Last night, I was reminded again of what it’s like to be part of a church family. We celebrated with a number of our members in a water baptism service. To be honest, the service was one of the best I’ve ever experienced.
But not the entire service. The preaching was mediocre at best. I can say that, because I was the one doing the preaching. I couldn’t get any momentum. Even as I was speaking, I was telling myself that I wasn’t getting any traction. I rambled. I sucked. I kept skipping over stuff in my notes. It was one of those messages that I have to simply accept as being less that average.
Normally, when I fail to even hit the ball on a sermon, I go home very miserable discouraged. For those who speak regularly, you know how much emotion and energy goes into a message. When everything works, you go home on a bit of a high. When it doesn’t … well, you roll-up-in-a-ball-and-suck-your-thumb need your space.
If it wasn’t for how the rest of the evening went, I would have gone home very discouraged. And yet, I found myself so excited riding home. It was simply an amazing service.
Two things happened that made it so. First, during worship I felt strongly impressed to say a word of encouragement to those who were battling major obstacles. I said a few words, then invited those who needed prayer to stand. So many stood. Then, others stood with them, putting a hand on a shoulder, or an arm around a brother. We prayed for them. We’ve only done something like that one or two other times, and it’s always a powerful moment. It’s a strong visual of the kind of family Bikers’ Church truly is.
The other thing that really knocked my socks off was the water baptisms. We had four people scheduled to be baptized. One couldn’t be there because of a sick child. So, we had the other three go into the tank and share their story. Each was great. I love hearing how God is changing a person’s heart and life. Then, I asked if anyone else wanted to be baptized. A woman came forward. Then, a young junior high boy asked his parents if he could be baptized. My heart got excited at what was happening.
Finally, we were done. Marty closed the night off in prayer, and we turned off the camera.
And then, it happened.
We have a guy who has been coming for some time now who is in a wheelchair. He was in an accident about 10 years ago and suffered some brain damage. Until he started coming out to Bikers’ Church, he was pretty much a loner. The staff who cared for him couldn’t get him to do much of anything. They say he is a completely different person since he started coming out to BC.
All through the service, and while I was asking if anyone else wanted to be baptized, he would raise his hand, trying to get my attention. I didn’t respond, because I didn’t want to put his worker on the spot.
But after we wrapped up the service, one of our guys came up to me. “He really wants to be baptized. Any chance we can make it happen?”
So, I called out to everyone. “We have one more person wanting to be baptized!” The crowd came back around our tank, and a few of our guys lifted him out of his wheelchair and into the tank. And, we baptized him.
The cheers were incredible. The smile on his face said it all.
It was then, as I looked around at the ragtag group of people who make up Bikers’ Church, that it hit me once again. This is a family. An incredible family. One I am so very blessed to be a part.
You see, there are some people who think they can experience the spiritual journey on their own. They don’t need to attend church or join with a group of people to know God. Personally, I think God values relationships too much to allow us to take this journey alone. He wants to be in relationship with us, and he also wants us to be in relationship with others.
I can’t imagine not being part of such an incredible spiritual family.
Thank you, Bikers’ Church.
