harley grace - part two

i had noticed that from time to time rich neubauer would show up at our denominational pastor's network meetings wearing biker riding gear and usually with a long-haired biker friend in tow. i have to say, i admired the boldness this pastor displayed in just walking into those meetings, "auspicious" as they were, without much care or concern for the looks he was getting. here he was, a pentecostal pastor dressed like that, and obviously riding one of the harley-davidson motorcycles we had seen parked outside. so i was curious about him and his harley riding habit and the long-haired friend that always came with him.

well, it was at the retreat center where i finally got the chance to talk to him about all this and about the way the Christ-life has changed for him since he started riding. rich shared with me an amazing story about a man named russ cockrum, the founder of the honorbound motorcycle ministry. he told me how russ started the ministry after having a bad motorcycle accident that caused him to do some serious soul-searching. it was during the recovery period as russ lay in the hospital that God reminded him of something russ had said over 20 years earlier. on that day and at the very moment he first began to follow Christ, russ had whispered, "God, never let me forget where i came from." those words came back to him like a boomerang in the face.

russ realized that over the years since meeting Christ he had forgotten where he came from. God had rescued him from a life as a drug addicted, alcoholic biker about to lose his marriage and everything else important to him and had helped him become a successful church planter, pastor and denominational leader. but 20 plus years later, God had something else in mind.

as it would happen, at this same time, russ met rich neubauer. rich had heard about a fellow pastor traveling out here from the midwest who had had a bad motorcycle accident. and rich, being a local pastor and a guy with a heart as big as texas, went to visit him in the hospital.

that connection between rich and russ turned out to be a divine appointment and the idea for starting honorbound mm was born.

well, this story and the new stories rich had to tell about the many lives that have been impacted by the ministry over the past 5 years of honorbound mm's existence, filled me with a new passion and an excitement for sharing Christ in a context i never thought was possible for a pentecostal preacher. and, little did i know how God was about to use this ministry to speak into my life at the most difficult season i have ever faced.

more later...