Many years ago, I had a customer who told me about the CSBA, I was intrigued.  The concept of Christ, fast motorcycles and adrenaline seemed like a very odd mix.  I knew as a Christian I did not fit in with the stereotypical version of what a Christian was.  Attendance in the little church on the corner, white picket fence, a wife and 2.2 children. I was and still am an adrenaline junky.  Fast riding, pushing it to the edge applied not just to my style of riding but to how I lived my life and ran a business.  I was fed up with the feminization of the church and was not one of those guys that was going to lay down with the little lamb and be soft spoken.

I check out the bulletin board back then, you could just post and wait for a response, it was very old technology, but it worked.  I posted a query about joining, being very honest about who I was and how I rode, I expected a very nice note refusing my membership.  Instead, I got a call from Brian Philips who was more than glad to have me. 

I chatted on the board for a few months before attending my first rally in Ohio.  Back then Brian was the only one besides me on a sport bike.  Their passion for Christ was real and it felt great to be among Christian believers.  My brother Dave had a church in Columbus, and I had shared with Brian about his success in building a church from scratch and turning it into a very large church.  Dave was to join us that Saturday evening around the camp fire.  In true Brown fashion Dave managed to wreck a borrowed bike on the way to the retreat.  He showed up a little banged up, a little stressed out and a little overwhelmed from the experience of sliding off the road with his first crash, and wrecking a friend’s bike. 

He joined the group around the campfire and asked only for something to drink.  We walked to a cooler to grab something when he shared with me the experience.  I told him not to worry, I would take care of the wrecked bike and to just enjoy the evening and relax.