Talking About Jesus Revolution with Carol Gautschi: A first-person account of what it was like to be there
Photo by godtv.com
“When God walks in here and brings me a hippie, I will ask Him what it’s all about. Cause I do not understand,” Chuck Smith.
The movie Jesus Revolution follows a time when hippies came to know Jesus even though they were the least expected group of people to do so. Through the eyes of Greg Laurie, one is given a clear picture of the transformation from being a guy looking for truth through drugs and rock music to experiencing the presence of God.
A woman who I know now as a fiercely praying midwife became a Christian in Southern California and attended services with Chuck Smith and Lonnie Frisbee. Carol Gautschi posted a picture on her Instagram @_midwyf_ of herself at nineteen years old waiting to be baptized by Lonnie Frisbee. She ended up going to Papa Chuck instead. This photo was shown in TIME Magazine in 1971.
I interviewed Carol Gautschi to hear more about this time in history and her personal testimony.
Khudija: You mentioned on Instagram that you were waiting in the water to be baptized by Lonnie Frisbee and ended up being baptized by Pastor Chuck Smith at 19 years old. What was your life like before this moment?
Carol: The people that I hung out with were surfer-types. I was a hippie who was fascinated with the occult. Lots of people were into Satan. I also had a boyfriend who wasn’t a good match. We did drugs. I was basically living a life that looked like the one people see in the movie Jesus Revolution.
Khudija: How did you become a Christian?
Carol: I worked at a surf shop/clothing store under the Huntington Beach pier, in Huntington Beach. On my breaks, I would sit on the beach. A woman came up to me and told me I should get to know Jesus. I looked at her and said, “You are really beautiful.” In my mind, I thought, “What are you thinking?” I wasn’t willing to hear about Jesus.
My brother became a Believer first. He told me he wanted me to meet Jesus. I said, “Here, go smoke a joint. It’ll make you feel better!” He didn’t give up.
My brother was dating a girl at the time who was best friends with an artist, singer, and songwriter. Her name was Barbara. Barbara’s main art mediums were watercolor and pen and ink. She had pictures she rendered of African animals highlighted with super-cool rattan furniture. I was an artist myself and was super impressed with her work. She also embroidered Levi’s and shirts to sell. She made clothes for famous Haight Ashbury people, in San Fransisco. Everything she did drew me in.
I got saved while Barbara played her guitar and sang her testimony. At the end of her song, I broke into tears. Her mom walked in. She had groceries in both arms. I watched her place them on the counter. She looked at me and said, “Isn’t HE good?” Somehow… she knew! I had never met her before! I was saved on May 23, 1971.
Khudija: How did God grow your faith after your baptism?
Carol: I moved in with Barbara and found myself hungry for God. I was spiritually and physically hungry. I gained 20 lbs. I musta been happy! I wanted to read the Bible all the time. I would even hitchhike to church. I had a friend who told me she heard from Jesus and I wanted this with God. There was also a song called “I Want More of Jesus.” This song represented where people were at during this time. So hungry!
Khudija: Did you feel like the movie Jesus Revolution portrayed an accurate representation of the time?
Carol: The movie was as accurate as it was going to be. I still own some of Greg Laurie’s tracks. He created this character called “Ben Born Again”. I knew Greg, Chuck, and Connie. Thirty years after not seeing Papa Chuck I saw him again. He said, “Carol, how are you?” I said, “I can’t believe you remember me.” He also asked me how my brother was doing.
I used to live in Timothy Leary’s old house. He wanted people to find the white light using LSD. Anyway, his Laguna Canyon house was the first house to turn into a Christian community. People called me Elder Sister because anyone who had read the Gospels was called an “elder”. During that time there were only about 200 adults involved with Calvary Chapel. They hadn’t even pushed out the walls to expand it yet!
Khudija: Were you ever given a prophetic word during that time?
Carol: Soon after I was baptized, I went to a meeting in a penthouse in Laguna Beach. The place smelled like patchouli oil. Thirty of us sat around hippie style and a guy who they called a prophet preached. When he was done, he went around to people to pray. He came up to me and placed his hands on my head. He says, “You will become a leader of women.”
At the time, I hated women because I was so sick of being around superficial surfer types. Several of my better friends were homosexual men because they were “safe” and didn't want me for what they could get. They were artists and super kind.
The prophet told me I would go around the world and share the gospel in unique ways and become famous in my sphere of influence. Barbara and I looked at each other and started laughing. “That’s just like God to do that,” she said. This was in 1971.
I ended up going around the world sharing God’s principles. I traveled and taught these principles in the context of midwifery. They work!
In 1996, Barbara and I were talking about the prophet who told me I would be a leader to women. She had pondered my midwifery life and asked me if I thought this was what I thought he meant. I didn’t want to be the one to bring this up even though I wondered about this myself. I was never trying to be recognized as a teacher for Midwifery Today, but it happened organically. I hardly considered myself a teacher, but I started teaching globally in 1994 and still do. I also continue to serve as a midwife.
Khudija: What lead you into midwifery?
Carol: I was sexually molested by my doctor at my six week postpartum check-up after my first child was born. The second doctor I worked with during a birth insisted on checking my cervix in the middle of the hallway when I was in hard labor and she said, “Don’t tell me how to do my business.” She struck me to a sting on my inner thigh. During this birth, I tore really badly and never wanted to have a baby in the hospital again.
For my third baby, a friend helped me find a midwife. I got to borrow her books and read many of them. I included a medical dictionary in my stack of books for comprehension. She started teaching classes and as I attended them, sometimes she couldn’t answer questions. I knew the answers from all the reading I was doing so she allowed me to answer them. She told me in front of the class that I would make a wonderful midwife. I said “I don’t know. That seems pretty lofty.”
The midwife needed a student. I was pregnant, but she invited me along. My husband Paul and I met with her before I made a decision. She pointed at Paul and said, “98% of all midwives are divorced!” Paul put his hands up and walked backward. Despite this, he felt peace and told me to go ahead and do it. I worked with her for about eight months and I was at 32 births. There was no licensing in CA and we could have gotten in trouble. We took almost everyone who came to us, including some moderately high-risk people. I got experience in twins, breeches, and even a few VBACs.
Eight months later, Paul and I moved to Washington State. It was June 1979. People there started calling me a “midwife” and asked me to help them with their births. I was willing to help.
Paul and I are still married - 48 years later!
Khudija: What is your prayer for the youth now?
I pray God will help them come into a living, RELATIONSHIP with Him! And that He brings them into the place that He has ordained for them at such a time as this. I pray they will become fiercely led by His Holy Spirit. I believe God is bringing us into Revival. People are hungry and the young ones see! I believe that we will do greater things. Jesus said we would! It is an incredibly exciting time to be alive!