Mike’s Testimony

- No Compromise -

An uneasy feeling in his gut persisted even after he prayed. He wanted to believe that it was just pre-race jitters, but his whole pit crew felt the same way.

Mike walked out onto the track and looked around — for what, he wasn’t sure. Perhaps for some clue about the warning signals going off in his heart. There was danger lurking somewhere — that much he knew. But where?

Mike made his way to the other competitors, praying for one after another. He was the official chaplain for the racing circuit and had led many outlaw bikers out of the devil’s grasp and into the kingdom of God. The devil didn’t like Mike, and with good reason.

The raceway roared to life as hundreds of bikers snaked into the Dallas arena on May 19, 2002. It was a glorious morning under the cobalt-blue Texas sky as motorcycle drag racers warmed up their engines. The stadium filled with a steady stream of spectators while loudspeakers blared announcements.

But something was wrong. Mike Canaday knew it as surely as he knew the odds were clearly stacked against him in this race. He rode one of the oldest bikes on the circuit, had only two years experience and knew next to nothing about mechanics. He knelt and prayed beside his custom Harley equipped with a bright-yellow, armor-like seat and a long wheelie attached to the back that kept the drag bike stable during speeds of up to 150 mph.

- Seduction Of Money -

Mike was raised in a blue-collar family in rural Illinois. At age 14, he worked for a vice president of Nabisco mucking horse stalls long before sunrise. Then after school, he would go back to work again. In the summers, Mike worked 40 to 60 hours a week at the ranch, and was steadily entrusted with increasing responsibility.

During college, he worked part time for Nabisco and took a job at their corporate office when he graduated. By age 21, he earned more money in a year than he had ever imagined.

There was nothing wrong with the income Mike earned — except that along with it, he developed a love of money and all the sinful pleasures it could buy. Forgotten was his love for God and Jesus, his Savior. The devil reeled him in little by little. Instead of church, he frequented nightclubs and strip joints. Mike had been seduced by money — and he never had quite enough to satisfy his desires.

But all of that changed when his father confronted him. “Mike, I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is — it’s not righteous.”

His father’s words rang true in his heart and Mike finally repented. Determined to get his life right with God, he made himself accountable to his father and other strong Christian men. He made a concentrated effort to put money in its right perspective. And even when he didn’t have enough money to pay on his $40,000 charge card bill, he made sure to pay his tithe.

Most importantly, Mike Canaday took a no-compromise stand with the devil. Satan not only lost a victim — he gained a deadly enemy.

“About the same time I repented and changed my lifestyle, my new job sent me as an engineer to establish plants in South Africa, Asia, South America, the United States and Europe,” Mike recalls. “I was determined not to compromise my walk with God. I took my Bible with me and made no attempt to hide my faith. I walked the streets of Moscow telling people the good news that Jesus had paid the price for our sins. I led people to the Lord all over Russia and throughout the world.”

“In 1996, when I married Shara, I was still $40,000 in debt. The following year, the Lord told us to step out in faith where our finances were concerned. In response to His direction, Shara quit her job and volunteered her time at the church we attended. Without her salary, our income dropped 40 percent. In addition, I’d switched from engineering to a job in sales and had yet to make my first commission.”

Mike’s job took him to a Saudi-based gas company. His contact was a Muslim prince from the House of Saud. The contract he was working on — if he won it — would be one of the largest in the history of the industry. But Mike decided it wasn’t worth his soul. He refused to go to strip bars with the prince to gain a contract. He refused the offer of prostitutes. He refused to drink. During breaks in the business meetings, he went outside and read his Bible.

“Yours is not the best equipment,” the prince bluntly told Mike. “Yours is not the best deal. But I respect you because you refuse to compromise what you believe.”

Mike slid the contract across the table…the prince signed it.

Mike’s first commission was far more than Shara’s salary would have been for a year.

The next test Mike faced would have brought lesser men to their knees. But when God told him to quit his job — where he stood to make a fortune — and move to Colorado, Mike didn’t even hesitate. Only a fool would let money ruin his walk with God twice.

Mike was no fool.

“My greatest disappointment in moving to Colorado was that they didn’t have a chapter of the Tribe of Judah Motorcycle Ministries there,” Mike says. “I owned a 1994 Harley-Davidson Sportster and had been hanging out with the Tribe of Judah in Houston. By faith, I sowed my Harley as seed toward a motorcycle ministry. Shara and I also gave away a 1989 LeBaron convertible.”

Within a very short time Mike was offered a job in Colorado which took him all over the world. Soon he and Shara were writing offering checks, over and above their tithe, for $10,000, and $20,000 and $40,000. Clearly, Mike had passed God’s test for prosperity.

Mike and Shara joined Happy Church under the pastoral direction of Wally and Marilyn Hickey. They let their spiritual roots sink down into the good soil. Only one thing seemed unresolved in Mike’s life: his deep burden for outlaw bikers.

A society unto themselves, this group of men and women generally stayed away from mainstream society. Some of the biker clubs made money from prostitution, methamphetamines and arms sales. Some members were dangerous; some were not. But one thing was true for each and every one of them: Jesus died for them, He redeemed them, He loved them.

Somebody needed to tell them.

And God had a plan to do just that when Mike was asked to start a Colorado chapter of Tribe of Judah. Happy Church licensed and ordained Mike as a homeland missionary and sent him to the bikers. Mike made inroads into the outlaw community through uncompromised love. He hung out with them in their territory, but refused to compromise his beliefs. Like the Saudi prince, the bikers liked and respected Mike. Even more importantly, they trusted him.

And the success of his mission was evident during “Biker Sunday” at Happy Church.

Music swirled through the sanctuary as members greeted one another and found their seats. Amid the throng of people were bikers from the top five outlaw biker clubs in the nation. Sporting tattoos, leather jackets with patches and wearing their colors, rival groups set aside their hostilities to hear the gospel.

Mike and the Tribe of Judah had accomplished what no one had been able to do before. They bridged the gap between the outlaw biker society and the Church.

Three years later, Mike accepted a job in the Dallas/Fort Worth area where he and Shara joined Eagle Mountain International Church. Mike started a new Tribe of Judah chapter in Dallas, and six months later pioneered another in Oklahoma City.

“Outlaw bikers love drag racing, so I decided to start Final Quest Ministries and get into the sport,” Mike explains. “I bought one of the oldest drag bikes on the racing circuit. I didn’t have any experience racing a quarter mile at speeds of 150 mph in a mere 8.5 seconds. Since I was depending on God and not myself, I didn’t let that stop me. After only two years, I was ranked number 26 in the nation and 10 in the Western Division.”

On May 19, 2002, he was surrounded by the Covenant Riders from KCM and the rest of his pit crew. Mike pulled on his helmet and started his Harley. “See that patch?” Mike quipped with a grin, indicating the patch on the back of his jacket which read, Jesus Is Lord. “The Holy Spirit is going to blow on it — and I’ll win!”

Positioned in the right lane, Mike was ready and breathed out another prayer for God’s protection as that uneasy feeling surfaced again. He did his burnout — spinning his tires until they smoked. Shara watched as Mike’s Harley shot from the starting line, quickly accelerating to cross the finish line first.

“That’s a new track record!” the announcer screamed as fans roared their approval.

Seconds later Mike hit a bump in the track — the Harley was airborne at 122 mph. Mike flew off the bike and hit a wall. The motorcycle careened to the ground and the wheelie caught Mike’s leg, dragging him down the track at speeds still in excess of 100 mph before slamming him into a culvert. The final impact snapped the handlebars loose and hurled them like a missile through Mike’s visor, into his face.

“Bike down!” the announcer gasped over the loudspeaker.

Shara, still jumping up and down screaming for joy over the victory, froze at his words. She ran and joined the pit team as they chased the ambulance down the track on a four-wheeler. Two ambulances screamed to a halt beside Mike. Medics ran to his aid, then radioed for a helicopter.

“How bad is he?” someone asked.

The medic shook his head. “If he lives, he’ll be a vegetable.”

One look at Mike’s mangled body, still as death, confirmed his assessment.

There was no denying the cold, hard facts.

But Shara would deny their right to remain. She, the Covenant Riders and all the pit team turned to an authority higher than facts: They prayed in the Name of Jesus, Who is the Truth.

Truth said, “Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10, The Living Bible).

Truth said, “I will give you back your health again and heal your wounds” (Jeremiah 30:17, The Living Bible).

Truth said, “…by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24, New King James Version).

Truth said, “Himself took our diseases and carried our pain” (Matthew 8:17, New King James Version).

Shara set her faith on the truth of God’s Word and cried out to Him to change the facts.

From the racetrack, a call was made to Eagle Mountain International Church. Pastor George Pearsons stopped the service and led the church in prayer for Mike. A call was placed to Happy Church in Denver, and they began to pray. Marilyn Hickey joined in prayer while she was in Malaysia. A man in St. Louis watching the live broadcast from Eagle Mountain realized Mike had been injured and phoned Branson, MO. His call prompted Keith and Phyllis Moore to stop their services and pray.

Mike was flown by helicopter to Baylor Medical Center. Outside the ICU, Shara gathered the Covenant Riders, pit team and friends.

“I appreciate all of you being here,” she said. “God is taking care of Mike. I’d like for all of you to get back to the raceway and fulfill the Great Commission. People who don’t know the Lord will be upset and distraught about the accident. You need to pray with them and tell them that Jesus not only bought our eternal salvation through the cross, He also paid the price for our healing. Tell them that God will heal Mike.”

They raced back to the track to spread the good news.

Meanwhile a CT scan showed evidence of damage to Mike’s spinal column. His brain was swollen and the extent of the damage was unknown. His nose had been destroyed and his jaw broken.

“He’ll probably live,” the doctor told Shara, “but he’ll face a very long recovery.”

The heart monitor beeped steadily across the screen reassuring Shara that her husband’s broken body was still alive. Holding his cold hand in her own, she glanced at the clock. It was 2 a.m. She continued a prayerful vigil at Mike’s side. His swollen face was a grim reminder of what had taken place.

Suddenly Mike moved his head, his bright brown eyes looking into hers.

“What happened?” he asked.

“You had a wreck on the track yesterday.”

“How’d I do?”

“You set a track record.”

A slow smile spread across Mike’s face as he eased back down against the pillow.

“That’s good,” he grinned. “Real good.”

The next day, Tuesday, Mike left the hospital for home.

On Wednesday, he said, “Cowboy up!” and climbed onto his Harley street bike and took it for a spin. That night he stood during praise and worship at Eagle Mountain and thanked God.

Mike and Shara never questioned the outcome of the wreck that could have ended Mike’s life. Not because they denied the facts — but because they believed the Truth. They understood God’s policy about standing behind His Word.

It’s the same policy that Mike has incorporated in his own life.

A policy of no compromise.

Contact us to order your free CD of Brother Mike’s Complete Testimony or Ready To Race Testimony CD’s Today!