March 2006 CSBA Newsletter
From the Servant’s Desk
I was fortunate in locating a bike for the pending riding
season and therein lays a story:
I sold my ’04 GSXR 750
last Thanksgiving, and was “bike-less” for the first time in many years. I started my search in all the usual places,
Ebay, CycleTrader, etc., without success.
Either the desired bike was too expensive, or it was trashed with a
salvage title. I even had Bob Brown
looking for me, and he belongs to EVERY motorcycle message board on the
Internet!
I was resigned to buying a new bike in April, and turned it over to The
Lord. The prayer went something like
this: “Lord, I don’t feel comfortable spending a huge amount of Your money on
something I’ll use sporadically during the warm months of the coming year. Point me in the direction You want me to
go. Make me Your instrument. I’m here to serve You Lord. However You want this situation to work out,
I’m good with it.”
A few days later, I
was talking with an old friend, now living in Massachusetts. I mentioned by “bike-less” predicament and he
told me about a bike he knew was for sale, in his area, by a coworker.
An amazingly good price was agreed upon with the co-worker, and the next
Saturday I was headed north on I-95 toward Boston. I found the guy’s house, and loaded the bike
onto my truck without a problem. I was
making small talk while writing a personal check, when the guy says, “A
personal check? I guess it’ll be
alright, seeing as you’re a Christian.”
I looked at the guy, and my puzzled expression caused him to point to
the CSBA logo on the door of my truck.
“You’re a Christian, right?” he repeated. “You guys are good for your word, right?” “Yeah,” I answered, “the check’s good.”
After the required
handshake, I’m back in the truck headed south thinking, “This whole Christian
thing is a weighty responsibility.” A
person I’ve never met gave me the benefit of the doubt…just because he
perceived that I believe in Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote in 1Titus
4:12, “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the
believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in
purity.”
Aside from the mention of
“youth,” the rest of the verse speaks to all of us. We’re obligated to be an example in word,
conversation, charity, spirit, faith, and purity. Now that’s a tall order! Consider this; if you were going about your
business, without wearing a CSBA T-shirt, or you didn’t have a CSBA logo on the
door of your truck, how would anyone know you were a Christian? We’re marked by our actions, more than
clothing or jewelry items.
The non-believers we associate with
watch us very carefully, and in a subtle manner. They’re curious about our peaceful nature,
our humility, acceptance of authority, and faith in a better world after we
leave this secular madhouse we call Earth.
These “Christian watchers” quietly keep a mental score of our
actions. “Look how he/she handled that!”
etc.
As believers, we carry
a heavy load every day. We’re obligated
to share the Good News, discern God’s will for our lives, provide for our
families, and raise our children. On top
of all that, I’m implying that we’re on stage every time we venture out into
public!
Don’t worry. Remember back when you were a kid going on
stage for the first time. Your mouth was
dry, and your knees were wobbling so badly that you were afraid your socks
would fall down below your ankles. By
the third performance however, you couldn’t wait for your queue to go
onstage. Your part was now a piece of
cake. You had it down. In your heart, you believed you could do a
good job…and you did!
When you start your
day tomorrow, head out onto the stage of life and allow The Spirit to provide
the lines. Deliver those lines as they
were written (they’re in your Bible) and you’ll do just fine.
God bless.
Brian Phillips
CSBA Servant
brianp@christiansportbike.com
CSBA
News
WE’RE HAVING A T-SHIRT BLOWOUT!
That’s right, faithful members, you’ve held off buying a CSBA T-shirt waiting for that elusive sale. You rode around all last summer in that cheesy tank top with the mustard and ketchup stains on the front. Why? Because you’re not paying full price for anything!
Your time has finally come Mr & Mrs Deep-Pockets, as ALL of the remaining CSBA T-shirts are going on sale. Those shirts are no longer $18.00 or $20.00….We’re pushing them out the door at $15.00 for one, $25.00 for two and $35.00 for three CSBA shirts.
Check out the styles at: http://www.christiansportbike.com/former/t-shirts.htm
A few disclaimers:
- Multiple shirt orders must go to the same mailing address.
- When the current stock is gone, that’s it. There’ll be no more. No back orders.
Check the available inventory listed below as of 2/25/06. If your size and style isn’t listed, DON’T ORDER!
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All profits from the proceeds, (If
we make any profit at these crazy prices!), will go to the CSBA Free Bible Fund, to
continue our efforts to put
Bibles into the hands of believers around the world.
We are coming out with a new, member T-shirt, in ONE color, with a small CSBA logo on the
front (pocket high).
The plan is to have ONE T-shirt color,
design, and style. Then, if you should
travel to any part of the USA, and see that color, there’ll be a good chance that it’s a CSBA
member. Plus, it will make things easier
for our T-shirt volunteers. They’ll only
have to track sizes, instead of colors, styles and length of sleeves.
Note: The annual CSBA “Run For The Word” T-shirt will
remain in stock, as our gift, to anyone who donates $25.00.
We haven’t decided if we’ll put a larger logo on the back. If you have a flair for logo designs, send it
along to
brianp@christiansportbike.com Who knows, you could become a household name
as the person who designed that great new logo for the CSBA.
2006 CSBA Rallies
There will be rallies this
riding season; it’s just a matter of getting the details together. Here are some “for sure” events:
- Deal’s Gap – May 15 to 21, 2006, headquartered
at the Micro-Tell Inn, Robbinsville, NC.
This is our national rally; it’s the BIG ONE. Don’t miss it! Registration and rally details will be
posted at http://www.csbatriadnc.com/
- Rocky Mountain Rally – June 8 to 11, 2006,
location not posted at this time. Check their website for additional info.
http://www.cocsba.com/
- The Longest Day Rally – June 22 to 25, 2006,
new this year! Spend a long weekend
with Bob Brown in north central Pennsylvania, headquartered in Wellsboro,
PA.
- CSBA Run for The Word – July 15-16, 2006.
- CSBA “Day at the Races” – 8/19/06 Virginia
International Raceway.
- Southern Virginia Rally – Sept. 15-17, 2006.
- CSBA Fall Rally – September 22 to 24, 2006,
headquartered in Wellsboro, PA.
Ride some of best, yet least known, country roads, in the
northeast. This rally just keeps
getting better.
- CSBA Midwest Rally – Rumor has it that the Chicago
gang is again invading the Missouri Ozarks. More details to come.
Keep
in mind; this is a partial list of 2006 events.
Check in at the CSBA “Events” page regularly for information updates http://www.christiansportbike.com/events.cgi
CSBA WINTER MEETING
The first, mid-winter,
CSBA meeting, took place February 10-12, 2006, at the Crown Plaza Hotel, in
Chicago, IL.
Bro. Bill Gaston reported
that an excellent presentation was given on Christian leadership, by keynote
speaker, Richard Smith, from Apostolic Faith Church of Chicago.
Participants had ample time
to take in the sites of downtown Chicago and the International Motorcycle Show.
The consensus of the
participants was to begin scheduling for the 2007 winter meeting in Chicago,
with a separate day of meetings, prayer, and fellowship, for the association’s
chapter leaders.
Yikes! Scott is
Getting Married!
From Scott Journigan CSBA #184:
WEDDING ANNOUNCEMENT
Everyone is cordially invited to attend…
The marriage of M. Scott
Journigan and Katie M. Sklar on April 29, 2006 at three o’clock pm
at the Portsmouth Woman’s Club, 304 Sycamore Rd, Portsmouth, Virginia.
The reception will immediately follow the ceremony.
Our very own PASTOR DAVE BROWN will
perform the marriage and the CSBA’s MARVIN GURGANUS will be doing the photo
magic.
RSVP
Please contact Scott via e-mail (firedad415@cox.net)
if you’re planning to attend.
CSBA Phoenix Chapter Rises Again
We received a note from Larry Johnson in Phoenix with some
photos of their February meeting.
Looks like the folks in Phoenix are BACK!
I just love that “Mom & baby” on the bike stuff. LOL
Larry is putting a chapter website together at www.phoenixcsba.com
Speaking of Geography
Brian Nobles, our man in the northwest, sent along a link to list all the members on one of those “frappr maps”.
If you’re so inclined, go to http://www.frappr.com/christiansportbikeassociation and enter your name/location. Let’s see if there are enough of us to blot the map out.
OTHER STUFF
**Don’t forget your CSBA March 2006
Calendar Download Courtesy of Bill Allen and the Central VA Chapter
You
can download your free calendar here: http://cenvachristiansportbike.homestead.com/BA_rider.html
If you have a picture from a past CSBA Ride or Rally you'd like featured on our
calendar...send it to BA_rider2@hotmail.com
** The CSBA shipped 122 Bibles in January ’06, at a cost
of $294.31
*** NEWSFLASH ***
Missions
Trip December 2005
We just
came back from the mountain after hosting a team consisting of 10 people from
the US and 1 girl from the UK for 2 weeks. We had an awesome time and the
kids loved every moment of it.
A
lot was achieved during this time. We completed the floors inside the house,
got the water running and finished the sewerage system.
During
the last few days we started and finished the foundations for the second
house! Yes we are moving on the second house now...God is so good!!
Like
last year the kids had a ball because they were at all times the center of
attention. Fortunately the schools started on the same day the team left,
otherwise we would have had a crowd of VERY, VERY bored kids.
Our
thanks and love goes out to all the members of the team that spent a lot of
money, put aside precious time and brought heaps of clothing and other gifts,
and came all the way here to help us work on the center and spend precious time
with the children.
We
will miss you.
Friday
we will move Thabo and his wife to the house and start running the feeding
scheme and day care from there. We will also start interviewing mothers in
crisis to fill the other rooms of the house, which means we just moved past
another milestone in the completion of the Center!!
________________________
We
are looking forward to another year where we will be challenged and blown away
by God's blessings. How awesome it is to serve Him!!
God Bless
Wim,
Hylien, Wim jnr & Bernard
Roberta
Peart