Throughout the scriptures, God is all about the tribe.
Unfortunately, we forget that and try to over personalize some of what the bible teaches. But take another look. His message is around tribe. Rarely does God call out an individual, he works primarily through the tribe. Yes we know the names of the individuals that God has called to serve — but the vast majority of God’s people throughout history have worked in small, steady, faithful ways to serve him and their communities.
The beauty of a tribe is that we don’t all have to be believing and behaving well on the same day. My son and I co-pastor a community called Northstar Community. We have our off days. Heck, in 2017 we had an off year filled with family suffering and heartache (and a new and amazing grandson – do you want to see my pictures?).
But what I have observed is on the days he or I were at our lowest, someone in our community was faithfully stepping up to fill the gap that our inability to be fully present created. I like to think that we do the same in return. A family will get all out of sorts with one another — over a serious issue, not just petty stuff. We have had times when either Scott, me, or another community member were invited into the family to help work through the issue. Many times this calms down the chaos and allows for healing.
This isn’t some grand thing. It’s just a tribe doing its thing.
Build the tribe. I do not know how we will survive without it.
