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 a psychological 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, learni...
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