The Dusty Ones: Why Wandering Deepens Your Faith

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.

From the Back Cover

For the follower of Jesus, the question is not whether you will wander but when.
So why not learn to wander well?

Through every turn of the biblical story, God's people are a wandering people. Examining the theme of wandering in the Bible and in his own life, A. J. Swoboda shows that some of God's most important truths are revealed to those whose feet are dusty from the road. Cultivating the art of wandering, Swoboda suggests, is not only a good idea for Christian faith and practice; it is a holy discipline that can revolutionize a person's experience of God.

If you're restless, doubtful, or questioning, you will emerge from this journey with the assurance that not all who wander are lost. There's hope and peace for all those who travel the winding path seeking to experience God in all his glory.


"A unique, well-rooted, and spiritually nourishing work. If you've experienced your own desert seasons or periods of wandering, this book is Swoboda's gift to you."--Seth Haines, author of Coming Clean: A Story of Faith

"Reading The Dusty Ones is like talking to a friend who's wandering alongside us on this road of truth, which is 'always bumpy, but always worthwhile.'"--Cornelia Becker Seigneur, author of WriterMom Tales; founding director of Faith & Culture Writers Conference

"A. J.'s words are like water in our own wilderness, reminding us that God is forging a deep work in our desert spaces. May we all have the courage to live as one of the dusty ones."--Jo Saxton, chair of the board of 3D Movements; speaker and author


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