 21, 1971 was “The Jesus Revolution.” That same year, NBC’s “First Tuesday” featured a half-hour documentary about the Children of God.

The Children of God was probably the strictest and the most hard-core and the most colorful of the sects to emerge from the Jesus Movement. Every disciple who joined the Children of God was required to literally forsake their job, their family, and their possessions. They lived communally in houses scattered across the U.S., and they all worked as full-time ministers, preaching the gospel and challenging Christians to forsake all and join the Children of God.

One man who responded to their call was rock star Jeremy Spencer, the vocalist and composer for Fleetwood Mac, a popular rock band at the time. The band was on tour, and one night Spencer disappeared. His band mates thought he had been kidnapped, but later found out he had forsaken all (including his band) to join the Children of God. The rock music world was stunned. Rolling Stone did a write up about it, “Jeremy Spencer and the Children of God.”

In addition to recruiting new disciples, the Children of God conducted silent vigils clothed in sackcloth to rebuke America for its sins. Unfortunately, the Children of God fell into their own sins, and the sect became “Ichabod.” The glory departed because sexual perversion became acceptable among the Children of God.

I recently read a book, The Jesus People: Old-Time Religion in the Age of Aquarius by Enroth, Ericson, and Peters, published by Eerdmans in 1972. I’ve also been viewing old videos on YouTube that document this revival. Reading the Jesus People book and seeing these old videos makes me realize that young people today (and by young, I mean people who were not around in the 1970s) have never really witnessed a powerful, nation-wide revival like this.

If you want to get a taste of what it was like, read the Jesus People book or google “Jesus People,” “Jesus Movement,” or “Jesus Freaks.” Or for the ultimate trip, google “Children of God, The Ultimate Trip.” Maybe it will inspire you to join me in seeking the Lord for another powerful, nation-wide revival in America.

| DB

Image: Daniel Botkin holding his copy of Time Magazine, 1971.