Our Crash teams have made several visits to New Orleans to help clean up after Katrina and another team left MCC last night at midnight and arrived in New Orleans earlier this evening.

Scot’s been down there before but this time he’s practically live blogging the whole thing with a crew from eXchange.

Live blogging basically means making updates as things happen, instead of, say, waiting until the end of the day to make a post that wraps up everything that occurred that day.

So, if you don’t follow Scot, go check out his blog, throw out some comment love, and pray for him and the team, that they may be safe in their endeavors but dangerous in His name.

I was recently afforded the opportunity to interview one of the greatest minds of our generation.

He’s the Sr. Associate Pastor at Maryland Community Church and lead pastor of eXchange. He also blogs over at resonate.

Ladies and gentlemen. The man. The myth.

Scot Longyear.

Scot’s taking a trip this summer to Guatemala. What’s more, you’re going to have the opportunity for Scot to be YOUR waiter. Let’s see what he has to say about it:

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Once every three months or so, eXchange dismisses early and we go out into the community to serve. We do things that directly affect people because we think that’s what Jesus would do if he were here as flesh and blood today.

I tagged along with a group led by my wife. The plan was to show up at a gas station and offer to clean the public restrooms. It’s typical for the person manning the cash register to have cleaning duties as well, so instead of having to deal with testy clients all day AND clean a nasty bathroom, we would manage the greater of those two evils.

We showed up at the 500 Express on 13th and Ohio. I went in and asked if we could clean the public restrooms. To say the lady manning the cash register was taken aback is an understatement.

“Why do you do this?” she asked. I struck up a conversation with her while Wendy and her group started cleaning. I briefly ran down what our Crash teams are all about. Turns out she and her sister are looking for a church so here’s to hoping we’ll see her in eXchange soon.

The other lady on duty asked if we’d come to her house to clean (she was kidding) but that turned into an offer for all of us to ride four-wheelers on her 40 acres of land. It’s funny where cleaning public restrooms can lead.

Those who participate in these Crash Sundays can tell you it benefits them as much as those they affect. It’s a real, tangible way to show the love of Jesus. It’s in these moments that He truly can’t be ignored.

And, for however brief a time, we were his hands and feet.

Check out my set of images from last night on Flickr by clicking here.

Many people who follow Jesus have what they call a life verse. This is a portion of scripture that really reflects their life, or how they wish things could be, or how they hope they might be some day. Mine is Matthew 9:13. I particularly like how The Message puts it:

Jesus, overhearing, shot back, "Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders."

What’s your life verse?

This morning, myself and 21 other eXchangers Crashed the LEAAP center in Brazil (it was wild, because my parents were there, along with my daughter, so three generations of Crashers… crazy!). LEAAP stands for Linking Education to Adults, Adolescents and Perschoolers. Here’s a quick bit that’ll explain what the LEAAP center is all about:

Our Mission:

To improve reading skills, communication skills and employment opportunities which will give every citizen the chance to better their lives and realize their full potential.

Our Vision:

To strengthen existing programs.

We showed up around 9 a.m. this morning, ate a couple donuts, then went to work. Overall, we did some medium to light cleaning, and while there were no kids there, and I’m not really sure how many kids will notice how clean their rugs and chairs are Monday and say, “Wow, these are clean; I want to follow Jesus!” I don’t think today’s Crash was really about that.

To me, today was really about community. Sure, we helped make the LEAAP center a little cleaner, but for me, the real value today was meeting a couple people I didn’t know, and getting to know those around me a little better.

My Dad, Ezra (whom I witnessed go nuts cleaning the bathroom at a local bar in the middle of the night on another Crash) and myself were tasked with cleaning the trikes and bikes that the kids ride. Needless to say, it only took a few moments before our little shindig became a full-on detailing shop, complete with shiny trike rims and squeeky clean STOP and U-TURN signs. While we wiped down, the three of us discussed a myriad of subjects, from art to video games to kids, and everything in between. I also got to meet Elizabeth’s husband, Kurt (the same Elizabeth that also went with us to clean toilets), and Michelle, whom my wife has Crashed with before. We have a saying in eXchange; Community happens on the way to cause. Today was a shining example of that.

Of course, the day wouldn’t be complete without some adults mounting our freshly cleaned trikes for some hot laps around the indoor race track (sure, it’s some tape layed down to mark off some faux lanes, with arrows pointing which way to pedal, but it works), of which I’ll post some pics later.

The cleaning we did today is actually the duties of one person to do in five hours, and it took 22 of us a solid three hours to get it done, so needless to say, the LEAAP center needs Crashed again with more cleaning help. If you’re interested in helping next time, leave a comment, or hit up my Contact page and send me an e-mail, and we can get things coordinated with you next time.

If you’ve yet to take part in a Crash, I highly recommend you do so. Sometimes we’re right in the middle of God’s plan, feeling him close, and other times we’re just shoring up relationships between each other, learning about those who love God like we do, and are choosing to show that love in a practical way.

leaap center, clay county, indiana, brazil, exchangemcc, crash, shawnw