WENDY GRIFFITH: Throughout her career in journalism,

Lauren Green has asked a lot of questions.

But the most important question may have been one posed to her.

Her pastor asked, is God a concept

to you or a living reality?

And as Lauren thought about that question,

the answer changed her life.

NARRATOR: As Chief Religion Correspondent for Fox News,

Lauren Green has covered amazing stories,

including miraculous healings and events featuring

the world's most prominent spiritual leaders.

Some religious experts she has encountered,

view God as a distant, impersonal figure.

But Lauren believes he has a hands on presence in our lives.

In her book, "Lighthouse Faith" Lauren

shares what she found in her personal study

of the Christian faith.

And how we can develop a deeper relationship with a caring,

loving God.

WENDY GRIFFITH: And Lauren Green is with us here now, live.

Lauren, thanks for being here.

Welcome to the--

LAUREN GREEN: Thanks for having me here.

It's so wonderful.

Thank you very much.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Congratulations.

Is this your first book?

LAUREN GREEN: This is my very first book,

but it took about a decade to write.

And there are about four more that

are behind it that I would love to be,

loved to talk about as well.

WENDY GRIFFITH: The first one's always the hardest.

LAUREN GREEN: Exactly, exactly.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Well let's talk about,

so you go to Tim Keller's church.

LAUREN GREEN: Redeemer Presbyterian.

WENDY GRIFFITH: And he basically posed this question to you

that changed your life, really.

Basically, was God just a concept or was he real to you?

What did that do to you?

LAUREN GREEN: The ministry at Redeemer is you have so many

of these aha moments.

Where you realize, oh my, goodness that was so simple.

I never thought about that before.

But the difference between God as a concept

and God as a living reality, is that a concept

was something you believe and you certainly believe in it.

But it's like an accessory it's like a credit card,

it's a gym membership.

I control it and I shape it to meet my life and my needs,

right?

So I'm still in control.

But God as a living reality is an objective truth

to which you mold your life to.

And that was a big difference.

And that set a lot of things in motion, especially

understanding, a new understanding

of the Ten Commandments

WENDY GRIFFITH: Lauren you write that one

of the most profound lessons you ever learned

was with your Aunt Wreatha.

A game that you played as a child with Aunt Wreatha.

Am I saying that right?

LAUREN GREEN: And it didn't, well my older siblings called

her Aunt Wreathy But, the younger one

told her Aunt Wreatha But she played a game with us.

And I didn't realize it until years and years

later, probably decades later.

How this was really kind of like God hiding in plain sight.

We would, she would hide a plain object,

like a comb or a brush or a fork or spoon, and in a room.

And we would try to go find it, but it

would be hiding in plain sight.

And you would be sticking up out of a couch,

or in a lamp or something where you could see it.

And you'd yell, bunkum when you saw and you'd sit down

and then other people would have--

WENDY GRIFFITH: What did you yell?

LAUREN GREEN: Bunkum.

And then you'd have to, then you'd sit down

and might laugh at it as other people were

trying to find the same object in the same place.

And I realized, I kind of joke in the book

that I think God is playing a cosmic game with Bunkum

with us.

He's hiding in plain sight.

WENDY GRIFFITH: How does He do that with us?

LAUREN GREEN: Because He has cast the net

so wide as to include everybody in his love,

everybody in his mercy, but everybody in his judgment.

And I think that's why it's easy for us to not see God.

We can be standing in the same place

and one person see God in all his glory.

And then another person just see a rose.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Right.

Well your first book is called "Lighthouse Faith:

God as a Living Reality in a World Immersed in Fog".

And I love the symbolism of the lighthouse.

Why did you call it "Lighthouse Faith"?

LAUREN GREEN: Well one of the reasons

is because it was the new understanding of the Ten

Commandments.

It was this idea that the first commandment,

I am the Lord your God, you shall

have no other gods before me.

Sits atop the other commandments like a beacon of a lighthouse.

Because one of the things the pastor

explained is that you couldn't violate commandments two

through 10, without first filing number one.

So all the laws, hinged or were defined

by that first commandment.

And here you've got a structure, here you've got something.

And it occurred to me that you could

be the best seaman, the best driver, or the best anything

on the road or in a sea.

But if there's a storm and you can't see where you're going,

all of your instruments fail, you

have to look to something outside of yourself.

You have to look to a light.

WENDY GRIFFITH: And your book starts out

with a story about where you go out

with your cameraman in Times Square,

and you do one those notorious man on the street interviews,

that can be very fun.

But this one was about the Ten Commandments,

and you said it really messed with you a little bit.

LAUREN GREEN: It was changed because it was supposed

to be so light hearted.

I thought people would love and a lot many people did.

But what was amazing--

WENDY GRIFFITH: The question was?

LAUREN GREEN: Have you violated any of the Ten Commandments

today?

And when you go out like that in Times Square,

you gotta bring the list, because people really

don't know.

It's only 10 but most people don't know.

So they started looking at the list and they went, oh my gosh.

Yeah, I did that one.

Oh my gosh.

Oh my goodness.

Well.

And then as you explain things like murder like perhaps,

even a thought about wanting to kill somebody.

And people just like, I did it.

And then the child admitted that he didn't honor his father

and mother all the time.

And this is a little 10-year-old committing these things.

And here the camera became this confessional.

Once you can, once you're confronted with God's law, all

of a sudden there's something that happens inside and says,

that says, I'm guilty.

It was amazing.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Well you are of course,

the Senior Religion Correspondent at Fox News.

How long have you been there now?

LAUREN GREEN: I have the distinction

of being the first on-air person hired for Fox News Channels.

So, I've been there 20 plus years.

So, my office is still three doors down from Bill

O'Reilly's.

And so I've seen a lot of changes in Fox

over the course of two decades.

It's really amazing.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Because we love Fox and we love

all of you guys.

And you guys are all writing, you guys are so prolific.

You all are all writing books.

LAUREN GREEN: Well they have written a lot of books.

Bill O'Reilly is probably on his 10th book

and I'm on my first book.

It's a, this is a labor of love.

It really was a marriage of science and faith.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Lauren, a lot of people

don't know that you were a pageant girl.

You were Miss Minnesota.

LAUREN GREEN: Miss Minnesota.

WENDY GRIFFITH: And a third runner up in Miss America.

LAUREN GREEN: Yes yes.

WENDY GRIFFITH: And that you are a very accomplished pianist.

LAUREN GREEN: Well piano was my first love.

So it made sense that this revelation about the Ten

Commandments came through, the physical sense,

through music because that's what I would have seen first.

But pageants are really a wonderful way

to grow as a human being.

And I know a lot of people think it's

about glitz and about glamor, about wanting pageant money

or scholarship or getting it, being on TV or anything.

But it's really a way to grow and mature in a way

that you can not do it otherwise.

And there's so many benefits to that.

When they say, to be the best that you can be,

is really the benefit of being in a pageant.

Because everyone then becomes a winner.

If you are really the best you can be,

it doesn't matter who wins or who loses.

It means I have become the best that I can be.

And I try to tell young girls and young women who compete,

I say, this may not be your night, tonight.

If tomorrow night's the big pageant.

I said, please understand, tomorrow may not be your night.

But it doesn't mean your night will never come.

It will come someday, but it may not be tomorrow.

Never give up.

WENDY GRIFFITH: I think winning any pageant is wonderful.

I was Miss Magnolia Fair.

So there that's all I have.

LAUREN GREEN: And you look it, too.

Look at that.

WENDY GRIFFITH: Well, your book is amazing.

Lauren Green, It's called "Lighthouse Faith".

You can discover more in her book

and it's available wherever books are sold.

Lauren congratulations on your first book

and so nice to meet you.

LAUREN GREEN: Thank you so much.

Thank you for having me here.