The Gorge and the Desert

Last week I joined my friend Garry Friesen and Michael, one of his Multnomah students, for a hike in the Columbia River Gorge. Waterfalls and streams appeared around every corner as we climbed the mossy trail. Garry strategically prompted Michael to ask me theological questions during the steepest parts of the hike, when we were all out of breath. We talked about the emerging church, biblical authority, Christianity and gender, and African missions. The scenery provided a fabulous backdrop for the conversation. It is hard to be disagreeable when hiking in the Gorge.

Two days later, hiking by myself in the rocky mountains north of Phoenix, I enjoyed solitude and magnificent desert vistas.

Neither place was prettier than the other, and the hike filled with theological conversation was no more — or less— spiritual than the solitary one. They were just different. Very different. And I was most grateful for both.

Bob