From Bastard Hippie to Power Preacher

From Bastard Hippie to Power Preacher

"Possible Successor to [Billy] Graham" (The New York Times), the "Leading Edge" of Modern-Day Evangelism (ABC World News), Mega-Pastor and Worldwide Crusader--Greg Laurie's Unlikely Personal Story of Near-Ruin to Redemption
RIVERSIDE, Calif., July 15 /Christian Newswire/ -- Drugs. Abuse. Neglect. The background of Hollywood's latest dysfunctional 'bad boy' giving excuses for his recent trip to rehab? Somewhat ironically, these are the "highlights" of the childhood of Pastor Greg Laurie--a pioneer of the evangelical mega-church movement--detailed in his new autobiography titled Lost Boy (Regal 2008).

Laurie is a bastard in the technical sense, the product of his teenage, alcoholic mother's one-night stand with a sailor . . . really. As a child, he was left unattended and lonely in the corners of bars until all hours of the night. Laurie grew up during the 1960s hippie era, experimenting with drugs and alcohol to help ease his pain. By age 17, he'd had a string of abusive step-fathers--seven in all--and lived in a dozen homes from New Jersey to Hawaii.

Though many would assume that the pastor of one of the largest churches in America who has drawn some 4 million people to evangelistic events worldwide has had a perfect life, the truth is far from ideal.

"...It's not hard for me to put myself in a nonbeliever's scuffed shoes. I've walked in them. I was full of skepticism and doubt; I thought I would never make it as a Christian--I did not see myself as the 'religious type.' Thankfully, God doesn't look for the 'religious type.' He looks for the 'sinner type.' I qualified" (Lost Boy, Page 142).

Despite--and perhaps because of--his scandalous beginnings, Laurie has become pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif.,--drawing more than 15,000 each Sunday--and founder of Harvest Crusades, innovative, high-tech, rock-and-roll evangelistic events that have packed stadiums and arenas around the country and abroad for the last 18 years.

"I strongly believe that we've got to communicate the gospel so that it can be understood by secular- minded people. Otherwise we just end up talking to ourselves." (Page 151)

Franklin Graham calls Lost Boy, available in bookstores now, "a picture of God's grace, protection and love." Packed with footage of Laurie's past and music from the era, a 90-minute film version called Lost Boy: The Documentary is available at www.harvest.org.

"If there's redemption for me and my situation, there is redemption for everyone," says Laurie.

MEDIA NOTE: For media materials including high- resolution photos and graphics visit www.DeMossNewsPond.com/LostBoy

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