1 About This Newsletter This letter is published for our members, their families and friends and anyone interested in knowing more about Black Sheep HDFC. If you would like to receive this free monthly newsletter by email simply let us know by contacting our office: [email protected]. ! Our Mission Statement “To introduce the world of motorcycle riders to Jesus Christ, for the purpose of making more and better disciples through the ministry of the local church.” ! 15 th Anniversary: ILS2014 Can you believe that we’ve been doing this for fifteen years!? Members and non-members alike are encouraged to celebrate our 15 th year anniversary celebration and annual Leadership Summit. The dates are April 31 st -May 3 rd . The location is The Lamb’s Fellowship in Lake Elsinore, Ca. Hundreds of members from dozens of states; Australia and Mexico, will come for the encouragement, the music, the speakers and the motorcycle ministry seminars. Our very special guest this year will be author Doug Pollack of God Space. Save the dates! Registration details are coming! ! Come Quick! They’re Dying! Marty Edwards (IP-BSHDFC) Have you ever put off filling you gas tank, even though the “empty” light was flashing? Have you ever waited too long to eat and gotten one of those miserable sick headaches? We all have! We are chronic procrastinators! We wait too long to buy new tires – and we get a flat! We put off paying a bill – and get slapped with a late fee! Yep! Been there, done all that! cont. page 2 Bike of the Month: Laz Alba Here’s our 2007 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe. The bike has 18" inch apes, 39" Sampson Fishtails, and lots of chrome. The paint job is a two-tone mint green with birch white. The bike was painted by Jim Jones from the Dessert Edge Black Sheep chapter. I have gold leaf lettering on each saddlebag. On one saddle bag I have the word "Wretched" because I'm a wretched sinner, saved by grace. On the other saddle bag I have “Romans 6:23.” I get complimented on the bike quite often, but all glory goes to Jesus for allowing me and my wife Laura the privilege of owning such a motorcycle. !
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About This Newsletterfee! Yep! Been there, done all that! cont. page 2 Bike of the Month: Laz Alba Here’s our 2007 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe. The bike has 18" inch apes, 39"
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About This Newsletter This letter is published for our members, their families and friends and anyone interested in knowing more about Black Sheep HDFC. If you would like to receive this free monthly newsletter by email simply let us know by contacting our office: [email protected]. ! Our Mission Statement “To introduce the world of motorcycle riders to Jesus Christ, for the purpose of making more and better disciples through the ministry of the local church.” ! 15th Anniversary: ILS2014 Can you believe that we’ve been doing this for fifteen years!? Members and non-members alike are encouraged to celebrate our 15th year anniversary celebration and annual Leadership Summit. The dates are April 31st-May 3rd. The location is The Lamb’s Fellowship in Lake Elsinore, Ca. Hundreds of members from dozens of states; Australia and Mexico, will come for the encouragement, the music, the speakers and the motorcycle ministry seminars. Our very special guest this year will be author Doug Pollack of God Space. Save the dates! Registration details are coming! !
Come Quick! They’re Dying! Marty Edwards (IP-BSHDFC)
Have you ever put off filling you gas tank, even though the “empty” light was flashing? Have you ever waited too long to eat and gotten one of those miserable sick headaches? We all have! We are chronic procrastinators! We wait too long to buy new tires – and we get a flat!
We put off paying a bill – and get slapped with a late fee! Yep! Been there, done all that! cont. page 2 Bike of the Month: Laz Alba Here’s our 2007 Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe. The bike has 18" inch apes, 39" Sampson Fishtails, and lots of chrome. The paint job is a two-tone mint green with birch white. The bike was painted by Jim Jones from the Dessert Edge Black Sheep chapter. I have gold leaf lettering on each saddlebag. On one saddle bag I have the word "Wretched" because I'm a wretched sinner, saved by grace. On the other saddle bag I have “Romans 6:23.” I get complimented on the bike quite often, but all glory goes to Jesus for allowing me and my wife Laura the privilege of owning such a motorcycle. !
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Come Quick! They’re Dying! Continued from page 1 Sometimes procrastination is no big deal; a little inconvenience or maybe a small late fee. Breaking down on the freeway – or in the middle of nowhere, however, can be down right dangerous, but what about the biggest decision of your life? What about preparing for eternity – life AFTER death? I’m sure, many reading this will say, “I don’t believe in God!” or “I’m just going to party in hell with all my buddies!” But after 40 years in the ministry and fifteen years in motorcycle ministry, it has not been my experience that people really believe this. When death comes knockin’, people start scramblin’ for the answers! THE UNAVOIDABLE FACTS 1. All of us are going to die. Some will get sick,
some will have an accident and some will just get old and fall asleep (my personal preference), but we’re all going to “go” sooner or later.
2. Some will say there may or may not be an after life. (Of course, Christians would say it’s a guarantee!) If there is no after life, fine. Then you can raise hell on earth and not worry about eternity. But if there is an after life; if there is a heaven and a hell, NOW is the time to deal with it. Whatever the case, once we take our last breath the decision has been made – forever.
How is it then, that we (Black Sheep) are so often called to the bedside of some hard riding, hard drinking, hard “loving” biker and NOW they want prayer? (Please don’t misunderstand; we are honored and more than willing to be called at such a time.) When you are on your deathbed, we believe that God will meet you right there with all of His love, compassion, forgiveness and the gift of eternal life – even if you only have a few minutes left of your life to give back to Him. (Jesus forgave the thief that was hanging on the cross next to Him.) But in those last few minutes or hours people often realize that they have missed so much of the goodness of God in this life and wish that they could go back and do things differently. There always seems to be regret and remorse for not surrendering to God sooner. What if you don’t call us or a priest or a hospital chaplain to your bedside? What then? (You can certainly speak to God yourself, but will you?) The time to talk about these things is NOW – not at the last hour.
So here’s the deal: The time to make a will or living trust is now. Once you’re dead – it’s too late. And the time to get things right with God is now. Once you’re dead – it’s too late. We will come to your bedside if you call us at the last minute – but we would rather introduce you to Jesus Christ now – while there is still time for you to enjoy the Christian life – and in turn tell your friends and family of His love and mercy. ! No Politics! No Religion Marty Edwards, IP/President BSHDFC [This article is being re-printed from Sept 2013 in an effort to once again explain the intentions of this ministry. Please share it freely.] I can certainly appreciate that our national HOG policy includes a “no politics” and “no religion” rule. HOG is about riding motorcycles, having a good time and perhaps raising money for worthy organizations such as Muscular Dystrophy. Nobody wants to come to a HOG meeting and receive political pamphlets or hear about “getting saved.” HOG is for riding motorcycles with friends. Period! The other side of the coin is this: Bad things happen when we ride motorcycles and neither Harley-Davidson nor HOG are prepared for those horrible times. As I said to the owner of my local HD dealership, “You guys are good at selling stuff, but you suck at taking care of people!” That’s where we come in. If you have an accident, Black Sheep is there for you. We will visit you in the hospital, take your damaged bike wherever it needs to go and maybe even have a little money to help out. (Northern and Southern California sheep are raising tens of thousands of dollars to help HOG members.) We’ll even give you a small blanket with our patch on it; a token of our love and commitment to you. It’s just what we do. Many HOG members do not go to church and therefore do not have access to a pastor who can be called upon to perform a wedding or a funeral. Furthermore, we often have resources for those who find themselves in need of professional grief counseling – at no cost. We are there to “bless the bikes” – a traditionally accepted practice among bikers of all faiths and even no faith, and on many occasions, you will find us shining boots for free! Why? In our tradition, washing someone’s feet or “shining boots” is nothing more than a sign of humility and servant-hood. It serves to remind us that Black Sheep are there to serve bikers – all bikers and especially our fellow HOG members. To be honest, our members are indeed passionate about their faith in Jesus Christ – but we are never there to “Bible thump” anyone into heaven. We’re simply being the best HOG members that we know how to be. Still, if you have a question about spiritual matters, we’ll do our best to answer. If you want someone to pray for you, we’ll be there. In the meantime, we’ll just keep on being HOG members in sheep’s clothing. No politics! No religion! !
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Winter Slow Down? You’re Kidding? Kevin Kohler (National Board/Central PA) Three years ago if I was asked to write this article about conducting a motorcycle ministry in the winter, I would have taken a doldrum view of the subject like most would expect. However with four years of Black Sheep ministry under my belt, I have come to realize that the “off season” is perhaps one of the best times to thrive in motorcycle ministry. Our experience has seen our regular monthly Black Sheep breakfasts double in attendance to 48 last month during a VERY cold January. Last winter, we had a good snowstorm brewing the morning of a scheduled breakfast, I almost canceled but decided to see who came even if it was just three or four people, but we had 20+ people come out that morning! Seeing this kind of response in the winter has made me realize the potential of the “off season”. We have also found that the winter months give us an opportunity to do things we would not otherwise have the opportunity to do. Every February our chapter hosts a Sweethearts Breakfast complete with a
couples newlywed competition that has become a big hit! We have now done this four years in a row with great success! The winning couple gets to take home a rotating trophy Biker Cookie Jar (photo left) for the year. We had 8 couples, mostly HOG members,
competing with over 40 people in attendance. Last February (2013) we hosted at 4 week Marriage Enrichment Video series held Sunday Nights in the HD Dealership’s service department waiting area. The video series we used was entitled “Laugh your way to a better Marriage” by Mark Gungor. I highly recommend this hilarious series for every married couple. It was a big success with the HOG chapter with over thirty people in attendance each week.
So the next time you are working your annual calendar, don’t skip some of the most productive months of the year! Winter can be a good time for motorcycle ministry! (Kevin Kohler is the president of the Central Pa Black Sheep Chapter and a member of the BSHDFC national board. His chapter has 13 members serving the HOG Chapter at Susquehanna Valley Harley Davidson in Harrisburg, PA.) ! Major Dates March 19-15 Daytona Bike Week April 2-5 Arizona Bike Week Phoenix April 23-26 Laughlin (Nevada) Ap 30-May 3 Leadership Summit Lake Elsinore, CA May 26 West Coast Thunder Riverside, CA June 1-7 Ohio Bike Week, Sandusky July 5 So Ca. BSHDFC Regional Breakfast July 11-12 Pac NW Black Sheep Rally Seattle July 20 BSHDFC Downed Biker Rally San Juan Capistrano August 4-9 Sturgis Sept 8-13 Ca. State HOG, Lancaster, CA Sept 12-13 Mid West Black Sheep Rally Columbia, MO Sept 19-20 Texas Black Sheep Rally Location TBA Sept 24-27 Street Vibrations, Reno, NV Dec 21 Loma Linda Toy Run (CA) Send us your major dates. ! Photos above by Steve Key
$ Visalia (559) 679-1158 Dennis Young [email protected] California (South West and South East) " Antelope Valley (661)992-7827 Rick Galbraith [email protected]
" = Chapter "= Area Contact #= Adopted by a Chapter ! = Reg Directors
What Exactly is ILS2014? HISTORY: Years ago, a dozen members of BSHDFC met at a hotel in Cincinnati, OH because they felt like it was important for West Coast and East Coast sheep to stay in touch and share ideas. One member road his 883 Sportster from Los Angeles to Ohio and back; 4300 miles round trip. (I guess he thought it was important.)
WHAT IS IT? Ever since that year, Black Sheep and friends have gathered from around the world for a time of worship and celebration, teaching and encouragement, practical small group seminars for effective motorcycle ministry, sharing of ideas and events – and a whole lot of fun with friends who share a common mission in life. There’s even a regional “Bike Night” where hundreds of motorcyclists ride in from all over Southern California. International Leadership Summit is the glue that holds the Black Sheep together year after year.
“International Leadership Summit is the glue that holds the Black Sheep
together year after year.” WHO CAN COME? Anybody can come to ILS, members and non-members alike, but one member from each BSHDFC chapter is required to be there so that they might take back what they have learned to their chapter. WHAT DOES IT COST? Our only goal is to cover the cost of speakers, musicians and supplies. Registration is $25 per person. You will also be responsible for your food, lodging and travel. In an effort to help those coming from long distances, we have dozens of families who have opened their homes, saving you motel cost. Black Sheep members will also pick you up at the airport if you are flying in. Call our offices for a registration form. WHERE IS IT LOCATED? ILS has been in Lake Elsinore, CA at the Lamb’s Fellowship for the last several years. This is because two of our largest chapters are in the immediate area and serve as a tremendous resource of manpower and lodging. SHOULD I RENT A BIKE? Not unless you are planning on staying for a day or two. The event begins with a mixer at Rosa’s Cantina in Old Town Temecula on Wednesday night. On Thursday and Friday we will keep you busy from early morning until late afternoon, with activities in the evenings. On Saturday morning we meet for one final session which concludes at noon. So, there won’t be much time for riding unless you come a few days early or stay a few days after. WHY IS THIS YEAR DIFFERENT? ILS2014 is Black Sheep’s 15th Anniversary! You can expect one of the best conferences we have ever planned! Don’t miss this year’s opportunity of celebration!