Motorcycle Clubs and Deacon Boards

On the weekend of our friend Jake’s funeral, we got to know a group of men called the Michigan Dressers.  For those of us who are not initiated into the world of motorcycle clubs, the name seems odd.  But to those in the know, it means that they were all Harley Davidson enthusiasts based in Michigan and committed to one another enough to buy matching leather jackets and spend weekends together.

We were staying right on the shore of Lake Huron in Oscoda, Michigan in a 1950s style establishment – the Lake Trail Lodge.  The lodge consisted of two long rows of adjoined two-bedroom cabins separated by a parking loop and a small green space.  Our unit was at the inland end of the southern row – the entire remainder of the row was fronted by Harleys and occupied by bikers.  On Saturday night, various subsets of these guys went out for night rides.  Being on the inland end of our row, they all rode by a couple feet from my bedroom window – so I spent the night dreaming that I was front row at a NASCAR event.

Sunday morning comes early and I step out wearing my suit and tie – ready to preach at Grace Community Church in front of actual live people for the first time in months!  And between me and the guest lounge across the parking loop (where the coffee is) are about fifty bikes and bikers – freshly returned from their night rides!  Beautiful bikes – and really great guys.  We talked about their club, their families, my brief career as a biker (it ended when due to a visual oversight I had to lay my buddy Ricky Lee’s Honda down…  I figured visual impairments and motorcycles don’t mix well..).  And I invited all of them to church with me.  Sadly, they were too tired.  But in speaking with them I learned something about the nature of their club – and perhaps other motorcycle clubs as well.

It turns out that if a member of the Michigan Dressers needs something – another Michigan Dresser steps up.  I heard stories about club members who were lawyers, dentists, tow truck owner/operators, general contractors, and electricians.  If a club member was in a bind and another club member had the resources or skill set to help – they did.  My primary conversation partner told me about his wife breaking down (driving a car) in Indiana – and a club member took the day off and drove his tow truck down to get her taken care of.  They see themselves as family and choose to act like a functional one.

Amazing.  When the Bible calls us to “contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13) and to “show hospitality to one another without grumbling,” (1 Peter 4:9) – this is what is meant!  Hospitality in the culture of the Bible is so much more than inviting folks over for Sunday lunch.  It involves discovering their needs and sacrificially – inconveniently – meeting those needs.

And, like a functional bike club, the church steps up and steps in to help those who are in dire straits.

This past weekend, my daughter Maggie and her college roommate were driving from Saint Louis to Los Angeles – and broke down just outside of Albuquerque.  First thing I did was go to our Presbyterian Church in America website, clicked on the “church finder” tab – and started calling PCA churches in Albuquerque.  Before I finished leaving my third message, I got a call back from a deacon named Steven.  Forty five minutes later Steven, a firefighter by vocation and a deacon in the church, was sitting with the girls, helped them get the car towed to a Toyota dealer (it was an ’03 Camry), and dropped them off at a reputable hotel in town.  And he arranged for another couple in the church to come pick them up for church on Sunday morning (he was working on Sunday).  As I write this note, the girls are five hours away and will get here in time for my beautiful wife’s birthday dinner (it’s a BIG one – starts with a 5 and ends with a 0…) 

This is one of the ways that we “pay forward” the love of God that he has shown us in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  How can you help others?  Do you know others enough to know what their needs are and how you might be able to help them?  Do you have skills or resources that you can share?  The deacons here at Church in the Canyon do a lot of work helping people – not simply in our church family but in our community as well.  Pray for them, support their ministry, and if you are interested, contact them and let them know that if anyone needs _____________, you might be able to help with that! 

So, if by any chance any Michigan Dressers stumble upon this post via a google search, I was inspired to meet you all – what a great bunch of guys.  And be sure to plan on visiting Grace Community Church the next time your ride takes you through Oscoda.  And for the rest of us.  Let’s be like a bike club.  Let’s cultivate and exercise a diaconal, sacrificial, hospitable love for one another.  And I will let you know when I figure out how to order us matching leather jackets…

Your Pastor,

Bob Bjerkaas