considering jesus at on this rock
Shelly Griffin / 4 Min Read / On This Rock 2022
Like most people in Central Oregon, I’m a big fan of the outdoors. Some of my best moments—either solo or with family and friends—have happened outside. For me, the outdoors is adventure and wonder and spiritual connection. As a part of Common Ground, I’m all about our mission to share Jesus with the outdoor community of Central Oregon. As our team brainstormed goals for On This Rock, we landed on three—making rock climbing accessible for new climbers, sharing a warm community where people feel belonging, and finally, offering an invitation to consider Jesus.
I like the idea of considering Jesus. It’s open-ended, no strings attached. It’s a looking and listening kind of thing. It’s a self check-in, heart kind of thing. What do I think about Jesus? Do I see anything that looks like Jesus?
Here’s what I saw during OTR that spoke Jesus to my heart. Being tucked into a grassy meadow with sentinel Smith Rock standing watch. What about the sunset that first night and then later, the stars? The snap of campfires with drifts of laughter and good cheer.
I saw Jesus in the crews serving food and amazing alcohol-free cocktails, and the hungry and thirsty folks grateful for both. Jesus certainly looks like local climbing guides volunteering their time and skills to share the stoke of rock climbing. And I saw Jesus in the connections—small groups discussing ideas from David Asscherick’s talks or friendly introductions and shared experiences. And of course, I saw Jesus in the quiet of a frosty morning—practicing mindfulness and meditation through probably the coldest yoga I’ve ever done.
For me though, one Jesus moment stands out. It was Saturday night and Reel Rock 13 was playing on the big screen. I was sitting by a fire, casually manning the hot drinks table. One of my friends from Common Ground came over with two German young women in their early twenties. They had spied our big tent, walked over, and asked if they could camp overnight. They were just climbing at Smith. They hadn’t signed up for OTR—they had no clue what it was about. My friend said, “Of course, yes—you can camp here.” There was no hesitation—just, “Yes, join us. No, you don’t need to pay.” Grateful, they grabbed hot drinks, caught the last half of Reel Rock, and set up their tent in the meadow. It wasn’t by the book, but Jesus rarely is.
The honest truth is that Christianity has a lot of baggage and Jesus gets thrown right into the middle of all of that. That’s why it’s so important to show Jesus—not just tell Jesus. Considering Jesus to me means being willing to look for what’s good, and then the good stuff leads to Jesus. I hope OTR was a blast for new climbers. I hope people found joy in the beauty of the outdoors. I hope that people made friends and felt like they belonged. But my number one hope is for all the people at OTR actively considering Jesus—I hope they saw something that looked a lot like Him.
