The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens Your Faith

A. J. Swoboda

Feb 2016 · Baker Books

About this ebook

Through every turn of the biblical story, God's people are a wandering people. When they are rescued from slavery in Egypt, God sends them into the desert, where they wander for a generation. Jesus and his disciples wander from town to town. In fact, some of God's most important truths are imparted to people with dusty feet as they travel on the road.

With his trademark thoughtful introspection, A. J. Swoboda boldly suggests that wandering is not an absence of faith but a central component of faith. In The Dusty Ones, he leads the restless, the frustrated, and the curious on a spiritual journey to uncover the answers to questions like

- Do I wander because I'm failing or because God has left me?
- Is the desert something I can overcome?
- Why is God sometimes "hidden" in the Bible?
- What do I do when the end seems nowhere in sight?

This compassionate and contemplative book offers hope and peace to Christians and seekers alike as they make their way down the winding road of faith.

About the author

A. J. Swoboda (PhD, University of Birmingham) teaches biblical studies, theology, and church history at Portland Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary, among others. He pastors Theophilus Church in Portland, Oregon, and is the author of A Glorious Dark and coauthor of Introducing Evangelical Ecotheology.