Tribes

Today I would like to share my thoughts on what has become the new and trendy Christian way to refer to our different church communities. I am referring to the label "tribe" and I will try not to make this a diatribe against it. But it kind of is. In a nice way, though. Well, maybe not so nice because I cringe every time I hear that word in reference to we believers!

I think we wanted to re-name ourselves because we have been walking out of religiosity, especially we fundagelicals, and so we wanted to call ourselves something different, something besides "church members" or whatever it was we used to be called. But the thing for me is, every time I hear the word "tribe" I think of tribal wars, and divisions. I mean, even the definition of the word is "social division." I think it feeds into our natural tendencies toward the "us vs. them" mentality.

But don't we serve a Savior whose whole life and death and message was the most "inclusive" message ever thought of? He hung on that cross, said "It is finished" and now you're all "in"!! Then we took it, and ran with it, and because of our human need to feel "better than" or "elite" or maybe just because we like cliques, we divided ourselves up into different "denominations" which we now call "tribes". I feel like we have somehow, with the use of this label for ourselves, brought the whole dividing line back in where we were hoping to obliterate it.

I think I like "family" better. "What church family are you a part of?" Yes, that seems to settle better in my spirit. God created family. It must be a good thing.  And ultimately, we are all just one big happy family. Right?