Seeking the lost and serving the found at Shepherd of the Hills

San Diego Reader: What is your favorite subject on which to preach?

Pastor Aaron Boehm: I guess it never gets old focusing on the simple truth of Scripture — that Jesus is the one who saves us. To use a Bible passage, II Corinthians 5:21, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” So, this notion that in God’s great exchange His grace is all about taking our sin and placing it on Jesus and in return giving us Jesus’ perfection and crediting those who believe in Him. Scripture is chock full of the beautiful pictures God uses to describe and show that grace.

SDR: Why did you become a minister?

AB: When people ask that question, I usually tell them it’s because I’m extremely selfish. I knew that in becoming a pastor I would be sharing in part of the reward of seeing how the Gospel changes people’s lives and know I got to be part of it because I shared that simple message of the Gospel.

SDR: Why Lutheran?

AB: My dad was a principal in a Lutheran school and I was born and baptized into the Lutheran faith; yet, at the same time, in our training, we thoroughly take an honest look at every religion, denomination, Christian or otherwise. What has always struck me about the Lutheran faith, compared to all others, is the emphasis on Scripture. You don’t have religious leaders or groups or organizations in the church saying this is what you should believe or do, but everything goes back to what the Bible says — and that’s why we believe it.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

AB: We have been working since I’ve been here with the idea of seeking the lost and serving the found. It strikes a balance for those who by God’s grace have been brought to know Him and strive to serve God by serving others. A part of that service is seeking those who don’t know Him.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

AB: It’s pretty straightforward, as God’s word is — I have the assurance that I’ll be in heaven solely based on what Christ has done for me, having paid for my sins and met God’s demands of perfection for me. He holds that same promise out for everyone who believes in Him, though even believing in Him only happens through God’s grace. That is how He leads us to believe in Him. The opposite — or alternative — is that anyone who sadly would reject that message doesn’t have that hope of eternal life. Scripture speaks of hell for anyone that would reject everything that Jesus has done. Obviously, just like our Lord God, we don’t want to see anyone in hell — and that’s another impetus for reaching out and seeking the lost.

SDR: What do you wish as God’s blessing for the word on these 12 days of Christmas?

AB: I hope that people will at least have the opportunity this year to hear the age-old message of what Christmas is all about — that God wrapped up His Son and gave the world the greatest gift it would ever know.