beyond the tribes

I live in LA, or if you are from LA, the Valley, or if you are from the Valley, by Pierce College. Whenever I am asked where I am from by someone outside of LA, I just say, "LA." Technically, that is where I live. If I tell you "The Valley," you might go, "Huh?"

Actually the San Fernando Valley is an urban center. If we were a city on our own, we would be the 8th largest city in the US. Over 2 million of us call the Valley home.

That is why it is so much fun to connect as Christians. At our church we co-hosted (with LAPD Chaplain Ken Crawford) the San Fernando Valley Men's Prayer Breakfast last weekend. About 250 guys from all sorts of tribes just having fun and sharing in the Spirit.

Baptists, Pentecostals, Calvary Chapel, Vineyard, Foursquare, Lutherans, you name it, guys from all sorts of churches, sharing the one thing they have in common besides their gender. 

Jesus.

And when you center on Jesus all the denominational and non-denominational labels disappear. When you center on Jesus in a city, you reflect the cultures of the city. About as multicultural a group of guys as you will ever see in America coming together to have fun on a Saturday morning that doesn't involve the throwing, kicking, hitting, or shooting of a ball.

Guys dig Jesus.