Contemporary Christianity, the music and methods came from an unlikely source. But God uses all to His Glory.

1. The 1960’s and 70’s
From Camelot Broken to Contemporary Christianity
The 1960’s and 70’s were a tumultuous time in our
nations history. The Vietnam Conflict, premature
death of our leaders and changes in society took
us down a rocky path, which changed the course of
our nation forever.

2. Strife in the 60’s
Communism took a strong
foothold close to home,
supported by our Cold War
enemy, the USSR. We were
somewhat successful in
driving back the advance of
the USSR, but victory was
not complete.

3. A Beautiful Fall Day in Dallas…

4. And then the Unthinkable…
How could this have
happened? Our nation is
coming apart at the seams.
Now we are killing our
leaders; one whom we
thought was going to bring
Camelot…..

5. And we mourned…
Our nation was in mourning. Mourning for our
President’s young family, and mourning for our now
lost innocence. It seemed as if our nation was broken.
Trust in the establishment that we had in the 1950’s
was lost. The me generation was forming, which
would change our nation forever.

6. And the Beat Goes On
The Beatnik’s of the 50’s brought the “beat generation,” rejecting social morays regarding
sex and drugs, and embraced eastern religions. The hippies enhanced and expanded what
the beatniks did, rejecting their parents world, but using their parents money. They
brought about their own marijuana and LSD laced “family” culture to the world in the
1960’s. It was all about being a part of the movement, rejecting authority; “don’t trust
anyone over 30” was a mantra. The Summer of Love took place in San Francisco in 1967,
and was the pinnacle of the hippie movement (The Hippie Counter Culture Movement).

7. The Summer of Love
Music played
a big part in
the Hippie
Movement,
and was a
unifying
factor to
those who
“turned on.”

8. Bands and Music
Anything that was mainstream
was bad. This was a time of doing
your own thing. The Beetles
embraced Eastern religions, and
the drug culture. Janis Joplin, Jimi
Hendrix and Jim Morrison all
were icons in the 60’s and 70’s.
Sadly they all died from drug
overdoses or causes related to a
drug overdose.

9. Woodstock the New Family Value
Family values
were being
remade,
even here at
Woodstock.
The Me
Generation
was having
it’s day.

10. 1969
It’s all about Me!
California Governor, Ronald Reagan signed
the nations first No-Fault Divorce law
(Wilcox 81). He later regretted it, but
Pandora’s Box was open, never to be closed
again. The increase in the divorce rate
would have devastating effects on America’s
families.
Divorce rates skyrocketed
in the late 1960’s and early
1970’s, as now there was
no reason needed to end a
marriage, only the desire to
move on, and be FREE!

11. More About Me….
Also in 1969, Dr. Bernard
Nathanson and Lawrence
Lader , along with Betty
Freidan helped found
NARAL, National
Association for the
Repeal of Abortion Laws,
opening the door to
unrestricted abortions
(History of Abortion).
1973 brought Roe v Wade, and
the decision to make abortion
legal in the US. Many of our
nations women celebrated
their now legal right to kill the
innocent unborn within their
own bodies.

12. Our Morals continue to decline…
June 28, 1969 brought a
police raid on the Stonewall
Inn, a popular gay hangout
(Introduction: Stonewall
Uprising). The nation still had
sodomy laws which made
homosexual activity a crime,
but that would change in
most states by the early
1980’s
“For this reason God gave them up to vile
passions. For even their women exchanged
the natural use for what is against nature.
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use
of the woman, burned in their lust for one
another, men with men committing what is
shameful, and receiving in themselves the
penalty of their error with was due.”
Rom. 1:26,27

13. Gay Pride in the 1970’s
In 1978 the city of San Francisco held
the first Gay Pride parade. The Gay and
Lesbian communities celebrated their
lifestyle choices for the first time. They
used God’s symbol of the covenant he
gave to Noah, the rainbow, as the
symbol of their cause. Darkness and sin
was being glorified and celebrated all in
the name of freedom and choice.

14. Vietnam, protests and pandemonium
Protests against the Vietnam War
were happening in every city in the
US. The distrust of our nations
government was felt all over the
country. The brokenness of our
nation was being acutely felt, as
signs call out our President as a
criminal.

15. More death and brokenness…
Robert Kennedy, brother of the
late President, John Kennedy, is
gunned down at a political rally
at the Ambassador Hotel in Los
Angeles, June 6, 1968
(Rosenberg). The brokenness of
the country was continuing.

16. Earlier the same year that Robert
Kennedy was killed , Martin Luther
King, Jr. was assassinated by James
Earl Ray, a prison escapee on April 4,
1968. A national day of mourning
was called for by then President
Lyndon Johnson. Our nation reeled
from what seemed like chaos run-a-muck!
Three of our nations promising leaders
were gone. Our country was involved in a
war, that really wasn’t a war, and it was
being broadcast into our living rooms
every night during the evening news.

17. We Killed Kids? What?
Kent State – The Ohio National Guard was called in
to put down an anti-war protest. The protests were
in direct response to the then President, Richard
Nixon’s decision to invade Cambodia. The mayor of
Kent declared a state of emergency and contacted
the governor requesting assistance. The guard was
present on campus for several days. A protest was
called for on Monday, May 4th, which was not
authorized by the University. The protest got out of
hand, as did the guard, and four students were shot
dead, and nine were wounded (Lewis, Hensley)

18. How We See God Working…
The Jesus Movement of the
1970’s was born out of the
Hippie movement that had
died off in the late 1960’s
and early 70’s. Hippies
turned to Jesus.
The Jesus People Movement was born in the in the
same place as the counterculture hippie movement,
the San Francisco Bay Area. The Jesus movement
reached its peak by 1972 and was supported by
Campus Crusade for Christ ( Turner).

19. God is Faithful!!
With all of the brokenness in our world during the
1960’s and 70’s, still God is faithful. He worked in places
where no one would have believed. The drug infested
culture of the hippies, turn into the Contemporary
Christian Jesus Movement. Larry Norman said, “why
should the devil have all the good music?” (Turner). And
the birth of contemporary Christian Folk and Rock music
was born. Music that appealed to the younger
generation. Music that would change the face of
American Christianity forever. But there was even more.

20. Method…not the Message Changes
Although the Jesus Movement waned in the mid 1970’s, and there were some that were
part of the movement that did not remain orthodox in their teaching, the message of the
gospel went forth. New translations and paraphrases of the bible, in modern easy to read
and understand English, helped new converts learn to read and study God’s word. Men
like Chuck Smith, who started Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California have spent years in
the ministry, winning lost souls to Christ. And the library of work from Contemporary
Christian Musicians, some who have gone home to be with the Lord, continues to impact
the Kingdom even today. No, God wasn’t missing in the 60’s and 70’s, we were just
looking in all the wrong places.

21. Works Cited
“Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. (4 April 1968).” Stanford University. N.p., n.d.Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
De Sabatino, David. “The Jesus Movement.” All Saved Freak Band. N.p., Nov. 1997. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
“History of Abortion | Students for Life.” Students for Life. N.p., 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
“Introduction . Stonewall Uprising . American Experience . WGBH | PBS.” American Experience - PBS. N.p.,
n.d.Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Lewis, Jerry M, and Thomas R Hensley. “The May 4 Shootings at Kent State University: The Search For
Historical Accuracy.” The Ohio Council for the Social Studies Review 34.Number 1 (1998): 9–21. Print.
Martins, Antonio. “History of the Gay Pride / Rainbow Flag.” FOTW Flags of the World. N.p., 9 Dec. 2013.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Assassination of Robert Kennedy.” About Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
“The Hippie Counter Culture Movement (1960′s).” Mortal Journey. N.p., n.d.Web. 6 Feb. 2014.
Turner, John G. “They Got High on Jesus Instead | Christianity Today.” Christianity Today. N.p., 11 July 2013.
Web. 1 Nov. 2014.
Wilcox, W. Bradford. “The Evolution of Divorce > Publications > National Affairs.” National Affairs (2009): 81–
94. Print.