Jesus People USA
Encyclopedia
Jesus People USA is a Christian
intentional community
in Uptown
, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee in the Jesus Movement
, and is the largest of the few remaining communes from that movement. In 1989, JPUSA joined the Evangelical Covenant Church
as a member congregation, and currently has eight pastors credentialed with the ECC. The community organizes the annual Cornerstone Festival
.
and the Christian rock band the Resurrection Band
(a.k.a. Rez Band, Rez) are part of the JPUSA community. In recent years, Resurrection Band disbanded, but Glenn Kaiser continues touring and playing, http://www.glennkaiser.com both solo and with the blues-based GKB (Glenn Kaiser Band). JPUSA also has its own recording company, Grrr Records http://www.grrrrecords.com. JPUSA was once the home of singer/songwriter Daniel Smith.
JPUSA runs an extensive program for Chicago-area homeless women and children, Cornerstone Community Outreach http://www.ccolife.org. Some of the ministries involved with CCO are Sylvia Center (interim housing for families), Naomi's Place (an overnight women's drop-in shelter) and Brothas & Sistas United (an alternative youth program). A more complete list of CCO programs is here http://ccolife.org/programs.cfm?page=default.
Today Jesus People USA is "one of the largest single-site communes in the United States" and is certainly one of the few communes with such an eclectic cultural mix of hippies, punks, "crusties" and others from various subcultures.
, which was said to mention issues of abuse within JPUSA. Despite efforts of elders to convince Enroth to edit JPUSA out of the book, it was published in 1994 and included a full chapter of accounts of alleged abuse within the group. The release of the book set off a "firestorm of debate among religious scholars." JPUSA elders referred to the book as "poison in the well." Ruth Tucker, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
, defended the movement, saying Enroth was "sadly misdirected and his research methods seriously flawed." Paul R. Martin
, the director of Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
, one of the few residential treatment centers in the world for former members of "abusive groups," supported Enroth's findings, saying that his facility had seen a flood of requests for help from former members and that JPUSA "displays virtually every sign that I watch for in overly authoritarian and totalistic groups." Ronald Enroth himself responded to JPUSA in the book, in part, with:
According to a later newspaper article, as a result of the book's mention of JPUSA, "scores" of members decided to leave the group.
published a two-part article primarily critical of the movement, with quotes from several ex-members accusing the group of authoritarian practices. One of the JPUSA activities criticized in the article includes "adult spankings," employed after charismatic leader Jack Winters introduced it as a means to heal the "inner child." The practice, which lasted approximately four years in the mid 1970s, was abandoned by the group, with leaders citing it as reflective of how "spiritually immature" the group was at the time.
JPUSA issued a response to the two-part article, found on their website, which accuses the article of "anti-religious bias and cultural intolerance."http://www.jpusa.org/tribune_response.html
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
intentional community
Intentional community
An intentional community is a planned residential community designed to have a much higher degree of teamwork than other communities. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, or spiritual vision and often follow an alternative lifestyle. They...
in Uptown
Uptown, Chicago
Uptown is one of Chicago’s 77 community areas. Uptown has well defined boundaries. They are: Foster on the north; Lake Michigan on the east; Montrose , and Irving Park on the south; Ravenswood , and Clark on the west. Uptown borders three community areas and Lake Michigan...
, on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It was founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee in the Jesus Movement
Jesus movement
The Jesus movement was a movement in Christianity beginning on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and spreading primarily through North America and Europe, before dying out by the early 1980s. It was the major Christian element within the hippie counterculture,...
, and is the largest of the few remaining communes from that movement. In 1989, JPUSA joined the Evangelical Covenant Church
Evangelical Covenant Church
The Evangelical Covenant Church is an evangelical Christian denomination of more than 800 congregations and an average worship attendance of 179,000 people in the United States and Canada with ministries on five continents. Founded in 1885 by Swedish immigrants, the church is now one of the most...
as a member congregation, and currently has eight pastors credentialed with the ECC. The community organizes the annual Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
.
Background
Cornerstone magazineCornerstone (magazine)
Cornerstone was a newspaper and later a magazine published by Jesus People USA, focusing on topics of evangelical Christian faith and engagement with politics and culture....
and the Christian rock band the Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band
Resurrection Band, also known as Rez Band or REZ, was a Christian rock band formed in 1972. They were part of the Jesus People USA Christian community in Chicago and most of its members have continued in that community to this day. Known for their blend of blues-rock and hard rock, Resurrection...
(a.k.a. Rez Band, Rez) are part of the JPUSA community. In recent years, Resurrection Band disbanded, but Glenn Kaiser continues touring and playing, http://www.glennkaiser.com both solo and with the blues-based GKB (Glenn Kaiser Band). JPUSA also has its own recording company, Grrr Records http://www.grrrrecords.com. JPUSA was once the home of singer/songwriter Daniel Smith.
JPUSA runs an extensive program for Chicago-area homeless women and children, Cornerstone Community Outreach http://www.ccolife.org. Some of the ministries involved with CCO are Sylvia Center (interim housing for families), Naomi's Place (an overnight women's drop-in shelter) and Brothas & Sistas United (an alternative youth program). A more complete list of CCO programs is here http://ccolife.org/programs.cfm?page=default.
Today Jesus People USA is "one of the largest single-site communes in the United States" and is certainly one of the few communes with such an eclectic cultural mix of hippies, punks, "crusties" and others from various subcultures.
Enroth Controversy
In 1993 JPUSA elders learned that Dr. Ronald Enroth was researching a sequel to his book Churches That AbuseChurches That Abuse
Churches That Abuse, first published in 1991, is a best-selling counterculture apologetic book written by Ronald M. Enroth. The book presents real-life stories of pseudo-Christian churches and organizations deemed spiritually abusive and the effects these groups have had on their members...
, which was said to mention issues of abuse within JPUSA. Despite efforts of elders to convince Enroth to edit JPUSA out of the book, it was published in 1994 and included a full chapter of accounts of alleged abuse within the group. The release of the book set off a "firestorm of debate among religious scholars." JPUSA elders referred to the book as "poison in the well." Ruth Tucker, a professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School is an evangelical Christian seminary located in Deerfield, Illinois. TEDS is one of the largest seminaries in the world, enrolling more than 1,200 graduate students in professional and academic programs, including more than 150 in its PhD programs...
, defended the movement, saying Enroth was "sadly misdirected and his research methods seriously flawed." Paul R. Martin
Paul R. Martin
Paul R. Martin was a psychotherapist, licensed clinical psychologist, and director of the Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center in Ohio. He also worked in private practice in Athens, Ohio...
, the director of Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center
Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a residential counseling center specializing in the treatment of individuals who they evaluate as having suffered in abusive religious groups, cults, domestic violence, clergy and therapist abuse, and manipulative relationships involving mind-control,...
, one of the few residential treatment centers in the world for former members of "abusive groups," supported Enroth's findings, saying that his facility had seen a flood of requests for help from former members and that JPUSA "displays virtually every sign that I watch for in overly authoritarian and totalistic groups." Ronald Enroth himself responded to JPUSA in the book, in part, with:
"There has been much correspondence between leaders of the Covenant Church and JPUSA and me since I began to do the research for this book. They have questioned the integrity of my reports, the reliability of my respondents, and my sociological methodology, but I have conducted more than seventy hours of in-depth interviews and telephone conversations with more than forty former members of JPUSA. They have also largely discounted the reports of abusive conditions past and present in the JPUSA community. ... Unwilling to admit serious deficiencies and insensitivity in their pastoral style, the leaders of JPUSA have instead sought to discredit the former members who have cooperated with my research efforts."
According to a later newspaper article, as a result of the book's mention of JPUSA, "scores" of members decided to leave the group.
Chicago Tribune criticism
In 2001, the Chicago TribuneChicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
published a two-part article primarily critical of the movement, with quotes from several ex-members accusing the group of authoritarian practices. One of the JPUSA activities criticized in the article includes "adult spankings," employed after charismatic leader Jack Winters introduced it as a means to heal the "inner child." The practice, which lasted approximately four years in the mid 1970s, was abandoned by the group, with leaders citing it as reflective of how "spiritually immature" the group was at the time.
JPUSA issued a response to the two-part article, found on their website, which accuses the article of "anti-religious bias and cultural intolerance."http://www.jpusa.org/tribune_response.html
Looking at the Long-Term: JPUSA's Social Signficance
The group's long-term existence and historic roots in the sixties make it, according to Sociologist Shawn Young, one of the most contemporary significant groups from the Jesus movement era:Founded in 1972, this community is one of the most significant surviving expressions of the original Jesus Movement of the sixties and seventies and represents a radical expression of contemporary countercultural evangelicalism. JPUSA’s blend of Christian Socialism, theological orthodoxy, postmodern theory and ethos of edgy artistic expression (as demonstrated at their annual music festival) prove what some scholars have longed suspected: evangelicalism is a diverse, complex movement, which simply does not yield to any attempt at categorization.
Sources
- Young, Shawn David, M.A., Hippies, Jesus Freaks, and Music (Ann Arbor: Xanedu/Copley Original Works, 2005). ISBN 1-59399-201-7
External links
- Jesus People USA (official JPUSA Webpage),
- Religious Movements profile of JPUSA (hosted by the University of Virginia)
- Christianity Today's coverage of JPUSA and controversies
- The Apologetics Index's profile of JPUSA (critical, links to many Enroth saga documents)
- A journalist living at JPUSA discusses the Enroth saga
- Forum for former members of JPUSA; and An older forum
- My Year At JPUSA (An anthropology student's report)
- Christian Radicalism in Chicago’s Inner-City (Academic article on JPUSA)
- MA Thesis from 1990 on JPUSA