We’re Moving To Vanier!

Earlier today, I posted the following on my personal blog. I thought I’d share it here for those who don’t read robdale.ca

Rediscover: Community

Last night, we concluded our Rediscover series by talking about our connection with the greater motorcycle community.

Here’s the thing. A lot of times, churches can get caught up with all their own things, that they forget that their primary purpose is to connect with the people around them. We build our buildings (often on the outskirts of town) and hunker down inside the four walls.

There was a time when the church was at the centre of every town. Take a ride through many of the small towns in North America, and you’ll discover a small church of some kind right smack dab in the middle of the downtown corridor. Why? Because at one time, the church was the centre of all the activities of that community.

Those days are long gone. Today, we must put a great amount of effort and value on connecting to our communities. We try to do that at Bikers’ Church. We don’t want to be seen as just some fringe group in this city. Rather, we want to offer value to all the others who do so much in this city. And so, we do our best to attend as many events as possible. We offer to serve in whatever way we can with those who put on those rallies. We host our own events, but always with the desire to meet a need within our community.

And, it seems to work. Most bikers in this city have a very positive view of Bikers’ Church. They appreciate all we do and often express their appreciation to our members.

Someone once asked me if the community I served would miss our church if it suddenly disappeared. It’s a great question for every leadership team of every church to ask. My gut tells me that the motorcycle community would miss us. And that excites me.

Rediscover: Family

Last night we continued our series Rediscover. We focused in on the second of our core values: the church family. I talked about the importance of community, and that Bikers’ Church has always strived to experience the spiritual journey together. In the early days, when our numbers were small, we did everything together. Our church family would gather on Thursday nights for the service, but then we’d also hook up most of the weekend, and usually during the week for a ride or two.

Things change. We grew. We are no longer the twenty or twenty five people we once were. And so, the challenge for us is to find ways to keep that value – the importance of being a community – when hanging out all together is no longer feasible.

When churches hit this stage they go one of two ways. Some make the mistake of holding on too tightly to how things once were. They get frustrated that they no longer feel connected to everyone, and so they try to hold back from growing any larger. When churches allow this to happen, they become stagnant, dry, visionless. Others celebrate the changes and creatively work to find ways to enjoy some of the qualities of a smaller church even as they grow into a larger congregation.

I believe God honours those who welcome change. After all, while God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, he is in the “changing business” when it comes to his followers. He wants us to be always changing. Always transforming.

A healthy family is always changing. You might start out with a Dad, Mom, and a couple of children. But as those kids grow older, and marry, your family changes. When grandchildren come into the picture, your family changes. No grandparent holds their grandchild in their arms and thinks, “Boy, I wish we were back to just us and our kids. I wish you didn’t exist.” In the same way, may we never look back at the “old days” and see them as better than today. They were different days. That’s all.

Water Baptism

Last night we gathered at one of our member’s homes to celebrate with a number of our guys who were baptized in water. I love water baptism services at Bikers’ Church, because they really are a special event for us. As someone who has pastored in a variety of churches over the past twenty years, I am often amazed at how different these nights are for this church family. I loved hearing people cheer for each person as they shared a little of their journey, and then celebrated with them as they were baptized.

We are in the midst of a series called Rediscover. We’re talking about the three foundational elements of Bikers’ Church … rediscovering them, if you will. Last week, we talked about connecting to God, and how we must never lose sight of the importance of CCBC declaring that God wants to connect with us in relationship. First and foremost, we are a church, and our message is one that is spiritual in nature.

Water Baptism is an individual’s declaration of that connection in their life. It’s symbolic of the new life that they have begun with God. It’s all about that first foundational element of Bikers’ Church. But it’s more than just that.

The second element, that we will talk about next week, is the connection that we have with each other. Bikers’ Church truly is a family that stands together in the midst of every trial and celebration. We weep together. We also rejoice together. I love that the majority of our people get that.

Water Baptism also includes that element. Not only is it an individual’s declaration of their connection to God, it is done before family and friends because we are all a part of each other’s journey. No one goes at it alone. It’s one of the reasons I’m not a huge fan of being baptized at places like camps, etc. I think the best time to be baptized is when you are around the people who are going to help you in that spiritual journey.

So, we got a taste of the many aspects of Bikers’ Church as we celebrated with six of our guys last night. We heard how they are taking their walk with God seriously, and we saw the genuine love that is felt among family.

I just love this church.

Rediscover … God

We began a new series last night called Rediscover. Over the next few weeks, we’re going to look at some of the foundational ideas that have been a part of the Bikers’ Church DNA since day one.

At the top of that list is connecting to God. More than anything else, that’s why we exist. To discover that connection for ourselves, and to introduce others to the amazing love and grace of God.

Over the years, there have been a few people who have suggested to me that Bikers’ Church would be more successful if we played down the whole “God thing.” But I’m not sure I would agree with their definition of “successful.”

When we came up with the name Capital City Bikers’ Church, we intentionally used the word Church. At the time, many new churches were avoiding that word. In fact, if you look around at churches that have started in the past fifteen years, you’ll be surprised at how many don’t have the word church in their name. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but we felt strongly that we wanted people to know exactly what we were … a church! We didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding on that.

And yet, there is. I still get people who ask if we are a “real church.” I have people who come out to a meeting and are genuinely surprised that we have a spiritual message and we focus in on our journey with God. I don’t mind that, but I do find it funny. Why would it be so surprising that a place called Bikers’ Church would be a church?

And so, as a church, our primary focus in our relationship with God. However, we don’t come at it from the idea that you have to do a bunch of things or follow a bunch of rules in order to be loved and accepted by God. Rather, we want to break free of the religious way of thinking and introduce people to a new way of coming to God: without condemnation. After all, the Gospel is Good News.

I’m so grateful that my relationship with God is not based on my performance. It’s not based on how good I am on any given day. Rather it is solely based on what Jesus did for me, when he paid the ultimate price on the cross. And so, I come into that relationship not on my own merit, but simply be receiving that gift of grace that God offers to me.

That is something we must never lose sight of at Bikers’ Church.

Cause That’s What Family Does

Last night we celebrated a baby dedication at Bikers’ Church. As I explained in the service, it is one of my favourite things to do as a pastor. It’s also one of the times when I love that we are still a small enough group to keep dedications personal.

You see, in larger churches, it’s too difficult to devote an entire service to a baby dedication. After all, if you did that for every child, you’d be doing specialized services every other week. In our case, baby dedications only happen once every few years, and so it’s easy to do an entire service around the theme of Family.

And that’s exactly what we did. I love it.

I also felt it. The family. We laughed, some cried, we ate cake, and yes, we stood together – all 80 or so adults, and made a commitment as a church to do our part in helping one couple raise their first child. We are all committed to the children of Bikers’ Church. Why? Because that’s what family does: stick together.

It was one of those nights where I am so proud of the people I’ve been blessed to pastor.

Whoops

Hey folks,

It has come to my attention that the videos from the One Prayer series were all missing sound. I’m slowly correcting that, and by the end of today, all three videos should be working properly online.

Sorry about that!

God is … Strong

Francis Chan is the teaching pastor at Cornerstone Community Church, and is also author of Crazy Love, a powerful book about God’s incredible grace. He also is this week’s One Prayer speaker.

His message, God is Strong, was a challenging one. There were so many things that he said that spoke right to my heart. I was challenged, encouraged, and motivated all at the same time!

If I could pinpoint one thing that really spoke to me, it was when Chan spoke about our arrogance. That we in our continual focus on the love and mercy of God (which Chan is a huge proponent of), we can easily forget that we are the created and God is the Creator. He is God, I’m not. That means he can do as he pleases, and isn’t really accountable to us.

In other words, I really can’t demand that God explain himself to me. I may want him to tell me why he does certain things, but he’s under no obligation to fill me in. Can I accept that? Can I settle into the notion that He’s God, I’m not?

Because God is the Creator, he defines justice. He also defines mercy. I think that’s important for us to realize. You see, far too often, we define those things, and then we get upset because it seems that God doesn’t fit into our definition of justice and mercy. The problem is, our definitions continually change. What we see as just and merciful, is far different than how people defined those terms 500 years ago, 200 years ago, even a generation ago. Our definitions of these qualities are based on situations. And since those situations constantly change, our definitions change.

God doesn’t change. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is the Creator. As Chan put it, when God does something, it is just and merciful, because God’s being is just and merciful.

Ultimately, Francis Chan’s point to his message is that we have the Creator on our side. Do we live like we do? Do we have the boldness and courage that should come with those who have the Ultimate Being on their side? Do we encourage one another with that truth? When a friend is facing tough times, do we encourage them: “Be strong and courageous … God is with you.”

I am challenged. And encouraged. Because God is strong.

God is Here

I love Perry Noble’s preaching. His passion, humour, and ability to drive home a truth flows so well together, that I find myself captivated by what he is saying, regardless of how many times I hear the message.

His message last night fit well into that category. God is here. Of course he is. But does that truth really hit home? Do it believe it at my very core? Most of the time, I do. Sometimes I don’t think I hold to it as strongly as I could. Or at least, my behaviour indicates that I don’t hold to it the way I should.

How would I live differently if I lived every moment truly believing that God is here – right here, with me? Would you live any differently?

I think I would live more confidently. There would be a great sense of assurance every time I ventured out to do what I felt God wanted me to do. After all, I’m not doing it alone, God is here.

I also think I’d live more compassionately. When I walk by the homeless person, I might see them differently, after all, God is here. He is with me as I walk past that homeless person. Heck, God is also with the homeless person! When I pass by that individual without a second glance, I’m passing by God who is there with him … again, without a second glance.

Yeah, I have a long way to go with this one. To live every moment of life truly believing that God is here … with me. Not in some theological, “out there”, kind of way. But truly with me.

What about you?

God is … Certain

Beginning this week, we are participating in a global movement called One Prayer. Churches around the world will be joining together to celebrate the theme God is …. Each week, a different speaker will share their thoughts on that subject.

Our first speaker is Andy Stanley, pastor of North Point Church. He is one of the best speakers I have ever heard, and his messages always challenge and encourage me.

He spoke on the subject God is certain. Wow. I think this message was a perfect message to hear following our Whispers series. Especially the final message about hearing God in the midst of storms. In a sense, last night’s message was “part two.”

It is incredible to realize that God is certain. He’s trustworthy. That even when we are facing something and it seems like God has abandoned us, he is still right there. He is in the middle of whatever we are facing. He is with us. Again … wow.

Can you think of a time when God showed up in the middle of a trial? Share it with us in the comments section.

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