Three to nine years ago, I was talking to my friend Bill Burgess on the phone. We were talking about someone we both knew (maybe you) and Bill said something to the effect of, “oh ya, he’s a tribesman, too. we gotta look out for each other.” First of all, let me say I was truly honored to have Bill consider me one of his own. In my book, Bill Burgess is one of the all time greats. I could eat Indian food and curse at security guards ALL DAY with that guy and never get bored. In fact, I kinda hope that is what heaven is like. Secondly, I’ve been mulling over this idea of “tribe” ever since that conversation. 

Specifically… Who’s in my tribe? Why? What is unique about my tribe – what makes us ‘us’?

The other day I was in a meeting with Rose and Rich and a bunch of other people from different churches and a thought flashed through my  mind. How lucky am I that I found a church and, more than that, ministry partners who think the same way I think? What are the chances that I would meet another group of people who talk about open sets? What are the chances I would find pastors who care more about what happens outside of the building during the week than what happens on a Sunday morning? It’s one thing to find people you can follow and can influence you and inspire you. It’s another thing altogether to find people who have followed their own unique paths, completely unrelated to your own, and arrived at roughly the same spot as you have.

Do you know why monkeys where space suits? Their sacrificial lambs. Their trailblazers. They go where no one else has been and make sure it is safe for everyone else to come along. They get picked out of the crowd, strapped to 2 tons of explosive fuel, and blasted into a stratosphere no one else is willing to visit. And, they don’t always come back.

So, “this” is for my tribe, the space monkeys. Some of it is thinking; some of it is kids; other parts punk rock, theology, pop culture, relationships, biographic fiction, comic books, ministry and devo. All of it is nonsense but completely heart felt.