This is an excerpt from a new book called:

 From Harley Choppers to Aliens in Saucers: What a long strange life it has been.

  (I am sure many will notice this is an unedited version as I still have a way to go with it but for many reasons what I do have needs to be posted now)

Not forsaking the Assembling together.
Almost instinctively, I knew that I needed to find a Church to attend. The shortest distance
between two points was my wife Terri’s church. They were all Christian so they should all be
basically the same right? Boy was I in for an education. I found the congregation to be mostly                  
middle to upper middle class professional and business people. They struggled to stay awake and
the only thing that woke some was the fact that at times they had to stand and say, “and also with
you.” and then sit back down. Once in a while scripture was quoted but never expounded upon. I
thought to myself this can’t be right there had to be more. Why aren’t these people excited about
having a relationship with God. One person stood out though. You could see him every Sunday
mourning walking down the hall all cheerful and bubbly wishing everybody a good day and
making a statement like “Praise the Lord, or God Bless you”. Others avoided contact with him as
if he had the plague. I wanted to know what he knew, what made him so different. I came right
out in my naive innocence and asked him. He said that this was his wife’s church and he came
with her to please her but he went to another place. I asked him where and he stated Brightmoore
Tabernacle. I asked him if it was in the Brightmoore section of Detroit on Fenkell avenue. He
said yes that is the place. I told him both my parents were born and raised there and I knew the
neighborhood well.. He then told me that tonight at their evening services they had a guest
speaker Hal Lindsay. I was excited and asked, is that the same guy who wrote the Late Great
planet Earth?. He said one in the same. I told him how I prayed the prayer in that book and came
to know Jesus was real. Needles to say you know where I went that night.
I drug my wife with me and as we entered the place something was very different. There were a
couple hundred people in there raising their hands thanking Jesus and praising him. Some were
weeping others were laughing but everybody was doing something and nobody was falling asleep.
It was a bit weird I mean you could hear some under their breath whispering strange sounds that
seemed like language but at times just gibberish.. There were people there from every walk of life
and race. As strange as all this seemed to me, there was an undeniable presence I never felt since
my salvation experience and that was God’s presence. Somehow this was right, it felt like home
or a completion to a destination.. My wife however was completely freaked out and could not
wait to get out of there. After the service I met a young guy a few years younger than myself
passing out concert information to some coffeehouse on the south end of town. I talked with him
a bit and he invited me to the place called the Shalom Coffeehouse. I didn’t follow up on that
right away but remembered where it was.
I closed my metal sculpture business in the mall and continued doing the mall show circuit. We
sold our mobile home and moved back to the city in anticipation to coming events. We lived 60
miles outside the Detroit Metro area and both worked in the suburban areas. When the recession
(one of the worst since the depression) hit in 1975 we were not caught or hurt too bad by it
because we had made some good decisions ahead of time. This is also where the story ended for
Terri and I. I moved into a rented home in Brightmoore and started attending Brightmoore
Tabernacle. I was listening to a TV program The World Tomorrow with Garner Ted Armstrong.
When I got some of their literature I was shocked to find out what some of their doctrines were. I
was new to all of this but remembered what I read in the Bible about anyone who denies that
Jesus came in the flesh, not to have anything to do with them. This was describing his deity as
God becoming man.
Their literature said he was not God the son. I was disheartened and disappointed as I felt I just
got betrayed by a cult group. This little setback was to make a life long impact to trust no one and
check everything out by the scriptures. I met the guy from Shalom House again at my church and
decided this time to check it out. It was strange to see a bunch of hippy type people in a store
converted into a coffeehouse worshiping just like they did at Brightmoore Tabernacle. I liked
Brightmoore Tabernacle but this was more intimate and all of the people were my age and I felt
like I was where I really belonged. I went to their Bible Study and was impressed that they
brought Bibles pencils and notebooks and actually had homework and tests. This is what I wanted.
The Sunday services were the best yet. Pastor Joe Shannon preached in a style I duplicated later
for myself . He was sincere displaying emotion with out the theatrics. The teachers were Jim
Duncan, an ivy league scholar type who was getting his Doctorate and teaching at the infamous
University of Michigan and Jerry Heady who was also a student in ancient Biblical languages and
customs at U of M. In the couple of years I was at the Shalom House, I got a grounding as good
as any Bible College could offer as well as some of the best balanced preaching a person could
ever hope for. The Christian walk was taken seriously and yet mixed with a lot of fun and
fellowship. When I later became Pastor of the Bike Ministry, much of the style and methods were
patterned after the great experiences I had at the Shalom House.

Strength from Above.
My parents were bracing themselves waiting for me to have a complete emotional breakdown.
They knew how hard it was for me to get over Linda and eventually discovered my drug use.
They were concerned that this time I would not make it.
A few blocks away from their house was a small Baptist church that had a large baptism fount.
Shalom House did not have their own facilities and scheduled a time use with another church for
their Baptisms. Another service was not going to be for several months. I wanted to get it done
right away so I started going to this little Baptist church in the mornings in hopes of getting my
parents back into a church. in a group they were already familiar with. I was wearing out my
welcome when I came to visit them as I would always talk about the things of the Lord and my
new experiences in church. It was getting to be too much and I was a bit overbearing. I knew I
had to do something to explain or confront them to make things better. I asked them if they would
come to church to see me get baptized and they almost acted like they would come. Several days
before I was going to be Baptized I was kneeling at my bedside praying and asking the Lord how
to present the plan of salvation to my folks. Suddenly my pillow pushed in as if something
invisible had just plopped down on it. I then heard a sudden snorting and grunting coming from
the same position. I immediately pointed to the pillow and loudly proclaimed, “In the name of
Jesus, Satan I command you to go away.” The pillow lifted back up to it’s normal state and I
almost fainted from what I had just experienced. What was probably meant to scare me only
made me more determined to talk to my parents in one final bold manner and tell them the plan
of salvation. The next day I sat my parents down along with my grandparents who lived next door
as well as my younger brother and his wife. I began by promising them that this was going to be
the last time I ever brought up the subject but you have to hear me out this one last time. I told
them all I loved them and I wanted to see them in eternity but that there was only one way. In a
brief manner I presented the Gospel in the four steps with much emotion. That Sunday my entire
family went to church to see me get Baptized. Each successive week one of my family members
went forward and got saved and the following week got baptized. This caused my whole family to
attend each others Baptism resulting in this domino effect. First my Dad then my Mom and then
the rest of them. In one month my entire family was saved. For the next year I had attended two
churches, the Baptist church in the mourning and evening services at the Shalom House.
I later asked my parents if the little speech I gave won them over or something else. My Dad said
to me, your talk wrapped it up but what really convinced all of us was that you didn’t lose it when
you got divorced. You had a strength that could only be credited to your new faith in God. That
convinced us more than anything you said. In the years to come, I ended up performing the
funerals of my Grandmother, Grandfather my Mom and then my Dad. The only way I ever did
this was because of the promise and strength that came from above. I knew this was not goodby3e
only a see you later.


Before the club was a reality
I had successfully written several tracts for my home church the Shalom House. I really had a
desire to distribute these on a larger scale and decided to make a major investment and buy my
own offset press. This was 1975, back in prehistoric times before home computers so the offset
press was the only way to go in printing technology. I had a lead on a used one perfect for what I
wanted and felt so certain that it was the Lords leading but the deal fell through. I was very
disappointed but even at this early stage in my walk with the Lord I knew nothing was by chance.
I prayed and asked the Lord for direction. I mean this is what I really wanted to do in ministry
what could possibly be more exciting than that?
That night in a dream the Lord showed me what could be more exciting, A Christian Motorcycle
club!
I would have never conceived such an idea but why not? I mean I had the prior background and
experience so maybe this could become a reality! I shared this idea with my Pastor and he said
with some reserve, “... it wouldn’t hurt to prayerfully pursue the idea and see if the Lord opens
the doors.” The doors opened up for me to easily get another motorcycle it was a Triumph but
acceptable enough for this small beginning.
Soon after, my friend Tom Faunce came up with a name the “ King’s Kids”. I liked it. It was
humble but accurate to what we were. I then developed the “colors” which is the patch worn on
the back to show who you were and where you came from. I made the first one up and sewed it
on my back. I made up an invitation tract asking people to join or come by our clubhouse for
more information. Now true, I actually had no club or clubhouse but my number was on the tract
and I would tell people that things were in the making and to keep in touch. I was always accurate
in describing what was currently going on but always projected to others what will be. This was
exercising faith and it paid off. First I had to go through an illusion from the enemy.

My first trial and miracle
Soon after I received the calling of the Lord to start a motorcycle ministry in 1975, I got in
a motorcycle accident in which the doctor treating my right wrist tried to break the bad
news to me that I would probably never ride a motorcycle again. You see a small hooked
shape bone that functions to pivot in the wrist was broken and severed off all blood supply
to it. The result was supposed to be a dead non functioning bone that would lock up my
wrist so I could not hold a throttle for any length of time. Well, in my mind, God had clearly
called me to start this motorcycle ministry so how could I do that if I couldn’t ride. This had
to be an illusion created by Satan to convince me to give up. Instead I prayed about it and
received my favorite scripture as a Spirit bearing witnessed response. Romans 8:28. By this
I knew without presumption I could claim a healing. I told the doctor I would ride again as
he put my hand in a cast. He looked at me pitifully as a deluded person. The front nurse at
the reception desk added her skeptic comments. She had an obvious attitude toward
anyone of any kind of faith. As soon as I left the office with my new cast I modified it so I
could continue to ride my motorcycle believing that it was necessary to just get back on and
ride for the Lord. I never let the doctor know what I had done. The next visit and resulting
x-rays proved to the doctor that my bone was dying. At first this hit me like a punch to the
head but I soon recovered as I reviewed what the Lord had told me, (and the fact that I was
riding my bike daily anyway). As I left the office, the nurse at the desk also looked at me as
some poor blind faith fool setting himself up for a great disappointment. Without any further
signs wonders or anything else I waited another three weeks in another cast. I didn’t break
off the cast but I did further modify it so I could move better in changing gears on my bike.
When I came into the doctors office for this last time, the doctor and the nurse had a
somber composer and pitifully looked at me with almost shame as I was sunny cheery and
ready to take my cast off and ride. I will never forget their faces after the x-ray results were
confirmed by the doctors examination. He came back looking like he just saw a ghost and
faintly said to me, you can go now.” What do you mean I can go? As the doctor had
gathered his composure he declared in a very profession tone, Well according to the x-rays
there is nothing wrong with your wrist you are completely healed and I cannot explain how?
Praise the Lord, Thank you Jesus is what I shouted loud enough that everyone including the
nurse at the front desk could hear me. I wasn’t shy about telling both the doctor and the
nurse who healed me and why. I then went into sharing a testimony that left the nurse
shaken to the bone as all her assumed knowledge was instantly trashed by this miracle..
This was only the start of many miracles I was to experience.

Small beginnings
At first I had led several people to the Lord from passing out my tracts and I started to have a
small discipleship Bible study to help them on their way. Some were not bikers but it didn’t
matter to me, we started a vision with this handful of dedicated people. By the end of the year I
had about five patch wearing members and a few others who just wanted to fellowship with us.

The vision became solid and it started with a Fagg
No, I am not being vulgar or politically incorrect so let me explain.
I pulled into a hardware store to get something for my bike when I saw a Harley 45 flathead
parked in the lot. I pulled up next to it excited to the point of trembling. On the Front of the gas
tank was the name JESUS painted in a 60's style lettering. I was not going to leave until I met the
owner. A nervous guy came up and asked me what I was doing. I later found out Gene saw me as
some biker guy hovering over his bike wondering if I was planning to steal it. He didn’t seem
too interested in my vision of a club and sort of blew me off. Several weeks later he called back
and said he wanted to talk to me further about this club idea. He was heavily involved in his
church but since he met me many doors began to close and he wondered if I was a new direction
he should consider. He never considered himself a biker in the cultural sense and confessed he
didn’t even like most bikers. He was never part of that society, yet in every since of the word, he
was the best wrench ever and knew just about every part on the bike. He was in that respect a
true biker and one any biker would easily identify with. Gene was well grounded in the Word and
had a real pastors heart for people. He was to become the Vice President and assistant pastor.
There was only one problem with Gene, it was his last name,. it was Fagg. For obvious reasons,
Gene has since changed his name to Gene Roberts. It was hard enough to have a name like that
but to be in ministry too, well, it ended up being too much even for Gene, a man of great
patience. I didn’t help out much in that area as I would always add how much our ministry
became solid by having a Fagg join. It’s funny about labels and names, in the 40's fag would be
referring to a cigarette and not a derogatory name for a homosexual. Sorry for being political
incorrect, but I don’t care too much for political correctness anyway.
In the beginning we were a small mixed bag of people who believed that God could and would
use us to do something totally new in spite of ourselves. How hopeless we must have looked in
the eyes of everyone else, but we shared a vision from the Lord and that was what we
concentrated on.


Our First Run
Our first organized bike run was scheduled for the spring of 1977. We had formed as an official
club in 1976 but in Michigan it was a bit too late and too cold to plan any runs for that year. Our first
run was to a Christian outdoor festival called Jesus 77. It was held at a campground in Toronto
Canada.. Little did we know, but this trip was going to exemplify our commitment and the way
the Lord was going to supernaturally provide for us. The plan was to ride down to the event and
then our Vice President and assistant Pastor Gene and his new wife Karen, would break away
from the rest of us to enjoy their honeymoon alone. There were only about six of us then and one
by one by the time the run was ready to happen no one was going to be able to go except Gene
Karen and myself. Talk about odd man out! I was going to call it off but Gene and Karen insisted
that we should proceed with plans and remain consistent right from the start. So I have always
wondered, did they ride on the King’s Kids first run, or did I join them on their honeymoon? To
add to the weirdness of it all, our reservations were lost and the sites we choose which would
have given Gene and Karen some privacy were taken by someone else.
We tried to keep our spirits up but it was not easy until we pulled up at our new campsite. I don’t
know who was more surprised .Our next door neighbor campers stopped their activity to watch
the two new choppers come into the camp amongst the rest of the choppers and bikes. Out of 250
campsites, what was the chance that we would get one next to the only other group of Christian
Bikers. King’s Kids meet the Christian Riders of London Ontario. They were like medicine to a                                           Our First Run
sick heart. They had been together for four years and had gone through many of the same trials
we were about to go through. What an encouragement they were for us. It was like finding a big
brother you never knew you had. For them it was further confirmation that this concept was truly
a move of God as others captured the vision they had even if they were Yankees!. Ed Brower was
their president and founder. He shared with me, much needed insight and encouragement as one
who was already on the path of a Christian Bike Ministry.

One step backward, two steps forward.
Genes Dad owned a shop on a street off Grand River in Detroit. On this street he also owned
several other buildings that he used for storage. One such small building was next to a rowdy bar.
This was a perfect location to have our first clubhouse. The small building was once a barber
shop and really too small for our needs but the price was right FREE! All we had to do was pay
the utilities.
I worked at a large structural steel shop as a certified welder and soon became one of the best
welders there. In that sense I had the respect of most of the workers there. I also tried to be a good
witness there as a Christian. There were several bikers that worked in the shop and none of them
had any desire to check our group out.. At the time I had a 1973 Sportster which was the only
vehicle I owned so rain or shine I rode it to work. My skills and attitude as a worker were
appreciated by all and my faith tolerated by most except the maintenance man. He would follow
me around at times mocking my faith and making obscene gestures toward heaven mocking God.
He was a biker who wanted everyone to know he did not believe in Jesus. He was a self
proclaimed Buddhist in a his own hippy stylized manner. Things were going to rapidly change all
because of my next accident. On my way to work one mourning a kid in a car ran a stop sign and
hit me head on at about a 45 degree angel. It flattened the left half of my bike and folded my front
end into and around the engine. I went flying over the handlebars and landed an entire block away
in the middle of the intersection with my right leg wrapped around my neck. I was in shock and
only remember thinking, “Oh my God I am dead”. When JD the maintenance guy from work
found me , I was screaming in pain as a crowd was standing around just watching. JD asked if
anyone had called an ambulance and no one answered. He sort of took charge yelling at anyone
with a phone nearby to call. A neighbor let JD use the phone and I was rushed to the hospital. Part
of JD’s belief system told him that he was now responsible for my safety until I got back on my
feet. He was faithful to his belief and visited me almost everyday. In doing that he met my
parents and other Christian friends. God began to do a work in JD. I was even shocked to see how
many of the guys from the shop came by to visit. Then there were people from the Shalom House
who came by and several other ministries where I had friends .including the King’s Kids. JD had
an accident not too long ago on his bike and broke his leg and no one came to visit him. In
contrast to this he saw the true concern of my many friends not only for me but for many things
he once laughed at. He was seeing something real and he wanted it for himself too. I was busted
up pretty bad with a lot of superficial cuts and bruises. I had a smashed foot that never healed
right but the most serious injury was my right femur. They were going to have to put a permanent
stainless steel pin through the center of it to hold it together as it had been twisted around almost
180 degrees.. The operation was successful but when I came too it was getting hard to breathe.
Several hours later and I was coughing up blood. I was in a small inner city hospital in Detroit. In
those days the staff of these hospitals were occupied by students and graduates on foreign
exchange programs and grant programs. None of the nursing staff spoke English. Here I was                                               Remains of my 1976 Sportster
dying in a hospital in America and my mother could not find one person who spoke English good
enough to communicate with. One thing about my mother is, don’t mess with her money or her
kids. She continued on until she found someone who could understand what was going on. They
tried to excuse it off as nothing but this only made my Mom more determined. She insisted they
contact my doctor. After getting to the point of yelling and commanding they called the Doctor.
My mother was already getting the number of an ambulance company to remove me from this
place to one of the bigger hospitals. When my Mom talked to the Doctor he must have been
plenty mad at the staff.
The next thing I knew they took me to the intensive care ward and started hooking me up to all
kinds of things. I was drowning in my own blood from internal injuries or pneumonia I never    
found out what was going on but I know I was going to be a statistic. Thanks to my mothers
determination to protect her kid I didn’t die in that place. When I had recovered from that near
death situation and was returned to a normal room, one of the staff nurses came in to see who I
was. She said excuse me, I don’t mean to bother you but I was just wondering who you were. I
asked what she meant. And she said, Well part of my job is to register in visitors and you have
had more visitors than anyone else as long as I know. I just thought maybe you were someone
famous. Sorry, I’m no one famous just blessed by the Lord to have so many good friends.” This
was not about me this was I am certain, for JD. When I got out of the hospital and was well
enough to hobble around on crutches, JD started coming around our coffeehouse nights, then
studies and then Sunday services. Everyone was friendly but gave JD some space without
pressuring him. I finally noticed one night at a coffeehouse during a break he seemed distressed. I
asked him what was wrong. He poured his heart out to me. He said the world, it seems different,
like I am seeing everyday thing differently, I feel like I am going crazy. Things I took for granted
or never thought about seem different, TV seems different, almost crazy with stupidity. My whole
life seems different but I can’t even explain why or how. Does any of this make any sense to you
or am I going crazy. Only one thought came to my mind and I asked him, JD, did you pray and
ask Jesus to come into your heart recently? He said yes about three weeks ago when I first came
to your coffeehouse. I laughed, and said and you kept this a secret until now? JD your not going
crazy, God is showing you reality. He is showing you the way he sees this life, your life and
surroundings.” Your not going crazy, you have become a resident of another dimension, The
Kingdom of Heaven. I announced it to the whole crowd and everybody came to hug and welcome
JD into the family. His conversion and changed life shook up the whole shop. No one could
believe the changed mocker now turned evangelists. In the next two years almost one third of the
shop of 150 people came to know Christ. Several of them became King’s Kids including JD the
mocker turned evangelists. “All things work together for good” including an accident.

The War of Attrition: Getting established in the community of our calling
So how do you witness to an “outlaw type biker”? Making a tract raid at a bike event or
proclaiming the four spiritual laws from a cold start in their faces, are ways that are going to get
you hurt. There is no quick and easy microwaveable way of producing results. To pioneer a
ministry that will dare to tread upon “sovereign territory” that has been controlled by the enemy
without challenge, is going to mean direct war against that defending enemy!
There is a different way and God does have a plan. Missionaries that venture into new areas and
peoples to present the gospel for the first time are always scrutinized and tested by the initial
encounter and settlement. This is the same plan which applies to anything else anywhere else
which is new and different, even in America.. This hard road of testing and endurance is a
spiritual war of attrition which means to wear down or wear out. Who can endure and overcome,
who will say uncle first. This method depends on time which means patience and faith to endure
the scrutiny and testing . It is not quick or easy but it is the only effective way that will produce
lasting results.
 

The Scene we appeared on in 1976
By the mid seventies, many of the older “outlaw” type bike clubs had out grown the gang type
image of being the public menace toward the general “citizen” population. Many of these clubs                       King's Kids mixing in, on a Bike event 1978
had found niches in the organized crime areas of business and profit to support their lifestyle and
they didn’t want the cops snooping around to find out. Some clubs ran guns and military
weapons, others were into drug labs, prostitution and even contract killing . This was serious stuff
that did not include the anti social behavior that Hollywood helped to create a decade earlier. In
order to control the behavior of other clubs and prevent a lot of police attention toward
themselves, The Detroit Federation of Motorcycle Clubs was formed. About twenty eight of the
oldest, biggest and most powerful clubs formed this alliance. The policy being placed upon the
Detroit metro area was, no more new clubs would exist outside of membership in this alliance,
and no established clubs would remain without joining and adhering to the alliance. In a matter of
a few years many were fire bombed and beaten out of existence, or they joined the alliance out of
fear and the desire to remain a club and keep their own identity to some degree. This pertained
only to the “outlaw” type clubs and not the tour groups which were members of the AMA. This
was the American Motorcycle Association which would sanction clubs that qualified. These on
the most part were called week-end warriors by the outlaw type clubs and were not viewed as a
threat or competition. The AMA tour type of bike clubs represent the forerunners to much of
what has become mainstream biking today.


First Reactions
It was in this tense environment with the newly formed Detroit Federation of Motorcycle Clubs
and their imposed policies, that we first appeared and came on the scene in Detroit. No one knew
what to make of us because there had never been anything like a “Christian" Bike club before, not
in Detroit or even in the entire nation.. After a decade of Biker films, the stereotype had been
made, any one with a black leather jacket riding a Harley was dangerous. The Church looked at
us as a bunch of carnal minded kooks on the cult like fringe of things. At best they viewed us as
well meaning but obviously, baby Christians trying to be a bit unorthodox and achieve the
impossible by rather immature and unproven methods.
The bike clubs in total unbelief either figured we were a bunch of “churchy” types playing biker
or that there was a catch and this was just a front cover and we were up to something, possibly
competitive to their own operations. So their first impression was that we must be a front to scam
everyone. In any case no one took us for real or understood that God was doing something new.
What you don’t understand you will put to a test and what you fear, you will attack.
In the fall of 1976 we opened up our first little clubhouse in a very rough section of Detroit right
next to a bar noted for fights and trouble. The perfect place for us to be, right in the center of
situations and people that needed our help.


Welcome to the neighborhood: Our First Clubhouse
My Dads stronger than your Dad
Our first ministry building was a converted three chair barbershop located in a rough
section of Detroit called Brightmoore. One evening at our new believers discipleship class
we had a local visitor drop in to say hi. Actually this was the owner of an occult bookstore
just around the corner from us and he claimed to be a Wizard from one of the many occult
sects which are rapidly growing in America. He rudely busted into our bible study an
announced himself and proclaimed he was going to cast a spell on all of us and our
organization to prove that his power was greater than our God. Wrong thing to say and the
wrong time to say it. I was instantly filled with righteous indignation. Two thoughts filled
my mind, a desire to put this vanity down and the protective instinct I had for the new
believers who could get messed up by a bad situation. I jumped up from the table in front of
the wizard and pointed right in his face as I proclaimed, In the name of Jesus I command
you to shut up and leave. You will not be able to say another word until you leave this place.”
Being a Spirit led action, I immediately was taken back by what I had said and how I said it.
Fortunately, everything else happened faster than my thoughts. He could not finish his
statement and struggled to say something and he couldn’t! Terrified he ran out of the
building never to pass our way again. What was meant to destroy faith became the perfect
event for new believers! As amazed as I was, I kept a composure to the rest, and simply
stated, “ that this was no big thing just God taking care of His kids.”

Take me out to the ball game
A popular weapon for city gang members is that of a harmless looking baseball bat. An
outsider would think there were many twilight double headers going on with so many bats
out late at night. The thing is that you cannot have a bat seized as a known weapon if you
were stopped and questioned by the police. Because of that fact it became the weapon of
choice.
One night at our same little place we had an acoustic musician playing on coffeehouse
night. Next door was a typical rowdy Detroit bar, it was noisy as always but this time some
banging interrupted the normal sound level. It sounded like someone was tearing down the place
next door. We could not continue our music so we stopped and poured out of the place to
see what was happening. I was the first out and saw a man with a baseball bat trying to
beat the bar door down. It was not a solid door so it was being effectively breached. I was
afraid someone was going to get seriously hurt or even killed. I told the guy, “Hey man,
why don’t you calm down and come over here and chill out? “ He turned and looked at me
and then growled, You! He was almost foaming at the mouth and now only several steps
away from me. He raised up the bat ready to play baseball with my head and like before, I
pointed to his face and said, “ In the name of Jesus, Satan I bind you, now put the bat down
and leave” As if he were a robot someone had control of, in mid stride he stopped, put the
bat at his side, turned around in a 180 and took about ten steps, opened a door to a parked
car, got inside and drove off. My jaw must have dropped to the sidewalk, as no composure
could hide my amazement this time. This happened in front of the entire membership of my
group and was probably for their benefit as well. These were things they would need to
know to survive the coming days that were ahead for them.

Who will you take a stand for?
Several of our members had been stopped and asked about our group by Federation members.
Nothing violent happened and it appeared that they were just curious about who we were. The
policy was explained and we were warned. They wanted us to remove our club patches that were
on our backs commonly called colors. For any club to willingly drop their colors was a sign of
cowardice defeat and one that did not usually happen until there was spilled blood. I asked our
whole group to fast and pray about what we should do. We received two scriptures: “When the
enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.”
Isa 59:19: This standard in the Hebrew means a refuge or fleeing to escape danger. In the surface
rendering, a standard is something that makes a statement like a flag or banner. This connection
was only made by another scripture that was received as the result of serious prayer and fasting.
“You have given a banner to those who fear You, that it may be displayed because of the
truth.” Ps 60:4 With these two scriptures we had some direction but we still did not know
exactly how this was going to play out . Other members had received these scriptures and I told
the group I would pray about it further .Early the next mourning during my prayer time, that small
still voice began to make sense about the scriptures, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Wow that
was really cool I thought. We were to drop the “club colors” off our backs as a sign of humility
and submission. No other club had ever done that to these guys before. Certainly we would not
join their organization but we could submit to their requests in regards to the things of men. The
King’s Kids colors were just the worldly institutional banner that proclaimed who we were. But
God was going to replace this with his banner! A place of refuge and the main point of our
existence and purpose! The main point we would want to get across to all was that Jesus Christ is
Lord and God! The next month our new “banner” was made and sewn on every vest who was a
member. A large white cross with a red boarder and wrapped text next to it in the biggest letters
possible that simply stated, “JESUS CHRIST LORD AND GOD”! In my own mind I was
thinking, “Just try and take these off our backs” This was as simple and basic as anything could
be and just about as bold too. It was our banner given to us by our Lord to go out and proclaim
Him to all!
When I shared this with the others, some became defiant. They liked the “statement” as we later
called it but they did not like the submission of getting rid of our old colors. In an attempt to
appease them and still try to maintain a club identity I created a small patch about a 5" circle of
our “colors” to be worn on the front part of our vests. This idea took on a life of it’s own and is
now popular nation wide with all kinds of clubs. The actual origin was this small attempt to keep
our personal identity. We changed the MC Motorcycle Club to MM Motorcycle Ministry which is
also used by many today.
Again the DFMC was dumbfounded and torn apart as to what to do with us. No one was ever                                                 Jim showing our banner "statement".
willing to peacefully submit like that and in the same breath, replace it with a bold statement of “
Jesus Christ Lord and God.” It was politely right in their faces. We took off mans thing but
replaced it with a God thing and one even they didn’t want to deal with.. I mean they weren’t
actually colors but it was a challenge to their authority. Just like the Hebrew National hot dog
package says, “We answer to a higher authority.” Because we were armed with two scriptures
from the Lord and the personal guidance by them through the Holy Spirit, everyone in the group
had the confidence that we were making this move under His direction and protection. So for
awhile they didn’t do anything more.
As we explained our purpose and goals I thought we had a peaceful understanding. We enjoyed
this uncertain relationship for about eighteen months. Then suddenly and out of nowhere, we
were given a plywood front to our place as someone tossed a rock through our large store type
front window. The rock had a note glued to it. It was a warning to stop our activity as a club, join
the Federation or cease to exist. The next time it would be a bomb, signed the D.F.M.C.
Clueless Leader
This time I responded not as the fearless leader of a God ordained ministry but as a naive leader
not realizing what I was coming up against. I actually thought that this must have been a prank by
some local kids that knew about what was going on and were trying to stir up trouble. So what
did I do? I marched right down to the clubhouse of the group whose President was also the
President of the Federation. I walked right in showed them the rock and said. I knew this was too
childish of a thing that you would not be a part of so I just wanted you to know that someone was
trying to wrongly use your name to give you a bad image and scare us. We know you didn’t do
this so we aren’t going to do anything about it, we just though you should know though. They
were dumbfounded and didn’t even know how to react. In my innocence, I came off very bold
and fearless, and it threw them off for about six months.


Who’s the Boss?
Around the same time we had taken our club colors off our backs we also had an important
change in our organizational structure.
When I first set up our constitution and by laws there was no reference for such a thing to be
found. There was no internet to download a sample copy and Barns and Noble did not have a
copy of “Ministry Bike club laws for Dummies. I was on my own to meld the two together. I had
made the same mistake many recent Christian bike clubs have made. If you are going to operate
or call yourself a ministry and be involved in presenting the gospel of Jesus Christ your leadership
must be structured in conformity to the Word of God. In other words you cannot be effectively
involved in ministry if your structure is secular with secular standards, it won’t work. You will
have an inherent flaw because your structure does not take into consideration, spiritual warfare of
which you most certainly will be subject to by naming the name of Christ. The scriptural
guidelines for leadership requirements however anticipate and address the spiritual warfare
aspect by the qualifications required for the leadership. Here is what almost happened in our
cased back in those early days of formation.We were a ministry with a vision and goals that included a mission statement that was purely
ecclesiastic.
However our structure at the beginning was set up just like a motorcycle club, which included
annual elections and job qualifications that were secular in nature.
After our first year of being together, we had our first election. I ran as the incumbent President
and we had one guy who wanted to be boss, and he ran against me. In the natural, Larry K was
everything you would want to represent your club. He was a large 6' rough looking “Biker type”
with a rough gravely voice. Just his appearance alone commanded respect and attention. He also
had a charismatic personality that allowed him to be able to talk himself into or out of most
situations. However Larry was a novice Christian with no experience in leading or even
following any structure from a prior church or Christian organization. He was one also who never
really got the important part of following Jesus. He lacked discipline and was a true rebel in
nature. His grounding was incomplete with many doctrines that were mixed up with worldly
views. We were later to find out along with his wife, of a dual life that included adultery, alcohol
and drugs. He was eventually diss-fellowshiped for his unrepentant lifestyle. He almost became
President and leader during the most dangerous part of our ministries history! How this almost
happened was because of our secular structure.
After the elections, I quickly restructured our constitution and by laws in accordance to the
scriptures quoting the scriptures as part of the documents. Sure there were some who thought I
was self motivated in trying to secure my position as leader. Shortly afterward, when we
discovered Larry’s hidden lifestyle, that put to rest these suspicions and confirmed the wisdom of
doing thinks the Kingdom way.
We continued to have elections a couple of years until we became or rather incorporated a
Church as part of our ministry. Then by the memberships request we dropped the election process
for the five fold word ministry and only had elections for deacons and elders. This proved to be
the best and only way to structure even the motorcycle aspect of ministry.

Learning the Word
We were still a very small group and we had a rather unique problem. We had a wide range of
educational levels that made a traditional teaching method near impossible. On one end we had
Greg who had a masters degree in computers, we had Russell who was a compulsive student we
had Gene and myself with an associates degree and on the other end we had one who could not
read with hardly any education and a couple of high school dropouts. How would I make a Bible
study challenging enough for the educated and yet not overwhelming for the others who could not
even read. We had developed a method out of necessity and not with any forethought as to how
excellent this would become, a type of Dynamics. I would pick the topic or section of the Bible
we would study and in keeping in tradition with the Shalom House style, we would have
homework and bring paper and pencil to seriously study the Bible. We added another dimension
that was able to include everyone on all levels. We all had assignments. This was going to be a
collective study put on by all of us. I was more of a facilitator/teacher than someone spoonfeeding
everyone. I first taught how to use five different study guides. A Concordance, Topical Bible,
Bible Dictionary, Customs and Manners and a Commentary.
Starting with this basic and eventually including a few others, I would assign certain things to
look up depending on the educational background. I would have some look up key Hebrew or
Greek words give some historical or cultural backgrounds and others I would have them listen to
the bible on tape sections that pertained to our study and ask them to prayerfully ask the Lord to
show them something about what they heard . The results were that everyone had a chance to
contribute to the lessons with out feeling shamed or slighted. Everyone on all levels could have                  Typical Bible Study at our clubhouse
something to contribute and receive. It just seemed to make sense but it had even better results
that I had not anticipated. In this manner everyone realized and practiced receiving a personal
word through the Word by their own efforts. Unlike the traditional spoonfeeding method,
everyone was learning how to find answers and inspiration on their own, and not simply
depending on the teacher to tell them everything. It also produced another important element. It
taught everyone how to work as a team. It gave the uneducated the realization that they had
something to contribute, it gave the educated the humility to respect the uneducated that out of
the mouth of babes wisdom can even be learned by themselves. It also gave the rebellious or
prejudiced a chance to see God work in those they would normally close their minds to. We
became a solid team. People who were called dummies all their life began to have the confidence
that they could learn and even memorize scripture regardless of how much they lacked because it
was God’s will. One guy,
Ron, became discouraged at finding out there was 28 memory scriptures to be recited upon
membership to become a riding member. He said he was never good in school and wasn’t smart
enough. (He was not educated but actually quite an intelligent guy.)
I asked him if he was so dumb how did he build his own motorcycle from scraps. Could a dumb
person do that? No, of course not, so your not dumb are you? Well, I guess not. The Bible says,
“Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” I asked him what does it mean
to hide something in your heart. Heart by the way means your mind. It means to memorize
doesn’t it. I guess it does but...” When Jesus was fasting in the wilderness and Satan came to
tempt him what did Jesus do? He quoted scripture back to the Devil. This memorization is a
weapon used to attack and defend yourself from a real spiritual enemy. We are told to use
weapons that are spiritual not carnal. Memorizing God’s word then is a spiritual weapon isn't it
and God wants you to have it and use it, right That is God’s will and by faith on your part you
have to believe that you can do this. Use the little cards and put them in your wallet recite them
when you get a chance just like when you were in school only pray for the power of God to help
you. How proud we all were including the gleam on his face as he recited all the scriptures
including the long one of 1 Co 10:13. When it comes to the Word of God there are no dummies or
excuses because God can and will make a way for you to know his Word, it is your safety,
soundness and discernment for anything in this world or beyond.

Trial by Fire
Then as promised we got the bomb. It was May 1st 1979. We were away on a run to Washington
D.C. to attend the first national day of fasting and prayer for America. When we got back we
were shocked to see the charred remains of only brick walls. Everything we had was lost. It is
funny that in those times you find were you have placed your real value in things. I lost a Bible
study library of books that would have made any Pastor happy. Probably around 1,000 dollars
worth of books and study guides by 1979 standards. But do you know what I missed the most?
Not the expensive library or our new pool table or even some custom bike parts I left in the
bathroom, but Christmas tree decorations. Now I know I have to explain this one. Our first
Christmas found us with a scraggily little tree and no decorations. My grandmother heard about
this and gave us her collection from over the years. There were some from the 40's and 50's that
were classic and brought back many childhood memories for myself. Everyone else in the club
loved them too bringing back the same old memories for themselves. The books could be
replaced but these decorations, meaningless by most, were irreplaceable.
We held a day of prayer and fasting to hear from the Lord about this event. We received several
other scriptures warning about bitterness and fear. We also received promises that he would
provide in our patience and faithfulness. By remaining physically passive but spiritually active
our faithfulness was greatly rewarded.


Proclaiming Judgment; can we actually do that?
After our first ministry building was fire bombed, we moved to our new place which was just
down the road on Grand River Ave in a different neighborhood. This was like being on Main
street in any other town. We were very visible to the public eye and began to have many
wondering what we were all about. This made our coffeehouse nights crowded and kept us busy.
New in this neighborhood we were faced with many new challenges. During a Bible study a local
resident came in and asked if we could help her out with a problem the neighborhood was faced
with. She said that the local convenience store down the road from us was selling pornographic
magazines on open racks uncovered and easily accessible to the kids in the neighborhood. She
added that they appealed to the owner without any response and even contacted the police and
city officials without any results. I am not sure what she thought we would do, be Christian
bouncers or become an intimidating influence? The last thing I wanted to be a part of was a
Vigilantes or bullies for Christ. But nevertheless I was willing to try something. I went down to
talk to the owner in the most polite and gentile manner. I asked him to please remove the
magazines in accordance to the local laws and ordinances which required that they be behind a
counter with jackets over the covers. He became foul mouthed and was not willing to listen to
reason. He realized he was in a section of the city that was pretty much abandoned by law, justice
or civil rights. Nothing was going to happen by his obstinacy and he knew it. Well this is where
the Lord sort of put himself into the situation. Our discussion had reached an impasse and I
realized there wasn’t anything else I could do. Suddenly a text of scripture came to mind.
Galatians 6:7 which states, “Be not deceived for God is not mocked, whatsoever a man sows,
that also shall he reap. I felt the Lord say to me warn him! I turned to the man as I was leaving
out the door and proclaimed, “My friend, God is not pleased with what you are doing or your
attitude, when I leave here know that his wrath is going to be upon you. Your business will
suddenly drop off until you will be out of business or it will stop when you comply with the law
and remove them from off the floor and cover them up.”
He was speechless as I left the store and thought to myself, What do you think you are doing? Do
you know what you just said? You think your some kind of an old testament prophet or
something! You can’t do that! You are going to make yourself look like a fool! My response back
to those thoughts were, “Lord I hope your leading was in this and your gonna back me up on this
one.”
After that encounter, I told the woman to give it about a month or so and we will see what
happens. A month to the day, the store owner came to my place on another Bible study night and
said. Sir, please come to my store and see what I have done. Please pray to God to restore my
business? I have done everything you asked and I promise to keep it this way please come and
see.” I excused myself from the study and as we walked to his store he poured out his heart to me.
He said he was a Christian and that he and his brother saved up their money to leave war torn
Lebanon to come to America the great Christian nation. There they felt they would have religious
freedom from the Islamic extremists, and enjoy the beauty of a better lifestyle in a Christian
nation. When they got here and saw what America was really like they lost all faith in God and
man. Because of what happened in this last month, he said he knows there is a God and he asked
me what should he do now. I said well you could get rid of those magazines entirely and never
sell them again and after that, start going back to church and begin to trust God again. Well,
shortly after that, the magazines were gone from his store. I believed he followed up on the rest
also. We, our bike group, started to become regular customers in support of his changed heart and
won over a new friend. God’s judgment is not about revenge it is about change in a direction
toward him. Yes sometimes we can do this! An enemy became a friend.

Gifts are free by Grace, but to accurately apply them bares a price: Discipleship
Discipleship means to be disciplined something of a missing ingredient for many believers
today. Living in this instant, disposable fast changing society , patience, determination and
consistency are not easily learned or experienced. These are the elements that make up
being disciplined and what it takes to become a Disciple of Christ.
I was only 28 and the decisions made by me at this time would mean life or death for
myself and those under my care as a Pastor. It was going to be important that I clearly
heard from the Lord and obeyed His voice. Until this turning point, I was a hit and miss
young leader trying to do right and drew upon the loving grace of a forgiving Father which
taught me through my own mistakes. Now extreme times meant extreme actions. It was
prophesied over me by a well known missionary evangelist Steve Fato that I was to
separate myself to him for a time so that I would not presume upon his prompting or Word
but that I would learn his voice clearly and know when and how to act accordingly.
I remember thinking how “cool” that prophecy was until I realized how that translated out
into real life. I started a fast that would only stop when I was prompted to do so. Never
knowing when I could or couldn’t eat this went on for several months. I didn’t know it then
but this was only the conditioning to prepare me for a far greater demanding task. From
September 14th to November 24th 1979, I fasted with only three glasses of chicken bouleon
soup and few pieces of bread and of course water. During this time I was literally taught to
hear and respond to the voice of our Lord.
Afterward I experienced many different gifts working in a supernatural way that protected
myself and others from certain death. I also entered into a deliverance ministry of kicking
out demon trespassers who hitched a ride on unsuspecting hosts. My personal ministry was
enhanced with these gifts of words of knowledge, wisdom and prophecy. It was truly a
whole new supernatural dimension to effective ministry.
These extreme experiences of actually facing possible death for the sake of the gospel is not
one experienced by those who have remained in America. Many of us had a chance to
experience many things that I have only heard about from missionaries in far off places.

When the enemy comes in like a flood, I will raise up a standard...
Because our new clubhouse was in such a visible spot, a Detroit Newspaper writer lived near us
and sensed a story . He came to many of our regular events to write an article about us. Later that
year he won a national award for the story he did on us. The Detroit Free press however heard
about this story and sent a famous international news correspondent Harry Cook to do a Sunday
feature in the week end news magazine that went nation wide. We never sought out this attention
and I sort of played it down. But God had a plan and the nation wide publicity was just a part of
it.
Instead of running away in fear or foolishly trying to get some form of legal retribution or revenge
back at the Federation we allowed the Lord to direct us. So far that translated out to a bigger and
better clubhouse with maximum exposure and now a flood of press attention.
I can’t even imagine what they must have thought. In their confidence they probably figured they
finally got rid of those pesky Jesus freaks, only to find one day there are twice as many of them in
a clubhouse twice the size of the old one and right in the most visible section of the
neighborhood!
The first week of September 1979 found ourselves on Fridays front and back page of the Detroit
News.
In competition, the Detroit Free Press that next Sunday featured our group on the front page of
their Sunday magazine in full color and syndicated meant that the same article appeared in every
Gannet press owned paper across the nation! To respond to the one up nature, Channel 7
television WXYZ which was owned by the same of the Detroit News did a feature documentary
on us for a local News program..
Now the producer for this TV program was a conservative Jew. The film crew followed us around at various functions including our Bible Studies. The study he sat in on was one which I was teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ via the Old Testament. Weeks later I got a call just before the program was to air from Dave the producer. What he asked me nearly knocked me off my feet. He asked, “Jim I’m not really calling about anything to do with the program, I want to know
what it takes to be Born Again.”  I proceeded to tell him everything he needed to know and counseled him to the drastic repercussions that would happen in his decision but also encouraged him to make that decision. I felt led not to push to pray with him then. Timing is very important and I believe what God starts
in a person he will complete in His time. He had some further ministering by the Holy Spirit and I did not want to interfere. The result of his touch from God was the most powerful short documentary which included several salvation testimonies claiming Jesus as Lord and Savior to all on prime time TV!
This was all done within the month following the bombing. It seemed like everywhere they turned it was Kings Kid this and that. The next spring, one couple from our group took a vacation to the Grand Canyon and the California coast. While at both locations different groups of Detroit Federation members saw them. At the same time one of our guys went down to the Daytona                                One of our larger runs up north, our guests made it look like we
spring break run on his bike, he was also noticed by some Detroit Federation members in      were bigger than what we really were.
Tennessee and Florida..

Return of the clueless leader
A few weeks later when everybody returned from their spring ventures the annual spring
Motorcycle swap meet was going on at the State Fair grounds. This was sort of the unofficial kick
off for the years riding season and we had a rather large display of parts and free custom tailored
literature including our own club newsletter which we freely distributed. I had been involved in a
motorcycle accident that was a close call to death. What remained by spring was a broken leg and
a cane to help me walk. I saw a short stubby guy in front of our table, typical grizzly biker type
built just like me only bigger limping with a cane on the opposite leg. Seizing the opportunity to
make a joke, I said to the guy, hey we could stand next to each other and be book ends. He
laughed and I asked if he got his like I got mine. We shared accident stories and then he said he
had read about us in the paper and thought is was a shame about what happened to our
clubhouse. He then offered that if there was anything he or his club could do, let him know. I
never noticed that he was in a club and had not noticed what colors he was flying. I noticed his
President patch on the front so I knew he was top dog of some group and probably a DFMC one
at that. He leaned over and told me about the sightings of all the King’s Kids and asked in a very
serious tone, “How big are you guys anyway?” With a sudden unction of the Holy Spirit a
boldness and confidence came over me to be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove, I answered
back very cooly, “Well, we are as big as we need to be.” He accepted that answer and didn’t
press the issue. As he walked away he turned his back and I saw the famous skull and crossed
pistons with the upper rocker name OUTLAWS, on the side MC and the lower rocker DETROIT.
I was just goofing around with the President of the Detroit chapter of the Outlaws! What was I
thinking! People get hurt for being so familiar with these guys as a stranger! When I was younger,
I was teasing a spider and then turned it over to see the hourglass on its abdomen. What I felt like
then is how I felt now. Trying with success I kept my composure but inside I was this cartoon
character going, “ duh, dee, dooo OUTLAWS not good, run, be scared, do something.” Again
God was in control even though I wasn’t. All of this reminded me of Gideon and his small band
of an army. The Lord made their enemies think they were a huge and vast army when there was
just a small band of faithful followers who trusted in their God.
The Federations whole goal was to keep things on a low profile. How could they now come up
against a high profile ministry which seems to be everywhere doing nothing but good things. Now
they would have to back off and they did. We had many federation members as they saw us on
the road, they would wave and showed a desire to let us go in peace. “When a mans ways are
pleasing unto the Lord he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”
They had put us to the fiery trial and tested us. We neither ran in fear or retaliated with legal
means or in anger sought revenge. All we did was wait on the Lord to raise his standard against
the whole situation...and he did.

Reaping a Harvest
In the months to follow we were overwhelmed with phone calls from all over the nation by
people who wanted to start similar ministries in their home towns. We made up a packet of
information with a guideline example of a Constitution and bylaws that could be modified to fit
their own local needs.
We had prisoners from all over the country requesting to be put on our mailing list for our
newsletter. We had to create a special ministry section to accommodate these needs.
We also had many calls from local churches that wanted us to speak to their youth groups. I
studied the history and particular beliefs of each denominational church we visited in order to
best present what the Lord had given us. In some cases we were the first to proclaim the real
gospel in their churches. One huge denominational church we spoke at, when we mentioned
being born again, they thought we were talking about reincarnation! How far some have fallen
from the truth and simplicity of the gospel!
The Lord was opening many doors of ministry and some, we had never anticipated, like speaking
in so many different churches. I even found myself in Temple Israel, a reformed Jewish
Synagogue speaking on religious cults. I also spoke at the University of Michigan to a psychology
class. Their topic was the controversy of religious revivals taking place in various sub-cultural
aspects of our society. i.e. the “Jesus movement” I was to be their specimen to dissect and find
the inconsistencies and error of our ways. Hey, a dumb biker would be easy prey right? As a
disciple of Christ I was prepared and ready to give an answer for the hope that lied within me.
In a very wise way with respect and politeness, I was able to leave the professor speechless,
baited and hooked by his own cynicism. He was a Marxist, an Existentialist and a reformed Jew.
He probably was not counting on the fact that I was familiar with all three and began questions
about the inconsistencies of the three and contrasted that to my faith. I then preached the gospel
to all of the students in a very contextual manner so that no one even realized they were being
preached to. I left feeling the power of God’s Spirit knowing that this was a divine appointment
and better than anything I could have done on my own. Instead of them picking my brain, the
Lord picked at their hearts.
We kept our clubhouse manned with scheduled shifts by twos that started when most of us got
off work in the afternoon up until about midnight and later on the weekends. This was easy for us
to do as most of us were still single with hardly any other commitments. It was in these late hours
some of the greatest events happened. This is when the club bikers and free wheelers would come
to check us out and ask questions. John and Bobby Matich were one typical couple to drop in on
us. After several hours of questions and answers they were both ready for a change. We first
prayed with them for salvation and then we prayed for them to be delivered from a 150 dollar a
day Heroine habit. There were about a dozen of our people at the clubhouse then and we all
collectively placed our hands upon them while I led a prayer of deliverance. In that one moment
they were set free from the Heroine without any withdrawal symptoms. . John battled an alcohol
habit that took years to kick but this part of the battle was free, easy and over.
Bruce and Jenny came to us by an “accident”. They were walking down the street in front of their
house when the wind blew a newspaper up on Jenny’s leg, she looked at the paper before she
threw it away and it was the article about us. They were both involved in the biker lifestyle of
hedonism but felt they needed a change in their lives. They looked us up and got saved the same
day. Bruce could not seem to shake his lust for women. He even had an affair with another
woman and witnessed to her and she got saved, turned her life around and left him. He was a man
torn apart. We had to actually diss-fellowship him which was very sad. He called me months later
and wanted to give me his motorcycle. He said he had a dream and felt that the Lord was going to
call him home because he could not change. I refused his bike as I did not want to seem like some
cult leader that took things from his members. He said he felt like he was going to be shot. I
thought he was disturbed and tried to talk some reason to him but he seemed convinced. Two
weeks later Bruce was shot and killed by a 16 year old kid, point blank with a 357 magnum. The
scripture that comes to mind on this was, Jenny was so used to disappointments this was hard
for her but I think she understood. By then Jenny was well grounded in the basics and met Mike
Simoni a non biker who was to be her husband. Jenny had a rough life as a “biker chick” but got
over things and became a powerful counselor as a member of the Crises Pregnancy Center.
Today she has two wonderful daughters who are both involved in missionary work and the oldest
is in Bible College. Only God knows how many young women she has helped in the course of
twenty years and later helped me too.

Helping the homeless
We got an invitation to speak at the Harbor lights shelter in the Cass corridor of downtown
Detroit. This was the number 1 highest crime area of the entire Detroit metro area.. Harbor lights
had short term and long term rehabilitation programs. They, along with Teen Challenge were the
only of their kind in the city at the time. Both provided much needed assistance for the homeless
and those bound by drugs, alcohol and other dysfunctional problems. After our first time
speaking there, the director called me and said they had never had such a good response from the
people before. He wanted to know if we could donate one night a week to preach, teach or just
speak to them. Without hesitation I said yes. I was going to do this even if I had to go it alone. I
certainly didn’t as the rest of the group was just as enthusiastic as I was to minister there. This is
where we met Tex. Tex was a man who was in his late 50's. He had a rough worn weary and tired
face. One look and you could see he had a hard life. Homeless and bound to alcohol, he often ate
his meals out of a dumpster, sleeping over vents and highway overpasses and struggled just to
stay alive. He looked like the character actor Gabby Hays. I hate to admit it but I think every
pastor has been guilty of this before, my first impression and thoughts were, Geeze can Jesus even
help this guy? They called him Tex because he came from Texas and well, he wore a cowboy hat
like many Texans do.
Tex was like Zachauess who climbed a tree to get a glimpse of Jesus. He heard the gospel from
us and made every effort to get more. He called us afterward and asked us for prayer to help
complete the program. We obliged his request and kept him in prayers and was put on our
ministry prayer list. Several months later like a puppy dropped off on our porch he came to our
church with no where to go and no one to help him out. Karen and Gene took him in and became
almost family to him. Unlike many of the homeless who are able to survive by their wits and
cons, Tex was willing to be responsible for his own actions. He was willing to work and pay his
own way in whatever way he could. Tex was the perfect example of true repentance. Every time
we were open for anything Tex was there either to learn or work or do whatever he could. Karen
and Gene helped Tex get on social security and other assistance from the government. They
helped him get his own place and begin a new life in Christ. I was humbled to shame at my first
impressions of Tex. He was determined to be the best he could be in his new life in Christ. He
soon met Mary a woman with many problems herself. Again Gene and Karen took them both
under their care and helped them to make it. Tex and Mary eventually got married bought a house
in Brightmoore and to this day live there active in a local church and has made their house a
beacon of light and hope to many others who are where they once were. This was one of those
extreme success stories that was made by God’s merciful love flowing through Gene and Karen
and accepted by Tex’s courage and determination. Since knowing Tex , I have never pondered a
negative doubt toward anyone as a first impression again. Now it is more like Gee I hope this is
going to be another Tex.
Soon to follow Tex was Kristy King of the Kings Kids (this was a nickname which stuck with
her). Kristy was 33, a divorced mother of two, cross addicted on drugs and alcohol, who had just
lost custody of her two young children. She too was homeless and came upon our doorsteps as a
friend of a friend situation. I was the only one in our group at the time with any kind of an extra
bedroom for her to stay on the short term. We laid down some rules and at the time , Corrine, my
wife was not working, being home with our two kids, so there was supervision at all times. We
presented the gospel to her and she received Christ without hesitation.. She was also delivered
from both addictions instantly with no withdrawals. Many times these experiences are like jail
house religion good for the down time but once things are better and your out on your own, it is
forgotten. The miracle of her deliverance was more than anyone could just shake off as some
coincidence. Fortunately in this case just like Tex, Kristy was serious about her commitment.
Kristy was not the typical stereo typed homeless person. She was very attractive, a model type,
she was also very intelligent with a decent education. Drugs and booze however can make all that
worthless if you lose hope and have no vision for a future. I was still working another full time
job as well as being the Pastor. I was a foreman of a small fabrication shop which happened to
need a receptionist and office worker. Kristy was educated with this background including
bookkeeping. She fit in perfectly and began to rebuild her life. She soon (with much prayer and
effort) got custody of her children . She stayed with us almost a year and got an apartment with
her Kids. Soon after that, she married one of our newer members Doug . She lost her last mane
King to Laidler but she will always be Kristy King of the Kings Kids to us. Doug was ten years
younger than Kristy and there was much controversy about their being together. Today they both
are a husband and wife team as overland truckers living in Florida. Thirty years of a solid
Christian life together proves what God joins noone can tear apart. This is a good niche for Kristy
as she became a bold witness for the Lord. Her pretty face was always smiling and just beaming
with the love of God in her eyes. She would come up to people even the scariest of big bikers and
would say, “Hi, Did you know Jesus loves you?” Only she could get away with that kind of
approach and she knew it and used it for all it was worth. She ended up praying with many to
receive Christ, men and women. She became a very able counselor as she quickly became
grounded in God’s word. In just two years she became a totally new person with vision purpose
and a positive attitude that was contagious. Doug was the strong silent type with a gift of
discernment. We called him Lurch as he had the deep voice of the TV character Lurch, the
Adam’s Family butler.( Being 6'5" helped also.) I always wondered, what if we had refused the
unglamourous opportunity to minister to the homeless. I have learned that there is truly Gold in
them there masses of what seems like hopeless people. It is true that the majority never allow
themselves to be helped and die without Christ but the few that make it like Tex and Kristy are
well worth the effort.


Following the King where He leads. King’s Kid’s Kids
King’s Kids was quite a contrast to the names of many of the worldly clubs like Hell’s our home,
Hells Angels, Devils Disciples, Outlaws and the like. When we started this ministry our main
objective was to evangelize the “outlaw type” biker clubs and individuals who made this a full
time lifestyle. As this was our predetermined target and focus, it was not going to be our only area
of ministry, the Lord had some different ideas.
In the seven years that I was Pastor of this ministry, I would have to say that an area we had
impacted maybe even more than the clubs, was with kids. I never saw myself as a biker version of
Mr Rogers and never anticipated having a thriving youth ministry as that was not my “thing”. But
that’s ok God changed my heart. I have since learned that ministry is not what I choose to define
it to be but rather, it is the doors that the Lord opens and the path we follow by the Holy Spirits
leading.
In the mid 70's the “biker” image had become an American folk hero/icon that proclaimed a
rebellious attitude toward mainstream society with a “free thinking lifestyle” by it’s own cultural
standards. This was something inner city kids with no direction, little hope and way too much idle
time on their hands just flocked to. We had kids that started to flock around us once they found
we were friendly toward them and didn’t just tell them to scram, they would hang out with us
when we worked on our bikes, they were eager to help, they asked if they could see inside our
clubhouse and being a ministry we would not turn them down.
Soon our activity looked like the Pied Piper with our little gang following us whenever and
wherever they could. We realized we had to make some changes in our structure, vision and
purpose as there was just too much good results happening with these kids. We developed the
Kings Kid’s kids a youth ministry with their own activity night at the clubhouse, Bible study and
Sunday school once we developed into a regular church. We even bought a 66 passenger bus so
we could take a bunch of these little rascals with us on our bike runs. Thanks to my parents, we
had 40 acres for our use with a campground we called the King’s Kid acres about 250 miles up
north from Detroit, in the Traverse City area.. Many kids got to see a different way of life outside
of the city for the first time there. Many also met their savior in those same woods including my
oldest son Jason. I can’t even begin to tell you the many stories of kids that may have never made
it out of the desperate situations they came from without our willingness to be flexible in our
desire to serve the Lord.
I do want to cite one example which is a bit better than average story but still typical of many
other testimonies coming from the King’s Kids Kids.
John was a very lonely 16 year old who was a Christian kid living in the middle of hell trying to
survive and be faithful to a God he hardly knew. John came from a single parent home, his
mother had passed away when he was just a young child. His father, as well meaning as he was,
was an alcoholic. He pretty much raised himself. He was a part of a local Catholic parish and was
active in their youth group but “John Guy” his nickname was still somewhat of a social outcast.
He was not getting the necessary understanding to have a relationship with his Lord or the
abundant life that could result.
We took John under our wings as the tag along kid. He was always helpful, eager to please and a
bold witness for the Lord. He soon found a place with our group. In two years time he became a
courageous young man of God, well grounded in the Word and an unofficial leader of the youth.
Before he graduated high school he had a girlfriend who was a good support for him. Mary was a
strong Christian girl coming from a different kind of dysfunctional home in the same depressed
neighborhood. The two of them became leaders in their own right helping in ministry wherever
they could. We helped John get his first motorcycle and he became a full member with Mary
riding behind him. They always told me that some day they were going to get married and have
lots of kids of their own and live in the country in a big farmhouse. It was a dream many had but
in the natural coming from Brightmoore, it would take a miracle for that to ever come true. You
know what? We have a miracle working God if we can believe enough to receive from him.
Thirty years later, the Rev John Grotten, his wife Mary and their nine children live in a big old
farm house in the country about eighty miles north of the Detroit area. They are the ultimate
example of God’s grace and power. Mary could put June Cleaver to shame. She home schooled
all of their children which are some of the best behaved kids I have ever had the pleasure to be
around. John worked hard to get his ordination and is a leader at his local church. He is still
riding a Motorcycle and still a member of the King’s Kids Ministry!



It’s the real thing
We had weathered the stormy trials and had become recognized as the real thing by the many
bike clubs in Detroit. In the small still hours of the night, many would ride up alone to visit our
clubhouse. They were the ones brought to a place of searching for answers and needing
something more. Some were bold and came right out and asked us for prayer others had much
pride to overcome but at least they came searching. Names like Baron a lifetime member of one
of the scariest clubs in Detroit which was rumored to do contract killings. God turned this huge
Viking looking man full of anger and hatred to a big happy Teddy Bear. There was Jonsey a guy
who wanted God’s approval so much he was willing to do anything he could for us. I told him all
we wanted from him was to be our real brother by accepting Jesus, he didn’t need approval,
acceptance hade already been made by Jesus. So he jumped right in without a second thought. In
his own newborn baby Christian way he did much to bring about change within the Federation
toward us and the Lord. He is with the Lord now as his huge bulk caught up with his heart and he
died from simply being too big, but he is with the Lord and I am so grateful to have known him
and had a part in his knowing Christ.
The atomic bomb salvation experience came when the “junkman” got saved. Dave Mutschall was
his real name. He owned Mary Jane’s Chopper Haven. This was a used Harley part junkyard and
the most popular biker place in the city. Every Detroit biker would pass through here in search of
cheap parts so everyone knew the “Junkman”. Dave was a notorious character and unlike most
bikers came from an upper class suburban family. He was one with a genius IQ and a
temperament that would match any Old Testament prophet. He was tall thin and flexible not one
you would think was as strong as he actually was. I remember being in his shop once when there
was a debate going on over the price of a part. The other biker was trying to intimidate Dave into
getting his way. Wrong thing to do with Dave. Mixing profanities and obscenities in a very fluid
poetic manner in putting the guy down in a way only Dave’s intellect could perform, he
proceeded to beat the part up with a 4 pound sledge hammer and then threw it at the biker as he
fled the shop. This was the reputation Dave had but he was highly respected in the Detroit biker
community. He also had the most Harley parts and on a good day the cheapest prices to be found
anywhere in the city. Dave was intrigued by me as I was able to give him many logical answers to
his challenging questions about the things of God and the Bible. He came from a Roman Catholic
background and was usually told it was a mystery, not for us to know and other diversionary
tactics given by those who try to save face but are clueless to what the bible does say. I started to
find reasons to go to his place and a friendship began. For Dave this was a big step as he was not
the social type or a joiner of anything and a very private person. Then the day of visitation came
and he accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. The ripple effect of this changed life shook the
biking world in the Metro Detroit area. In months after, a big sign hung in his window, Smile
Jesus loves you. When you came into his shop the first thing you saw was this guy with a big grin
on his face saying Jesus loves you, what can I do you out of? In three years time Dave became the
MC and head of our coffeehouse night. He was a leader in every way and only became that way
because he was able to humble himself before God first. He had a great impact on the kids and
developed a real heart for the lost and was a bold witness in the biker community.

It was during this time we experienced growth beyond our wildest expectations. We hade to move
out of our Grand river place because it was too small. A rental hall is all we could find in the
neighborhood we knew we were called to Brightmoore, the second highest crime rated area in
Detroit. It also was the location of the club who’s president was also the president of the
Federation. Like Pharo against Moses, Bo was getting concerned about the impact we were
having on his people. Trouble was beginning to rise again but not everyone in the Federation was
willing to play follow the leader.
We actually began to get invitations to some of the bike rallies and runs from other clubs, some
outlaw ones but mostly the AMA clubs. It was a great opportunity to share the good news in a low
key manner with many. What was an additional credit to our group was that we seemed to win
many trophies at these events giving us respect that we truly were bikers but different only in our
faith and modified lifestyle in Christ. Now, in their minds, we were the real thing.

Serving those we were called to serve.
I got a call from a club in the Gennessee Vally, a suburb of Flint . Their President died of a heart
attack and they found our card in his wallet. They knew we were some kind of religious group
and wanted to know if we would do the Funeral. I tried not to be more excited at the opportunity
to minister, and remain respectful to their loss. This was an important opportunity to share with
many in a time they are more open to eternal things. As we pulled up to the Funeral home, we
were readily accepted with a reverence and respect that we were not used to. They really saw us
as real servants of God!!
After interviewing friends and family the week before the funeral, I had pretty much deduced that
this poor guy’s heart attack was induced by an overdose of drugs. Although no one knows what
happened in the last moments of his life, it was also pretty conclusive he went to an eternal state
without knowing Christ. The biggest problem for me was to present an uncompromising
presentation of the gospel to those in dire need, and yet remain sensitive to the grief for those
same people who were suffering the loss of a loved one. Also, not getting smacked in the jaws
would be an added bonus too.
I soon got over the nervousness, realizing that this was not anything about me but these 100 some
people needed to hear something from the Lord that was meaningful for them. Getting myself out
of the picture, I gave a message that I felt good about. Except for one huge guy in the back who
gave me a chilling look and stayed fixed upon me the whole time, it went pretty smooth. As I
concluded in prayer offering a moment of reflection and the prayer of salvation, the entire room
of people came forward to review their friend in the coffin. The big guy was staring at me all the
time and I was bracing myself for a hit. As he came forward in front of me before passing the
coffin, I braced myself and sort of closed my eyes waiting to get hit and instead, I got hugged!
This huge guy leaned over and hugged me with both arms and said, That was beautiful man,
thank you! Relieved and keeping my composure, I replied, Thank You and hugged him back. We
were invited to the wake afterward and had an amazing time of witnessing in the form of
answering hundreds of questions by many club members, friends and relatives. I stood back and
saw my people blending right in and boldly sharing their faith with the crowd and was beaming
with pride for their faith and dedication. From this one event we had many other doors open and
years later some called us up for help in a time of need remembering us from this time. There
were others watching us that we were not even aware of.


A Set up or Another test?
One invitation we got was from a Flint club. They were a club about 60 miles outside of Detroit
but they wore the 1% patch and could back it up. Former President Nixon once made a comment
that most citizens of America were law abiding people and only 1% represented the actual
criminal element. The 1% patch was adopted by the outlaw biking culture as a warning sign and a
point of achievement. Only the badest of the bad even dared to wear this patch and if you wore it
you had better be ready to defend it. Very few of the Federation clubs even wore this patch. The
Outlaws of course and a few other clubs wore them unchallenged by anyone. These clubs had an
unspoken right of passage, a mark of distinction to do what they wanted, even with a submission
by other outlaw type clubs. They were in a league of their own and like it or not everyone else
knew it. This Flint club was one of these elite. So why were they inviting us to their place? Was
this a setup to eliminate us put up by Bo? Or was this further testing going on by those beyond the
boarders of Detroit. We didn’t know and the Lord was not letting us know any detail he just said
GO!
I wanted the membership of the bike ministry and the Church to fast and pray for personal
direction. Our own safety, maybe even our lives were at stake. We needed to have the personal
direction and confidence to accomplish whatever it was he wanted us to do there. This went far
beyond courage and guts. This was like sticking your head in the open mouth of a lion and kids
don’t try this at home.
I had all our members fast and pray before anyone committed to go. It was this dangerous and we
needed to know we had the Lord’s leading. One careless goof by someone not spiritually prepared
could get us all killed. Our women and the non-riding church membership committed to having a
prayer vigil at the church while we went on to this invite.
As we pulled up to their clubhouse, I noticed the curved metal above the roof line, (to stop maltov
cocktails from getting on the roof) the steel plated covers over the doors and windows with portal
type openings big enough to stick out a gun barrel out of.. The place was set up like a fortress.
Each one of us were frisked down completely before we were allowed entrance into their place.
As we went inside the rest of the interior was typical of most outlaw type clubhouses. There was
a bar with stools to seat about a dozen people. A pool table in the central area of a big floor. A
jukebox in the corner. A few ragged old couches and an old coffee table in front. Behind the bar
was the typical trophy wall with as expected trophies won at various bike events but this was not
considered the highest achievement of trophies. There was the “other” trophies nailed on the
walls also. One type was the colors of other clubs that hung on the walls. These were the vests
with the club emblems that were forcibly taken by this club from other clubs. It was this practice
that led to the many bike wars of the 60's and most clubs were starting to grow out of this because
of unwanted attention from the police.. The other trophies were panties and bras taken or given
willingly by those women who pleased the members of the club. This was part of the hedonistic
lifestyle of the outlaw type bike clubs and a common practice within this culture. Their trophy
wall was well filled in every way and proclaimed to the visitor that they had been around and was
nobody to play games with. There were about a dozen of the members and a few women sitting
at the couches, several playing pool and assuming a pretty normal position on a typical Friday
night. Nothing that looked threatening if your already used to large rough looking bikers with
swastikas, devils and every kind of thing of darkness on their walls, their jackets and various
tattooed body parts. We sat down and filled the seats at the bar. The guy serving as bar tender
asked what we would like. I spoke up and said that we didn’t drink anything stronger than pop
(Northern Yankee term for soda) so do you have any? Instead of laughter or a mocking attitude,
he said , Ah yeah sure I think we have some. He yelled to one of the other members to check a
cooler they had in the back of a connecting room. They came up with several brands and was
served without comments. One of our guys was an avid pool player and went over and placed his
quarters on the table indicating he wanted to challenge the winner next. The President came up to
me and asked me, so are you guys for real?
The whole room was quit waiting to hear the answer. I said, “well yes we are.” I then asked him,
I’m just curious, how did you hear about us I mean it’s not like we are next door being from
Detroit and all? He replied, “Well I was at the funeral you guys did and you did everyone good.
You didn’t put anyone down and you seem to be real riders just like us but only religious. You
gotta admit you don’t see a group like you everyday. We just wanted to check you out. Glad to
see you could make it” I laughed and said, “ we didn’t consider ourselves religious, but we do
have a relationship with God that we don’t mind telling others about if they want to listen”. Then
to lighten up the situation I added, “but I promise we didn’t bring our twenty five pound bibles to
beat you over the head with cause we all want to see tomorrow. Everyone laughed and the silence
was broken. People paired off and began talking as natural as any scene could be. Their President
rode bikes in Detroit in the 60's and so did I, so we compared notes to see who we knew in
common. Dave the Junkman being the Harley expert fit right in with the other wrenches as well
as did Gene. Don and Kevan worked out and compared notes with the same from this club
including the eventual arm wrestling contests. All these guys were well trained to turn these
things we had in common into a discussion to their need for Christ. In a very natural flowing
manner we did preach to them the gospel in a way that they not only accepted but by their
questions, it was more at their request. We ended up staying several hours and each one of us
were able to answer questions and give testimony as I never dreamed possible! It was amazing to
see such hunger and curiosity from such an extreme group of hard core bikers. There was a lot of
good seed being planted on fertile soil that night. The members of this club were very considerate
and treated us very well. We had a blast. When we left we went straight to our church to talk to
the rest of the people who stayed back and were in constant prayer while we were away. It was
late but we had anticipated that and most had bedrolls and were ready to camp out all night if
needed. As we shared with the others what happened it was like winning a great battle. This kind
of success was only due to the commitment of all of the group to fast and pray and get serious
enough to be able to break into the enemies lines like this.
 

A Few Good Men
In our group we had fearless members who actually invited this kind of “action” Tom Faunce was
one of several that were like this. He was a little guy even smaller than myself. At 5'5 what he
lacked in size he made up in heart. Some would say he suffered the post Viet Nam syndrome , I
say it was some kind of twisted gift that was well focused by Tom’s own relationship with the Lord. A part of me could relate to this. Tom later became a missionary to communist controlled Nicaragua, smuggling in food clothing and medical supplies across the Coca River from Honduras. The last I heard he does the same thing in Africa. There was also Don Clark who had an imposing stature of 6'2 and a huge muscular build who later became a two time wrestling belt winner in the professional circuit. He is also the current Pastor/President of the Kings Kids. However it wasn’t his own strength or stature that gave him his confidence, it was his trust in the Lord that made him brave. The bravest however and real heroes are those who were bound by fear to begin with and had to overcome these personal devils within themselves to even function let alone perform the extraordinary. Kevin Mchugh was every bit as big and imposing as Don, he could bench press over 500 lbs! But, he got that way motivated by fear. Kevin’s love for the Lord enabled him to overcome these fears and enter the very gates of hell if he knew that’s what the
Lord wanted him to do. Bob Edwards was a mild mannered non-biker type who loved bikes and had a desire to share Christ with just about anyone. A small stature and timid nature except when it came to telling people about Jesus, he would be the last person people would figure to be the heroic type and yet he was. Whenever there was a tight situation Bob was one of the first to volunteer. Paul Good was more an ex hippy intellectual never having anything to do with bikers and yet Paul was kind of like the other Paul in the Bible,                                                                                                        to evangelize he was willing to overcome and do whatever it took to tell someone Jesus loved                                                                                                     them. My Dad was another. He once asked me before he went to his first bike event,                                                                                                                 “Jim what should I say, how should I act, I’ve never been around these kind of guys before.”                                                                                                           I reminded him, “sure you have they were called my friends. I brought them home all of the time                                                                                                      and you got along fine with them. Just be yourself and be honest, it’s not about being cool it’s                                                                                                    about being real. All my biker friends in the past thought you were cool because you were                                                                                                           comfortable to be yourself and kind toward them remember?” That’s all my Dad needed and                                                                                                      with confidence he went anywhere he was asked without fear or regret. These were the mixed                                                                                                        bag of people I could count when the roughest of times came. We did have a few guys, who                                                                                                          felt and acted quite differently. When we were at our biggest numbers, about 100 church members                                                                                              with about 28 riding members, there were late comers who did not experience some of the most                                                                                             dangerous times. They seemed to be over concerned about image and in particular my image as                                                                                                        a leader. Many times they thought I came across as soft or even sissified and were embarrassed                                                                                                       by my actions and words. It always remained somewhat amusing to me that these same macho                                                                                                   guys were always busy and couldn’t seem to make it to any of the dangerous situations.                                                                                                            Their criticisms proved empty by this and the fact that these were the same who never actually                                                                                                 prayed with anyone or led anyone to the Lord.  As a Pastor, you make the best of what you are                                                                                                 dealt with, some came around in time others never really got it or seemed to understand what this                                                                                                 was really all about in the first place. That unfortunately was something I should have addressed                                                                                                more aggressively and it eventually came back to bite me in the behind.

Along came Heidi
In the seventies, motorcycling was still basically a mans thing. One very practical reason for this
was the Harley. In those days Harleys out of the factory were provided with a kick starter as the
only means of starting your bike. The practical point to all of this was the fact that only a man
with considerable weight and strength could kick a Harley over to begin with. Mechanics had to
be considered as to even the procedure. If you had a Linkert carburetor or a Bendix carburetor the
process was very different to correctly start the bike, oh and remember to retard the spark or no
matter how big you are, you will go flying over the handle bars or break your leg at the backfire
and recoil. Yep it was a mans sport.
A very expensive option then was an electric starter. This was looked at by most as a “girls” bike
with unnecessary heavy equipment that didn’t belong on a respectable “chopper”. Anyone who
rode in those days of biking knows what I am talking about. This was a pure love/hate
relationship. Most riders of Harleys in those days built and worked on what they rode. The
individual creation of the bike was a part of the individual character and extension of the rider
himself. The problem was to build and maintain one that would start in three kicks or less. Ten
kicks was probably the point of no return, anything beyond this was just like falling down on your
face.
Women in those days and in outlaw clubs today, are not full riding members. This is still a
lifestyle that is male dominated in the outlaw motorcycle subculture. What the women wear is the
“property of” patch. Whoever their male mate is, bears ownership of the female so that on the
back of the woman would be a property patch saying, “ property of Big Mac” ect. Even in our
group this cultural trait was maintained to basically keep our women safe. Our woman wore a
property of patch but they , as we all, belonged to Jesus Christ. To remind other bikers of that fact
our women wore a property of Jesus Christ patch. This made a sound statement but also provided
a point of safety. But then came Hedi. She was only 19 stood 5'3 and came to us on her own
Harley 45 flathead which she built herself from a “basket case”. A Harley 45 was the smallest
bike Harley made with a big bike appearance and carried a 750cc motor which correctly done, a
woman could kick start. These were used in the military in WWII and even in the 70,s, plenty of
them could be found to build and ride. We could not deny her a probation ship into our club and
we let it run it’s course. She memorized all 28 scriptures, Aced the test which was the first book
from the Campus Crusade for Christ series, Ten Basic steps of Christianity, and her personal
relationship and lifestyle was solidly in Christ. What were we going to do? No one has ever let a
woman become a full riding member not even in the AMA clubs! We were in a sense responsible
for her safety I mean could we actually make her a full member, how much danger would we be
putting her in? After considerable prayer , we received an answer that satisfied every member and
it was a unanimous decision.


“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male
nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye
Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal 3:28-29

As far as I know Hedi became the first woman to become a full member of any type of
motorcycle club!
She became the head of our prison ministry and distributing out newsletters to prisons all across
the nation. She later became a missionary working in El Salvador as a teacher.

End Time Follies
To understand this story you would have had to have been active in the church in the late 60's and
70's. This generation of believers went through what I call the “chicken little syndrome”. The
strong message that permeated almost all of evangelical Christianity during this time was that
Christ was coming soon. Placing approximate times as the mid eighties when the Jupiter effect
will take place. This was a total alignment of the planets on one side of the sun that was supposed
to cause catastrophic events on earth that well, must be the great tribulation period. There was
hype from the radio, television and many well intended but presumptuous ministries that
magnified the urgency. This unfortunately influenced even the most balanced Christian at the
time myself included.
I always had the hope and I believed, even sensed that this was the last part of the last days, (I still
do) and that I would be alive to experience these times. In spite of this belief I felt a duty and
obligation to teach a balance in this belief with sound and responsible behavior. I have seen
people break off from society heading for the far safe reaches of the wilderness to dig in and be
ready for these events. Entire congregations actually pulled together and set up their own
encampments during the Y2K fear. I knew of one person who actually ran up their credit cards to
the limits because the rapture was coming . Other people canceled their life insurance policies.
What do you tell your children, don’t worry about your education because soon it won’t matter.
Other questions I had been asked as a Pastor during these times have been, What if I am still here
when the mark comes and I run into someone with the mark who threatens me, can I kill them in
defense of my family? I mean they are already going to hell with no hope so why not? As silly as
some of these actions and considerations are they do reflect out natural tendency for survival.
This is not a new problem as the Thessalonians considered the same thing to the point of not
working their fields, they instead stood in them looking up waiting for the return of the Lord. So
where is the balance in all of this? What is faith and what is presumption? This wracked my
generation of boomer Christians to the point that most today are embarrassed and deafened to
recent warnings that the time is closer. I believe it is because they never found the balance and
got burnt by their own or others actions.
When Corrine and I got married, we agreed that we would not have children as we did not want
to bring up anyone in these “Last days”. We felt it would be too hard and not fair for the kids.
When Corrine got pregnant both our first reactions in harmony to each other was, “OH NO”! God
was about to give us a hard lesson in our wrong attitude. As the months progressed we both
accepted the situation but there was still some reluctance. We had no insurance and the labor was
hard for 32 hours.
When Becky came out she was the cutest little orange red headed baby I had ever seen. Almost
immediately the doctors removed me from the room. There was a problem the baby was yellow
in color. She had Jauntis which usually indicated further problems of infection, kidney or liver
problems. We were both in shock. For two weeks we could only visit our baby Becky in the
hospital. We had to wear gloves and a mask so we could not even touch her or kiss her. This was
a very hard thing to endure and we both had great regret for our wrong attitude. At the end of two
weeks the Doctors had done all they could. They had flushed out her system and given her a
transfusion of some kind and we were being braced for the worst. They told us that whatever
happens in the next 24 hours will determine everything else. It mean life or death and we would
know in that time. Devastated is all I can describe in how we felt. We prayed and had just about
everybody we knew pray. That night while watching the 700 club, a guest on the program was a
woman evangelists with the gift of healing. Her name was Vicky Jamieson.. As she prayed she
began to get a word of knowledge that there was an infant who had complications at birth and
was dying .She was yellow with jauntis. My wife cried out uncontrollably crying a happy cry.
Now you would have to know that I was the emotional one in the family not her. She was a stoic
person not showing much of any kind of emotion so this flood of emotion was something
unusual. I asked her what the problem was and she said that was Becky, she was talking about
Becky, She’s been healed! I didn’t want to diminish her hope but at the same time I didn’t want
to perpetuate any false hopes either. I felt nothing but a bit trapped. How do I respond to her? I
was honest and said I felt nothing one way or the other but I will not doubt her faith and have
hope in it also. We will just have to see in the mourning. When the mourning came it was the
week-end so I was home when the call came. I answered the phone and the man on the other side
asked if I was Mr. Wilhelmsen. I said yes and he stated he was the attending Doctor at Providence
Hospital. I braced myself for the worst. Nurses call patience not Doctors this had to be bad. He
was stumbling with words and I felt like yelling at him, Just tell me my daughter is dead and quit
drawing this out!” He finally said, I can’t explain it but it’s your daughter. (“Get on with it man”)
she’s completely healed and you can come pick her up any time now.
I just bawled like a baby, Corrine was filled with just as much anxiety as I was and demanded
what! What did he say! I cut to the chase and said, “She is healed and we can go get her NOW!”
How overwhelmingly thankful we were to have a second chance. We never again breathed a word
of regret about having children in the end times, especially when our second baby David came
two years later in 1981.
I was a victim of an even a worst end time folly but didn’t know it quite yet although I had a clue
something was wrong. I did not have a very close relationship in my marriage with Corinne. We
got along emotionally in that we didn’t fight with each other and had a mutual respect for each
other .Spiritually we seemed on the same page and she was a big help to me in ministry, although
she was always distant and seemed happier when I was busy with ministry away from her. We did
not have much of a mutual physical relationship and that hurt but I always felt things could and
would get better , they never did..
It came to a total realization in 1983 that although there were no outward shows of conflict, we
did not have a good relationship and something needed to be done. This was going to be a tough
year and one that would eventually bring most everything to an abrupt halt in my life.


Miracles are still for today.
During these fruitful times, the Lord was building us up to believe and expect other miracles by
having us exercise His authority in our lives. Some of these few testimonies are going to sound
foolish to the reasonable natural mind but nevertheless they actually happened.
My dad was a simple man, he wasn’t much of a reader and for him, life was always presented to
him with simple solutions. His biggest gift was a positive attitude and an unyielding faith to
believe God in everything. My Dad had his own painting business specializing in spray painting
industrial buildings .
One hot summer day he was painting a new building in a remote undeveloped area. He had hired
one of our new believers John Matich to help him on the ground as he painted high up on the roof
joists. The paint sprayer was gasoline powered as there was not any electricity hooked up yet.
They had brought with them a five gallon can of gas which was usually sufficient enough for
most jobs, except this one in the remote area. There was a deadline and little time to complete
what was required. To make it worse it was Sunday and the closest Gas stations were not open. It
was about 50 miles to the nearest gas station. And as you probably know where this is going, the
sprayer coughed its last gasping bit of gasoline and died. Now John was a very intelligent well
read man who had to have logical answers for everything. He was a nuts and bolt guy that trusted
only within his own senses . Now my Dad had never done anything quite like this before but he
told John to lay his hands on the sprayer and pray with him. John somewhat embarrassed asked,
What do you think you are doing? Bill, other people are watching us, they’re going to think were
nuts!” My dad replied, Don’t worry about what they think, we need to finish the job and the Lord
is going to help us. This is probably as much for them as it