the saga begins

Nope, this isn't a random post about Star Wars, though I have been known to throw a couple of those in from time to time. This is about mustering the troops and circling the wagons. In other words, the very first ReGroup gathering is happening this weekend. Obviously, the first ever meeting will be a bit structured since there is some housekeeping to take care of -- primarily explaining what exactly is going on.

You see, the people who are going to be a part of this pilot experiment don't really know what to expect because they came to me with concerns and requests, from which I cobbled together this concept. From one person came the concern about lack of faith and lack of answers to tough questions, while another is fed up with the lack of meaning in an existing church community. I was asked to put together a Bible study by one, and told that I should start a new church by yet another. I will be pulling together these people, with widely varying stories and stages of faith, and nurturing a community. However, I have to first explain to everyone what crackpot ideas I came up with and what exactly this "ReGroup" thing is. I have some book excerpts to read, some scriptures to share, some questions to discuss, and in the end an informal poll to take. The idea is to introduce the idea of what our community is going to be and the limitless possibilities for where we can take it. Once that is covered, I can finish up by asking each person some of their specific questions they'd like to explore, topics they'd like to discuss, and activities they'd like to organize... you get the idea. Basically, the first meeting is really an introduction and information gathering session. But, don't get me wrong, if some of the exploratory discussion questions really ramp up, then we can throw away script and riff.

I'm excited and just a little nervous -- the nerves are mostly because I hope they don't all think I'm nuts when I unveil this rather unconventional idea instead of some other expectation they might have. We shall see...