Saturday, July 12, 2008

Diakonos

diakonos [die-Ah-ka-nose] [Gk]: One who serves the Living God, who feeds the poor, and looks after the flock


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Today I had the privilege of meeting the Diakonos church at the "Taste Of Loveland" festival downtown [basically a huge barbeque- competitive grillers come from all over Colorado to promote their food].
Now, the Diakonos are the farthest thing from your conventional Sunday church.
A) They don't have their own building.
B) They don't have a membership.
C) And did I mention? They wear black leather, bandanas, and boots- yes, they are all bikers.

When I first saw their booth I was a little confused. All I could see from the distance was about 20 or so Harleys leaned up against a brick building and just as many bikers running this one bbq stand. I thought, "Cool, bikers." As I drew closer I realized who they were and got extremely excited. Not only were they selling Christ-centered merch smack-dab in the middle of the festival, but they were also giving the Gospel to anyone who would stick around long enough for a biker to get off the grill shift and chat for a couple of minutes.

I can't lie- I almost cried. I felt the tears start swelling and a lump formed in my throat. Good thing I was wearing my Aviators at the time. There are few things that can make me want to cry in a public place, but one of them is seeing fellow brothers and sisters taking a stand for Christ in a place that needs it so much.

The Diakonos church is a prime example of what this world needs now. The members don't have a church building- they are the church. This is what many followers of the early church did- they traveled the streets, declaring God's Word to whoever would hear it and resting only when they needed to. They rarely stay in one place for long- they've traveled all across Colorado and Kansas and are preparing to head off into Wyoming, Nebraska, and California later this year. They reach out to everyone, but the center of their ministry is with, you guessed it, fellow bikers. Their slogan? "Offending the religious, and reaching the lost at any cost." Sounds extremely similar to the evangelists of the early church.

What I really love about them, though, is that when they do outreach, they make it clear that they don't follow religion. Rules and regulations are out of the question. What they focus on is the relationship with Jesus Christ and how to live it out according to His Word. Which is exactly what true Christianity is- no religion, just a relationship. And that is what it's all about. Jesus Himself discredited religion back in the day because religion is man jumping through hoops and rules to get to God. What Christ represented is God reaching us, because there's no way we can reach God on our own.

Needless to say I bought a shirt to support their missions. The logo is just like this only it's not in cursive. And of course it comes in the traditional biker color- black:Photobucket
Please take the time to pray for the Diakonos and their mission. For more information about their ministry and how to support it, please visit www.diakonosbrotherhood.com.

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