User reviews

Consider the source. If you are looking for a documentary that looks with thoughtful introspection at the "Jesus" music movement - this is not the one. An early indicator would be the mention of Lonnie Frisbee as the original thought leader and flash point for the inclusion of contemporary music into christian services. The film never speaks about how he was ostracized for being gay .. and yet, it does examine (all be it briefly) the challenges the industry had with racism. But.. if you, like myself, "grew up" with this music it is a nice trip down memory lane and will spark many "whatever happened to" thoughts. Minor license is taken with chronology. Keith Green's impact and death are given cursory note and out of the correct chronological sequence. This is a show that "preaches to the choir" and having been someone who was at one time very much in the choir.. I enjoyed it.

The executive producers of this documentary are Amy Grant and Michael W Smith. Much of this documentary is about...Amy Grant and Michael W Smith. There's a lot of good here, but as other reviewers have noted there are a lot of important artists that were left out. In this day and age material like this would have better been served to be a six-part documentary. One episode for each decade? Or each episode centering on thematic issues like the content of the lyrics, the quality of music, how CCM has changed music styles in the local church, etc? Still, it was worth a trip down memory lane.

This movie captured the soundtrack of my childhood into my 20's and beyond. It was very well done and really brought back a lot of memories. I am happy they tackled some of the more difficult topics and I hope people learn and stop repeating the past.

I had to drive 70 miles round-trip to see this and it was very much worth it. I laughed a lot, teared up several times, and got to relive my youth and the music that came to define it. It was essentially the soundtrack of my life. I definitely appreciated this documentary and all who gave their time to be involved in it.

The Jesus Music is what I call a moving movie about Christian music. I love Christian music and seeing a movie about how it became was really really good. I loved every second of this film.

I like how the documentary talks about the very beginnings of Christian music. There are so many missed artists that they could have highlighted. They spent too much time on Stryper, DC talk, and others. I would have cut those parts down and added people such as Randy Stonehill, the Imperials, and many, many others that blazed the trail the foundation of Christian music.

Jesus Music is an insightful nostalgic trip through the Christian time space continuum. If you were born in the 60's or 70's and grew up listening to Christian music, this is a must watch. If you didn't follow Christian music and the "Church" through the decades you won't understand the valleys these artist traveled through to reach the mountain top.

If you can't identify with the adversity these artist and their followers faced, maybe you can see how the church learned forgiveness, love and repentance, and that God sent His Son Jesus for such a time as this.

Billy Graham got it right. If you can't watch this film and see that God is about to do this all over again in this nation and in a new way, ask God to open your eyes and prepare your heart to love.

I am deeply blessed by this film and these artist. #real.

So many bands, so many artists advertised, and almost zero payoff. This was just one huge commercial for modern worship stuff. It was cool nostalgia but that's about it.

Great production value.

This was so aesthetically pleasing that little else would matter.. but being a christian project it makes it tenfold more pleasing.

No Rez Band? No Barnabas? No Daniel Amos? This isn't really much of a documentary. It's just another commercial for the socially acceptable music played in mega churches.

Goes behind the scenes of the people's lives what they had to face from the world and how the church struggled with this music. The only reason I give it a 9 is so many stories weren't told like Phil keaggy, Larry Normans story was short, but overall a wonderful documentary.

This documentary was gritty, honest, and uplifting. I went from laughter to being challenged to tears as I remembered the great music from these early years. I was disappointed though, that Jonathan David Brown wasn't mentioned as he was the producer, audio engineer on so many of those albums.

Amy Grant said it best about Christian artists, "God is good, and you're just one of his messy followers telling everyone how good he is." Her words are profound and sums up the message of The Jesus Music. This documentary is excellent and a must see! It takes us back to the beginning of Christian Rock with bands like Stryper, Petra, and how their music was shunned by the church and called Devil music; The Jesus Movement introducing drums and electric guitar into worship..., and the growth of artists like Amy Grant and Sandi Patty, Toby Mac with their real-life struggles, and how the music industry turned their backs on them. I was deeply moved when Michael W Smith was inspired to bring worship back to Christian contemporary music and brought us the incredible Worship album. This documentary was great on many levels and brought me to tears several times. The interviews were inspiring and honest, and I was reminded how powerful music is to God and the kingdom of heaven. Watch this and your heart will be stirred.