In this exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the Jesus Revolution movie, you're about to discover something groovy! By taking the 1960s slang a bit further, it's far out. It's exactly what you'd expect for a spiritual, outta sight movement of God. It is my hope and prayer that what is revealed will lead you to an assurance of faith and conviction that God is, once again, truly up to something extraordinary that you won't want to miss. "For from Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen" (Romans 11:36).
In Greg Laurie's book, Jesus Revolution, upon which the movie was based, he states: "The hippies, flower children, and others who came to Jesus back in the '60s were desperate. They were willing to go to any lengths, or on any trip, to find what they were looking for. They'd throw off their clothes or their conventions, longing to break free of sin and shame. And when they heard the gospel—the good news about Jesus Christ, and that He was real and alive and loved the whole world—it blew their minds, to put it in the '60s vernacular. Their desperate search was satisfied. So that's the central question for all of us today... Are we really desperate to know God, to embrace the fresh, mysterious, powerful wind of His Holy Spirit?" With an eye towards arriving at a decisive answer to that question without reservation, I'd like for you to watch this short movie clip from Jesus Revolution and learn about the surprising behind-the-scenes story that goes with it. What you discover may make all the difference.
If you haven't yet seen the movie or don't remember the context of the scene, what you just saw was 17-year-old Greg Laurie (Joel Courtney) handing in his school transfer form to me, while I played the part of Principal Grossman of Newport Beach's Harbor High School. Except for the well-crafted humor as an entertaining introduction to a love story, the length of the scene itself makes it otherwise appear insignificant. To help put this minuscule fraction of the two-hour movie into perspective, I've broken it down to the blink of an eye.
With the average person blinking approximately 12 times per minute, the main scene, at approximately 17 seconds, is no longer than three or four blinks. Jesus once said, "...if you have faith as a mustard seed...nothing shall be impossible to you" (Matthew 17:20). This scene is, without a doubt, mustard seed size. But with faith, it has enormous potential!
The circumstances that led to my playing the role of the principal are, at the least, providential. Though, it's actually God's divine intention and prophetic purpose behind the scene, along with His assuring my participation, that is truly miraculous! How this came about and what it all means begins unexpectedly with a radio contest.
In this redacted email, you can see that my daughter, Samantha (Sami), was a K-LOVE AiR1 winner of two tickets to attend the exclusive Burn the Ships album release listening party with for KING & COUNTRY (fK&C). She was absolutely thrilled beyond description, besides tears of joy, to be able to attend in person and have the opportunity to meet both Joel and Luke Smallbone, including some of the band! Only nine months earlier, she created an Instagram fan account, @tallyforkingandcountryfan, that the band started following. Then, on September 25, 2018, at Nashville's Cannery Row, she had an experience to cherish for a lifetime, and I was blessed to share the moment with her! In the picture below with Joel and Luke, Samantha is wearing a Burn the Ships anchor t-shirt that she made for the occasion.
The Cannery Row venue was intimate in size, as you can see from the next two pictures. The stage, with two chairs in the background, is where Joel and Luke introduced each song from the new album. Samantha and I were sitting in the front row to the right side of the stage when I took the picture of Joel explaining the creative process behind one of his songs.
These last two pictures from the evening include Samantha with Joel's wife, Moriah, and Mitchell Schleper, who was, at the time, the band's photographer and content creator. Samantha and I would eventually discover that meeting Mitchell provided a direct connection to someone else we would someday meet. It would be that individual, who you'll learn about later, that was instrumental to the success of a future event, ensuring it would occur just as God had intended.
Lastly, there is Lee Caroline, who is not pictured. She and Samantha first became acquainted after Samantha made an Instagram post about winning the radio contest. Lee left a comment that she also won and was looking forward to meeting her in Nashville. When they met, Lee was accompanied by her younger sister, Allison, and their mother, Suzanne. The two older girls, who are close in age, soon became fast friends with their shared interest as fans of fK&C. Their friendship would provide an important link to a providential chain of events.
We later arranged to join the three of them for a March 17, 2019, fK&C concert at the historic Tivoli Theater in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. This time, Sharon was with us. We all had a fantastic time, and Samantha was thrilled to meet Joel & Luke's dad, David, along with the band's tour manager, Chico. While in Chattanooga, we also made sure to visit the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge, where fK&C filmed their God Only Knows music video starring Masey McLain.
It was several weeks or so after the Chattanooga concert that I was online and came across a studio request seeking movie extras to film a large concert scene. The movie, I Still Believe, was to be based on the true-life story of Christian music artist Jeremy Camp and would be shooting in Mobile, Alabama. Even though I loved his music, I didn't consider signing up to be an extra as it would entail the additional cost of travel, lodging, and time. But after mentioning it to Samantha, she discovered from Lee that they were all planning to go. That settled it! On June 21, 2019, the three of us were there too. This next set of pictures captures part of the story from filming to theatrical release, and finally meeting Jeremy Camp, himself!
Two of the pictures, though, need further explanation. The first one is of Samantha standing next to the tall, curly-headed guy. That's Joel and Luke's brother, Ben Smallbone, who just happened to be a director on the film. Running into him on set, out of the blue, had me thinking that meeting him there was more than a coincidence. While in Nashville at the listening party, I had no idea who he was as Samantha and I rode the elevator with him and his family. By the time I ran into him at the filming, I knew who he was and was surprised to learn that he remembered me. The girls were excited to see him, and Ben was very generous with his time as he gave Samantha and her friends some advice on getting into films and acting.
The other photo with the orange and white Jeremy Camp background was taken much later at a concert meet-and-greet in Dothan, Alabama on April 30, 2022. It shows a surprised Jeremy as he first meets Samantha, who was wearing her I Still Believe Production Crew T-Shirt. It was great to finally meet him in person after having been movie extras in his film. That night's concert was also especially memorable since it was his I Still Believe Tour that featured songs from the movie and his early career.
In this photo from the I Still Believe movie, I've circled where we were standing during our concert scene as KJ Apa performed on stage as Jeremy Camp. I'm the fuzzy bald guy in the middle, with Samantha on my left and Sharon on my right. It was a fun experience that had us wanting to do it again if we had the chance.
The back cover of the movie's DVD case accurately describes the film as follows: "From the creators of I Can Only Imagine comes the uplifting true-life story of Christian music megastar Jeremy Camp. This inspiring tale follows Jeremy's search for his artistic voice, leading him to his wildest professional dreams, as well as the love of his life. But Jeremy's hope and faith are put to the test when tragedy strikes. I Still Believe is an incredible story of musical stardom, the heights of love, the depths of loss, and the healing power of the human spirit."
The movie was directed by brothers Jon and Andrew Erwin and produced by their Kingdom Story Company. Having been an extra in their film, I was included on their email list to receive this next invitation.
On March 16, 2022, I received the following email: "Kingdom Story Company and Lionsgate invite you to participate as the audience in the final scene of Jesus Revolution, Friday, April 1st, from 12 PM—until late in Daphne, AL."
The Friday filming turned out to be perfect timing for Samantha's college Monday-Thursday class schedule, so the two of us decided to sign up for another stint as extras. In the meantime, we had to follow wardrobe instructions and prepare ourselves for a retro '70s look. Mine was an easy pick as a "square" with a jacket and tie. A 21-year-old Samantha fit right into the hippie scene with her bell-bottom jeans and striped turtleneck.
When we arrived on set, before filming began, Greg Laurie addressed the extras in the Calvary Chapel tent with a brief history lesson that put the movie's time period into context. In this next set of pictures, you can see Greg speaking about the spiritual revival that began between the release of these two Time magazine covers.
It was April 8, 1966, when Time magazine published its controversial cover asking the question, "Is God Dead?" The Los Angeles Times in 2008 included it as one of "12 magazine covers that shook the world." After the cover ran, something amazing happened when God stepped into the story, and five years later, in 1971, Time had "The Jesus Revolution" on its cover and described a spiritual awakening: "Jesus is alive and well and living in the radiant spiritual fervor of a growing number of young Americans...If any (single) mark clearly identifies them, it is their total belief in an awesome, supernatural Jesus Christ, not just a marvelous man who lived 2,000 years ago, but a living God."
It is the story of this extraordinary revival that began in the years between the two magazine covers that Greg said would be told in the Jesus Revolution movie. The story is seen through his life as a teenager as he directly participated in events, confirming that God was not dead! For Greg's full story, I recommend reading his book, Jesus Revolution - How God Transformed an Unlikely Generation and How He Can Do It Again Today.
With the beginning of America's last great spiritual revival being portrayed in the movie, we learn a valuable lesson from its history. It goes to show that God can suddenly show up at a time and place, among a group of young people, that is unusual and unexpected. What He did surprised the nation, transforming the hearts and lives of a bunch of 1960s hippies who, instead of seeking fulfillment in all the wrong places, were suddenly getting high on Jesus and full of joy through the Holy Spirit. What they experienced was contagious!
The Calvary Chapel tent, as you can see, was almost filled to capacity as filming began. Samantha and I were seated about three-quarters of the way back from the left side of the stage. Standing in the distance, on stage, is actor Kelsey Grammer, best known for his role as psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane on the NBC hit sitcom Cheers (1984-1993) and its successful spin-off Frasier (1993-2004). Kelsey was now playing the role of Pastor Chuck Smith, who was instrumental in allowing hippies into his traditionally conservative church. That fateful decision led to phenomenal growth in attendance, necessitating temporarily moving into a large tent to accommodate the newcomers. During the long afternoon hours of filming, Samantha and I were seated at that same location. To us, it was beginning to look as if we would, once again, be part of a crowd of blurry faces in the movie.
Samantha, though, at one point, did get her hopes up for making it on screen, as she was part of a large group selected to exit the tent and be filmed walking back in. With cameras rolling near her, it was a good possibility that she'd appear in the scene. When we finally saw the movie, we couldn't spot her, nor could we see ourselves in the tent. If it wasn't for what happened next, we would have simply blended into the background. But God had something else in mind that was far more important than the momentary thrill of seeing ourselves on the big screen.
Earlier in the day, Samantha had spotted someone working on set that she thought she recognized from social media, but wasn't quite sure if it was her. If it was, it would make for an unexpected surprise connection. During a long break, we introduced ourselves to the movie's background costumer and confirmed that she was, in fact, Meleah Honeycutt. Samantha and I had met her husband, Mitchell, three and a half years earlier at the Nashville fK&C listening party long before the two had married. After I explained to Meleah how we knew Mitchell, she later asked where we were sitting and kindly offered to find us better seats for a later scene. I've put the two individual photos of husband and wife, side by side, each standing beside Samantha. This was the connection I mentioned earlier that was instrumental to the success of what would happen next, ensuring it would occur for a greater purpose just as God had intended. We were about to be moved—front and center!
With filming continuing past sunset, this next photo of the illuminated tent was taken at 7:50 p.m. during dinner. By the time the subsequent picture was taken at 12:13 a.m., the majority of extras had left for the day. The die-hard few that remained, including us, had agreed to stay for the extended nighttime shooting. You can see that we are now seated at center stage, seven rows back from the front.
Then, Meleah, true to her word, walked by and motioned for the two of us to follow her. One minute we're seven rows back, and the next I'm sitting on the front row with Samantha on the grass at my feet. Standing in the background, wearing a light tan leather jacket, is Kelsey Grammer as he waits to film his scene.
With us being placed where the action was, Samantha was excited to make it into a scene with Kelsey. It turned out that the camera's tracking shot that included Samantha was also used in several of the movie trailers. It was fun to see her in the different versions. What you won't see is me—I'm missing in action, after having been summoned to the principal's office.
For me to land in the principal's office was, thankfully, not the result of bad behavior. It was actually due to me being in the right place at the right time. A crew member entered the front left side of the tent, scanned the extras for what he was looking for, and headed in my direction. He quickly asked me if I'd be willing to participate in another scene as the principal. I agreed, not quite sure at the time what he was referring to. Saying goodbye to Samantha, I followed him out of the tent.
While heading up the hill to a building where the scene was to be shot, he told me I would be playing the role of a high school principal. All I'd have to do is sit in the principal's office and look the part. This had me thinking I'd be more like a movie prop, which made it sound easy. I assumed my coat and tie had closed the deal for what a principal should look like. When we arrived at the location, I took this next photo.
The actor I'd be doing the scene with was still finishing up in costume and makeup. I had no idea, at the time, who it was. In the meantime, I was led to another movie set being dismantled by a couple of workers and sat on a church pew to wait. The doors to the room were open to the outside, and even with my coat on, it was a bit chilly. It was cool enough that I started to slightly shiver and decided to grab a chair and move into the hallway leading to the principal's office.
Even though I had warmed up, the shivering intensified. What was going on? I wasn't that cold! And from what I'd been told, I wasn't nervous about doing the scene either. To pass the time, I pulled out my phone to read my One Year Bible. I was now trembling to the point that I had to firmly press the phone to my leg with both hands to steady it. This was really getting weird. So, I decided to pray and asked God if this was a warning for me not to do the scene for some reason. I had no indication from Him that I shouldn't. When I finished that day's scripture, I still had more time to wait, which included having my picture taken. Finally, another crew member came out and hit me with the news that I had a speaking part and handed me this script. Maybe this was the time to panic and be nervous?
I looked over the script and was okay with having the one line. It wouldn't require any real acting on my part or memorizing several lines of dialogue on short notice. And I'd been told the camera would be shooting over my left shoulder from behind, so I'd barely be seen. While I continued to wait, I realized my trembling had a spiritual cause and effect, but I had no idea why. Why was God trying to get my attention at this specific time and place? That revelation wouldn't come until much later. I'm just glad no one noticed and prayed that it would stop. When I was called in to do my scene, that's exactly what happened.
Taking a seat behind my desk as principal of Harbor High School, everything was rock-steady, calm, and normal. That was a big relief! But then again, having a Hollywood actor sitting across the desk from me was, to put it mildly, not normal. At least not for me. It was probably a good thing, but a little awkward, that I didn't know who Joel Courtney was at the time. I didn't discover until later that I'd seen him as a child actor in the J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielburg movie, Super 8. After we introduced ourselves, he asked me if I'd ever done this before, and I mentioned my earlier experience as an extra in the I Still Believe movie. We talked about the great job KJ Apa did singing and playing the part of Jeremy Camp, and after some additional small talk, got down to business.
We ended up with a good number of takes before finally wrapping up at around two in the morning. Having my one line on camera may have technically promoted me from featured extra to co-star status, but I sure didn't feel any different. In fact, I was relieved to be done and more than ready to put the whole experience behind me. What happened earlier in the hallway, in hippie terms, was far out and heavy. It alone was enough to call it a night. Now it was way past midnight, and it seemed like I was flying on autopilot when I gave Joel a quick handshake, turned to leave, and thanked the other guys as I walked out the door.
When I caught up with Samantha, she too had finished her scene. All that was left was to catch the shuttle bus to our car. While exiting the tent, though, we ran into Meleah as she was collecting costumes from the day's filming. We excitedly filled her in on everything that had happened and expressed our genuine gratitude for making it possible. Little did I know at the time, but God had been working behind the scenes all along in what could easily be described as a spiritual tour de force. The definition of that term is " an impressive performance or achievement that has been accomplished or managed with great skill." This was all leading to something monumental, to something only He can do!
Jesus Revolution - Behind the Scenes continues in Part II at:
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