Greg Laurie…

I spent last evening getting to know Greg Laurie better by reading his autobiography, Lost Boy. For those not acquainted with Greg, he is pastor of one of the largest congregations in the United States which is located nearby in Riverside, California. I found out from one of his publishers last week that his son, Christopher, had died in an auto accident on the freeway in nearby Corona.

I think that one thing that all parents fear is that they will outlive their children. There is no way I can imagine the sorrow that the Laurie family is experiencing. After reading Greg’s story I can’t help but join many who will ask, "Why did this happen?" In the video below you can see Greg’s response in his own words. It is raw, at times, and emotional. Yet strong and courageous.

It must be because I am an old man, but I still believe that it is important for people to make a decision to follow Christ, to pray a prayer and get saved. When I was growing up in the 60s there was an apocalyptic atmosphere, I think because of the war in Viet Nam. Death was on the mind of young people. There was also a great discontent with this world we live in. Heaven, as we understood it, was on our minds.

The Jesus Movement sprang out of that atmosphere. One of the remaining results of that movement is the church that Greg Laurie pastors. The story of its beginnings is amazing. 500 people were in attendance the first week and it grew to thousands in a short period of time, most of them young people in their twenties. No man, in his wisdom, could have caused such a thing to happen.

In that time God raised up young men, like Greg Laurie. People with only a high school education who learned the bible and how to preach the gospel by intense study and observation of their mentor, Chuck Smith. I pray that God will continue to comfort Greg and his family and that their "mourning will be turned into dancing."