Rumblings

Well 2015 is over. Hello new year hello new opportunities.

I went out yesterday for a short and very cold ride and spent some time thinking about my vision for ASR in 2016. Well this may not seem like any big brainstorm but this is truly one area that both ASR and me as an individual need to focus on for 2016. It is simply. Connect. Connect with other ASR members. This will help us in so many ways.

Over Thanksgiving my wife and I traveled to Kansas City to visit family. We use this opportunity to visit the Mo/Kan Chapter of ASR and also had members of the Cameron Missouri Chapter join us. We had a wonderful time of worship, food and fellowship.

In December my wife and I traveled to the Louisville Kentucky area. You guessed it. We took this opportunity to meet with the Northern Kentucky Chapter. We attended their Christmas party and then went on and had fellowship with a few members by going shopping at the local Cycle Gear Store and going to see Christmas lights.

Where am I going with all this? There are many members of ASR who are totally independent and live a distance from a chapter. The point I’m trying to get across is we all travel. Simple travel in our daily or business life gives us the opportunity to connect with other ASR members and chapters. It doesn’t have to be a scheduled event or even a church service. It can be a simple lunch or cup of coffee with a member. This is both how we can plug in with ASR members that we know and do not know. This can be a way for us to meet new Friends as well as old.

If we could catch this vision think of all the new members that we could meet in 2016. Think of all the members that live to far away from a chapter or events to get involved in that would would now have connections with other members. How about old members that are no longer involved in ASR.

I already know what some of you are going to say. I don’t travel. Simple solution. Once a month pick up the phone and call someone that you don’t know from ASR and introduce yourself. After all we are family so how about in 2016 we get to know our family. Let’s catch the vision. Let’s Connect in 2016.

Rev. Jim Curley
National Vice President
Azusa Street Riders

This evening, we had the privilege to sing at a local event here in Eminence, KY. There were several performers present that represented talent from all over our entire county. One of those little ‘performers,’ was the granddaughter of a dear friend of mine who read the following short writing.

While it was being read, it introduced an interesting question & posed a sobering point-of-view that I wanted to share with you. I apologize to the writer, but I can find no author to credit. Let it provoke you to find ways to include Jesus…the Reason for the Season…in all of your Christmas festivities.

“I had a dream Joseph. I don’t understand it, not really, but I think it was about a birthday celebration for our son. I think that was what it was all about. The people had been preparing for it for about six weeks. They had decorated the house & bought elaborate gifts. It was peculiar, though because the presents weren’t for our son. They wrapped them in beautiful paper & tied them with lovely bows & stacked them under a tree. Yes, Joseph, a tree…right in their house. They’d decorated the tree also. The branches were full of glowing balls & sparkling ornaments. There was a figure on top of the tree. It looked like what an angel might look. Oh it was beautiful. Everyone was laughing & happy. They were all excited about the gifts. They gave the gifts to each other, Joseph, not to our son. I don’t think they even knew Him. They never mentioned His name. Doesn’t it seem odd for people to go to all that trouble to celebrate someone’s birthday if they don’t know Him? I had the strangest feeling that if our son had gone to this celebration, He would have been intruding. Everything was so beautiful, Joseph, & everyone so full of cheer, but it made me want to cry. How sad for Jesus not to be wanted at His own birthday celebration. I’m glad it was only a dream. Joseph, how terrible if it had been real?“

Be blessed!

Rev. Robert E. Eades

ASR National Chaplain

(502) 750-2174 (call or text)

robert.eades@azusastreetriders.com

Greetings in Jesus name from the Clarksburg, WV chapter of Azusa StreetRiders. God has been moving and blessing tremendously in our church and chapter. I want to say thanks to all our ASR brothers and sisters for your wonderful efforts in moving this ministry forward in the vision of reaching souls! Here in Clarksburg, our ASR chapter has made a great effort in reaching souls and fundraising for Motorcycles for Missionaries. First consider our Sword Run, which is held annually on the second Saturday of each May. It is a ministry opportunity that comes in the form of a motorcycle run set up like a poker run. Instead of the participants gathering poker cards, at each stop they pick up a scripture card with a different point value on each one (and each is set in a different color). Each scripture card has a salvation scripture on it that leads to the Oneness, New Birth truth of repentance, water baptism in Jesus name, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. Also, we try to have each of our stops along the way to be at parking lots of our local Oneness churches whenever possible. This event is full of fellowship, family fun, and meeting new people as well as old friends! Thanks to all our ASR members who sacrifice their time to come join us!

Our next outreach/fundraising opportunity is parking cars at local high school football games. We do this about 6 to 7 games per season, starting in late September or early October. Basically, we direct traffic and park cars for the athletic department, helping to keep order and give needed directions while people arrive to the game. We do this while wearing our back patches. Although the people are not there to see us, they still see the message of salvation on our backs!

Finally, when we can, we have been reaching out to the community by selling smoked BBQ dinners (each containing a half-chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans, and a roll) for $10 each. So far it has been a great blessing to this ministry and we have meet many wonderful people.

I must give credit to our local ASR members and their spouses: Pastor and Sister Joseph, Brother Mark and Sister Meredith McClain, Brother David and Sister Christina Ramsey, and especially Brother Mike and Sister Katrina Sutton, for their sacrifice of time and money for these ministry opportunities. All have helped, and the Suttons have gone above and beyond. All of these ministry opportunities and fundraising efforts have been born from their love of this ministry and their love of souls. Without them none of these opportunities would exist or have survived. They have given and sacrificed their time, money, and energy to make the Sword Run, game parking, and smoked chicken dinner sales to be successful! We extend a special thanks to Brother Mike and Sister Katrina Sutton.

We also recently awarded our very first support patch and vest to a very deserving brother in our church. This precious man has been at almost every single one of our fundraising and/or ministry opportunities. He has jumped right in, helping sacrificially every time. We recently sent in the paperwork and received his support patch. At the next service we presented Brother David Todd with this honor! Thank you, Lord, for helpers!

I’ve taken enough time, but remember, as we move forward in these last days, may God move in and through us and ASR to reach our lost and dying world. In JESUS name! Amen!

God Bless you,
Nathaniel A Benedum
President
Clarksburg,West Virginia Chapter ASR