the time of regrouping

Retreat, recover, reevaluate, relearn, refresh, renew, recharge, rebuild, repair, rebound...
ReGroup!

No, I don't have a sudden fetish with words starting with re, but I have had a recent epiphany. I've mentioned in the recent past that I've had this overwhelming feeling that there is something I need to be doing, or something that was coming I needed to be prepared for; I think I found it. It seems that over the past year I've been meeting a slowly increasing number of people who are caught in a state of limbo with regards to church. They've become completely disillusioned, disenfranchised, disgruntled, or just plain dissatisfied with the faith they find themselves with and the church they were raised in. At the moment the demographic is mainly people around my own age, and they are all coming from the same doctrinal church heritage; however, the whole situation got me thinking.

I've come to realize that there seems to be a need, in my area at least, for a group where people can fall back when they feel their faith losing step with the local church they belong to. Or in another situation, a place to run to when their faith is fine, but they have been hurt by their local church and need a place to figure out what to do now. A meta-church so to speak; a group of people committed to each other for the purpose of spiritual formation, growth, learning, encouragement, conversation, fun, and healing outside the walls of the available church communities. Your denominational affiliation wouldn't matter, it would be a spiritual melting pot where ideas are shared, good news rejoiced, and pains comforted. There wouldn't be a building, because people would be free to remain or become active members of other communities of faith, but for those uncomfortable in traditional churches we would be their spiritual family (like a house church). Money wouldn't be a focus, since as each is able to contribute, they can do so; whether that contribution is providing a meal, opening their home, paying for an outing, helping out a friend in a financial bind, or organizing a charity fundraiser. Also, leadership isn't really an issue since all it takes are a few people with the strength to start it, the courage to share their stories, and the patience and understanding to listen to others; after that, the group kind of runs itself so long as someone is willing to schedule a time and start the conversation for the evening, where it goes from there is determined by group dynamics of that evening.

The more I think about it, the less nervous and more excited about it I get. In my mind, the possibilities are endless; what could begin as a Bible study, could change to a movie night, group excursion, coffee conversation, weekly meal, or anything you can think of. It's not church, but at the same time, it is church - a different kind of church. It provides a safety net for people falling out of today's churches, where previously no net existed. And it is your choice whether to stay in the net and help others who fall, to climb back up to your local church, climb over to a different local church, or jump out of the net and find a different path altogether (of course there is the possibility you could miss/avoid the net in the first place, too). I've got some work to do, some ideas to polish, and some time to wait on, but I plan on going forward with this... it just feels right.

Quick book update - as you can see to the right, I have been reading 3 books at once! Shocking! It appears that you are rubbing off on me, Paul. I finished up Dear Church - Letters from a Disillusioned Generation by Sarah Cunningham rather quickly, and I must say there were many parts that felt like a mirror to my own thoughts at times. It's an excellent book for those who don't prescribe to the status quo, and leaders who want to understand them. When it comes to Emerging Churches, sometimes its hard to find time to sit down with it, because the book has so many good things in it I don't want to miss it because I was distracted while reading. As I've said, I have to keep my pen handy with that one. Those two books probably have been fueling my alternative approach to church ideas, and have also given me the confidence that I could start formulating a plan of action to meet this need I see. Lastly, on a less academic level I suppose, I have been reading Joshua and The City. So far, I would say that it's not as good as the original Joshua, but it is still entertaining to read - with a little bit of insight thrown in from time to time.

You keep reading... I'll keep writing... perhaps more so now that I have this idea I need to flesh out somewhere.

Cheers!