Lessons learned from a bike "gang"

I had the singular honor of attending a "motorcycle run" this past weekend, hosted by the Unknowns. For those of you not familiar with the term, a "run" is a gathering of motorcycle riders in a single location, generally for the purpose of hanging out. This particular gathering happened to be at the home of a member of the club known as the Unknowns. There were members there from Brother Speed, The Highwaymen, The Outsiders, some other clubs I'm sure I missed, and of course people who were not members of any club, such as myself.

Of course I would not normally be entirely welcome at such a gathering (I'm not really biker material, what with my '97 4Runner with the Thule ski racks, cargo pants, polo shirts, Smith sunglasses, etc.), but my dad happens to be one of the charter members and first president of a club started here in Boise by the name of Brother Speed. We ended up at this shindig because one of the guys he used to ride with thirty years ago came up from Portland to see him and invited him over. Amazingly, there were a lot of people there he knew from his days in the club (he quit some twenty-five years ago), and of course since I was his son, I and my brothers were in.

What I found from hanging out with these people is that they are a community and a family, in the truest sense of each word. They are a community because they provide for one another's needs, and they are a family because they choose to see past the imperfections of individual people and love in practice...by being interested and active in the well being of the other person. I'm quite sure they have their internal issues, but the fact that they continue to stay in contact with my dad after all these years, and can pick-up their friendship after a decade as if they'd seen one another a month ago is a testament to the genuine bond they share. To hear these guys talk about their friends is refreshing and warming because one knows they are talking of their comrades and siblings. Hence the name, "Brother Speed", I suppose.

One member explained how being a part of the community provided for them. She said that whenever they go to a town, as long as that town has a club, "all their needs are met". Even if they do not know those people directly, they are given a place to sleep, meals, a shower, directions, whatever. They are given all of this simply because they are a part of the family, and that's what family does. This is incredible to me because there are so few real examples of community anymore. Many places claim to have community, but I've never really seen in actually lived.

The whole thing sort of reminds me of stories about the early church. It occurs to me that the church maybe has some lessons to learn from these motorcycle clubs. Maybe I should write a book. "Love like a biker. Growing your church by completely forgetting about growth." The motorcycle clubs have once again shown us what people really want; genuine, unconditional, humble love of the person they are right now.