Lunch with Strangers

I have an idea. I want to meet people. I want to get to know people's stories. I want to take strangers to lunch and hear their stories, their ideas. Their perspective on life, their religious views, their passions: these are the things that make up a person. Too often I feel trapped in my own perspective, my own worldview. Maybe trapped is too strong a word. I feel content.

I've learned that content is a dangerous word. It can be an amazing thing, and Paul preaches contentment in the book of Philippians. This kind of contentment is something much of America needs more of, with our greedy consumeristic mindset. But that's neither here nor there. The kind of contentment I'm talking about is more of a settling. If I don't go above and beyond to improve myself in every area of my life, I settle into a period of stagnation. Take the gym for example. Am I happy with my body now? Sure. Perfectly happy. But do I want to get better? So much. And I'm going to work toward that goal. I want to do that in every area of my life.

So the idea is this. I want to have lunch with a stranger once a week (or whenever my schedule can manage). I'll cover the lunch, and we'll both cover a variety of topics. I'm thinking I'll go to a mall and use restaurants there, or maybe an area with a lot of people. I'll need a sign explaining what I'm up to. And I may blog about the people I talk to, if they're agreeable. I expect many surprises, a few exhilarating encounters, and a few commonplace. But I'll get to meet some of the faces of my community/nation/planet. I'll be exposed to different perspectives and different people.

But here's the thing. I need some support. I need ideas for my sign, so that I come off the right way and not as a creep. I need prayer, that I handle the lives of people totally different from me with respect. So I'm basically asking, is this a good idea? Bad idea? Somewhere in the middle? And mostly, should I do it?