Berkeley Street Theatre chronicles Christian World Liberation Front's 1969-1975 ministry to the counterculture. Founded by Jack Sparks, CWLF was featured in the June 1971 Time Magazine's epic "Jesus Revolution" edition. Reverend Billy Graham sponsored the CWLF outreach and referred to CWLF as a highly effective outreach to the counterculture. The book included a foreword by David W. Gill, former CWLF leader, scholar, and author, contributing chapters from BST's members: Gene Burkett, Charlie Lehman, Susan Dockery Andrews, Father James Bernstein, and Jeanne DeFazio, editor of the book. Part Two of this work outlines Christian Guerilla theater following the timeline of BST with contributing chapters from: JMD Myers, Joanne Petronella, Jozy Pollock, Olga Soler, and Sheri Pedigo. William David Spencer's afterword details the cultural contributions of the Jesus movement. This book will appeal to the baby boom generation as well as millennials. It is a resource work for anyone interested in religious history, Christian theater and the arts, and in how baby boomers embraced the Jesus Movement. The photos of BST's Sproul Plaza performances will charm all readers.
Defazio, Jeanne C.: - Jeanne DeFazio is the author of Keeping the Dream Alive: A Reflection on the Art of Harriet Lorence Nesbit; coauthor of How to Have an Attitude of Gratitude on the Night Shift with Teresa Flowers and Letting Go; and editor of Berkeley Street Theatre: How Improvisation and Street Theater Emerged as a Christian Outreach to the Culture of the Time. She also edited Specialist Fourth Class John Joseph DeFazio: Advocating for Disabled American Veterans, The Commission, Finding a Better Way, Otto & The White Dove, and was the coeditor of Creative Ways to Build Christian Community, Redeeming the Screens, Empowering English Language Learners, and An Artistic Tribute to Harriet Tubman. She is a contributing author to Christian Egalitarian Leadership and to Jesus Among the Homeless.
Check out my book trailer for
Creative Ways to Build Christian Community here!
Gill, David W.: - David W. Gill is an Oakland, California, writer. He studied at UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, and the University of Southern California. He served forty years as professor of ethics at New College Berkeley, North Park University, St. Mary's College, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has authored ten books, including Workplace Discipleship 101: A Primer (2020) and this memoir. He is founding president of the International Jacques Ellul Society (www.ellul.org).
Spencer, William David: - William David Spencer (ThD, Boston University School of Theology) is Ranked Adjunct Professor of Theology and the Arts at the Boston Campus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is the author of Mysterium and Mystery: The Clerical Crime Novel, Dread Jesus, Name in the Papers: An Urban Adventure Novel, and coeditor of Chanting Down Babylon: The Rastafari Reader.
