Your books and sermons seem to constantly overflow with issues relevant to today's society. How do you come up with the themes?
I try to keep up with what's going on in the world around me. I'm an avid reader, and kind of an observer of culture. I will read multiple newspapers, I'll check tons of websites each day, I'll watch television. I like to know what's going on in the world around me. I want to show the relevance of what the Bible has to say to what we're facing in our world and culture today. Sometimes I think the preachers are answering questions that no one is asking and they are not answering the ones that are being asked. So I want to delve into a lot of categories and be aware of what people are thinking and wondering about, and show what God has to say about it.
Whose sermons did you grow up listening to?
Multiple people. I was attending the church pastored by Chuck Smith at Calvary Chapel in California. I started listening to people like Billy Graham - whom I've been very influenced by - Chuck Swindoll and John MacArthur... I would read books from people like John Stott and C.H. Spurgeon. Actually some of my all-time favourite preachers are British, like Martyn Lloyd-Jones, C.H. Spurgeon, and G. Campbell Morgan. I just thought some of the greatest preaching and teachings ever came from British preachers and expositors.
Where do you see yourself 10 years later?
Probably with even less hair than I have now (he laughs). It's hard to say. I don't know if the Lord is going to help one aspect of ministry or open up another, but I assume that I'll be doing something very similar to what I'm doing now. Perhaps it will be on a larger scale, maybe even a smaller scale - that's for the Lord to determine. What I hope to be doing from 10 years now is still preaching the gospel and teaching the Word.
Is there any particular part of the globe you would like to preach in?
I would like to preach in England. I've been there before and I've spoken to churches, but I would love to one day come and hold a crusade there. I would love to do more in Europe frankly. Apart from that, I would love to do some crusades in Asia.
For updates on Harvest Crusades and to watch the live webcast, go to www.harvest.org.
To know more about Greg Laurie and to view his artwork, go to www.greglaurie.com.
