This study is an analysis of an evangelical commune located in Chicago's inner city. Self-described as an "intentional community," Jesus People USA (JPUSA) is one of the remaining collective expressions of the Jesus Movement, an American revival that occurred during the 1960s and 1970s. After considering the reasons for this commune's longevity, I make three core arguments. First, the study of communes in American history shows that in most cases, American communes are often short-lived. JPUSA has continued beyond its 1972 genesis due to various structural mechanisms and an ability to engage and evolve with American culture. The fact that JPUSA has survived to the present can be attributed to what sociologist Rosabeth Moss Kanter refers to as "commitment mechanisms." However, an analysis of commitment levels among second-generation communards demonstrates that these mechanisms are often problematic. Moreover, longevity will be determined by how the commune is perceived by the evangelical subculture as the commune evolves ideologically. Second, musical subgenres such as Christian heavy metal and punk rock would not have grown in influence if not for the Cornerstone Festival. Furthermore, JPUSA and their festival have challenged mainstream contemporary Christian music (CCM) and redefined the way evangelical popular music is commonly understood. In a sense, the commune and the festival have ruptured conventional understandings of "sacred" and "secular." Third, JPUSA's evolution demonstrates how a group committed to certain ideologies can change as a result of pluralism. Thus this community serves as one case-study in howAmerican evangelical groups must reinvent their collective ethos and re-categorize their cultural products if they are to remain relevant. In so doing, JPUSA's presence challenges "establishment evangelicalism" and problematizes conventional understandings of the classifier "evangelical." JPUSA's commitment to social justice and emphasis on humanizing the Christian gospel (without fully redefining conventional understandings of human salvation) places them in a category best understood as "Evangelical Left."
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