Over at the Religion in American History blog, Randall Stephens interviews Larry Eskridge on his new book, God's Forever Family: The Jesus People Movement in America. Larry explains his personal interest in the Jesus People, evangelicalism's interaction with popular culture, and the importance of his study. Eskridge comments, "I think it’s fair to say that if the Jesus People hadn’t come along when they did the evangelical church would have been nowhere near as formidable a force throughout American culture come the 1980s and beyond."
While reading the book, I found the connection of the Jesus People with Calvary Chapel and Vineyard churches fascinating. In one of my past courses at UTC, I showed a documentary on Lonnie Frisbee, who was instrumental in the Jesus Movement and the success of Calvary Chapel and Vineyard churches, but whose connection was suppressed later because of his sexuality and death from AIDS in 1993.
For anyone interested in religion and 1960s and 1970s hippie culture, I highly recommend Eskridge's book and the documentary, Frisbee.
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