Jesus People USA
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jesus People USA (JPUSA) pronounced: ǰ-pu-sa is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
intentional community An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...
in Uptown, on the North Side of
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
. Founded in 1972, coming out of Jesus People Milwaukee during the
Jesus movement The Jesus movement was an Evangelicalism, evangelical Christian movement which began on the West Coast of the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s and primarily spread throughout North America, Europe, and Central America, before it su ...
, it is one of the largest continuing communities (100–450 members). In 1989, JPUSA joined the
Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people ...
as a member congregation, and currently has eight pastors credentialed with the ECC. The community organized the annual
Cornerstone Festival Cornerstone Festival was a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around July 4 near Bushnell, Illinois, drawing some 20,000 attendees each year. In a given year, many artists that played at Cornerstone also playe ...
from 1984 until 2012.


Background

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
hippie A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the 1960s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to different countries around ...
s,
punks Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture ...
, "
crusties New Age travellers, not completely synonymous with but otherwise shortened to New Travellers (often referred to as "crusties"), are people in the United Kingdom generally espousing New Age beliefs along with the hippie culture of the 1960s (ove ...
" and other members from various subcultures. ''
Cornerstone The cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure. Over time ...
'' magazine and the Christian rock band the
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 t ...
are part of the JPUSA community. In recent years, Resurrection Band disbanded, but Glenn Kaiser continues touring and playing, both solo and with the blues-based GKB (Glenn Kaiser Band). JPUSA also has its own recording company, Grrr Records. JPUSA was once the home of film producer/art promoter Anthony Cox (who was formerly the husband of
Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...
) and their daughter Kyoko, singer/songwriter Daniel Smith as well as bass player/vocalist
Christian Wargo Christian Wargo (born September 22, 1976) is an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known as a member of Fleet Foxes, Poor Moon and Crystal Skulls. He is a former member of Danielson and Pedro the Lion. History Wargo's first band, S ...
.


Controversy


Enroth controversy

In 1993 JPUSA elders learned that Dr. Ronald Enroth was researching a sequel to his book '' Churches That Abuse'', 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 (TEDS) is an academic divinity school founded in 1897 and located in the northern Chicago suburb of Deerfield, Illinois. It is part of and located on the main campus of Trinity International University. It’s ...
, 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 Wellspring Retreat and Resource Center is a Christian countercult movement-affiliated residential counseling center claiming to specialize in the treatment of individuals who they evaluate as "having been abused in relationships, cults, situation ...
, 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 Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
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 Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' published a two-part article primarily critical of the movement, with quotes from several ex-members accusing the group of
authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic votin ...
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."


Accusations of sexual abuse

A lawsuit was filed in January 2014 against JPUSA and its parent denomination, the
Evangelical Covenant Church The Evangelical Covenant Church (ECC) is a Radical Pietistic denomination with Lutheran roots in the evangelical Christian tradition. The denomination has 129,015 members in 878 congregations and an average worship attendance of 219,000 people ...
claiming that children were sexually abused by members of JPUSA and its leadership covered it up for years. ''No Place to Call Home'' is a documentary that shares the stories of former children of JPUSA members who allegedly were sexually abused. As of March 3, 2015, the case was dismissed for want of prosecution.


Legacy

JPUSA's social significance stems more from the group's continued presence in Chicago and its historic roots in the 1960s, 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.


References


External links


Jesus People USA


(hosted by the University of Virginia)

* ttp://www.apologeticsindex.org/j18.html The Apologetics Index's profile of JPUSA(critical, links to many Enroth saga documents)
A journalist living at JPUSA discusses the Enroth saga


(An anthropology student's report)

(Academic article on JPUSA)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jesus People USA 1972 establishments in Illinois Christian communities Christian denominations established in the 20th century Christian rock Christianity in Chicago Intentional communities in the United States Jesus movement Religious organizations based in Chicago Christian organizations established in 1972