I was commissioned as a Shepherding Elder at Mariners Church in June. Prayer is an important part of serving as an Elder. I pray for people and their expressed needs, including praying for healing and, when appropriate, anointing people with oil, following the teaching in James 5:13–16. Around that same time, I read J. P. Moreland’s A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles . The book challenged me to expect and look for God’s active, miraculous involvement in everyday life, rather than treating prayer simply as an exercise. Moreland observes that people in other cultures often have a much greater expectation that God will respond to prayer. That idea prompted me to seek an opportunity to experience a different perspective on faith and prayer. Fortunately, Mariners offered a Faith Experience trip to Kenya, and I signed up. I am now committed to traveling to Kenya with a team from Mariners Church this November. I’m looking forward to seeing what God will do, learning from the p...
As I think about going to Kenya - this quote from The Fellowship of the Rings made me chuckle: “It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien