imagining new community

just throwing this out there - after talking to nate and ginger the other night, I feel like we'll have some good conversations around what we'd like our community to become next year - I feel like those conversations will be the key to healthy, purposeful community, with members who feel committed to it. after last year, i just feel really strongly that it's through that being really honest, playing devil's advocate, etc., that you come to a place where everyone can be at peace with a decision - as hellish as it sometimes seemed to talk things to death.

now, i don't know what that looks like when a group: 1) is not in a structured intern program, 2) is not working together in the same office (each is all over the place at any time of the day and a lot of the night), 3) is trying to dedicate as much of your time and being as possible to your studies (and church work, agencies work, work work, etc.), and 4) genuinely have diverse friend groups and social commitments (by virtue of going to school with people near our ages, and for 2nd and 3rd years by virtue of being established in Nashville).

question: is it helpful or harmful to suggest things from "last year"? like financial sharing, cooking together (more often and in a more collaborative way than we're currently doing), shopping together, not flushing, dumpster diving, having some kind of ideal of simple living, gardening, composting, etc. another question: is there a different model than "paying rent", etc.? might we look at the nuts and bolts of the simple way, vs. the farm, vs. koinonia, vs. sojo, etc. for some guidance? could we institute the system of having various "jobs" within the community, so that it's not quite as much a landlord-renter situation? like, maybe it makes sense for nate/ginger's job to be the "soup" since they genuinely own the houses, but maybe there are ways for others of the community to take some "ownership" of the community - not just the house.

would people be open to reading some common article/chapter/paper/book, in order to have some kind of common conversation to discuss the purpose, priorities, agreements, etc. of the community?

random thought, since we looked at "sabbath as resistance" this past sunday in sunday school - i wish that i could enforce sabbath (or maybe i'm just talking about discipline - i don't know) enough for myself, so that i could really carpool with folks - just say "no" to staying late at school for this and that, etc. similarly, it would probably require us all to make some sacrifices of being uber-productive, busy, etc. if we were to cook together more often, have regular community meetings, etc.

question: will this ever become a "christian" community? if we're not planning on being christian, is there a way to have meaningful, fleshy language around the purpose of our community - could we be "faith-based"? "spiritual"? "exploring our roots"? I don't know. This is of course coming from the girl who helped to institute our spiritual seminars every other week last year - I think I tend to spiritualize things. i'd also love to be an intern program director in just about any organization or institution.

i love how this is so my own space, and the people who probably need to hear/read/see all of these thoughts don't even know this space exists. how good am i at practicing what i preach in terms of being community-minded, transparent in communication, etc.

ps - i really want to be trained in consensus-model decision-making. i would absolutely love if that could happen by the end of the spring. i need to talk to tim.