A Tribal People

It's football season! For some that's not all that exciting, but for many, they have been waiting the whole year for it. Saturday afternoons and late nights, MNF (IYKYK), Sunday afternoons NFL games, etc. Whether it's college or pro, football season is engaging for so many reasons. 

Maybe it's the tailgating. Grilled meats, chips, potato salads; then there are the games, cornhole, washers, tossing a football around, maybe a pick up game with flags attached at the hips. And don't forget the adult beverages it seems must be a part. All of this in a party atmosphere. Who can deny the excitement of such events? (BTW, the only Tailgaiting I've ever done was in the church parking lot early on a sunday morning and our beverages of choice were much more tame, coffee and hot chocolate!)

The draw, though, is more than the game, or the school, or the team. It's also the commraderie, or to put it another way, the Tribe! 

They are easy to identify when it comes to sports; they wear the colors. It's on the hats, the shirts, the foam #1 fingers, and the bling. It might show up on coolers, tents, coozies, bumper stickers and even license plates. But when you see it, you know the ones who don it are a part of a greater group. They are part of the tribe.

It's amazing to me how total strangers find such joy when they see someone from the tribe. 

It's also comforting. 

But Tribes are not only found among sports teams. 

There is the Jeep Tribe that even has their signature two fingered wave. 

The Harley Davidson Tribe, the motorcycle tribe, the classic car tribe... I've noticed there are lots of tribes around certain types of vehicles!

Then there are the ones that may be more familiar to us like the quilt tribe, the trivia tribe, the mission tribe, the choir tribe, the landscape tribe, etc. They might also be called sunday school classes, small groups, bible studies, or affinity groups. You get the picture.. 

A classic tv show depicted it as a place where everybody knows your name (Cheers!).

It is the groups in which we find a place, a common interest, a common goal. It's a place where we are integral, welcomed, cared for. 

It's our tribe. 

I've been fortunate to have many tribes over many years over many places. I still have close connections in every corner of Indiana and beyond; friends I can call on, depend on, find support in, and love. 

I believe it's what Jesus was saying to his disciples, "they will know you are my disciples by your love for one another." 

That's the mark of this tribe. And it's not just the love we feel from one another, but also the love of God that permeates the relationships that form the tribe itself. It's what we are built for and how we can experience God most profoundly. 

Find your tribe...you'll likely find God in the process!