The Jesus Revolution and Me

A spark from the Jesus Revolution drifted across the country in the early 70’s and ignited something in my heart. I had no idea it would take another 50 years to fan that flickering ember into a roaring flame.

I became a Christian at 13 in a decade when fringed vests, love beads, bell bottoms, and headbands were “far out”. The nightly news moaned and groaned over Woodstock, Vietnam, assassinations, the Kent State massacre, and hippies. Many believed that all the kids just a few years older than me had lost their minds. Some who went off to war or experimented with LSD and heroine did. 

Our young rebellious generation, along with the condition of the world, scared the life out of parents and church leaders My parents seemed happy that I enjoyed our youth group at church. My mom, much wiser than I gave her credit for, often began conversations with “I’m glad you don’t … And I’m so glad you do …” In her own way, she laid down absolute rules without them seeming like rules. 

The Jesus Revolution employed a similar replacement strategy. Instead of using drugs and sex, teens were encouraged to look to Jesus as the One Way to find true peace and love. Conservative churches threatened by the transformation of all those Jesus Freaks hunkered down to stand their religious ground. Thankfully, my church embraced a more accepting and less legalistic attitude than most other churches in our tribe. However, fear often forces leaders to act out of character.

Perhaps reluctantly, our youth group was given permission to attend a film born out of the Jesus Revolution ONLY IF we didn’t respond to any sort of invitation given at the end. Our church tribe’s beliefs about salvation were different from the ones promoting the film, but I have yet to understand their stipulation. The movie sparked something new inside me. I heard about Jesus in a different sort of way. One that made me want more. But, I was (and am) a rule follower, so I stayed in my seat.

For too many years afterward, I felt like a race horse at the gate ready to explode so I could freely run the race marked out for me. Religion held me back, but the Spirit kept urging me on until I finally found the freedom I’d longed for.

This past Saturday afternoon, as we watched the new movie Jesus Revolution, all these memories came flooding back. I was reminded of places and faces of the 70’s. I remembered what it felt like to know there was something more. Then I realized it had taken me 50 years to find it, but I did find it!

I often wonder what my life would have been like if I’d only found it sooner. If I’m not careful, regret will take a seat in my heart. So instead, I choose to believe in God’s providence and His perfect timing. He knew it would take me some time, and He’s good with that. 

Lord, let us never hold back a generation from finding a real relationship with You. May we never let our traditions and religious rules place a wall between us and those who simply need to know that Jesus is who He says He is, that He can do what He says He can do, and, most of all, that He can do it for them! Fill our hearts with a spirit of love for those who seem to enjoy the spirit of offense and criticism. Keep the spirit of revival alive in young and old hearts. Lord, forgive us when we don’t listen. Use us to spread Your peace and love. 

Isaiah 53 
(New Living Translation)

 “Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion,
crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole.
He was whipped so we could be healed.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the Lord laid on him
the sins of us all.
He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.”

IMG_8317

Donna Jackson

More Than We Seem

By Donna Jackson | March 28, 2023 |

Blog-inspiring analogies and metaphors manifest themselves in all sorts of ways – even in Winnie the Pooh movies. As my grandson and I sat snacking and watching Pooh’s Great Adventure: The Search for Christopher Robin, I witnessed an incredible comparison too good to ignore. As the movie opens, it is the last golden day of…

Things to Do, Places to Go

By Donna Jackson | March 21, 2023 |

We began 2023 talking about “Beginnings”. Then in February, we explored “Relationships”. You might not have realized that a fresh Wind blew in two weeks ago. March has been centered on the work of the Holy Spirit. Before we go any further, perhaps it would be a good idea for you to ask yourself, “How…

Choices Lead Feelings Follow

By Donna Jackson | March 14, 2023

What snapshots make it into your photo albums? Maybe yours are filled with weddings, births, parties, reunions, and gatherings of all kinds. There are smiling people and places we don’t want to forget, so we capture single, fleeting moments in time and file them away for safekeeping. By recalling the joyful moments, we vicariously recapture…

Reverse the Curse

By Donna Jackson | March 7, 2023

I walked off the stage Saturday, and I just knew. The curse had been supernaturally reversed!  Just five years earlier, Freedom for the Good Little Church Girl, the book that kept my computer hot for months,emerged from the womb of the printing press. Fragrant, black ink splashed crisp, clean pages with a scent of newness.…

The Jesus Revolution and Me

By Donna Jackson | February 28, 2023

A spark from the Jesus Revolution drifted across the country in the early 70’s and ignited something in my heart. I had no idea it would take another 50 years to fan that flickering ember into a roaring flame. I became a Christian at 13 in a decade when fringed vests, love beads, bell bottoms,…

It’s a Process!

By Donna Jackson | February 21, 2023

Learning of any kind is a process.  Before Ron and I married, he had taken enough guitar lessons to enable him to strum a few chords. But then, life happened. Kids. Work. Church. Like most families, we lived on the fast track. All the while, his guitar quietly sat in the closet – until recently!…

Remarkable Relationships

By Donna Jackson | February 14, 2023

Happy Valentines Day! Relationships take center stage this month on Perfection Road. Last week, messy relationships made an about-face. This week, I handed the pen to my 13-year-old grandson Jackson. His greatest gift is seeing what others often miss. I asked him to describe the impact his two adopted brothers make on his family, and…

Can Your Messy Relationship Make an About-face?

By Donna Jackson | February 7, 2023

Messy relationships happen. Sometimes, our romantic relationships slip and slide into the mud. Other times, our friends singe our patience and frustrate us to no end. Often, negative co-workers blow putrid smoke all over us. And, unfortunately, messy most often happens in our extended families. No matter the type of relationship, an old Eagles song…

A Beginning That Has No End

By Donna Jackson | January 31, 2023

In the late 70’s, I thought I could learn to play the guitar like Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, and Bonnie Raitt. However, unlike Joni, Emmylou, and Bonnie, at three-years-old I lost the end of my left index finger. I had an unfortunate mishap with our front door. Since all of the guitar chords are pressed…

Constantly Beginning Again

By Donna Jackson | January 25, 2023

Maybe you remember that 80’s TV show “The A-Team”. It depicted the antics of a wrongly-accused special forces squad who escaped military prison to become a team of do-good vigilantes. Every week, when victory was in sight, their fearless leader Hannibal would find the time to smile and declare, “I love it when a plan…