What does Tribe teach about following jesus?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At Tribe, the teaching on following Jesus starts with an honest warning: it will cost you more than you expect, and Jesus will not soften that truth to make you feel better about it. Brian Hunter walked through two quick exchanges in Matthew 8 where would-be followers approached Jesus with what sounded like sincere commitment, and Jesus responded in ways that felt, on the surface, almost cold. Brian's read of those moments is that Jesus was not pushing anyone away. As Brian puts it, "He didn't tell him no, that you can't follow me. He was helping him to cost of what it really means to follow him." The relationship with Jesus is always on his terms, and the teaching at Tribe holds that his terms are always the best ones, even when they are hard to hear.
One thread Brian returns to is the question of what is actually driving a person's desire to follow. He notes that it is possible to say all the right things and still be operating from a hidden priority. Brian says, "You might even have yourself fooled with saying things, but there is a secret, ulterior priority and motive in our heart. Jesus sees right through that." The teacher of religious law in Matthew 8 looked like a committed follower, but when Jesus named what following actually required, the man disappeared from the story. Tribe's teaching takes that seriously as a mirror to hold up to your own motivations.
The bigger frame underneath all of it is that Jesus is after something deeper than your immediate comfort. Brian's summary of the whole morning was this: "Jesus cares more about your transformation than he does your comfort." That has shown up practically in Tribe's own story, as the congregation has moved from venue to venue every time something good seemed to be gaining momentum. The teaching connects that pattern directly to the way Jesus moved in the Gospels, always calling people forward rather than letting them settle into something comfortable.
Taught from Matthew 8:18-22 · Matthew 8:14-27
“Jesus cares more about your transformation than he does your comfort.”
From You're Not Being Very Sensitive, Jesus
The passage taught · John 14
1 “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you.
3 If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also.
4 Where I go, you know, and you know the way.”
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- August 29, 2026 You're Not Being Very Sensitive, Jesus Brian Hunter walks through Matthew 8 to ask what it really costs to follow Jesus, and why his answer would get him canceled then and now.
Mentioned along the way
- February 19, 2024 The Lens, the Light, and the Landscape Brian Hunter walks through John 18 to show how the right lens, light, and footing in Jesus bring clarity when life gets complicated and overwhelming.