CHANGES: Well, Life is certainly full of Unexpected Changes and I've recently experienced a huge Life Change. As most of you are aware, I have been extensively involved with Chariots of Light (COL), a Christian Motorcycle Ministry. Chariots of Light are based in Crowley, Texas and is a Jerry Savelle International Outreach Ministry. In the USA, COL are involved with street ministry and community goodwill endeavors. They ride their motorcycles to large events, such as Sturgis, South Dakota, set up their large marquees and mingle with passers-by to witness to or pray for them.

It has been a huge success all across the USA. Back in 2018 I made the decision to join this organization, as I had researched their mission and decided theirs was a Godly ministry.

Unfortunately, what COL does in the USA is not exactly what they do in Australia and I did not discover this until I had been involved for a while. After joining, I detected that a good friend of mine, Retro, who had been with COL for a while, was frustrated and ready to drop out of the organization. Retro was studying to become a chaplain and was completely frustrated with the duties that had been assigned to him by the group leader. Those duties involved managing all communications for COL Gold Coast as well as to organize group rides and events. It was a big job for someone studying to become a chaplain. I spoke with Retro and asked him not to drop out, that I would take over his duties and relieve him of that responsibility. Needless to say, Retro was thrilled with my proposal and happily agreed. I performed the duties as communicator for about three years and did a great job, at least that’s what the entire membership agreed upon. I was eventually named group leader, as everyone had been coming to me for guidance anyway. I was responsible for setting up a new COL ministry in a city about two hours drive from our location.

The Problem: COL Gold Coast had been operating for about 7-years before my joining. They had experienced a very rocky start with ministry leadership/management changing quite often. Finally, a South African by the name of Tony was given the leadership role. He self-titled himself Dr. Tony Walter-Girout but he has no credentials for this title; I suppose it gives him status within the church. His being South African didn't really have much meaning to me until I had attended the associate church for a while. Jerry Savelle also has a church associated with his outreach ministry, that church being Heritage of Faith Christian Church. There are other HFCC around the globe, I believe there is one in Crowley, TX. Part of the Chariots of Light oath involved my supporting this church, as that's where COL is officed. Initially, I attended the church because my friend, Shaun Smit, was doing his associate ministry training there. Shaun had been my business manager for the training organization that I operated several years ago. I attended the church to support Shaun and to stay in touch. I did not agree with the church’s doctrine; it was way different than what I grew up with; Heritage of Faith Church is charismatic Pentecostal. I had felt so uncomfortable in this church and likewise, in the Chariots of Light organization, that I prayed that God would show me what his intent for me was. On many occasions I expressed to Tony, the COL leader, that I was having issues with their practice of speaking in tongues. He said that I should just ignore it and pray as I would normally pray. This was not so easy to do, as I could hear others around me mumbling their in-tongue prayers which would completely break my concentration, not to mention that I felt like a hypocrite being there, as though I accepted it, which I did not. The Bible clearly states that praying in tongues should not be done in the church (1 Corinthians 14:18-31). Anyway, this is the root of the problem; this, along with the fact that Tony (the leader) is an ineffective communicator, which caused extreme frustration for me; I could then understand what Retro's frustration was all about. I had numerous discussions with Tony about his ineffective communication and how it was negatively affecting the ministry. He expressed resentment that I challenged his authority but we had always parted with an amicable understanding. He will not take the lead to organize outreach days, as they do in the USA. Actually, he organizes not much of anything; he leaves it to the members to do these things.

Conclusion: Recently, an incident occurred that put Tony and me at odds with each other. He organized a meeting that I was to attend but did not think it necessary to inform me about the meeting. The subject of the meeting was a delicate one and one that he should have addressed himself as it involved another member and problems that she was creating within the church congregation. He is the COL President, I am a team leader, and the problem involved something I was not qualified to address; it was more a church related issue. I refused to attend the meeting, he took this as my challenging his authority, blew it out of proportion and deemed, during a meeting of five church members (all South African), that I was no longer suitable for COL. I agreed that this was the right decision and walked away. I believe that God heard my prayers and answered them, as in an instant, I was pulled away from the South African Pentecostal environment and released into a new challenge.

Presently, I am working with a small-town preacher & bike rider to establish a Saturday Biker Church in a small country town where hundreds of bike riders travel to each and every weekend. I have the participation of four or five other Christian biker groups, including COL, which I have just departed from. I will provide an update for how the Saturday Biker Church develops in a future RRE edition.