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 look at what it actually costs. Brian Hunter spent a full message in Matthew 8:18-22 slowing down two quick exchanges that most people read right past, and the thread running through both of them is the same: Jesus does not recruit followers by softening the terms. When a teacher of religious law tells Jesus he will follow him anywhere, Jesus does not say no, but he also does not wave him in. He tells the man that foxes have dens and birds have nests but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Brian pointed out that rabbis of that era built synagogues, established schools, and became sedentary, with followers coming to them. Jesus was making clear that this relationship works differently, always on his terms.
What makes those terms worth accepting, Brian said, is that his terms are always the best. The bottom line of that morning was direct: Brian says, "Jesus cares more about your transformation than he does your comfort." That means the discomfort is not incidental to following Jesus, it is part of what following him is. When someone says the right words about wanting to follow but has a hidden priority underneath, Brian noted that Jesus sees straight through it. As he put it, 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."
Tribe's own story has illustrated this pattern repeatedly. Every time something good gets going in a particular place or season, Brian said, Jesus tells the community to pack up and move. That pattern connects directly to what the passage is showing: following Jesus means being willing to go where he goes, when he goes, on terms you did not set. Brian says, "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."
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.