What does Tribe teach about financial provision?

At Tribe, the teaching on financial provision is grounded in a specific kind of memory. Brian Hunter draws on Psalm 78 and the story of water coming from the rock in the wilderness to make the case that God's provision is often designed to be undeniable, arriving through means that rule out every human explanation. The rock at Horeb was not the most obvious solution to a water problem in the desert. It was chosen, Brian argues, precisely because it left no room for another story. When provision comes that way, the only honest response is to write it down and keep it somewhere you can find it.

The Hunter family story behind Pecky Day puts that teaching in concrete terms. In 2007, Brian and Lissa moved to Tulsa so Brian could start college at 35, and one month they were short on rent with no clear way to close the gap. A tropical bird landed on their balcony, the kids named it Pecky, and returning it to its owner put the exact amount they needed in Lissa's hand. Brian says the reward was "the exact amount that we were short that month." Lissa has been careful to add that the money did not simply appear. Brian climbed a tree to retrieve the bird when it got loose, and there were several steps of obedience before any of it resolved. The provision was real, but so was the participation.

That story is why Tribe observes Pecky Day every year, and why the teaching comes back to memory so consistently. Brian's point from Psalm 78:9 and 78:11 is that the warriors of Ephraim were fully armed with bows and still turned back in battle because they forgot what God had done. Memory, he says, is not sentiment. As he puts it, "When you remember, it is a weapon." The annual practice of naming specific moments of provision is meant to give the congregation something to reach for when the next shortage arrives.

Taught from Psalm 78:1-16 · Psalm 78:9 · Psalm 78:11 · 1 Corinthians 10:4 · Habakkuk 3:1-2