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“Turning A Blind Eye” – or Not Seeing Those Among Us

Friday, July 17th, 2009
“Turning A Blind Eye” -
or Not Seeing Those Among Us

The idiom turning a blind eye is used to describe the process of ignoring unpopular orders or inconvenient facts or activities. The phrase to turn a blind eye is attributed to an incident in the life of Admiral Horatio Nelson. Nelson was blinded in one eye early in his Royal Navy career. In 1801, during the Battle of Copenhagen cautious Admiral Sir Hyde Parker, in overall command of the British forces, ordered Nelson’s forces to withdraw. Naval orders were transmitted via a system of signal flags at that time. When this order was drawn to the more aggressive Nelson’s attention, he lifted his telescope up to his blind eye, said he saw no signal, and ordered his forces to continue to press home the attack. – Wikipedia

I do not know if many of us are a deliberate in ignoring the cultures around us as much as we are just not aware they exist. It is the distinctions of these cultures that make it necessary for US Missionaries and new church planters to reach out to areas that have been ignored or unreachable by the traditional church approach. It is interesting to note that Jesus told the disciples that when they received the power of the Holy Spirit, He did not just say they would be witnesses to the whole world, but instead listed the Holy City, the culture they considered God’s people, the culture within them that they despised and ignored, and then to the rest of the world.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Acts 1:8 NKJV

Recently in a North Texas District Church Planting and Development board meeting we were introduced to a couple who have been working in the Gulf Latin District but have a real burden to work with a whole group of people who are missed in Hispanic churches. They are the second and third generation Americans who desire to go to an English speaking church but still within the context of thier culture. Instead of recognizing this need we expect people to either be Hispanic and go to Spanish speaking churches or to adapt their culture to ours if they speak English. This ignores the needs of a growing number in our society. Their culture is distinctive and actually has much to offer to the rest of society. Planting a church can meet this need, but also educating some of our other congregations to this need and how to incorporate it into their churches can also meet this need. We did this in a church that I pastored in a community that was seventy percent Hispanic, but the need is neglected in many of our communities.
Another pastor friend of mine was moved by the Lord with a burden for law enforcement officers only to find there was a blue line that the civilian minister is seldom allowed to cross. They have their own distinctive culture and are often by nature and by training suspicious of anyone from the outside crossing that line. Seeing that problem, David left pastoring and went to Police Academy. He now serves as a pastor and works for the local police force. Many times he has been allowed to work with officers in the Dallas/Ft Worth area because he is on their side of the line. We cannot really plant a church to meet this need. We can do some educating in some congregations to meet this need, but by at large it will require pastors like David and the men we send from US Missions as chaplains to work within this culture on their side of the line.

Then there is the culture that God has called me to walk among, the biker culture.

Yes, I know, there are a lot of lawyers and doctors and normal people who ride motorcycles and have not bought into the biker culture. That is true, but even many of those dabble in a culture that is foreign to the every day American. It is a culture that is in many ways controlled by what is called the one percenters. Some call them outlaw bikers and others just call them hard core bikers. Either way, their motorcycles are not just a luxury that they own, but rather a part of a lifestyle that they have chosen. If the one percent is accurate, which it probably is not, then with the amount of motorcyclist approaching nine million, that would leave about eighty to ninety thousand bikers in America. The traditional church is not geared to reach into this world anymore than it can easily cross the blue line into the police culture.

To reach into a culture, you have to understand that culture. Did you know that the driving force that was the foundation of the hard core biker culture was combat veterans who came home and had a hard time adapting to the normal way of life. They had learned to depend on a small band of brothers for their very existence. They had learned to live on the edge of danger. They also were ready to party and celebrate without restraints. They expected a man to be what he says he is, nothing less and nothing more, and they wanted to know that they could trust those who were standing behind them.

They were men who had seen betrayel and were not going to let that happen to them again. Words like brotherhood, honor, respect, loyalty, etc. are key words within the biker culture that are not just defined as platitudes, but expected in practice and often enforced with brute force if you do not live up to those words. In a do or die attitude they began to build protocol and methods for making what they wanted to work within their own world. They are one of the most secretive portions of society and most do not even realize how organized they are. You do not just walk up and start ministering to these guys. You have to slowly earn the right to speak and you have to be proven as trustworthy.

It has taken me years to get to where I am, and I am just on the fringes in a few areas, but God is opening doors through the relationships we have built. It has been as though the Lord has allowed me to go through cultural training over the last four years so that I can better understand where He has sent me. I have followed in the footsteps of those who have worked here, too, and I have received an eduction from those within this world. I have to be careful not to spend all my time working with church people and ignoring spending the time with these guys that is so needed. I have to be there for them when they call. I have to have God provide opportunities for contact in a real and personal way. I have to go to them, both the bikers of the one percent and motorcyclists of the ninety-nine percent. I am compelled by the Spirit.

It would have been so much easier to have worked in Jerusalem and just stayed a pastor. Or to at least be assigned in Judea where I could extend what God has given me to work within the church world and sit beside my peers. It would have been so much easier to turn a blind eye to these others. But instead, I am working on a foreign mission field right here next to you and many of you did not even know it was there. I am working in your Samaria and Jesus loves them. So do I.

In His Service,
Duane
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R. Duane & Janet Gryder
Motorcycle Chaplain
AG US Missions -Acct# 2605988
Desert Highway Ministries
HonorBound Motorcycle Ministries – National
HonorBound Motorcycle Ministries – Texas
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“The individual activity of one man
with backbone will do more than a
thousand men with a mere wishbone.”
– William J. H. Boetcker
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The Example of Jesus – Do We Follow It?

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Time and time again, I hear Christians talk about the need to be Christ-like. Philippians 2:5 even says for us to “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” He is our perfect example and our goal for the way we think and the way we do things. And yet, we seldom implement His methods or His way of treating both the religious and the lost. Often pastors and church members are careful to not have any contact with the lost, less they give the appearance of evil by association. We are much more comfortable with surrounding ourselves with those who are just like us. But was that the example of Jesus? This is Jesus:
There are some rough
looking guys out there!
  • Matthew 9:10 And while He was reclining at table, a large number of tax-gathers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS were of the party with Jesus and His disciples. (WEY)
  • Matthew 9:11 The Pharisees noticed this, and they inquired of His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with the tax-gatherers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS?” (WEY)
  • Matthew 11:19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they exclaim, ‘See this man! –given to gluttony and tippling, and a friend of tax-gatherers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS!’ And yet Wisdom is vindicated by her actions.” (WEY)
  • Matthew 21:31 Which of the two did as his father desired?” “The first,” they said. “I solemnly tell you,’ replied Jesus, “that the tax-gatherers and the NOTORIOUS SINNERS are entering the Kingdom of God in front of you. (WEY)
  • Matthew 21:32 For John came to you observing all sorts of ritual, and you put no faith in him: the tax-gatherers and the NOTORIOUS SINNERS did put faith in him, and you, though you saw this example set you, were not even afterwards sorry so as to believe him. (WEY)
  • Mark 2:15 When He was sitting at table in Levi’s house, a large number of tax-gatherers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS were at table with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many such who habitually followed Him. (WEY)
  • Luke 5:30 This led the Pharisees and Scribes of their party to expostulate with His disciples and ask, “Why are you eating and drinking with these tax-gatherers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS?” (WEY)
  • Luke 7:34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, there is a man who is overfond of eating and drinking–he is a friend of tax-gatherers and NOTORIOUS SINNERS!’ (WEY)
  • Luke 7:37 And there was a woman in the town who was a NOTORIOUS SINNER. Having learnt that Jesus was at table in the Pharisee’s house she brought a flask of perfume, (WEY)
  • Luke 15:1 Now the tax-gatherers and the NOTORIOUS SINNERS were everywhere in the habit of coming close to Him to listen to Him; (WEY)
  • Luke 15:2 and this led the Pharisees and the Scribes indignantly to complain, saying, “He gives a welcome to NOTORIOUS SINNERS, and joins them at their meals!” (WEY)
  • Luke 19:7 When they all saw this, they began to complain with indignation. “He has gone in to be the guest of a NOTORIOUS SINNER!” they said. (WEY)

    • Yes, I see that people perceived Jesus, who had no sin, as a drinker and glutton (Matt. 11:19) because of those who he associated with. We know that this description by those who hated Him was not true. It did not stop him from spending time with them. Obviously there were things about Jesus that attracted these people to be with Him. I dare say that a lot of that had to do with how He treated them. There was something about Jesus that made them feel comfortable sitting down and talking with Him and inversely, there was something about Jesus that allowed Him to be able to sit down to eat with them. I do not know if He was comfortable sitting down with them, scripture does not say, but He did it. I believe His compassion for them was greater than any lack of comfort that He may have had.

    Do not get me wrong, we must keep our standards high and our lifestyle pure. It is in fact by doing this that we become light and salt. But what good is light if it is never shined into the darkness and what good is salt if it is not spread around? What is it you must do to make yourself able to sit down with notorious sinners? …to shine your light into the darkness around you? Do you need to figure out how you can realign your schedule so that you can sit down for coffee with those in your community that do not live a Christ centered lifestyle? How do YOU follow this example of Christ? Is this really part of being Christlike?

    R. Duane Gryder
    Motorcycle Chaplain
    AG US Missions
    Desert Highway Ministries
    HonorBound MM Texas
    HonorBound MM National

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    Seeing Clearly

    Tuesday, September 9th, 2008


    I just received a new pair of riding glasses. It is always interesting when I get a new lenses with a new prescription. I measure how well they work with five factors. I see how well I can see to read a book, road signs, and license plates for the first three. The last two are leaves on trees and high line wires. The first three are obvious, especially since I spend a lot of time reading to study as a minister and on the road as a motorcycle chaplain. The last two come from when I first started wearing glasses. I was in the third grade and we picked up my new glasses at the optometrist in a larger town 70 miles away. I will never forget that ride home. I did not know that I had poor eyesight before and thought every one saw things the way I did. Then, for the first time, I saw leaves on the trees without having to climb the tree to see them. It was also the first time I saw the high line wires that stretch between the poles on the side of the road. I saw a lot more things for the first time, but these two just stood out in such an amazing way to me as a boy in the third grade.

    It is amazing to me how often we all can look at the same things and see only within our own limited perception. Take the men that Janet and I often minister to. Most people only see bikers that are weekend riders, others see what we used to call “thugs” and misfits. If you look closely you will see a deeper culture that is totally foreign to most Americans even though it is right here in the middle of them. A culture that is a small percentage of Americans, but a culture that millions are dabbling in the hedonistic portion without understanding all of the culture. Although it may seem perverted, there is an entire honor system with true bikers. They have a respect and loyalty to one another that would rival what the church should be. And they honor those of faith who live it out and are not phony. Phony is just not accepted in this culture. Yes there is major immoral behavior and you can get hurt entering this culture and not playing by their rules, but should we be surprised that the unsaved would be immoral? When I look at these guys I see so much potential that others seem to not see. Just like the high line wires. It is there, they just do not see it through their lenses.

    For inmates, many only see them from having seen prison movies or something like that. We see men just like the rest of us that have made mistakes. In the prisons, we have ministered to bankers, lawyers, head high school coaches, and even preachers. Often they are actually more open to the gospel than church people.

    Because I do see this, my heart breaks for them. I care for them as much as anyone I ever pastored when I was a pastor. I cry when I intercede for them. I rejoice with them when they have a victory. I am moved with compassion for these tattoed up men, just as you are when you see the starving orpans in a missionaries presentation. These are the lenses God has given me, and I am as thankful for seeing this way as I was as a third grade boy seeing highline wires for the first time.

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    God’s Oath… Or Mine?

    Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
    MY OATH TO YOU…
    I received this poem from a friend:   

    MY OATH TO YOU…

    When you are sad…………….I will dry your tears
    When you are scared………..I will comfort your fears

    When you are worried……….I will give you hope
    When you are confused…….I will help you cope

    And when you are lost………And can’t see the light
    I shall be your beacon………Shining ever so bright

    This is my oath………………..I pledge till the end
    Why you may ask?…………..Because you’re my friend.
    ……………………………………..Signed: GOD

         I do not know who wrote this poem, but I am glad that it stirred up my thoughts.  When I read this, I thought, “How beautiful and how real this is of our God.” But then I thought about how God actually does these things.You and I both have heard so many times that you and I as Christians are the hands and feet of God on this earth. While you and I are not literally His hands and feet, we all realize that God uses people to accomplish His work on this earth in so many ways. Yes, I know he uses miracles, but isn’t the fact that His people do such wonderful things a miracle in itself?
    MY OATH TO YOU…
    When you are sad…………….I will dry your tears
          I will not turn my back on you during your time of sorrow. I will not depend on my ability to understand why you are crying. I will not make you justify your tears to me. I myself have cried and I will just be there for you because you are hurting.
    When you are scared………..I will comfort your fears
          I will not judge you because of your fear, nor will I say that your fears are unfounded. God understands that man fears and his Word gives comfort to us in our fear over and over again. He does not condemn us of sudden fear, but rather says “Do not be afraid of…” what ever has caused our fear. He does not deny that the fear is real and neither will I. I, too, have been scared and I will just be there for you because you are afraid.
    When you are worried……….I will give you hope
          I will not just say, “Don’t worry, be happy.” I will help you find hope in the situation you are in. I will help you look past the obstacles that stand before you and to see what is beyond the difficulties of today. I will help you see how God can use even these problems for your good in the future. I have fretted over things, also, and I will just be there for you because you are worried.
    When you are confused…….I will help you cope
          If I know the answer to your confusion, I will give it to you freely. If I can not answer your questions, then I will help you find the answer you need. I have no doubt that Jesus has the answer to every problem that you or I could ever face. Too many times I have been confused and had to find the answer in Him and I will just be there for you because you are confused.
    And when you are lost………And can’t see the light
    I shall be your beacon………Shining ever so bright     
         Nothing ever seems so bad as being lost in the dark and not being able to find your way. All of these other things find their way into our emotions. We find ourselves sad, scared, worried, and confused. The only way out of darkness is light and whatever light I have in Him to share; I will shine to light your path. I know what it is like to be lost and not know which way to go and I will just be there for you to help you find your way in the dark.
    This is my oath………………..I pledge till the end
          This is not an empty promise, but a life long commitment. I am joined with you in this walk and will not abandon you when things get tough. I will not leave you for others who seem to have it all together. I will not hop from friend to friend looking for something better. I will just be there for you because we need each other.
    Why you may ask?…………..Because you’re my friend.
          This passage rings true when Jesus tells us that WE should lay down our lives for our friends.
          John 15:12-14 NKJV This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

     
          I love the way this is paraphrased in “The Message”: “This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. You are my friends when you do the things I command you.”

     
         NOW BACK UP ONE VERSE and realize what this does for us… Jesus has just spoken of us being part of Him. He is the vine and we are the branches. We are not to be separate in purpose, but rather part of the same plant. Life for us depends on us staying connected to the vine. And He says. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.” 

     
         My joy being full is dependent on my being God’s functioning parts in this oath to you. The vine provides what is necessary for the branch to produce the fruit, but the vine does not produce fruit, the branches do. God makes this promise to you and then he gives the rest of us the ability to carry it out.
      In His Service, R. Duane Gryder
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    R. Duane & Janet Gryder           Motorcycle Chaplain
    Assembly of God U.S. Missions           Acct. # 2605988
    PO Box 13383          Odessa, Texas          79768-3383
    telephone: 432-366-0909          mobile: 432-557-8417
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    ebenezerstone@hotmail.com   www.deserthighway.org
    Join our email newsletter list – Send a blank email to:
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    A voice is calling,
              “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness;
          make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” 
          ……………………………………………………..Isaiah 40:3
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    Insights – Isaiah 40:3

    Saturday, September 30th, 2006

    Have you ever thought about the scripture text
    that we have adopted for our motto?

    A voice is calling,
    “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness,
    make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.”
    –Isaiah 40:3

    It does not speak of us making the road wide and easy for the church or the lost to find their way to God. It speaks of us making the way smooth for God to the lost and dying around us.

    In days of old, there would be those who would go before a king to prepare a way for that king to get to where he was going. They would level hills and fill up valleys so that his getting to them would be easy. Basically, they either removed or made smooth the obstacles between the king and the people he was going to reach.

    Our job is the same. No one comes to God unless He draws them, but we are to remove the obstacles between him and them. We are to clear the obstacles out of the way for the Lord in the wilderness of this subculture and make smooth in the desert he assigned us, so a highway for our God may reach as many as it can.

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