Just when you thought it couldn't get any weirder

Some of you know I have an affinity for the Jesus Movement. My father was a pastor in a northern Arizona college town in the early 70s. My first conscious moments were right smack dab in the middle of that whole thing.

So when Mark Driscoll, whom I recently deemed as a capable spokesman of my generation, wrote about the Lonnie Frisbee documentary being shown at his church, my curiosity was piqued.

At the bottom of the post Driscoll mentions concerns about Larry Norman showing up and raising ... um ... heck. They had security guards at the door. Allegedly -- and I still don't understand why -- Norman is upset with some of the content with the film.

First, I suspect rumors of Norman showing up to overturn the tables were greatly exaggerated. The man who invented CCM -- not to mention the terms "One Way" and "Left behind" -- has serious health issues these days. One of his arteries was damaged during an angiogram last year, and it's leaking. His insurance won't cover it, and his family is desperately seeking financial assistance from Solid Rock fans to allow Norman to receive the medical treatment he needs.

Norman is a featured person in the Frisbee documentary, about perhaps the single-most visible evangelist in the Jesus Freak movement. Frisbee's moral shortcomings provide a challenging contrast to his otherwise successful ministry. Norman not only speaks of Frisbee's passion in the movie, his music is prominently featured throughout. Norman recently released a CD called Frisbee, a tribute to those heady days of the new movement and the man who was at the center of it.

So speculation of any angst Norman might have about the late Frisbee, as a person, is the worst kind of conjecture.

The film, on the other hand, might be something of a challenge for someone who actually lived through it. However, Norman was an active participant in the film, gave his music to the film, knows director David DiSabatino, and has never publicly objected to the film (to my knowledge) or how he or Frisbee were portrayed.

So I'm at a loss why Norman showed up or what his objections were (or why he has a lawyer). Then again, those JFM leaders who have outlived the era seem to be magnets for weirdness. Who knows.