Pastor Chuck Smith began the Calvary Chapel movement in the ’60s & ’70s. He was the pioneer of contemporary churches by wearing Hawaiian shirts and encouraging Christian rock music. The movement he began is now called the Jesus movement and it changed the American Church. I heard a story he told that is worth retelling.

The church he pastored was in the city of Costa Mesa, California. The revival was among the hippie beachcombers of southern California. When the hippies came into the church it generated a powerful revival. The young people, who had lost all respect for the establishment, found something real in Jesus Christ and shared the good news with other wasted hippies. It spread like wildfire.

Soon the Deacons demanded to meet with Pastor Chuck Smith. “We’ve got to do something about all these hippies coming into the church,” they insisted. “They track sand into the church and we’ve already burned up seven vacuum cleaners.” Pastor Chuck Smith thought a minute and then replied, “Take out the carpet.”

He was determined to let nothing stand in the way of young people getting their lives right with God. Perhaps this would be a good reminder for all of us in this generation. Would we sacrifice some of our comfort if it meant bringing others into the kingdom?