BIKER SUNDAY - A SECULAR EVENT HELD ENDING AT CHURCH
We began with a 'normal' church service - several hundred were present, many of the regulars did not come but there were so many from around the country. Some of them, it is the 'few' times they attend a church service.
The service included great worship and then the dedication of a baby. Our hope and our future is in the hands of our children. It was a great honor to be included in the dedication of Wyatt Bunn.
The service included an anointing of Ayden Reilly, my oldest grandson, as the gatekeeper for his generation of our immediate family. There will be a full blog written on this but let me say now, I chose this setting due to the size and attendees of the service. We must find ways to validate our children and grandchildren.
I was allowed to speak, the first time in 15 years of Biker Sunday. It was never my intention as Lead Pastor to be the 'show'. It sickens me when Christian leaders do all the 'photo' ops and try to steal the show. Up until last year, I had never spoke on the stage during a Biker Sunday.
The message was on Hoka Hey, a good day to die. Yes, it was built around the ride of my lifetime but it had such a great message to build on.
1. The Apostle Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 15:31 that he put his life to risk daily. We Western Christians use grey matter, we use our wisdom and common sense. I sure am glad our Lord did not follow this path or the first century Christians. For that matter, many of my forefathers did not use common sense, leaving good paying jobs, uprooting their families, doing with little pay, etc. so that the Kingdom could be advanced.
2. Honor (do you honor God enough to be obedient to the basics),
3. Respect (has He 'earned' a place in your life where you submit to His call and will, including taking a risk)
4. Integrity (It will be misunderstood but under the excitement of the moment, the statement rolled off my lips, 'I would rather be around cussing Christians than lying preachers'. What is to be misunderstood, both should not happen, however, I stand by my statement.)
5. Compassion (Spoke of violent love, love that heals the sick or serves the weak found in Matt.14. Jesus was 'moved' by 'compassion' - His insides twisted up to the point he did something. Now, I cannot 'make a miracle' happen but serving the weak is an absolute decision we make).
The there was the parade, approximately 1500 bikes joined us from Skooters Bar to Christian Heritage church.
Then there was the bike games - wow - I have so much fun. My wife and my daughter played a game a piece with me - AND WE WON!
The band, Cadillac Ranch, got the crowd moving. Always ending with "Born To Be Wild". They entertained the crowd as we transitioned to the last big event!
A day of 'gifts' for the participates, 1800 tee shirts with Biker Sunday on them, literally thousands of sandwiches, chips and drinks and to end the day a Harley Davidson. A father and son won this years bike, the jubilation was inspiring as they jumped and hugged each other.
Why would more churches not do such an event? There was so much alcohol on the property. There were vest that had 'bad' words (I mean really bad). There was no 'real sermon', no Christian music, no 'altar' call.
1. They don't understand secular event at a church. They want to be in control all the time. We receive so much support from businesses, television and radio stations all because it is Toys for Tots!
2. They don't understand Jesus, this is where He would have been. I believe with all my heart that He hung around the hurting for a cause. You find Him with the adulterous (of course, go and sin no more), the demonized, the poor and yes, He even hung with drunks so much they accused Him of being a 'winebibber' or drunk!
3. They don't understand service, they are still wanting to be served. Jesus came to serve, not be served. The modern church wants to be served, come to us, sit down, keep quiet, give your money and don't complain! Are bad things said about CHC? ABSOLUTELY - but always we must consider the source!
What was there? A lot of hurting people who just needed someone to live hope in front of them, listen to their pains and offer the love. One young man could not wait, can you pray for me he asked, 'the suicide thoughts are pounding in my head'. Oh, we had time! Yes, love and hope confronted this evil thing called suicide!
Christian Heritage Church, Hard Core MM, Mission:M25 - keep it up! You are setting a very high bar - a bar that our Lord established over 2000 years ago! Never let the ugly of religious or critical people knock you down - and if you do get down - get back up and DO IT AGAIN.
Looking forward to Biker Sunday 2015
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