Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
God's not going to force himself on you
"The short answer is you go to heaven when you die. But there are some nuances to that."
Erik Borlaug, with his wife Samantha, daughter Abigail, and son Asher.
Membership: 150
Pastor: Erik Borlaug
Age: 29
Born: Forrest Lake, MN
Formation: Winona State University, Winona, MN
Years Ordained: 7
San Diego Reader: What’s your main concern as a member of the clergy?
Pastor Erik Borlaug: My biggest concern in my own life and for others is that we all come to understand who God truly is. Sometimes, the more you get to know some people, the less you like them; and sometimes the more you get to know other people, the more you like them. God is the kind of being that the more you understand who he is, the more you fall in love with him.
SDR: Why did you become a minister?
PB: I didn’t grow up in a Christian family, and so I wouldn’t have been supported by my family to do any kind of ministry work. But I did grow up in a family that had dinner together, and when I was thinking of becoming a preacher, I brought it up one night at dinner. It changed the whole atmosphere of the room. My family had a hard time understanding why I might want to do that, but now they’re at a point where they’re not as antagonistic about it, and have accepted that this is what I’m doing. I became a Christian when I was 19, when I was in college. I was already pursuing a degree. When I became a Christian, the guy that helped to ground me and understand the Bible was the one who told me I should think about preaching…. I had a heart to try to help others know God. Today, as part of my ministry work, I like one-on-one studies, meeting at coffee shops and things like that. I’ve been helped by others in those same ways, and I want to pass that forward.
SDR: What’s the mission of your church?
PB: Our mission is to build up the Christians who are here so we can become more mature and more like Christ. Then we try to be inviting and welcoming to anyone who is seeking that same thing, and in that way we help one another in adversity.
SDR: Where do you go when you die?
"Hell becomes the full extension of someone’s negligence of God."
PB: The short answer is you go to heaven when you die. But there are some nuances to that. I believe when people die, there’s an afterlife and consciousness, whether it’s heaven or hell, and that it’s eternal – it lasts forever—again, whether it’s heaven or hell. An obedient faith in the Lord will lead people to be with him forever; and those who tried to find value and security in other things besides the Lord will ultimately not be with him. God is so loving that he would not force something on someone that person didn’t want. So if someone didn’t want to pursue the Lord on earth, he’s not going to force it on that person in eternity. Hell becomes the full extension of someone’s negligence of God. If you didn’t want him on earth, he’s not going to force himself on you for eternity, while people who go to heaven are seeking the Lord, wanting to honor and please him.
Here's something you might be interested in.
God's not going to force himself on you
"The short answer is you go to heaven when you die. But there are some nuances to that."
God's not going to force himself on you
"The short answer is you go to heaven when you die. But there are some nuances to that."
Erik Borlaug, with his wife Samantha, daughter Abigail, and son Asher.
Membership: 150
Pastor: Erik Borlaug
Age: 29
Born: Forrest Lake, MN
Formation: Winona State University, Winona, MN
Years Ordained: 7
San Diego Reader: What’s your main concern as a member of the clergy?
Pastor Erik Borlaug: My biggest concern in my own life and for others is that we all come to understand who God truly is. Sometimes, the more you get to know some people, the less you like them; and sometimes the more you get to know other people, the more you like them. God is the kind of being that the more you understand who he is, the more you fall in love with him.
SDR: Why did you become a minister?
PB: I didn’t grow up in a Christian family, and so I wouldn’t have been supported by my family to do any kind of ministry work. But I did grow up in a family that had dinner together, and when I was thinking of becoming a preacher, I brought it up one night at dinner. It changed the whole atmosphere of the room. My family had a hard time understanding why I might want to do that, but now they’re at a point where they’re not as antagonistic about it, and have accepted that this is what I’m doing. I became a Christian when I was 19, when I was in college. I was already pursuing a degree. When I became a Christian, the guy that helped to ground me and understand the Bible was the one who told me I should think about preaching…. I had a heart to try to help others know God. Today, as part of my ministry work, I like one-on-one studies, meeting at coffee shops and things like that. I’ve been helped by others in those same ways, and I want to pass that forward.
SDR: What’s the mission of your church?
PB: Our mission is to build up the Christians who are here so we can become more mature and more like Christ. Then we try to be inviting and welcoming to anyone who is seeking that same thing, and in that way we help one another in adversity.
SDR: Where do you go when you die?
"Hell becomes the full extension of someone’s negligence of God."
PB: The short answer is you go to heaven when you die. But there are some nuances to that. I believe when people die, there’s an afterlife and consciousness, whether it’s heaven or hell, and that it’s eternal – it lasts forever—again, whether it’s heaven or hell. An obedient faith in the Lord will lead people to be with him forever; and those who tried to find value and security in other things besides the Lord will ultimately not be with him. God is so loving that he would not force something on someone that person didn’t want. So if someone didn’t want to pursue the Lord on earth, he’s not going to force it on that person in eternity. Hell becomes the full extension of someone’s negligence of God. If you didn’t want him on earth, he’s not going to force himself on you for eternity, while people who go to heaven are seeking the Lord, wanting to honor and please him.
Comments