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The trademark of a Greg Laurie program, whether it be a Sunday morning church service or a stadium crusade, is the contemporary, yet straightforward, style and format. All programs feature contemporary music, concise messages from the Bible, and an informal atmosphere. All of this contributes to an entertaining and non-threatening environment that attracts people of all ages, but particularly young people.
He is sought after as a speaker for churches and conferences, and is a regular speaker at The Billy Graham Training Centre at The Cove, in Asheville, North Carolina, and the Billy Graham School of Evangelism.
He serves on the board of directors of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, among others.
A Conversational Style
Minister's Message Is Youth Oriented
When he goes to the beach in his native southern California, the Rev. Greg Laurie, 46, sometimes carries a volume of biblical exegesis by the 19th century Baptist scholar C.H. Spurgeon along with a "People" magazine.
But Laurie, a pastor who spends several weekends a year as a stadium evangelist, said he wants to find ways to frame a biblical message in terms the average American can grasp.
"My challenge is to speak in common English, and use terms and expressions that people will understand," he said. "That's why I try to stay current with our culture, so I can be understandable to people."
For nearly a decade, Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., has run Harvest Crusades, preaching half a dozen three- and four-day weekends each year in stadiums from Honolulu to Rochester, N.Y.
He began his efforts at the suggestion of a mentor, the Rev. Chuck Smith, pastor of Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, Calif., a church that grew out of the "Jesus Movement" among young people in the early 1970's. As a high school student, Laurie became a born-again Christian after hearing a minister from Smith's church. Calvary Chapel has spawned something like a denomination, a loose association of hundreds of new congregations, Laurie's among them.
A Laurie event typically lasts 90 minutes. Bands play rock or pop tunes with Christian lyrics and he gives a sermon, appealing in a conversational style to his listeners to accept Jesus as their saviour.
As he preaches, Laurie cites quotations from movie stars and athletes that he culls from popular magazines in the hope that they will help him make his point about the need to rely on God. He tries to keep his sermons simple, but to raise big questions.
"What is the meaning of life? What happens after I die? Why am I here? Whatever my text is, I'll get around to those things," he said. "Of course, the heartbeat of the Gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and you have to get around to that."
Only recently has Laurie begun to reach beyond his regional base in the Southwest, so he is not as well known as some other evangelists.
Keith J. Hardman, a professor of religion and philosophy at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa., and the author of a biography of the 19th century revivalist Charles G. Finney, attended a Harvest event for young people this fall. Laurie preached a "standard evangelistic message, but very much youth-oriented," he said.
Laurie's hobbies would appear to enhance that appeal. Married with two sons, he has been photographed in evangelical magazines riding his Harley-Davidson. A native of Orange County, he also surfs.
Asked about his future in an interview, Laurie, who serves on the board of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, said that in a conversation with Graham recently, "he mentioned to me that he would like to see me go into full-time crusade evangelism."
Laurie said that does not mean he is thinking about leaving his church. "I always shy away from any illusion that I could take his mantle," he said. "It would take 100 men to take his mantle."
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
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