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April 2008
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From The President's Desk |
How to Share Your Faith
I have been really fortunate to be able to talk to some of the new members over the last few weeks; we have been growing. Each of us comes from a different place in life, each of the new members that I had spoke to were able to share part of their past with me. I feel really blessed that I could hear each of their stories. I have added a new feature to the newsletter that will be a profile of one of our members, this month it is Bro Bill who will share his testimony and part of himself with us. I have come to realize that all of us here have been through many ups and downs in life; we have all be tormented, tempted and tested. The problems we have today are not new nor are we the first to go through them, yet each of us feels somehow that we are unique in the problems that we have, in reality it is our common bond. We have been given the workshop manual to maintain our spiritual lives; we have been given the road map to show us the terrain; the Bible and a GPS to help us navigate tough terrain; through the Holy Spirit. How often do we rely on the tools that our father gave us by relying on his Word and the Holy Spirit? How we handle our troubles is how we share our faith is our testimony. Christ overcame, and he is our role model to follow. The CSBA is the place for anyone to come and ask for help it is a place for sharing your burden. Please visit our Prayer and Praise section on the forum and use the most powerful tool the Lord has given us.
Your brother in Christ,
Learning How to Trust God A profile of CSBA member "BroBill"
I talked to Bob, our new CSBA President, a few days ago to congratulate him on the new position and to catch him up on my life journey. During our conversation he asked me to do a profile about myself to share how good Jesus has been to me during these past 5 years.
I’ve been riding for about 6 years and my bike of choice is a Honda CBR1100XX. In the CSBA there’s a group of us called The Buzzard. That’s only because half the CSBA ride VFR’s and they wish they could handle a Blackbird. I know the hater emails will start now! I’ve had the pleasure of totaling 2 Blackbirds. The first Bird was killed by the Dragon at a CSBA rally. Who says Christians don’t have fun-- but you know we call it Grace & Mercy. The second Bird was killed when I ran into the back of a car not far from where I live. I got flipped off the bike and landed in traffic, but you know God watches out over His children. The police officer at the scene of the accident came up to me and commented on how lucky I was because I was fully geared up. I know the gear was part of it but it was God that kept me safe because I’ve got work to do for the Kingdom.
When my wife was about 6 weeks pregnant I asked her if I could get a bike. Before she said no, I asked her to pray about it. She came back and said yes! Riding is the one thing I do for myself and I used my bike as a tool to witness for Jesus Christ. Witnessing for Jesus Christ is my spiritual gift. I’ll never forget the day I went to the Promise Keepers “Standing in the Gap” rally in Washington DC. I saw this huge group of bikers in prayer circle around the gas pumps and I was blown away. What I remember most was how that scene changed the image of bikers in the minds of everyone at that gas station. While at the International Motorcycle Show, I saw the CMA, and almost joined them. One day Pete, the former CSBA Chaplain, told me about the CSBA. Pete sent me a link to the CSBA website, asked me to check it out, and I did. When I saw the Pastor in full dress on a R1, I was like; this is the place for me. I joined and started the Chicago chapter. After I joined I went and recruited everybody and their mother to join the CSBA. We had a nice size chapter and up until the time of my last motorcycle accident the chapter was growing. When I lost my last bike in 2006, it became hard to be a chapter leader without a bike. That’s when my life took another strange turn on a long and sad journey that I had been on for about 2 – 3 years. The last five years of my life has been a true walk by faith and not by sight! It’s not been an easy journey. I guess that is the way my walk with Christ has been; a walk that was designed by God especially for me.
I grew up in a house that believed in Jesus Christ. I grew up Catholic and did all the things that Catholics do like serving as an alter boy. After I saw my first black priest, I dreamed of becoming one myself. Looking back at that time in my life, I felt I really knew Jesus but I didn’t have the Holy Ghost. To me, I felt that my relationship with Christ hadn’t come into its fullness yet. I remember when my wife to be and I were dating, we had different beliefs but we knew we wanted to be fed from the same well when it came to our faith. As a Catholic I was often told I was not saved but no one could tell me why. I believe in Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit. From where I stood I believe in everything that all Christians believe and I hated my friends for telling me that I was not saved. During this time, my soon to be wife and I changed churches. She was Baptist and I was Catholic and we joined a Pentecostal church and my life has never been the same since.
One night during a Bible class I ask my pastor the question that changed my life, “Could you tell me why I’m not saved?” I’ve been baptized and I believe in God the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and all that.” My pastor asked me how I was baptized. I told him I didn’t know I was a baby when it happened. He said, “That’s why! You did not choose Christ for yourself. Your parents choose Him for you.” On July 14, 1996 my life changed forever. That life changing event is the only thing that has kept me going these past 5 years. Jesus kept me from leaving my wife. He kept me from turning to the world for comfort by drinking and smoking, and cursing God. Yeah, there have been times I wanted to curse at God because I felt all alone. I felt He had left me. I felt alone. The word says, “I’ll never leave you nor forsake you,” but sometimes you do feel alone when dealing with crisis. Being filled with the Holy Ghost has changed my life forever! Now that I’ve introduced myself to those that didn’t know me, and re-introduced myself to my old CSBA brothers and sisters, let me share with everyone what you don’t know about BroBill. My faith has been stretched, almost broken, bent, tested, and strengthened. Here is how it all started boys and girls, and don’t try this at home.
Eight years ago I married a wonderful woman who is my best friend and is heaven sent. We both worked in the technology sector and we made a great living. At one point, we were making about 150k a year. We had bank accounts for tithes, traveling, saving, monthly expenses, and a slush fund. The slush fund was money that did not go to running the house and I could do whatever I wanted with it. This is how I could afford having two bikes at one time and paying both notes. We were living the American dream with God’s blessing. During our second year of marriage we had our first child and we knew it was time for us to find a house. The Lord blessed us with a wonderful townhome containing 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, full basement, 2 car garage, and a 4 car driveway. It was the largest one in our subdivision. We were blessed. I was active in the church, and I was trying to spread the word about the CSBA. My wife and I were happy with our life and praising God for all we had. We did not spend a lot of money and were modest in how we lived. How many of you know that when things are good you should start looking for a new trial or tribulation to come into your life? After 13 months had passed, we started to have problems with our version of heaven on earth.
Things started to happen including September 11th and Enron. Then the local economy in Chicago started to have problems. I didn’t really worry about the things that were going on around me because my life was good. My wife and I were about to have our second child and I was ready for my wife to say, “I want to stay home and raise our kids.” We had money saved and I was looking forward to a raise and a year and half of back pay to go with it. One April morning around 9:05 a.m., I received a call from my wife telling me she and 500 of her closest co-workers had just been laid off! After I got off the phone with her, I went to my sanctuary at work. In the men’s restroom, I tried to figure out how to fix this problem. I figured I would sell one of my bikes, get rid of an extra car, and just plain save money to support my family. I was ready. After I figured out my plan the Lord spoke, “Are you finished making your plan? Stop, don’t do anything, everything you have I gave you; it was a gift from God. Let me be in charge and you won’t go wrong.” I felt good, God has just given me a word; what else could I have wanted? My wife is at home taking care of our daughter and everything is ok.
Three months go by, and late
one afternoon my phone rang. It is my boss calling to speak with me. I
went into his office and the worst thing that could happen, happened. I
lost my job! Ok Lord, now what! What! I’ve got a wife and child with one
on the way! I’ve got a mortgage. I got a car note to pay. What do I do
now? Man, talk about scared! Being a man and head of my family, what do I
do now? I’ve lost a job before but I was a single and didn’t have all
these responsibilities. Man, I prayed on a regular basis. The 63rd Psalm
was a great comfort to me. It has become my foundational scripture. 1 O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. 4 I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands. 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you. 6 On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. 7 Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. 8 My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. 9 They who seek my life will be destroyed; they will go down to the depths of the earth. 10 They will be given over to the sword and become food for jackals. 11 But the king will rejoice in God; all who swear by God's name will praise him, while the mouths of liars will be silenced.
It was during this time that we started our computer consulting firm, Partnering Solutions. I’ve always wanted to work for myself and I felt that God was leading me in that direction. In the beginning, my wife and I were going to use our computer skills to earn a living and be free of the craziness you experience working for some big corporation. Things were going good for us. Most of my business came from members in my church. We were able to get business that most small companies dreamed of, and working with my wife was pretty cool. There was one minor problem. The company never made enough money to replace the money we were making working in corporate America. We were filling in the financial gap by using our savings to carry us through until we started making more money. My wife took on a part time job to fill the money gaps. I had a problem with that. I’m the man. I felt that I should be the one going to work. My wife told me that I knew the consulting business better than she did. She believed it would be best if I stayed home and worked the business. I worked the business night and day and God would bless me with income yet we would still fall short of what we needed to keep our household afloat.
I would walk around my house in prayer asking God, begging God to tell me, “Did I hear you Lord when it came to starting this business?” Every time I decided to walk away from the business and to look for work, new business would come my way. That would be all I needed to stay convinced that this was the will of God. There were times when I wanted to leave but I would hear the voice of God say, “Leaving is not what I told you to do.” It was around this time that we started to run out of money. My wife and I started having arguments about the business, our finances, my personal faith, and our marriage. I was in a very tough place for a man. I could do what I believe God has called me to do or I could go get a job and make my wife happy. Again my prayer was, “Lord don’t let me mess up the lives of my family going after a dream if you have not called me to do this.” I would pray that He would touch her heart, and get us back on one accord. Sometimes we tell ourselves that God has called us to do something when the only person that called you, was you. I would see things in my prayers and in my spirit. I felt the Lord moving more and more each day to bring this business to life. I had vision of our corporate headquarters, I had seen my employees, and I know that my company will be a blessing to all those that the Lord sends to be a part of Partnering Solutions. Like Joshua told Moses, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” But man, I didn’t know it was going to be this hard to serve the Lord.
One day in June we heard a knock on the front door, I went to answer it. I had just been served with foreclosure papers. Now what would we do? I was confused! I was a child of the King. I was a joint heir with Christ. We paid our bills. Lord, what did I do wrong or what did my wife do wrong. The answer that came back was, “Nothing”! The Lord took me back to a marriage seminar that my wife and I went to some time ago. We wanted to meet the speaker after the presentation was over and tell him that he did a great job. Before I could introduce myself to the speaker he told my wife and I that there is life after bankruptcy and that God was going to use my wife and I in a mighty way. I remembered that event like it was yesterday. I’ve heard people say that the Lord gives you everything you need before you need it. I’m praying, “Lord I need your help, I need money, I need you to talk to my wife, and I need peace!”
Peace came in the form of filing a chapter 13 bankruptcy to save our home. I had a hard time filling out those papers. It didn’t feel right to me but this is where God kicked my butt and it wasn’t nice. One day the Lord let me have it. He said, “You don’t doubt that I will deliver you from this situation but you have a problem with how I save you!” After some soul searching I knew the Lord was right, so I decided to forego my will and let His will be done. My wife and I talked about leaving one another again. So to keep peace in my house, I picked up two part-time jobs and continued work at the business. The thing we had to do was put our house up for sale. That meant selling in a down market. This was hard for me. Where would we go? Where would we live? How would we pay our rent? Who would rent to us? I spent most of the past summer fixing up our house so we could sell it. While I was working on the house I had to believe that God had a plan and He had not revealed it to me yet. I was trying to keep my wife calm but, by this time we were fighting all the time and only talked when we had to do so. There were days when all I wanted was some peace, and if that meant force then so be it. All I wanted was peace and I did not care how I got it at times. I had gotten to the point where I thought the worst thing that could happen would be not seeing my kids everyday. I could live with that if I had to, I didn’t know what else to do.
I would go to church hoping to hear a word from God. I could not even pray for myself. I couldn’t even reach out to my brothers and sisters of the CSBA for help. What do you say? Now that I look back I guess I could have just said “help!” The enemy was getting what he wanted. He wanted me to keep quiet. The Word says that what the devil meant for my demise, God is meant for my good. My faith was stretched to its limit. At times I felt my faith was broken. I’m losing my house, my wife, and my family. I lost my bike, my car, and my job. My wife blames me for everything that has happen to us. I felt I had lost my faith. What else did I have left to loose in order for God to help me? My pastor often said that down is up in the Lord. I have to say it is true.
January 2008 was the start of a new beginning and Christ Jesus came to see about me. During our consecration services at church, the man of God that came to preach prophesized to the church that God was going to deliver everyone who was facing foreclosure and financial trouble soon. I heard what the man of God said and rejoiced that help was on the way. About a week later I decided to apply for a job, I felt the Lord leading me to do so. I applied for about 4 or 5 jobs that really fit my skill set. The first job I applied for was on a Thursday, they called me the next day. I went in for the interview that was scheduled to last for 2 hours but it lasted 6. The next day HR called to inform me that the interview went well and they will call me back at the end of the week with a decision. On Thursday the HR department called to offer me the job. It included a salary in the mid 70’s range. Thank you Jesus!!! When I said “yes” to the job offer, all my financial issues were gone. Peace had returned to my house. All the work experience I gained working for myself prepared me for this job. The Word says “work as if you are working unto the Lord.” I’m making good money now. My wife and I are rebuilding our marriage with the help of the Lord and a faith-filled marriage counselor.
I’m back! I am moving in the direction that the Lord has laid out for me. I have the gift of evangelism and Christ is calling me to go to the highway and by-way to do His will. If that leads me to becoming a minister then so be it. Wherever my path leads, I know I am on the right one. As far as my business is concerned, I am still working with my clients and the Lord is getting me ready for the time He sees me returning to Partnering Solutions full time. As for the CSBA, I’m looking for a bike to get back on the road this summer. I still have some bills that I need to catch up on before getting a bike. I plan to reactivate the Chicago CSBA chapter and help someone else take over as chapter leader. There is one thing I really want to do this year. That is, to take few days by myself to be with Christ, and exhale.
The Daytona Experience by Pastor Art Lohman, CSBA Chaplain
Daytona, "the world's center of racing", lived up to its motto this March as the CCS racing season kicked off under blue skies and palm trees in the sunshine state. The starting grids were bursting with up to 70 bikes as fans streamed in through the tunnel to fill the infield. The cold winter off-season months left all of us longing for our friends and the twist of the throttle. Road racing motorcycles is not merely a hobby, it is a way of life, it is a reflection of the courage and spirit of adventure that exists within our hearts and in many ways is inseparable from our personalities, even when we are not in the saddle.
As a road racing chaplain, I had the privilege of praying with a 17 year old racer named Craig who was preparing to go on track for his very first racing event. And as we knelt beside his bike it was encouraging to know that, where most racers wait for the twisties to drag their knees, this future faithful warrior had his knee on the ground before he ever saddled up, because it is on our knees where life's toughest curves will be won. As a faithful young man in a culture that chooses to replace the hope of Christ with money, parties and all the feel good comforts of material wealth, Craig, like all of us, will face many struggles as he learns about his faith, and matures to lead others.
These struggles for the souls of men became very clear as I left the track and cruised into the heart of this bustling beachside city for my first up-close experience with Daytona Bikeweek after dark. The number of bikes was staggering as the city literally seemed to be moving on two wheels. It seemed so inviting to blend into that stream of bikes and bodies, culminating in a massive crowd, tens of thousands, maybe more, jammed along the streets and sidewalks surrounding A1A and Main Street. But as my view narrowed from the crowds to the individual faces I was passing, it was plain to see in the searching eyes of the revelers, pain, and a desire to have an empty spot in their hearts filled with something that would satisfy.
In the midst of the fray, I encountered several folks from nearby churches, holding up signs with Bible verses and handing out pamphlets that talked of God's love. They were brave to be standing in their polo shirts and tennis shoes amidst the pressing crowds covered in tattoos and leather, but as I watched the many passersby crumple the pamphlets on the ground a few yards after receiving them, and the majority just walking by in an awkward silence, it became clear to me that though these well intentioned “bros” had the right heart to reach out to the bike week crowd, but they had no relevant relationship to cause those who overflowed the sidewalks, to stop, listen and receive the satisfying hope they were so desperately seeking.
Ending up atop the 6 story parking garage that overlooked the crowded streets, I felt compassion for all those craving the party below, who would wake up the next day, just as lonely, more hurt, and just as empty. I began to realize why I felt the Lord calling me to serve in this area, and though my bike doesn't have the "Orlando Bling", (extended swing arm, underglow and lots of chrome), it does have something that these men want, and need...the hope and love of God, waiting to be shared, from the imperfect rider who turns the throttle.
So being the lonely bike with number plates, I pulled into the Hess station hangout on International Speedway Drive at 10pm, and immediately engaged a large group of riders. They were tough and outspoken, but soon began to scold each other for cussing so much in front of the chaplain. This reverence for God was a glimpse into the hearts of men who were diamonds in the rough. Our friendship began to form as we rode for a bit and then parted ways, the next day one of the bros called me, and almost twenty bikes from the previous night showed up at the track. God loves these souls so much, that He planted His hunger for their salvation into our hearts! And sends us, the weak and empty vessels that we are, having now been made strong and filled with purpose through His forgiveness and Holy Spirit, to reflect His light into the darkest corners of mankind.
The morning I was preparing to leave, the TV was awash with images and reporters talking of three young men who were killed on their sportbikes the night before. I felt as if I had failed those men, and I know I will return to this place, bearing the hope that will save, the joy that won’t fade at dawn’s coming light, and the healing truth of the only God whose suffering and death on the cross, in the person of Jesus the Christ, was an act of a Father's love to save His children.
In The Driver’s Seat by Joe Stowell "I love the story of the stressed-out woman who was
tailgating a man as they drove on a busy boulevard. When he slowed to a
stop at a yellow light, the woman hit the horn, cussing and screaming in
frustration and gesturing angrily. As she was still in mid-rant, she heard
a tap on her window and looked up into the face of a police officer who
ordered her to exit the car with her hands up. He took her to the police
station and placed her in a holding cell. CSBA Store We now have hats!!!!!!
Hats are khaki; one size fits all, “low profile” baseball caps with the new oval logo design on the front and the web address on the rear. Best of all, they are only $15!
Go to the CSBA store and check them and all of our other member wears out!
If you would like something posted in the next newsletter, please let us know! Send your entry to Bob.
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My
name is Bill "Brobill" Gaston. I am the CSBA Chicago Chapter President from
Westchester just outside of Chicago, Illinois. I’ve been with the CSBA for
about 5 or 6 years, and chapter President for about the same amount of
time. I’ve been missing in action from the CSBA for over a year now, so
some of you new guys don’t know me. 
