How Can a Christian MC Have Prospects?
It's simple: Prospecting is all throughout the Bible!
1 Timothy 3:10 NASB These men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach.
The church is an inclusive place for everyone. Ministry is for those who are called to a higher level. In Judges 7 God gave Gideon an unusual prospecting process that left him with just 1% of his army. Jesus didn't just throw 12 dudes to the wolves. He prospected them for three years. He trained them, he tested them, he sent them out the first time and they came back with questions, so he trained them some more before sending them out again. He selected them from a group of hundreds of men, first three, then twelve, then hundreds were called disciples. He was hard on them, spoke harshly, even sarcastic at times (Matt 16:23, John 21:15-17). John 6:66-67 NASB As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore. So Jesus said to the twelve, "You do not want to go away also, do you?"
Contrary to what the world says, Respect is given, disrespect is earned. Our default is to be polite and nice and take people at their word. But sometimes people show their true colors, and aren't what they say. Sometimes people earn disrespect. Wouldn't it be a shame if we patched them up to early and they brought shame on the cross of Christ and caused a bad taste in the mouth of the MC community by not knowing protocol. Prov 18:6 By talking, a fool gets into an argument, and his mouth invites a beating.
As Disciple, we aren't just Christian bikers but ministers on motorcycles. We ordain many of our men, we can't do that without knowing who they are. 1 Timothy 5:21 I solemnly call on you in the sight of God, Christ Jesus, and the chosen angels to be impartial when you follow what I've told you. Never play favorites. 22Don't be in a hurry to place your hands on anyone [to ordain him]. Don't participate in the sins of others. Keep yourself morally pure.
Now this is not an attempt to speak about what any other ministry does. This is only an attempt to talk about what we do. A lot of people show up here because we look cool in pictures, or they saw the patch and want to wear it. Forcing them through a consistent process that is the same in every charter is the only way to separate the wheat from the chaff. That way we know whether they're in Canada, California, Brazil or Carolina, they have been through a process that tests them, both in front of other organizations, in front of us, and in front of God.
While we accept men the way they are, we immediately begin to mold them and shape them into being more serious about their faith. We help them break addiction, get in the word, begin a life of fasting and prayer, and push them in all areas of their spiritual walk. It's quite frankly a very difficult process. I hear from men all the time that they came to us looking for people that believe the same as them, and quickly found they needed to step up their spiritual walk.
We dont intend to leave men where they are spiritually, if you ain't growing you're shrinking. We teach men that there's freedom from addiction, that their marriage and their children are the important ministry, and it's time to step up from being a weak pew bound Christian.
Prospecting ain't about hazing. It's about learning. Learning protocol, the Disciple mission, the Word of God, and who you are. Because honestly, most of us here showed up thinking our poop smelled like roses and we were God's gift to bikerdom, and found out we had a lot to learn from our brothers. And if you're not ready to learn from your brothers, then you're not ready to teach anyone. If you're not a humble servant able to submit to biblical authority then you're not ready to lead anyone.
But for sure I know, by the time we patch men up, they have learned a thing or two along the way, taught us a thing or two along the way, and dealt with some of their issues along the way. And after they've learned a servants heart, they learn that they are still a prospect, just now their brothers are serving them too, cuz brotherhood is about a servants heart being a two way street.
James Disciple Johnson
Natl President and Founder
Disciple Christian Motorcycle Club
How Can a Christian MC Have Prospects? http://disciplecmcblog.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-can-christian-mc-have-prospects.html
