"No man is an island entire of itself," wrote John Donne 400 years ago in his immortal poem. You weren't made to sail isolated through the waters of life. We humans are social creatures who need one another in order to feel at peace and whole.

Yet America was born as an act of rebellion and independence. Children of tyranny, we pushed back and fought for freedom. And when we move beyond the adolescent need for autonomy into the maturity of a group living interdependently, it can be a wonderful thing. We need tribes to be happy.

Young people seem to know this better than their parents. They have an inner drive to find their social context, the tribe to which they belong. I first wrote about this idea three years ago and have been working to help build a tribe that believes like I do. A few friends and I believe that God is calling a generation to embrace the radical life that Jesus talked about. We may be disconnected, but we're dreaming of a better way. So we're committed to fathering them and we believe that a tribe is forming.

We believe in a lifestyle of

community not independence,

freedom not legalism,

kingdom not isolation,

and discipleship not token faith

Some churches have traded the call of Christ in on the concept of a meet-on-Sunday social club. We believe that Jesus died for more than that and expects his followers to sell out. We believe young people are looking for something to believe in and we see a tribe forming around these uncomplicated tenants that Jesus espoused.

If you're still looking for your tribe, consider ours. We're passionate, but we're not crazy. We're serious about the stakes, but we know how to party. We're scattered, but we're coalescing.  You don't have to have a position or be on a staff. There are no name tags, but a deep sense of belonging. If you believe in a tribe you've never seen, you'll find that the principles in finding one are universal. Seth Godin does a stellar job of explaining them in the video above and in this blog. I highly recommend them.