Crash
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Some people see the church as a provider of religious goods and services. I am not sure that God totally sees it that way. I’m not sure that God’s dream for the church was for us to hibernate from the world. When Jesus was on earth, I don’t think he told people to go to church. He spent a lot of time telling the church to go to people.
I’m not knocking the Sunday worship gatherings at all, but following Christ is more than just the Sunday deal. So if following Christ is beyond the Sunday experience, what is it? Glad you asked.
First, a lesson from the animal kingdom: Different groups of animals are called different things, for example, a group of lions are called a… pride. geese; a gaggle, bees; swarm, crows; murder, buzzards; committee (no joke), and a group of fish are called a school. My favorite is a group of Rhinos. A group of Rhinos is called a “Crash.” Seems like a strange term until we understand the reasoning. Rhinos can run 30 miles per hour but can only see 30 feet in front of them. That is a great picture of the church.
We need to run, to charge, to make a difference in the lives of the people we live with. At exchange, we have several “Crash Teams.” These teams are groups of people who get together to show God’s love in a practical way. There are teams ranging from cooking food for people to fixing computers. We are still dreaming up ways for people to crash!
There are only 3 guidelines for crash teams:
(1) They must be externally focused (on people who are not followers of Christ), they must (2) be connected to a soul (the efforts must touch someone, even if in a small way) and (3), it should be done as a group.
I wonder what the world would be like if we really crashed? It may be the best way to experience the cause. No matter where you are on your spiritual journey, you can be part of a Crash.
For more info, e-mail Jody Elslager, Head Rhino, at jmelslager@aol.com.
He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ - Jesus, Matthew 25:45 (NIV)
[…] I’m headed to New Orleans with one of our Crash teams. Forty of us will be doing some relief work with Samaritan’s Purse. We are leaving tonight (Monday) night at 11PM and due back Sunday at 11 AM. […]
[…] eXchange is sending a crew of 40 people to crash New Orleans for a week of cleanup efforts as the city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Watch this site as we’ll point to different resources related to the trip during the week, including pictures, video, and more. […]
[…] I’m headed to New Orleans with one of our Crash teams. Forty of us will be doing some relief work with Samaritan’s Purse. We are leaving tonight (Monday) night at 11PM and due back Sunday at 11 AM. […]
[…] 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 […]