Sermon Tone Analysis

Message

Let me hear you say it loud: TRIBE!

Let me hear you say it again: TRIBE!

Let me hear you yell it at the top of your lungs: TRIBE!

Listen to your voices.

Hear each other.

Each voice represents a life.

And each one of your lives belong to a tribe.

Now, I want you to look around the room at one another.

See all of the different tribes represented in this room, and the many faces that look unfamiliar.

Over the next few days, some of these unfamiliar faces may become your very best friends and part of your tribe.

A tribe is any group of people connected to one another, a leader, and an idea.

Tribes include:

Families

Cliques

Gangs

Teams

Bands

Churches

Squads

Brands

Practically any kind of gathering for a specific reason constitutes a tribe.

Human beings need tribes in order to function and exist.

We need a place to belong.

A few years ago, two psychologists began a study called the “belongingness hypothesis.”

In this study, they wanted to know: ‘Do human beings really need other human beings?’

They interviewed tens of thousands of people from all different ages and stages of life and discovered that not only do we need one each other, but our closest friends and family influence how we feel, think, behave, and even how our bodies function!

They concluded that every human being needs:

To be known and belong, and live with purpose.

We need each other, and a place to belong.

All of us belong somewhere, and so let me ask you:

Where do you belong?

So let’s get to know to know each other and the different tribes represented in this room:

Middle school tribe?

High school tribe?

Adulting tribe?

Athlete tribe?

Mathlete tribe?

Nerd tribe?

(NERDS RULE THE WORLD!)

Musician tribe?

Gaming tribe?

Foodie tribe?

Binge TV tribe?

Cuban tribe?

Central American tribe?

South American?

Gringo tribe?

Last, but certainly not least:

What about the Christ Journey Student tribe?!

All of us belong to some kind of tribe somewhere.

Our lives exist in tribes, including my own.

As one of your Christ Journey pastors and your camp speaker this week, I want you to know me and my tribe.

I love Jesus with all of my heart.

I am a broken man on this Christ Journey with you, and I want to get to know you, so let me introduce to you my tribe…

[Show pic, wife, kids]

This is my beautiful, lovely, amazing wife, Stacy, who grew up in this church from birth and attended these very same camps herself in middle and high school.

Back in the day, she even served as a small group leader.

She gives me love, she gives me encouragement, she gives me all of my street cred in Miami, and she gave me the three most beautiful kids in the entire universe:

This is Hannah, Levi, and Jacob.

[SHOW PIC of just the kids]

This is my tribe, who I am raising up as fierce warriors in this world.

[SHOW PIC of Levi roaring]

Tribes provide a place for us to be known and belong and live with purpose.

Where do you belong?

Whenever I think about a tribe in the modern day, these guys always come to mind - they may be familiar to you, too.

Check it out...

[[[PLAY ALL BLACKS HAKA]]]

The All Blacks Rugby team of New Zealand perform a dance called “The Haka” before every match.

“Haka” means “challenge.”

The Haka celebrates life triumphing over death.

The Haka originates from the Maori tribe of New Zealand, who present several variations of the Haka, depending on the situation.

The Haka that you just witnessed by the All Blacks is given to challenge another tribe to war.

In the All Blacks haka, they stuck out their tongues in an act called ‘whetero,’ a sign of passion and intimidation, and they widened their eyes in an act called ‘Pukana.’

In addition to warfare, Maori tribes performed the Haka for funerals, agricultural needs, and also weddings - believe it or not.

The wedding Haka challenged the groom to love his bride and honor the tribe.

In the wedding haka, the tribe would perform the haka challenge to the groom, and then if the groom accepted the challenge, he would then perform the haka back to the tribe and receive his bride.

I want to show you a Maori Haka performed at a 2016 wedding ceremony between two Maori descendants.

After the groomsmen perform the haka, I want you to pay attention to how the groom and his bride respond to it.

Also, I want you to pay close attention to how serious the crowd respects the Haka.

The Haka looks strange to our American eyes, but in this ancient tribal dance, every man and woman is known and belongs and is living with purpose, together.

Before I show the Haka to you, though, I want to translate the Haka into English so that you can hear the meaning behind the challenge given to the groom.

Listen to these words:

What is right is always right.

Indeed!

Be true to yourself, my son.

My concerns have been raised about you,

So pay attention!

What is this problem you are carrying?

How long have you been carrying it for?

Son, although, it may be difficult for you

And son, although it seems to be unyielding,

No matter how long you reflect on it

The answer to the problem

Is here inside you

Indeed, yes, indeed!

What is right is always right!

Check out the wedding haka:

[[[PLAY WEDDING HAKA]]]

Nearly every time I watch this video, it brings a tear to my eye.