Dr. A. J. Swoboda (PhD, Birmingham) is a pastor, professor, and writer. For nearly ten years, he served as a college pastor on the campus of the University of Oregon. Then, for another decade, planted and pastored a missional church in urban Portland, Oregon called Theophilus that continues to worship to this day. Currently, he is the Assistant Professor of Bible, theology, and world Christianity at Bushnell University. As well, he leads a Doctor of Ministry program around the Holy Spirit and Leadership at Fuller Seminary and has taught at Multnomah University, London School of Theology, LIFE Pacific, and Southeastern University.
He is the author of ten books, including Redeeming How we Talk (Moody), After Doubt (Brazos), and the award-winning Subversive Sabbath (Brazos). As well, he is the co-host of the “In Faith and Doubt” podcast with New Testament scholar Dr. Nijay Gupta that reaches thousands each week. He loves Jesus deeply, has been married to Quinn for eighteen years, and is the proud father of one son, Elliot. They live and work on an urban farm in Eugene, Oregon.
“With pastoral insight, Swoboda brings doubt into the open, removing the shame and inviting us into practices that draw us back into our bodies, communities, and tradition. After Doubt builds our capacity and courage for the normal, lifelong process of being formed in the wrestling.”
—MANDY SMITH,
pastor and author of Unfettered: Imagining a Childlike Faith beyond the Baggage of Western Culture and The Vulnerable Pastor
“Few things are as subversive to the hurry addiction of the modern world than the practice of Sabbath. And few things are as life-or-death important. A. J. has written his best book yet. His keen mind, quick wit, and deep soulfulness come through beautifully, page by captivating page. But more than anything, this is a book that is lived. My new go-to book on the Sabbath.”
—JOHN MARK COMER,
pastor of teaching and vision, Bridgetown Church; author of The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry
“Drawing on the stories of biblical characters and historical figures, Swoboda reminds us that God has always walked alongside his people, even through life’s more arduous terrain: God walks with wanderers and speaks to wandering hearts. 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,
author, speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneurial coach
