The Jesus People Movement: A Story of Spiritual Revolution among the Hippies

by Richard A. Bustraan

Publisher:

Pickwick Publications

, 2014

Overview

Who would have imagined that the hippies, those long-haired, psychedelia-influenced youth of the 1960s, would have initiated a spiritual revolution that has transformed American Christianity? If you are unfamiliar with the 1960s, the counterculture, the hippie movement, and the Jesus People, then this book will transport you to that era and introduce you to the generation and the decade that turned American culture upside down. If you have read other books on the Jesus People, this account will take you by surprise. A refreshingly different narrative that unveils a storyline and characters not commonly known to have been associated with the movement, this book argues that the Jesus People, though often trivialized and stigmatized as a group of lost and vulnerable youth who strayed from the Fundamentalism of their childhood, helped American Christianity negotiate a way forward in a post-1960s culture. It examines the narrative of the Holy Spirit and the phenomenon called Pentecostalism. Although utterly central, the Jesus People’s Pentecostalism has never been examined and their story has been omitted from the historiography of Pentecostalism. This account uniquely redresses this omission.

Praise for The Jesus People Movement

”This account of the Jesus People movement is truly remarkable. Based on meticulous and extensive research, Richard Bustraan’s book breaks new ground in pentecostal historiography. It challenges previously held assumptions about the development of Pentecostalism and fills in a central missing piece of the jigsaw, explaining the proliferation of charismatic churches in the contemporary world."
--Allan Heaton Anderson, University of Birmingham

“Richard Bustraan’s robust account of the Jesus People provides fresh and valuable insights into a vibrant mid-twentieth-century movement that arose among the counterculture generation--a movement that has long been neglected, often misunderstood, and commonly maligned. Rich in historical detail, sociological analysis, and theological reflection, this volume will enhance the reading of scholars and students alike from these and other disciplines."
--Stephen Hunt, University of the West of England

Product Details

• Title : The Jesus People Movement: A Story of Spiritual Revolution among the Hippies
• Author: Bustraan, Richard A.
• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Publication Date: 2014
• ISBN: 9781630873509

About the Author

Richard Bustraan is a pastor and charity director of Calvary Chapel Birmingham in England. He is an American who has lived abroad for the better part of the past twenty-four years, working in various countries as a Christian minister. For the past fifteen years he has made his home in England. He received his BS from Florida Atlantic University, his MDiv from Columbia International University, and his PhD from the University of Birmingham, England.