SPRINGFIELD, Missouri – Evangel University President Dr. Mike Rakes announces the release of his latest book, “Surrendered & Unafraid: The Flourishing of Faith During Seasons of Suffering.” It is available for order via Amazon and Kindle.
“Surrendered & Unafraid” is a deeply personal account of the Rakes’ journey through suffering and the confronting of one of life’s most difficult questions – what happens when the God of Miracles doesn’t give you a miracle?
Throughout his career, Rakes, an educator, intellectual, and pastor, has talked and written about a God who does the miraculous and answers sincere prayers. But when he lost his 27-year-old, worship-leading daughter to an incurable cancer in her bloodstream, he was left with only tormenting grief. Disappointments, questions, and contradictions abounded, sending him on a deeper spiritual quest to know more about the nature of God.
In moving and vulnerable detail, Rakes recounts his wrestling with a God who allows suffering, and how that wrestling deepened his faith in a Savior acquainted with sorrow.
“I believe prayer is important. I believe God answers prayer,” Rakes said. “However, the sincerity, frequency, volume, and number of people praying does not equate to getting God to do what you want. Faith is not a way to get what you want. Faith is what carries you through when you don’t get what you want. This book is my journal through this kind of unwavering faith.”
The weaving of personal stories, theological insights, and practical application provides a path for readers to process their own experiences of hardship and disappointment and discover glimpses of hope along the way.
About Dr. Mike Rakes
Rakes currently serves as the fifth president of Evangel University, a position he has held since August of this year. His professional experience includes senior pastoral ministry and higher education administration.
He is a graduate of Central Bible College and the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Pastoral Ministries and a master’s degree in Biblical Literature. He also holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Biola University, with additional doctoral studies in management.
“Surrendered & Unafraid” is Rakes’ second published book. His first book, “Slings and Stones: How God Works in the Mind to Inspire Courage in the Heart” was published in 2015.
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Evangel University, with the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS), is a comprehensive Christian university committed to excellence in educating and equipping students to serve the Church and society globally. Evangel and AGTS serve more than 2,200 students from all 50 states and numerous foreign countries, offering 70 undergraduate majors and 19 master and doctoral degrees.