Harvest Online ::: News

RIVERSIDE, Calif., May 28, 2005— Staying true to the message he has preached for more than 30 years, pastor and evangelist Greg Laurie will release Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners (Warner Faith, 2005) on June 13, a book that practically instructs on how to exercise spiritual muscle with faith and determination when adversity comes to call.

Laurie's newest full-length book encourages readers to run with perseverance the race set before them. By reflecting on a well-known roster of biblical characters and their individual responses to adversity, Laurie illustrates the difference between Christians who fell and failed and those who picked themselves up and kept striving to honor God to the best of their ability, even when they faced great challenges.

"It really comes down to the choices you make on a daily basis," said Laurie. "We should want to finish well and make every day count. While it's true that it is the work of God and His power that will enable us to finish well, it is also true that we have to be willing."

Laurie's reflections in Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners include the following biblical characters:

King Saul, who had the potential to be a great king for the Lord, but whose pride and disobedience led to a violent end.
Elijah, one of the great prophets of the Old Testament, who consistently struggled with feelings of inadequacy and hopelessness but persevered and became a biblical model of God's power over adversity.

In this engaging book, Laurie asks the question, "What separates winners from losers?" Through biblical references and modern-day illustrations, Laurie educates readers that with faith and determination they too can finish strong in the race God has set before them.

"I'm convinced that we can all be winners in this spiritual race we are running," said Laurie. "If you are young in the faith, this book will speak to you about how to stay strong over the length of the course. If you have failed, it will tell you how to get up again. And if you are doing well, it will encourage you to not rest on your past successes."

Losers and Winners is dedicated to Laurie's friend Billy Graham who, according to Laurie, "is one of the best contemporary examples I can name of a person who has run the race of life and is finishing well—very well."

Greg Laurie has written more than 20 books, including the bestsellers The Passion of the Christ: A Biblical Guide (Allen David Books, 2004) and Why Believe? (Tyndale House, 2002). His 1999 book, The Upside-Down Church (Tyndale House) won a Gold Medallion Book Award from the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publisher's Association). Laurie also wrote the notes for the best-selling New Believer's Bible (Tyndale House, 1996) that has sold more than 2 million copies to date.

Greg Laurie serves as senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., one of the 15 largest churches in the U.S. His television program, Harvest: Greg Laurie is the top rated program in its timeslot on KTLA-TV in Los Angeles. Laurie also founded the evangelistic Harvest Crusade events in 1990. During the past 16 years, Harvest Crusades have drawn more than 3 million people to stadiums and arenas in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners (ISBN: 0446500151) will be available in bookstores on June 13. Hardcover: $18.99.