Soon it grew from 20 participants to 300. Laurie made himself available as a go-fer, taking on responsibilities no one else had time for, including teaching Bible study in Riverside. He was soon drawn to Smith’s Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, where many in the hippie movement were hanging out. “I never did get the girl, but I’ll forever be thankful that the Lord used her as a magnet,” he said. Before he knew it, he was saying no to LSD and saying yes to Jesus. He sat in on a prayer meeting to meet her. In 1972, when he was 16 and in high school, he was in a group that took drugs and laughed at the “Jesus freaks.” But then he fell for a girl who carried a Bible. It was a little lust in the heart, however, and not a burning bush that brought Laurie to religion. if you are tripped up, you can be destroyed, and what will do it is money, pride and women.” Smith, pastor of the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, is Laurie’s mentor. His image has not been tarnished in an era where more than a few prominent evangelists have made headlines for straying from the path. “Chuck Smith drilled that warning into me a long time ago,” he said. He introduces his wife, Cathe, and explains that he saves himself from the “appearance of trespassing” by avoiding being alone with women. Pictures of the men he admires most – Graham and Costa Mesa, Calif., pastor Chuck Smith – are displayed. His office looks more ranch than church – a pine desk the size of a bunkhouse bed and chairs of brown and white cowhide.
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