The Last Disciples Motorcycle Club was founded in the closing months of 2005. Bylaws and Standing Rules were finalized and approved by the founders in December of 2005 and the first patch in the wind was flown on April 1, 2006 (April Fools Day) on the Central Coast of California.
We recognized a need here for a biker ministry that the hardcore secular clubs could more readily identify with, accept, and relate to. The founders of the Last Disciples MC all had previous experience with biker ministries and rehabs, and some had secular club backgrounds as well. Most had done hard time in prison. They were all well-seasoned and committed “born again” Christian believers.
Before we selected our club name a great deal of research and prayer came first. The ultimate word had to come from the Lord who we asked to help us throughout the process. We prayed for a peace to be given to us as the research continued.
“IN the beginning” we kicked around a lot of possible names. We knew we were called to fulfill the Great Commission given to us by the Lord. In light of that, we also knew we were all disciples of Jesus Christ and the “Disciples” name just seemed to fit. However, not to offend any other ministries or clubs that preceded us, whether currently active or inactive, we decided we needed another word tied into our name to make it unique. As discussions, meetings, and brainstorming sessions continued, one day I mentioned; “well we’re for sure not the first disciples” and then Brother Chapo said, “how about the “Last Disciples”? The room fell silent and we were all immediately filled with a peace that told us that that was our name, the Last Disciples.
Next, we spent an even greater amount of time researching potential patch colors and designs. We tried everything you can imagine. We went through many, many designs with a variety of Cross styles worked in, but nothing seemed to fit or work for us. There are so many ministries out there with crosses on their patch that the Cross had become a redundant statement and we just didn’t want to go that route. We had also known and seen so many individuals who were wearing crosses who really weren’t walking a Christian walk. Many things were being done “in the name of Jesus” that just didn’t set right with us.
We knew that we needed to be straight up Christians and to do it without hiding behind or misusing the sign of our Savior.
[Please note that we mean no disrespect toward the countless godly men and women who bring honor to the Cross as righteous ambassadors for Christ. We have nothing but the highest regard for those ministries and their members.]
The smiling skull we wear today kept coming back to us over and over again. It was an old tattoo design that had been modified by our long-time friend and supporter, Ron Wheeler from So Cal. I called him up and asked if we could use his modified artwork for our patch design. He not only gave us the initial design but also incorporated it into the full patch design you see today (with only a slight modification as our personal touch).
We loved the design and again had a total peace with it as soon as we saw it. We wanted to make the statement that “with Christ, there is no fear of death”. In reality, Jesus put a smile on the face of death for all time (please note the smiling face on our patch). We didn’t want something demonic-looking, but happy! We also knew from scripture that Jesus was crucified, buried, and arose from the dead near a place called “Golgotha”, which in Hebrew means “the place of a skull.” A view of the site, when seen from a distance, looks like the face of a skull in the rock formation just below Calvary hill (as it is called today in English). Although perhaps criticized by some for wearing a “skull” on our backs as Christians we ignore that and stay focused on our purpose. In the secular world in which we operate, skulls are in, they are cool, and they are widely accepted as a symbol of the motorcycle culture. It’s even hard to find biker T-shirts, jackets, pants, and jewelry that don’t have skulls on them.
Pick up the next edition of Wheels Of Grace Mag for Part II of this article.
Inquiries may be sent to “Lou”
Email: lou@lastdisciples.com
Visit us online at LastDisciples.com