After his baptism, Jesus went to the desert for 40 days, but not to a theological school!

There he learned crucial things. For him it was a first-class spiritual initiation process, a sort of theological overture to his subsequent speech on God, pastoral action and critical examination of the religious institution of his time.

Based on the biblical accounts and his own longtime desert experiences, Michael Gmelch is convinced: if Christians at all church levels were to accept the challenge of a desert experience, we would have completely different personalities, influenced by Jesus, especially in leadership positions. They would be braver and more open, closer to God and people. They would not fearfully insist on tradition, they would abandon clerical patterns of behavior and dare new paths.