According to Southern California pastor Greg Laurie, America in the 1960s and 1970s was the perfect setting for the greatest spiritual awakening of the twentieth century.
The nation back then was full of young men and women who had rejected the conformist religion of their parents’ generation. They were iconoclasts who didn’t follow the rules and didn’t fit in.
They were people that most would consider unlikely to become fervent followers of Christ.
But, as Laurie notes, God has always been passionate about turning such people in such a way. Recalling those whom God has called in the past – prostitutes and pagans, tax collectors and tricksters, the pompous and the pious – Laurie notes that the more unlikely the people, the more it seems to please God to demonstrate His power, might, and mercy through them.
In his book Jesus Revolution, published last September, Laurie, together with co-author Ellen Vaughn, tells the remarkable true story of “the Jesus Movement” – an extraordinary time of mass revival, renewal, and reconciliation.
And just a few weeks ago, at his church in Southern California, Laurie wrapped up a series on the Jesus Revolution, again looking back at what God did in the last great spiritual awakening in America.
But, as Laurie has especially noted throughout the past year, the “Jesus Movement” is more than something having to do with the past. It’s something that still carries over to today.
“This is not about what happened 40 years ago or 45 years ago,” Laurie said during the sixth and final part of the Jesus Revolution series at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside. “This is about something that God wants us to do no matter what generation we’re in. And that includes this generation.”
Even before his latest book was published, Laurie had noted that America is due for another Jesus Revolution, noting that there are a lot of parallels between the time of the Jesus Movement and today – a time of spiritual apathy and outright hostility, and a time of division within the nation.
“Things were very dark,” he wrote in his blog last July. “But when things are very dark, God’s light can shine brightly.”
Later this month, Laurie will speak during the Opening Session of Proclaim 19, the NRB International Christian Media Convention in Anaheim, California, where he is expected to focus on revival and draw on themes from his book.
To hear from Laurie and more than 80 other speakers, register for the March 26-29 Convention at nrbconvention.org. To save $100 on a full registration, register by March 24.
