Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Yes, there will be Harleys in heaven

It all flows from knowing God

Al and Susie Hester
Al and Susie Hester
Place

Hill Country Community Church

8950 Lakeview Road, Lakeside

Denomination: Evangelical Free Church of America

Membership: 50 (attendance: 75)

Pastor: Al Hester

Age: 62

Born: Glendale

Formation: Westmont College, Santa Barbara; California State University, Northridge; Talbot Theological Seminary (Biola University), La Mirada

Years Ordained: 23

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

Pastor Al Hester: Knowing God. It all flows from knowing God — not just about him, but knowing him, falling in love with him, serving him and honoring him. That is one subject that could be unfolded into a lifetime of sermons.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PH: There’s a flavor that’s becoming all too persuasive in American Christianity that says the ultimate good is that God fulfills my desires for comfort, fulfillment, health, wealth, and prosperity — all that stuff. In other words, we’re getting it reversed. God comes first. And we are to find our ultimate joy in holiness and becoming his children, serving him and loving him and knowing him. I see that reversed. God is viewed as the ultimate grandparent in the sky who is there to make us happy. Does God want us happy? Yes, he loves us. But he wants us happy via the pathway of holiness.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PH: The three words of our mission are Reach, Teach, and Send. Reach people for Christ — teach them to grow in Christ — and send them to serve Christ. That is true and right and guides our elders as we seek to guide the congregation in developing what we want to do…. I like to ride; I have a Harley. I came off a ride with a neighbor who came to Christ through our riders’ group. So, I like to leverage things of this world for our joy in the Lord and also for the kingdom’s sake. We’re trying to use that as one of our primary outreach strategies at this church. Pray and invite people to get to know the Lord, be real and get to know them, as a way to build bridges. I want people to see a church that means we together are Jesus — the hands and feet of Jesus to the world.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: There is heaven and there is hell. There is no in-between. Both are real. Hell is an unfortunate reality; Jesus spoke about hell and money more often than any other subject. Basically Jesus was willing to use fear as a motivation: “You don’t want to go there!” He never said those exact words, but it clearly comes out of what he says: “Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). He was painting a portrait to motivate people to not want to go there…. On the other hand, the picture of heaven painted in general terms in scripture is warm and, frankly, earthly. There are going to be some awesome things in heaven — and I like to tease that, yes, there will be Harleys in heaven. We don’t know, but heaven is going to be even better than anything we can imagine. God is not willing that any should perish but all that come to repentance to eternal life. God doesn’t want to send anyone to hell. Hell is portrayed as a reality in scripture by Jesus Christ and he does not lie — he does not play games with that.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Al and Susie Hester
Al and Susie Hester
Place

Hill Country Community Church

8950 Lakeview Road, Lakeside

Denomination: Evangelical Free Church of America

Membership: 50 (attendance: 75)

Pastor: Al Hester

Age: 62

Born: Glendale

Formation: Westmont College, Santa Barbara; California State University, Northridge; Talbot Theological Seminary (Biola University), La Mirada

Years Ordained: 23

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

Pastor Al Hester: Knowing God. It all flows from knowing God — not just about him, but knowing him, falling in love with him, serving him and honoring him. That is one subject that could be unfolded into a lifetime of sermons.

Sponsored
Sponsored

SDR: What is your main concern as a member of the clergy?

PH: There’s a flavor that’s becoming all too persuasive in American Christianity that says the ultimate good is that God fulfills my desires for comfort, fulfillment, health, wealth, and prosperity — all that stuff. In other words, we’re getting it reversed. God comes first. And we are to find our ultimate joy in holiness and becoming his children, serving him and loving him and knowing him. I see that reversed. God is viewed as the ultimate grandparent in the sky who is there to make us happy. Does God want us happy? Yes, he loves us. But he wants us happy via the pathway of holiness.

SDR: What is the mission of your church?

PH: The three words of our mission are Reach, Teach, and Send. Reach people for Christ — teach them to grow in Christ — and send them to serve Christ. That is true and right and guides our elders as we seek to guide the congregation in developing what we want to do…. I like to ride; I have a Harley. I came off a ride with a neighbor who came to Christ through our riders’ group. So, I like to leverage things of this world for our joy in the Lord and also for the kingdom’s sake. We’re trying to use that as one of our primary outreach strategies at this church. Pray and invite people to get to know the Lord, be real and get to know them, as a way to build bridges. I want people to see a church that means we together are Jesus — the hands and feet of Jesus to the world.

SDR: Where do you go when you die?

PH: There is heaven and there is hell. There is no in-between. Both are real. Hell is an unfortunate reality; Jesus spoke about hell and money more often than any other subject. Basically Jesus was willing to use fear as a motivation: “You don’t want to go there!” He never said those exact words, but it clearly comes out of what he says: “Where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). He was painting a portrait to motivate people to not want to go there…. On the other hand, the picture of heaven painted in general terms in scripture is warm and, frankly, earthly. There are going to be some awesome things in heaven — and I like to tease that, yes, there will be Harleys in heaven. We don’t know, but heaven is going to be even better than anything we can imagine. God is not willing that any should perish but all that come to repentance to eternal life. God doesn’t want to send anyone to hell. Hell is portrayed as a reality in scripture by Jesus Christ and he does not lie — he does not play games with that.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024’s Best Bitcoin & Crypto Casinos – Play BTC Casino Games Online

Best Bitcoin Casinos (2024): Top 10 Crypto Casino Sites for BIG Payouts
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
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
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.