Riverside's Laurie Delivers Invocation12:32 AM PDT on Wednesday, September 1, 2004
Riverside's internationally recognized evangelist reached out to a new kind of audience Tuesday with the evening's opening prayer at the Republican National Convention.
Greg Laurie, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, was one of the first people to take the stage on a night that featured Gov. Schwarzenegger as the headliner. He gave thanks to God before political figures began taking the roll call of state delegates' votes for President Bush, who frequently speaks about his faith in God.
"Thank you for the fact that our president, George W. Bush, looks to you for wisdom each and every day," Laurie said. "May you continually guide him into the center of your will for his life and our country."
Laurie's Harvest Crusades have attracted nearly 3 million people since he started holding them in 1990, according to his Web site. His Riverside church is one of the largest in the country.
Laurie called on God to heal the country and made a brief mention of the election, but didn't specifically call on voters to back Bush.
Courtesy Riverside Press-Enterprise and The Associated Press. |
