In a time when religion is more influenced by precedent and routine, Pastor Robert Ochs presents a candid, unadorned tale of spiritual dissatisfaction and search in his work Finding the Nature of Christ: A Seeker’s Saga Toward Discovering the Untold Truth. This introspective memoir starts not in a position of assurance, but in stillness of discontentment an attitude many others quietly share but seldom speak out about.
As the pastor of the Norman, Oklahoma Branch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (RLDS), Ochs was at a turning point. Even though his name appeared alone on the list of nominations for re-election, his heart was not at peace. He describes himself as spiritually stagnant, stuck in a cycle of rote studies that no longer satisfied his hunger for knowledge. It was this dissatisfaction that led him on a life-changing quest to discover what he terms the “nature of Jesus Christ” a quest not limited by conventional scripture only, but motivated by an insatiable hunger for truth above denominational boundaries.
The first chapters are a moving combination of personal memoir and theological exploration. We meet a man who, although a spiritual leader, is prepared to face his uncertainties and heed the small, interior voice that beckons him toward something greater. Through recollections of dreams, memories, and meditative paragraphs, Ochs describes moments in which he felt the divine urging him onward, even in danger of offending his congregation.
One of the strongest elements of Ochs’ story is how he defies the strictures that are commonly placed by institutionalized religion. When he challenges whether divine truth can be restricted to a select few sacred writings, he is speaking from a place that many contemporary readers will be sympathetic to. His openness to investigation of contradictions within scripture and consideration of the historical legitimacy of its writers is an act of bravery against spiritual smugness.
His musings on quiet, reflection, and inner struggle offer an universal theme: duty versus desire, institutional expectation versus personal epiphany. Ochs is not afraid to pose the uncomfortable questions and, in the process, invites readers to ask themselves their own.
Finding the Nature of Christ is greater than a memoir; it is a spiritual guide for those courageous enough to question, search, and mature. Pastor Robert Ochs does not provide simple answers, but he provides something even better: a window into the soul of every seeker ever to ask themselves whether there may be more to the Christ story than what tradition holds. And for that, his tale is not merely refreshing it’s essential.
Tune in for the next episode in this blog series as we continue to explore Ochs’ formative religious influences and the dialogues that shaped his theological vision.