Chapter Health
By PETER Helgerson
PRESSING TOWARD THE GOAL
dear brothers and sis-
ters, I have not
achieved it, but I focus on this one
thing: Forgetting the past and
looking forward to what lies
ahead, I press on to reach the end
of the race and receive the heav-
enly prize for which God, through
Christ Jesus, is calling us”
(Philippians 3:13-14, NLT).
During this time of year, many
chapters are planning for the
coming year and discussing the
events that they may be attend-
ing. We often build a calendar for
the entire year and begin to look
forward to Seasons of
Refreshings, state rallies, and days
of riding. But, as we begin the year
with our Seasons of Refreshing
and our theme of Mission True, I
can’t help but wonder if are we
including goals for the coming
year, that as Paul wrote, keep us
“focus on this one thing,” “looking
forward to what lies ahead,” and
“for which God, through Christ
Jesus, is calling us.” And are we
willing to “press on,” no matter
what it takes, no matter how we
may have failed in the past,
toward that goal of achieving
what God asks of our lives and
chapters?
Are we even willing to use all of
our resources, abilities, and time
for the Lord’s glory? Are we willing
to follow the new command that
Jesus gave us as written in the
book of John 13:34-35 (NLT)? “So
“N O ,
now I am giving you a new com-
mandment: Love each other. Just
as I have loved you, you should
love each other. Your love for one
another will prove to the world
that you are my disciples.” Notice
in this very familiar verse that
Jesus saw the need to give a “new
commandment.” I believe He knew
that there may come a day where
they would disagree, and even
though the world would hear their
message of the Gospel, they
would possibly dismiss it because
of the way they treated each
other. I believe He knew that if we
love each other, fellow believers in
Christ (chapter members), the
world would know who we repre-
sent before we even open our
mouths. Let me ask, is this a goal
of your chapter? Does the world
see your chapter as loving toward
each other and to those who may
offend us? Do we focus and press
more toward “OUR” agenda than
on the message of Christ. Are our
motorcycles, pride, comfort,
finances, possessions, and abilities
ranked higher than our love for
each other? Do these take prece-
dence over our love for mankind?
Back in Paul’s letter to the
Philippians, he addresses this self-
ish stronghold of the world on our
chapter health. Philippians 3:7-11
(NLT), is the truth that I believe
each of our chapters need to con-
sider as we keep our Mission True.
“I once thought these things were
valuable, but now I consider them
worthless because of what Christ
has done. Yes, everything else is
worthless when compared with
the infinite value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have
discarded everything else, count-
ing it all as garbage, so that I
could gain Christ and become one
with him. I no longer count on my
own righteousness through obey-
ing the law; rather, I become
righteous through faith in Christ.
For God’s way of making us right
with himself depends on faith. I
want to know Christ and experi-
ence the mighty power that raised
him from the dead. I want to suf-
fer with him, sharing in his death,
so that one way or another I will
experience the resurrection from
the dead!”
Is this the goal your chapter is
pressing towards? Is this the per-
sonal goal of each CMA member?
Are goals such as these your
chapter’s focus? Are we willing to
put our pride and desires aside,
counting them as garbage? CMA
Peter Helgerson oversees the
Northeast Region as National
Evangelist.