Burning Men

The annual Samson Society retreat is this upcoming weekend in Eva, TN.  Friday evening through Sunday morning we'll be together there at the church conference center, all +/-100 of us from all over.

The point of the weekend is to learn but to also connect with men you've not seen (or possibly heard from) in some time.  Nate Larkin will serve as our host with Aaron Porter shadowing behind him.  Neither of these men pretend on any level to be anything more than regular guys who're there to enjoy the company of everyone else.

It's truly the most informal, unsuspecting event I've ever been a part of.  It's essentially the antithesis of a Promise Keepers event from the standpoint of drawing men who're willing to admit their weaknesses and essentially bank on those weaknesses as they engage.  There's no posturing.  No sizing up.  No expectations.  It's essentially a holiday to an abandoned Themyscira but for Samson men.

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Anytime I see an article during the late summer about Burning Man I click on it.  And sure, it is partially not unlike when I was a kid leafing through the National Geographic magazines looking for photos of semi-nude, body-pierced natives.  But, there is a part of me that's fascinated with these +-80,000 folks who travel to the desert to get naked and have sex with strangers.

This retreat has some similarities to that as well except that everyone keeps their clothes on.

I remember my first Silas (pre - Samson Society) using that analogy to how quickly he and I spilled our proverbial guts to each other.  We were sitting on the miniscule porch of his starter home ranch house underneath the glare of the factory-grade wall sconce, and he declared our triumph at having parlayed our way through a one-night stand.

And that's exactly what (I believe) it felt like.

Awkward.  Uncomfortable.  But extremely freeing as well.

They'll be much of that resonance throughout the weekend if the weekend is a success.

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So, where does God fit into all of this?

For Rob, it's part and parcel me taking more and more baby steps towards making peace with who I am today.  This weekend.  As an almost 50 year old man.

And I think that's where many Samson guys get hung up on what wasn't bestowed on them during these events.  For they're expecting a destination in lieu of more process.  Well, it's not that at all.

There will be no party favors to take home or scribbled within workbooks to refer back to.  Just memories and many more questions and absolutely more stubble and sleep to catch up on.

I cannot wait!