The Tribe

Yesterday I posted about the group of independent world leaders who have come together to be "the Elders" of our world. To speak out for truth and peace, and against issues that cause human suffering. Today I read and listen to a video clip by Seth Godin about tribes posted on the Intersection, a networking site supported by Disciple World. Tribes and Elders. Hum. It always amazes me how ideas like these two come to my attention at the same time. Even though they have nothing to do with the other, their method of creating change is the same.
One of Godin's comments stuck with me. Churches have their own tribes. It's one of the first tribes we have belonged to (along with tribes of work, play/sports, etc.). I began to look at my membership in tribes. Who do I support with my interest, my time and my voice. I was surprised at the number of tribes I am part of. Church related, real estate related, outdoor ministry related, ecology related, education related, gender related...and again, some of the sub-tribes of another. Our access to each other on various networking sites is phenomenal. I belong to several "tribes": Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, the Intersection. Plus within those tribes there are smaller groups of people who have common interests.
Godin's final challenge is for each person to do some introspection and decide what issue is most prevalent in their life and to organize a tribe for it in the next 24 hours. Difficult challenge.
I wonder how many Churches look at their "tribe" that way. What is their most important issue and how do they build a tribe around it.
The next item I read in this juxtaposition process is a familiar quote (or at least part of it is familiar) by Hippocrates:
Ars longa,
vita brevis,
occasio praeceps,
experimentum periculosum,
iudicium difficile.
Which translates (for those of us who don't know latin): Life is short, [the] art long, opportunity fleeting, experiment dangerous, judgment difficult.
Godin says that we humans try to change everything, we find a part of the status quo that is wrong and we try to make big, important change. We connect with others, non-professionals, people with passion about what needs to be changed. Historically change was created first with factories, if you have enough labor and materials you can create change. Then with mass-media where "big brother" told us what toothpaste to buy and what items we needed or groups we needed to belong to in order to have a good life. It's a top-down model. Spamming is the newest of these mass marketing processes. We are now on the cusp of a new way to create change...by leading and connecting people and ideas. This concept of connecting people with similar ideas and concerns is fascinating, especially in the Internet age. Now it is tribes that can change our world, not because they are forced, but because they want to connect. With the internet we have new ways to connect that are not limited by geography. Godin says that what we now do for a living is to find something worth changing, then assemble tribes, who assemble tribes to spread the idea until it becomes a movement.
Now, back to that Latin....Life is short....do it soon (24 hours), the art Long...the amount of time it takes to learn your art (see Malcom Gladwell's Outliers where he says it takes 10,000 hours of a pursuit to become a master), opportunity fleeting....well, that speaks for itself and judgement difficult...what is truly an important issue that needs changing.
Even though we as people THINK we have important individual issues that require change, the Elders are finding common issues for people all over the world and are beginning that grassroots process of bringing the tribes together to effect real change. Having an Elder (Jimmy Carter...see yesterday's post) decide to change his tribe (the Southern Baptists) because it is too ensconced in the Mass Marketing/communication/top-down process to change is a difficult judgement. I'm glad we have these Elders, who aren't afraid to seize the opportunity before it is gone to make our world a better place. I hope our Churches find their voice and follow suit.