A Root out of Dry Ground

Page 2 — California and the Jesus Movement

Jesus Freaks

In California the Jesus Movement of the early 70's was in full swing. There was an excitement there which Gene had never seen in all of his religious childhood. It was easy to get involved — praising the Lord, witnessing on the streets, and passing out Jesus tracts along with many others. He volunteered to work in a rescue mission, met many Christian celebrities, and developed a special burden for alienated youth. But soon he realized that most people in the movement did not have a deep conviction in their heart, but were just caught up in a fad. Despite the popular movement's outward zeal, which Gene so admired, he could see that their fire was only a fading ember. Already the seemingly radical changes in people's lives were beginning to vanish, and everything was starting to return to the status quo of rote religion.

In the midst of these circumstances, during a stroll on the California beach, Gene came face to face with the scriptural truth of John 15:5: "I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing." If his life was to mean anything, if he was going to actually do what he had been created for, it could only come about through obeying and depending on his Savior — and teaching others to do the same.

Eventually Gene left California and headed east. He had heard that the Rocky Mountains were full of people who had dropped out of traditional lifestyles and were trying to find peace. Perhaps there he would find people who wanted to hear the good news of the salvation which he had found in Jesus, the Savior of the world.

A Radical Atheist

In a small, unspoiled mountain village lived a young woman named Marsha. Unlike Gene, she had been raised knowing nothing about the Bible and could count on one hand the times she had even been in a church building. Her college philosophy courses, combined with the religious hypocrisy she had seen all her life, had convinced her there was no God at all. She didn't think that Christians really believed what they said about having a "personal relationship with God" anyway, because she found their lives full of the same ambitions, pleasures, empty expressions, and mundane daily routines as her own. If there really were a God and someone knew Him, that person would be different!

The emptiness of college and the shallow relationships there had caused her to drop out and move to that small village, looking for love and peace and a life that was closer to nature. There she had found others who seemed to want the same thing — to be real and really live. But before long her friends traded in their ideals for a subtle conformity. Passion for justice and love seemed to be going out of style.

When Gene showed up in the village, she admired his passion but was offended at his Bible. Yet when he read to her about the love of this man called Jesus and the high standard of justice His words called for, she was intrigued. If people did what this man said, it would result in a society that was everything Marsha had always dreamed of. She barraged Gene with challenging questions. Why had she never seen these words lived out? Why did Christians do little more than dress up in fancy clothes and meet in elaborate buildings, even in countries racked with poverty? For these questions Gene had no answers. All he knew was that the Son of God had saved him, and would do the same for anyone who sincerely called out to Him. It wasn't the Savior's fault that people weren't obeying His words.

Marsha couldn't ignore the truth of what she was hearing. Amazingly, this confirmed atheist put her trust in the Son of God, for she had become convinced that He was mankind's only hope. Soon afterwards, she and Gene were married — joined in a covenant that has withstood the test of time for over three decades.

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