Lennon, Dylan, Alice and Jesus

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Imagine there's no heaven.

See if you'll try.

No hell and lowest above all solely sky.

Well, you never know how in the market with Janet partial is going to begin.

And it isn't often I start with John Lennon, but he is asking an interesting

question, which makes me ask a question.

Why did John Lennon put the question out there?

And I imagine that there isn't a heaven or even a hell for that matter.

Welcome to in the market with Janet partial.

I can pretty much guarantee you this is going to be one of the fastest hours on

radio. I gobbled up the newest book by Greg Lori called Lennon, Dylan,

Alice and Jesus.

That title will catch your attention as well.

The subtitle says it all the spiritual biography of rock and roll.

We all know who Greg is.

Senior pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship and Riverside, California, the

founder of Harvest Crusades.

That is a nationwide evangelistic event that has drawn more than 8.8 million

people since 1990.

How many people had their eternities redirected because of the obedience of

Greg Lori into clearing the gospel message?

Thank you, Lord.

He's the featured speaker of the nationally syndicated radio program, a new

beginning. He hosts a weekly TV show on the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

And he's written over 70 books.

I don't know. He finds the time must be when he's on the airplane.

But I love his genre of writing.

He is absolutely interested in the culture.

And he oftentimes uses it as a jumping off point of the redeeming power of

Jesus Christ.

So one of his books, for example, was about Johnny Cash.

He's written about Steve McQueen.

He's written about Billy Graham and his new book again is called Lennon, Dylan,

Alice and Jesus.

And let me tell you what he writes at the beginning of the book.

There will be three big surprises when we get to heaven.

Some of the people we thought would be there won't be.

Some of the people we never thought would be there will be because of God's

faithful promises.

You and I will also be there.

Wow. Oh, Greg, bulletin chair.

I can't wait for this conversation.

I just general questions first.

And I was thinking as I was reading the book for you because time is precious.

And writing a book is not unlike a pregnancy.

Work, labor, you know, and delivery.

But you're preceded by about nine months of hard work.

Why are you drawn to these cultural issues?

That's a good question, Janet.

I'm drawn to them because well, I always had an interest in pop culture.

The quote, the great theologian, Joan Jett, I love rock and roll.

Okay.

So I don't apologize for that.

But even more than that, you know, these are people that other people look up

to that we admire them.

We aspire to be them.

In some cases, we wish we were them.

And so I can pull the curtain back and ask the question, what, what is, what is

their life really like?

I've got to know some of these people personally.

So then I helped this.

I was doing research for the book.

But I picked who I thought were three iconic figures.

John Lennon, you just played the song by him from the Beatles, a Bob Dylan,

who was probably one of the most influential artists of all time.

Still is to some degree.

And finally, Alice Cooper, who I've become friends with and trying to take

their lives and answer the question.

If you have it all, if you've been there, done that, bought the T shirt.

And then the case of some of these rocked icons, been the T shirt.

Is that what it's all about?

You know, when you climb to the top, do you find what you're looking for?

And I think we all know the answer is Christians.

The answer is no, you don't.

And that's why so many rock stars turn to drugs, turn to alcohol.

Have other issues because they're trying to keep that excitement that maybe they

had when they had their first hit record or, you know, had their first stadium filled

with people chanting their name because, you know, I think what really comes down

to is we're all looking for significance.

We want to live a life that matters.

We want to be noticed.

I think that's why people try to get more followers on social media sometimes and

become so obsessed with their image.

And really, I think deep down inside, we're looking for God.

And you know what?

God is looking for us.

Amen. Oh, wow.

You just gave a perfect synopsis of the book.

And I want to say just if I can boldly, this is the kind of a book that I would give

to somebody who doesn't yet know Christ as their savior, but absolutely loves rock

and roll, loves music.

And this, by the way, does a expansive look at rock and roll from the 50s to the current age.

So any musician, anybody who's interested in this genre would be an absolute excellent book

to read, but I'll tell you something else, Greg, and it was convicting.

And that is we are so quick to point fingers.

And I don't want to get ahead of ourselves, but just Alice Cooper as an example, the

finger pointing and we'll get into his story later.

But God puts his people everywhere, even in rock and roll.

So can you pray for these people rather than judge them because maybe their

hair isn't the same length as yours.

And by the way, I don't want to give it away, but there's a picture of Greg in the book.

And yes, hair was down to his shoulders.

So there you go.

Has your image changed of him now?

So this really helps us to think this through, which I'm thrilled about.

So start with the Beatles because you and I are about the same age.

And I remember they made their appearance in America on the Ed Sullivan show.

And it was a big deal.

And you know, everybody went absolutely crazy.

And that was in explosion.

It was if you were going to look at cultural America, that was a shifting point for sure.

Talk to me about John Lennon.

Well, it was.

And the Beatles were, you know, appeared on the scene on the Ed Sullivan show on the heels

of the assassination of President Kennedy.

The country was still really in shock.

And we were collectively mourning together as a nation and then seemingly out of nowhere,

almost like they were from another planet.

Come these four liver, putty and lads with their interesting accents and their mop top

hairdos.

But beneath that was incredible artistry and musicianship with their first songs.

I want to hold your hand.

She loves you, etc.

And then this time past it was, you know, really seen how talented these four guys were.

But, you know, it was a cultural phenomenon.

All of us had had as huge fans, even Sinatra before Elvis.

But there was nothing like the Beatles.

It was a global phenomenon.

And John Lennon made a controversial statement when the Beatles were at their peak.

And he said, you know, the Beatles are more popular than Jesus.

And this became very controversial and they were burning their records in the south.

And really when I look back at that statement, in some ways, it was actually true.

Meaning for me, as a young person, the Beatles were more popular to me than Jesus was,

because I knew nothing of Jesus.

And I think John was stating the fact and then he went on to say, well,

if I'd said television was more popular than Jesus, you probably wouldn't have reacted the

same way.

That is true as well.

But really it speaks to Lennon himself.

He was always a surcher, always looking for answers.

And surprisingly, he found a relationship with Christ at one point in his life.

What a place to take a break.

That'll keep you hanging on because you're going to want to hear that story.

By the way, that story and a ton more are in Greg Laurie's brand new book, Lennon,

Dylan, Alice and Jesus.

It's fabulous.

I love books that tell us the story of how Jesus works in and through people's lives.

This book does back after this.

As culture continues to stumble into darkness, it's easy to lose heart and grow weary in

your fate.

And that's why I've chosen call to take a bold stand by Pastor Jack Gibbs as this month's

growth tool.

Learn how to represent Christ courageously in a hurting world.

As for your copy of call to take a bold stand when you give a gift of any amount to in the

market, call 877 Janet 58, that's 877 Janet 58 or go to in the market with JanetParshall.co.rg.

You may like to gamble, you might like to dance, you may be the heavyweight champion of the world.

You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls but you're going to have to serve somebody.

Yes indeed, you're going to have to serve somebody.

Full disclosure.

One of my favorite songs, profoundly theologically spot on Bob Dylan, one of the people that

Greg Laurie discusses in his brand new book, Lenin Dylan, Alice and Jesus.

Of course Greg, senior pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship and he is the man behind Harvest

Crusades that have had so many people here, the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

But when last we met, you left us hanging.

So you talked about John Lenin who puts out this song, Imagine, whenever I hear something

like that, you know, scripture says out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

If you're writing a song like that, you're asking deep questions, you have my attention.

My prayer is that you will get the answer, but tell me about John and why he ended up having this encounter with God.

Right, so, you know, we all know the song, Help by the Beatles.

It was also the title of their second film.

But John said, I wrote that as a cry for help.

It's sort of an upbeat catchy song, but think about the lyrics.

Help, I need somebody.

Help, not just anybody.

Help, I need someone.

Won't you please, please help me.

It was a cry for help.

And John was seeking and searching and throughout his life, you know, he has a tragic story.

His father abandoned him.

His mother, ironically, only lived a few blocks from his home, but had nothing to do with him.

And he was raised by his aunt Mimi.

So it sent John as a young boy on a search in life.

He had the huge success of the Beatles and that their peak, you know, he made his controversial statement

that the Beatles are more popular than Jesus and so forth.

But here's a little out of people don't know.

John Lennon made a profession of faith to follow Christ.

Now, there's different versions of this story and we did a deep dive in research.

There's a supposed letter that John wrote to Rex Humbard, where he's talking about his search for God, the emptiness of his life.

But we've never been able to find that letter.

But we did find other information and evidence to verify the fact that Lennon had made a commitment to Christ.

And because there's entries in his diary that he was keeping at that time.

So basically what happened was John was watching television.

And he saw a movie about Jesus and he called in something.

It was a 700 club.

I'm not quite sure.

But he called and he started.

He made a commitment to Christ and was talking to everyone about it.

He even recorded a couple of gospel songs that you can find on YouTube if you search for them.

But then he didn't laugh. It didn't stay.

Okay. So then it faded and then he followed the trajectory.

His life took leading to his tragic murder.

There outside of the Dakota apartment complex where he was murdered by Mark David Chapman in 1980.

But so here's how I begin the book Janet.

I start with this David.

There'll be three surprises when you get to heaven.

Did you read this already on the air?

I did.

Yes, but it's good.

It was Shannon Breeman.

I can't remember if she said this or you said this.

Did you read this already?

Yes, I did.

You know what?

I'll be confused with Shannon any day of the week.

So that's perfectly okay.

Go read it again.

And that was bad name dropping.

Wasn't it?

So yes, you read it.

I knew it was just said, but I just did this interview a few minutes ago.

Anyway, so there it is.

The surprise will be some of the people you never thought would be in heaven will be.

Here's what I offer.

John was alive and conscious after he had been shot and they took him in a police car to the hospital.

And the officer said to John, do you know who you are?

He said, yes, I'm John Lennon.

You know, did John think about that commitment he had made?

Did he call out to the Lord?

It's possible to deepen the cross did that.

So I'm not saying he died as a Christian, but here's what I'm saying.

I don't know.

And I come back to a point you raised earlier.

Why are we so quick to judge?

So many lives are a work in progress.

We're unfinished.

We still have a lot of rough edges.

A lot of things that need to change.

And I think we can be way too quick to judge where people are at.

And that would be the Bob Dylan, if it's okay if I talk about it.

Please.

Yes, please.

So that, you know, basically what is said about Dylan is he obviously made a very public profession of faith.

He recorded three gospel records, including slow train coming.

And you were just playing one of the tracks.

You got to serve somebody.

Everybody knew Dylan became a Christian.

Everyone knew.

And it was real.

I've talked to people that knew him personally.

We're attending the little Bible classes.

He was attending.

They said his faith was genuine.

He was transformed.

But then the consent, you know, sort of the consensus is Dylan walked away from it and returned to Judaism.

But as I've studied his life and researched things about him,

I don't see that he ever abandoned his faith in Jesus.

I would say he just didn't talk about it as much publicly.

And in fact, in his most recent recordings that he has released, one song called,

I contain multitudes and other songs that he wrote,

there are many illusions to scripture and faith in Christ.

Here's an example.

He recorded a record of Christmas Carol.

Did you ever hear that, Janet?

Is record of Christmas Carol?

Wow.

I mean, it's unbelievable because these things,

I'm just like you would expect Dylan to sing a Christmas Carol.

Oh, little town of death.

I'm just like Bob Dylan.

And the first time I heard it, I thought,

is this for real?

And an interviewer said to Dylan,

you sing these songs as though you believe the words in them.

He says, I do.

I do.

So I offer a lot more of my chapter on Dylan to say this.

I would describe Bob Dylan as a work in progress.

I don't see any evidence to confirm the fact that he abandoned his faith.

So pray for Dylan.

We can't pray for John Lennon anymore.

But we can pray for others.

And the reason I tell these stories is not because I'm enamored with rock stars.

It's because their story is our story.

You know, they're just more well-known.

They're just people like we are.

And they need Jesus just like we do.

Amen.

Amen.

Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus.

Oh, read it.

Please share it with somebody who doesn't yet know the Lord.

But they're interested in music.

What a wonderful way to connect with them so that they can be connected

with the unconditional lover of their soul back after this.

Thank you very much.

Well, if you know your Broadway musical,

do you know that's Jesus Christ superstar?

Just stop and think about that for a minute.

Why in the world of Broadway, bright lights, trevying the boards?

Why would you do a musical about Jesus Christ?

It tastes something about a hole in the human heart.

But Greg Laurie is with us.

He writes about this in his new book, Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus.

Greg, of course, his senior pastor of Harvard's Christian Fellowship

and the founder of Harvard's Crusades.

You couldn't wait to talk to you about this part

because this intersects with your pilgrim's progress.

You are a child of the Jesus movement.

And this is about the time this shows up.

Talk to me about how this intersected with your life.

Yes. Well, that particular Broadway show,

and later to become a movie, was kind of just indicative of the times

where there was a moment in time musically when Jesus was on the airwaves.

Jesus Christ, superstar, put your hand in the hand of the man from Galilee.

Oh, happy day, but the Edwin Hocken singers, spirit in the sky.

Even my sweet Lord by George Harrison.

And not that these songs were all theologically correct because they weren't.

But they were about God.

And that's really interesting because here's all of this drug emphasis

in the late 60s, 60s, 67s, 68s.

And we're rolling around a little bit later.

And there's all these songs about God.

And it was kind of a cry of a generation.

And it was my cry too.

So speaking of the Jesus movement,

we just finished shooting a feature film.

The Irwin Brothers are doing it, who made, of course,

I still believe, and I can only imagine,

in this film, The Jesus Revolution,

will release next Easter.

It's being edited right now.

And it's really the story of my life.

It's the story of how I came to faith in Christ.

It's a story of this spiritual awakening that happened.

Kelsey Gremmer,

plays Pastor Chuck Smith, Jonathan Rumi,

of the chosen fame who plays Jesus, plays the role of evangelist,

Lonnie Frisbee,

Joel Courtney plays me,

a great actress named Anna Grace Barlow plays my wife Kathy.

And so it's going to feel so current

because the story so closely parallels our own right here right now.

Yeah, isn't that the truth? Wow.

So there was this hunger about Jesus,

but you include in this chapter,

Norman Larry, talked about this,

because Larry Norman, rather,

because this really creates a whole new genre.

Talk to me about this.

Yeah, okay.

So, you know, in the year,

I came to Christ in 1970, Janet.

And I, you know, I was really listening to, you know,

the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin

and Jimmy Hendrix and the Birds and all that.

So I become a Christian and I figure,

well, that's the end of listening to music.

I guess I'll just listen to hymns now

and things like that.

So I'm a brand new believer

and I'm in a little Christian copy house.

I don't know why but copy houses are really popular back then.

And you know what the copy wasn't even good,

but we had these copy houses.

And so I'm thumbing through these albums.

That's back when we had albums.

And they've come back again.

By the end of this popular again, isn't it?

But I see the different records,

kind of these folk groups and all Christian records.

And all of a sudden, here's this guy, Larry Norman.

And a record called Upon This Rock.

I go, what is this?

And he's got this long blonde hair.

So I put it on the turntable.

This guy was amazing.

It was a capital record.

That was the Beatles recording label and Sonata and others.

And I'm thinking, this guy's amazing.

And you know, Larry Norman did not describe himself

as the Christian singer.

He was a rock singer who happened to be a Christian.

But what he was doing was he was sort of becoming

the father of Christian rock, sort of our Bob Dylan,

if you will.

And many other artists followed early Christian bands

like Love Song.

And then, you know, that's for later.

And we have Michael W. Smith, the name of Grant.

And there's a whole movie out about it,

done by the Irwin Brothers called The Jesus Music.

And it's a fascinating journey.

But the songs, the music was a reflection of the spiritual awakening.

And we were trying to speak to our generation in a way

that they would understand.

And so these artists who are very talented started writing songs.

And so I was privileged to have a front row seat

to the real beginning of contemporary Christian music.

Wow.

So as you started your journey with the Lord

and right in the midst of this cultural revolution,

and you know, revolutions you think could be either good or bad.

But it certainly was part of what I think was the catalyst

for the Jesus movement.

So out of all of that came that movement

and you came to faith in Christ as a result of that.

Do you think that Christian music helped to spread the gospel

because like I laughed and you said it because it's so true?

I heard the same thing in my house.

So you come to faith in Jesus Christ and it's like,

okay, put that away.

Not going to be able to listen to all the things you can't

to do when you come to Christ, right?

So do you think that Christian music was helpful

in advancing the gospel message?

I mean, we talk about praise and worship now,

but I see that almost as different vein than Jesus' music.

Yeah, it's true.

Yes, I think 100% Christian music helped to spread the gospel

because music was such a big deal back then.

It's still a big deal today, but it was different back then.

People looked to artists for leadership, believe it or not.

They poured over the lyrics of the latest Beatles record

or someone else trying to find meaning in life.

So the problem is these pipers were the blind leading the blind.

They didn't know where to go.

I mean, I have a chapter of my book called The 27 Club

looking at rock icon to all tragically died at the age of 27,

including Johnus Chaplin, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones.

So, you know, they didn't know the answer,

but we were looking for answer someone to new music.

It was called Jesus' music.

When it first started coming out,

it was speaking to the culture about our faith in Christ.

And I know it reached a lot of people

because I traveled with these bands.

And that way, and I'd reached the gospel

and we saw thousands coming to Jesus.

Wow.

A whole different perspective on the spiritual biography of rock and roll.

Reglorious with us, his brand new book,

Lennon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus.

Absolutely fascinating read.

I strongly recommend it.

More with Greg right after this.

There's a sense of anxiety in our country,

and I know you feel it too.

As a partial partner,

you can help reach the world with the truth and peace found only in Christ.

And as a partial partner,

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So call 877 Janet 58

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O-R-G.

We've got no choice

on the girls and boys

making all that noise

because they found new toys

and we'll get some new jobs

and find a flag

that don't suit you

that's a drag

to lose that foe

summer.

Yeah, how many of you were headbobbing at this point

and singing all of that?

We are talking with Greg Laurie,

who is so many things,

a prolific author right up there at the top.

Yes, yes.

He is Senior Pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship.

He's the founder of the Harvest Crusades

where over 8.8 million people just think about that.

Does that give you goosebumps?

I've heard the saving message of the cross.

But he loves to just jump on cultural issues

and uses it as a springboard

to win people to Christ.

And I think to quicken the heart of the church

to really understand that

we are on a spiritual journey

that people are in different places

and rather than point a finger of judgment

that we are praying for people.

So you hear that guy?

That's a Christian who happens to be a rock singer.

Yeah.

Not a rock singer who happens to be a Christian

and his name is Alice Cooper.

Greg Laurie writes about him

and his brand new book,

Lenin, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus.

And by the way,

there's this superb picture

on the back of the book,

Alice complete with his top hat

with a thousand words.

Greg, you've become friends with Alice.

Tell me about him.

Well, his real name is Vincent Furnier.

And this guy, originally from Detroit,

later moved to Arizona,

was just a young kid.

He's a preacher's kid.

Believe it or not.

Raised in the church.

He went to church Sunday morning, Sunday night, midweek study.

I mean, really, you know, involved.

But he started a little rock band

and it became popular.

And one thing led to another,

and pretty soon,

Alice, as a number one hit,

which is the song you just played

schools up for summer,

followed by other songs.

And at one moment in time,

he was the biggest rock star in the whole world.

And it's a funny thing

because when he was hitting his peak,

a lot of the old Vodgo guys,

like Milton Burle, George Burns,

you know, any young men.

Those guys were still alive.

And the funny thing,

Alice became friends with all those guys

because what they saw was Alice's stick,

his stage show,

to them reminded them of Vodville.

And in many ways,

that's what it was.

It was a persona.

But the problem was,

Alice, Vincent Fernier,

started becoming this character, he played,

complete with all the vices that go with it.

And soon his life was spiraling out of control.

And he told me the story of when he was alone,

his wife had left him.

He had a rock of cocaine,

the size of a softball.

And he was ingesting it.

And he looked in the mirror

and saw blood coming out of his eyes.

And he said,

I don't know if that was a hallucination

or if it was really happening,

but all I knew was,

I was going to die.

So he called out to God

and he ultimately entered rehab

for a short period of time.

And it has been clean and sober for,

my goodness, like, over 30 years.

His wife came back to him,

they have a beautiful family.

And Alice continues to perform

in this character of Alice Cooper.

But when you sit down with this guy,

he loves the Lord.

He knows the scripture.

And he talks about his faith openly.

And so that's why I put him on the cover.

Because he was sort of my,

my magical unicorn for lack of a better expression.

An actual rock star who became a Christian,

who is still a Christian, right?

Yeah.

And there's others that are not as well known as Alice,

that have made a commitment to Christ

that are walking with the Lord today,

you know, from bands like Kansas,

Buffalo Springfield,

the birds, the list goes on.

And they all have their own stories

about Jesus transformed their life.

Amen. Amen.

Oh, best stories in the world,

what Jesus does and other people he can do for you.

You know, going back to Vince's background,

his grandfather was an evangelist.

He said he was an evangelist for almost 70 years.

His wife is the daughter of a Southern Baptist preacher.

And he refers to himself as the prodigal

that he kind of walked away.

So it was in his DNA.

He was immersed in this world.

But he rebelled and he walked away.

And then he came back again.

But and I think so nice.

Listen to his story.

It would be so easy for him to say,

oh, forget it.

You know what a C.S. Lewis says.

He says, best Christians are the best argument

for and against Christianity.

So he's got the hair.

He's got the makeup.

He's got the persona.

And it's easy for people to say,

no, I don't see the fruit of the spirit

when he's head banging on stage.

Talk to us about that so we can grow up

and be better mature Christians.

Well, you know, it's just like,

I think we built, we create these weird dichotomies of,

you have to be a, what are you a Christian plumber?

Are you a Christian dentist?

Are you, here's what you are.

You're a dentist.

You're a plumber.

You're a builder.

You're an executive.

You're a software engineer.

And you've given your life to Christ.

So he's an entertainer.

And he has a rock show he puts on.

He removed all the parts about the devil and Satan

and all those dark parts.

And it's a story of coming from darkness to light.

That is the story.

Alice is telling.

Then when he does interviews,

he does talk about his faith in Christ.

Now, Alice is not a pastor.

He's not an evangelist per se out there, you know,

speaking in that regard.

But he's taking his platform.

That is, you know, people are aware of it.

And he's spoken very openly.

Just go to YouTube and Google,

Alice Cooper, comma, Greg Laurie.

And you'll find my interview with him.

He goes in depth into his story of coming to Jesus Christ.

So this is a guy that the Lord got old up.

And, you know, and again, the kind of overriding theme of the book

is no one is beyond the reach of God.

Because we all know in Alice Cooper.

We all know a prodigal son or daughter.

Right.

And we should keep praying for them and not give up on them

because the Lord is working it

and wants to bring these people back to himself.

And so I think this would be a great book to encourage Christians.

But I also think it would be a great book

to pass on to a non-believing friend.

Yeah.

Could not agree more.

And let me go back to what we were saying before

because God bless Vince.

He actually went to his pastor after he had his faith in Christ.

And he was vibrant and unashamed.

And he said, well, I guess I got to stop being Alice Cooper.

And his pastor counseled him exactly the opposite way.

Share that with our friends.

Yeah.

That's very true.

And that would surprise some people.

But, you know, he does have a platform.

And it's a very unusual platform.

And it transcends generations.

And so, you know, there's going to be an audience of people

that might listen to Alice Cooper of his persona

that would not listen to Vince if he got a haircut

and just kind of went back to being whatever he was before.

You know, he gives him a stage to speak from.

And, you know, there's a lot of people

that have the stage that they use for God's glory.

And some are in a full-time contemporary Christian music venue

or outlet.

And that's great, too.

But, you know, God wants to reach unexpected people

and unexpected places with an unexpected message.

Jesus did not say that the whole world should go to church,

but he said the church should go to the whole world.

So, I'm always looking for ways to build new bridges

to non-believers.

Like right now, I'm working on a documentary film

on the life of Johnny Cash.

And I want to use Johnny's story.

And E2 was a prodigal, like Alice.

I want to use Johnny's story to tell a bigger story.

So, when people go on the theater because their fans

of cash in his music,

that they'll see that Johnny's faith in Christ was strong.

He had a lapse, he fell, but he got up again

and he returned to the Lord.

And so, I think these are our powerful testimonies.

You know, we all have a testimony.

But these are people that are known by others.

So, I use their stories to tell the most important story,

which is the story of the life, death, and resurrection

of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

You know, a dear friend of mine is Karen Kovell.

She's the founder of the Hollywood Prayer Network.

I love to talk to her because she's really taught me

that you look at the influencers.

In fact, here I'm talking to you from Washington, D.C.,

where one would think this is where

the greatest group of influencers resides.

But Barnas got it right when he says we get more

of our values from the synoplex on Saturday night

than we do from the pulpit on Sunday morning.

So, if that follows through, and I think it does,

then we need to be praying for the biggest group of influencers

out there.

I'm not saying abdicate praying for those in authority.

You and I have a directive to do that.

But rather, and this is what Karen has taught me,

thinking at Hollywood as Sodom and Gomorrah,

if we looked at it as Nineveh,

wouldn't it radically change our perspective and our prayer

life to pray for people who are influencers?

And imagine if their life has turned around,

and they had that personal relationship with Jesus Christ

because the name above the marquee doesn't cut it anymore,

getting the little golden statue,

Giskets Rusty, and you sell it at a garage sale eventually,

but having that eternal relationship with the living God

can absolutely change your rank.

Craig, if we would get that, I think it would radicalize our

prayer life and our whole sense of evangelism,

which I'm worried in these latter days,

we've grown cold in this area.

Well, I really agree.

And that's a great analogy of comparing Hollywood to Nineveh

instead of Sodom and Gomorrah.

God brought judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah.

And, you know, he will probably one day on Hollywood too,

and a lot of other institutions.

But Nineveh, Jonah went there and he reluctantly,

as we know, preached in Nineveh.

He didn't want to go, but a revival broke out.

And I think of Paul and Mars Hill.

So Mars Hill, you know, was, you know,

they're in Greece where the area of Apagus was,

where the philosophers met.

Paul went into that world,

and he actually took the time to assess the culture,

saw their penchant for idolatry,

and said, I've been looking around at all your gods,

and people about this, I perceive that you're religious,

or today we might say, you're into spirituality.

Then he said, I want to talk to you about this one altar

erected to the unknown gods.

That's called building a bridge near culture.

And that's what I'm trying to do with this book,

and other things that we do.

Wow, book is superb.

You read it, but make sure you give it to somebody

who doesn't yet know Jesus, who's interested in rock and roll.

And who is an interested in music?

Lenin, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus,

the spiritual biography of rock and roll.

It's the newest book by Greg Laurie.

I'm going to take a break and come right back.

I told you this interview would go fast, way too fast.

There's a ton more in the book, so get it.

Come!

This is it!

Could that lady play the drums or what?

She is an artist that's discussed by Greg Laurie

and his brand of book, Lenin, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus?

Absolutely fabulous book, by the way.

It's written over 70 books.

In fact, I am thrilled that Greg touched on Act 17.

I was thinking that the entire time I was reading the book.

And by the way, you realize that the saying,

the belief is that Paul was walking around Athens,

the intellectual center of that part of the world,

for about a year and a half.

There was a saying that there were more gods than men in Athens.

So by the time he crawls up to the area apagus,

and he meets the Epicurians in the Stoics,

he had a thing or two already in his heart,

and his head was prepared as well.

So he just met the culture where they were at

and took them where they needed to go welcome

to the marketplace of ideas.

That's what this program wants you to do,

but more importantly, it's where God wants you to go.

How do I know it?

Because you get to peer into that conversation

when Jesus is talking to his father.

He says, my prayer is not that you keep them out of the world,

but that you guard them with thy word.

Thy word is truth.

So I want you to hear something,

because this individual is also talked about by Greg

and his new book, Lennon Dillon, Alice, and Jesus.

He was the lead guitarist in Metallica.

He was the founder of Megadeth,

and he gets in front of a TV camera, and he says this.

Let's go to the fine god thing.

How did you found him?

He found you.

How does this work?

Well, when I was four, I was baptized as a Lutheran,

and then my mom became a Jehovah's Witness,

which just ruined my childhood,

because in America, when we start class,

I don't know if it's the same here or not,

but we say the pledge of legions,

and Jehovah's Witnesses don't,

and they don't celebrate Christmas, which sucked.

They don't celebrate birthdays, which sucked,

and I couldn't have friends that were normal people

because they were of the world.

But something just happened where I was just

yearning for a difference in my life.

I felt really empty, you know,

and the drugs weren't doing it.

The alcohol wasn't doing it.

I know that you toured with Cooper before,

and you grew up loving Alice Cooper,

but you toured them pre his real coming out, right,

as a boarding in Christian.

You know, I don't know.

All I know is that when we were touring with him,

that he was sober already,

and I called him up one time,

and I told him I was thinking about getting a tattoo,

which I changed my mind, and tattoo-free,

and he wanted to help me,

and I don't know who said what,

but he's my godfather now.

Yeah, so he helped me in a lot of different areas,

and I just went through so many transitions

where I started to make amends to the people that I'd harmed,

and so I'm enemy-free right now,

which is a great feeling.

It's a new feeling, too, right?

Yeah, yeah.

Well, the last person that was on my list

was the guys in Metallica,

and we did the big four stuff,

which was enormous,

and then they just had their 30th anniversary in San Francisco

and asked me to come up and play with them,

and that was true.

Hmm.

Who'd have thought the world of rock and roll

could be a mission field?

Huh? There's Alice Cooper sharing Jesus

with Dave Mustaine.

I'd become all things to all people by all means,

so that some might be saved.

Wow.

So Greg, talk to me about Sheila E.

Talk to me about Dave.

Again, these are people.

They give such evidence to that god-shaped void

that resides in the heart of every man.

You know, that doesn't happen by accident.

We are made with that hole in our heart,

so why would we think that rock stars wouldn't pursue

a filling of that hole as well?

Well, of course,

and the reality is they've already seen

what the world offers,

and they know that that's not it.

You know, they've bought the T-shirt,

and in some cases they've been the T-shirt.

They've been there, done that.

And so, through process of elimination,

they know where the answer is not,

but then hopefully to hear the gospel.

Sheila E was not a drug addict,

as some of these people were.

She had a lot of physical problems from her drumming,

and in a moment of despair,

cried out to God,

and Jesus Christ entered her life.

She was a percussionist for prints,

and then Dave is such an interesting story

because he reminds me of a modern-day Zacchaeus.

You know, Zacchaeus was a controversial figure, too.

He was a tax collector.

No one wanted to hang around him,

except Jesus,

and Jesus came over to visit him,

and Zacchaeus came out,

and was ready to recompense.

He was ready to pay back,

and restore that which he had taken from others.

And that's what Dave was talking about,

being enemy-free.

And to me, this is the fruit

that we should be looking for,

the fruit of a changed life,

not just the cleaning,

the appearance,

or whatever we think that is,

or isn't,

but it's really the change of the heart.

And God can change anyone.

And so, again, coming back to the theme of this book,

Lenin, Dylan, Alison, Jesus,

is I'm saying no one is beyond the reach of God.

So start praying for people by name,

praying for the most notorious sinners,

and saying, Lord, would you save that person?

Think of Saul of Tarsus,

who was the more notorious sinner than him?

He hunted Christians down,

almost for sport, if you will,

and God got all of him on the road to Damascus,

and Saul went from being a man,

motivated by hatred,

to a man moved by love.

In fact, he wrote first Corinthians 13,

the great love chapter.

And the Apostle Paul becomes the Apostle Paul.

So God wants to work on the lives of these people.

But I think that people are listening right now,

and they know a prodigal.

They know someone that's struggling,

maybe with substance abuse.

They know somebody else that is having other issues,

and this book could maybe be a cool tool for you to use,

just start a conversation with them,

and talk about other lives that have changed.

Listen, Janet, one of the most powerful tools

we have in our evangelistic toolbox

is our personal testimony.

It's our story of how we came to Christ.

So I'm effectively leveraging the testimonies

of many of these artists,

like Dave, like Alice,

Richard Currey,

from Buffalo Springfield,

or Dan Damucci of Dan,

and the Belmonts,

or Roger McGuin from The Birds,

and others,

that I'm taking their story and saying,

look, God got hold of them.

God can get hold of anyone,

and we all have our own story to tell.

Like the woman at the well,

who when she met Jesus went out to the town and said,

come and see a man who told me everything I ever said or did,

and many believed on him

as a result of her testimony.

Wow, but a note to end on.

Greg, I love the fact that you end the book

by sharing the gospel,

and you invite people to really accept Jesus,

and you walk them through how to do that with a prayer

that you've printed,

and then you invite anybody who's prayed that prayer

to send you an email,

and you're going to send them the new believers Bible.

Ultimately, this book is not only a retrospective

on rock and roll,

it's an evangelistic tool,

and I thank you, brother,

for the way you wrote it and what you did.

God bless you.

The book is called Lemon, Dylan, Alice, and Jesus.

Now go out and tell somebody about Jesus.

It's the greatest experience you'll ever have.

Thanks to Greg, Laurie, and you.

See you next time, friends.