It’s that time again, as thousands will head to Angel Stadium for the 2019 Southern California Harvest Crusade. Started in 1990, Harvest Inc. is a multi-million dollar enterprise running in cities across the nation and beyond. Top tier Christian artists are booked, as money pours in from participating churches and private donations.
Marketing theme schemes are created each year, often around famous personalities such as Mel Gibson, Steve McQueen and now Johnny Cash. Greg’s new book on Mr. Cash just happens to be out just in time for the crusade. (For an interesting study in body language, watch Greg’s promo video for his new book – without the sound: https://twitter.com/i/status/1163917326833598466)
This year’s Crusade will also feature a Harvest “Tailgate Party” with Fitz Army Freestyle Motocross exhibition.
Harvest.org has an online store, whose motto is “Every purchase plays a part“, where one can buy Harvest apparel and other “Christian” stuff . It is worth noting that amongst the questionable materials in the Harvest.org store are three books by Jill Briscoe. Briscoe’s website is ‘justbetweenus.org’ – where a quick search returned an article entitled ‘The Listening Side of Prayer”, where – you guessed it – contemplative prayer is openly promoted. See https://justbetweenus.org/faith/prayer/listening-side-of-prayer/
Aside from the obvious commercialism, the real issue with Greg’s Harvest Crusades isn’t simply a watered down so-called ‘easy believe-ism’, but the intimate, behind the scenes participation of many aberrant churches. Several years ago, I received a copy of an email from an associate pastor at Harvest.org, wherein it is admitted that “We [Harvest Crusades] have had involvement from local Catholic churches, as they have seen the vision of reaching the lost with the Gospel message. [NOTE] Though there may be doctrinal differences between many participating churches, what we have in common is the message of the Gospel…”.
Just as the Billy Graham organization did, the Harvest advance team contacts many local churches in the area and solicits donations in exchange for participation in the harvest of souls reaped from the crusades. Representatives from the many churches are on the field as “counselors”. Crusade ‘Decision Cards’ are filled out by those coming forward, and amongst the questions asked of people is their past church affiliation, if any.
When the ‘counselors’ return the decision cards, they are sorted according to what church is indicated on the card, and the info on those cards is given to that particular local church. If a person indicated they were raised Catholic, the person’s info goes to the local Catholic church. So, in reality, the Harvest Crusades are used as a reaping ground for many apostate and otherwise aberrant churches.
See also my related older videos: https://emergentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/05/12/greg-laurie-sponsors-emergent-contemplative-conference/
and: https://emergentwatch.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/greg-laurie-real-harvest-or-bad-seeds/