Stepping Together as a Tribe

Introduction • Today we begin a new series that were calling Take Your Next Step ◦ The whole premise of this series is to assess where we are and compare that to where God wants us to be... then we will be challenged to take a step to the next level up • As we move through this series, we will all be challenged to move to take the next step and move to the “next level” in order that we better follow Jesus ◦ We will be focusing on 4 areas: (1) Stepping together as a “tribe” (2) Discipleship (3) Stewardship (4) Sharing Your Faith Fable of the Two Grains Two grains were lying side by side on the fertile soil. The first grain said: “I want to grow up ! I want to put down roots deep into the ground and sprout from the ground. I dream to blossom in delicate buds and proclaim the coming of spring. I want to feel the warm rays of sun and the dew drops on my petals!” This grain grew up and became a beautiful flower. The second grain said: “I'm afraid. If I will put down my roots into the ground, I don’t know what they will face there. If I will grow tender stems, they can be damaged by wind. And if there will be flowers , they may be disrupted . So I'd rather wait for the safer time. As the second grain was waiting for the safer time, a chicken passed by and pecked it from the ground. • It has been said that “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This is why it is important that we commit any step we take to the Lord... Focus Verse: Proverbs 3:5-6, NASB 5Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. 6In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. • We have this tendency within us to do what we think is best according to our own understanding ◦ Think about Adam and Eve in the garden... they leaned on their own understanding and look what happened... this passage of scripture warns us against doing that ◦ As we go through this series and are challenged to take the next step, it is important that we step up in faith, that we are following Jesus, that we are not leaning on ourselves ◦ And by doing this... we acknowledge Him and he’ll make our paths straight • Our primary text for this morning is 1 Corinthians 12:12-13 12For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. NASB • Whether you realize this or not, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ our Lord, our spiritual well-being depends on our connection with Christ through His body ◦ There are many different parts with many different functions, but all one unit... all one body ◦ The reason our physical body is one is because all the parts are connected ◦ If we cut off a finger, the finger dies... if we want it to function, we must get it reconnected quickly. Connection is absolutely necessary for life. ▪ When the connection is hindered... the body doesn’t operate like it’s supposed to • Because the church is pictured as a body in the New Testament, this means that the church is not an organization – it is an organism.... there is LIFE in the body and that life comes from the SPIRIT! ◦ vs. 13... For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body • What does this have to do with taking the next step? ◦ When you are challenged to “take your next step” you are not doing this alone ◦ We are a body... we are a living, breathing, organism and we exist in community... that is what Paul is writing about here in 1 Corinthians 12:12-13... we’re on a journey together! • In 2013 I was made aware of a book, Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization, by Dave Logan, John King, and Hailee Fischer-Wright ◦ They learned that what separates average tribes from those that excel is culture. • A tribe is a group of people between 20 and 150 people; a small organization is a tribe and a large organization is a “tribe of tribes” • The idea behind this book is that in order for an organization to change... to take a step up... the culture has to change... the authors discovered that “strategies failed 70 percent of the time” ◦ As they researched why this occurred, they found that Peter Duckers’ statement that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” was true • If a tribe is a group of 20 to 150 people, then our church is a tribe ◦ What this means to us as a tribe... as a church... is that our strategy of 2-4-6-gr8 will not succeed if the culture within our church... our tribe... does not support it • What the authors of this book discovered is that every tribe can be identified by language ◦ Culture is a product of the language people use and the behaviors that accompany those words... the words we use to describe ourselves, our work, and others, creates our culture • They identified 5 stages of development... and these 5 stages are recognizable in a wide variety of organizations... small businesses, large corporations, churches, social organizations, everywhere ◦ “Birds flock, fish school, people ‘tribe’” The 5 Stages Stage One: Life Stinks (2%) • These are tribes of people that are socially alienated, and the theme of their words is that life has given them a bad deal, so it’s ok to do whatever it takes to survive. ◦ Life is so unfair for this segment that anything is permissible... Stage Two: My Life Stinks (25%) • This is a step up from Stage 1 because even though an individual’s life stinks, they see others around them whose life is working... so there must be something better out there ◦ You’ll hear “If only...” statements... “If only I had a college degree...” or “If only I could get a better car...” or “If only I could get promoted... or make more money... or ________” then my life would work Stage Three: I’m Great (and you’re not) (49%) • This is the stage where most organizations live... it is by far the most dominant culture in most U.S. tribes... 49% of them are at Stage 3... often, these tribes exist but with little sense of direction ◦ The language here is “I’m great” and though it isn’t always voiced, “and you’re not” ◦ Another way of saying this is “I’m better than you!” • Stage 3 people are competitive and because of this, their organizations will often succeed but it is a personally competitive culture and it produces limited innovation and little collaboration ◦ These individuals believe that they are smarter and better though not always intentional; they think they’re focused on team concerns, but their actions show personal interest ◦ They rarely bring people together, they resist sharing information except when it’s necessary, and they pride themselves on being better informed than others ◦ The language in these first three stages is that of I or ME... ◦ Stage 3 produces an illusion of “success” by whatever measure defines it Stage Four: We’re Great (22%) • In Stage 4, teams are the norm, focused around shared values and a common purpose ◦ Information moves smoothly throughout the group... relationships are strong and built on shared values... core values are recognized and practiced ◦ The language focuses on WE instead of I like in the previous stages... “We not me” ◦ There is this idea of “Tribal Pride” that exists... individuals like being associated with the organization and the focus is on the whole and not the individual Stage Five: Life is Great (2%) • In this culture, the language used is “life is great” ◦ There is a focus on realizing potential by accomplishing the greater good ◦ They rarely refer to their competition... ◦ There is little stress, fear, or conflict within... WE, US, OUR... is part of the common language ◦ Stage 5 individuals talk as if though the world is watching them – which is often the case! • So these are the 5 Stages of a tribe: what in the world does all of this have to do with the church? ◦ Remember, as believers, we constitute the body of Christ ◦ As a group of believers that are associated with the address 325 Ledbetter Road, we meet the definition of a tribe according to the authors of the book ◦ There are two questions we must answer: (1) What stage are we in and (2) Are we being like the body Paul describes here in 1 Corinthians? • I think it is telling to read what follows our primary passage because I think that Paul addresses these stages within... 1 Corinthians 12:14-31 Self-Assessment 1. PRAYERFULLY consider your answers to these questions: ◦ What stage is my FAMILY in? ◦ What stage is our CHURCH in? 2. Search the SCRIPTURES for the answer to this: ◦ How can I help move us to the next stage? 3. Discuss your answers with someone else in the COMMUNITY. Think back to the Fable of the 2 grains... are you going to grow or are you in danger of being pecked by the chicken? What’s your next step?