WHEN JESUS MET HIPPIES:
The Story and Legacy of the Jesus
People Movement in the UK
By Andrew Whitman
Malcolm Down. 337 pages. £13.99
ISBN 978 1 915 046 727
As I was a long-haired DJ on the ‘Travelling Salvation Show’ at uni, I loved this book. Every page awakened memories – whether of Larry Norman, The Sheep or my all-time favourites, the gentler Malcolm & Alwyn.
Andrew Whitman, himself a son of the ’60s and ’70s, has produced a meticulously researched history of the turbulent years from 1970–75. In doing so, he tells the stories of cross-carrying evangelist Arthur Blessitt, and the ministry of John Wimber and the birth of the Calvary Chapel and Vineyard movements Stateside, and of their impact on the church in the UK.
Particularly interesting are Andrew’s ten distinguishing marks of the movement. They include a hippy background and an obsession with the end times, popularised in Hal Lindsey’s best-seller, The Late Great Planet Earth. For the other characteristics, you’ll need to read the book.
In a work that’s big on description, perhaps its greatest importance is the last section where Andrew seeks to assess the long-term significance of the movement. Without doubt, it engaged and galvanised a generation of young people that a rather staid institutional Christianity could never have reached. And even the more conservative among us betray the influence of the movement through the songs we sing and the clothes we wear at church.
Whilst many of the leading figures were flawed like us, Andrew rejoices in the movement’s commitment to the salvation of lost people. In my estimation, the book reaches its high-water mark in a delightful gospel appeal in which he proclaims the heart of Father God to restore people created to enjoy His friendship and yet alienated because of our rebellion.
Personally, I was too much of a conformist to be a card-carrying member of the Jesus Movement, but Andrew’s romp through the years of my youth was pure joy. Was it really a work of God? One day, in the age to come, you may get to meet a long-haired rocker wearing sandals and brandishing a guitar. That should give you your answer. Maybe a more pressing question is this– do I share the movement’s longing that God should come in mighty power in our day?
