TEAMS and TRIBES

---

SCRIPTURE Foundation TRIBES & TEAMS “The Lord said to Moses: ‘Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting that they may stand there with you.” Numbers 11:16 These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. Matthew 10: 2 – 4

FOCUS OF TODAY:

God made us for each other. We are not made to journey alone. We look at the concepts of tribe and team. MAY WANT TO ADD SNACK PLANS HERE….  Bring to Together: a Journeyer (12th grader) will led this. Betsy has asked and trained the youth leader.  GAME: Play is an essential way to connect with each other and to build community. Each session will begin with a game or activity.  Connect to TODAY Clint Bruce  Connect to Faith Tradition: Moses and the 70  Connect to our own Lives: Our experience of TEAMS, TRIBES and our Community Covenant  Connect to the WORLD: Close with Prayer

BRING TOGETHER: Announcements, Attendance Prayer Leaders _________________________ & ___________________________

GAME TO BEGIN: Becoming a TEAM Sneak a Peek Game- time: 10 minutes This problem solving activity requires little more than a couple of sets of LEGOS. The leader will build a small sculpture with some LEGOS and hide it from the group. The participants should then be divided into small teams of four. Each team should be given enough LEGOS so that they can duplicate the structure you’ve already created. The instructor should then place their sculpture in an area that is an equal distance from all the groups. One member from each team can come up at the same time to look at the sculpture for ten seconds and try to memorize it before returning to their team. After they return to their teams, they have about 30 seconds to instruct their teams about how to build an exact replica of the leader’s sculpture. After one minute of trying to recreate the sculpture, another member from each team can come up for a “sneak a peek” before returning to their team and trying to recreate the sculpture. The game should be continued in this pattern until one of the team’s successfully duplicates the original sculpture. This game will teach participants how to problem solve in a group. At the end of the game ASK: What was easy about this? What was hard?

TRIBES AND TEAMS: Moses and Clint Bruce Say: We are all part of tribes and teams. We are going to look at something from our culture where we see someone talking about tribes and teams. Summarize this story in your own words We have all been members of a TEAM, but have you thought of being a member of a TRIBE? Clint Bruce is a retired officer of U.S. Navy SEAL Team 5, who also was Captain of his U.S. Naval Academy football team and played in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints. Clint’s ideas about "pursuing elite" are based on his own experience as a SEAL, athlete, businessman, and father. Clint speaks about the distinction between being a "team" and being a "tribe." A team is a collection of people all working for a common goal. A tribe is a collection of people who know why they are together,

are passionate about each other, work tirelessly for a unified common cause and trust each other implicitly. Tribes are fearless, selfless, fully committed and tireless in pursuing their unified goals. Tribes are lean, efficient, move quickly and quietly, and get the job done. Tribes care about each other's wellbeing and collective success and realize there is no such thing as a zero sum game. Tribes pick each other up every time. Tribes are always honest with each other, and can always give and take constructive criticism. Tribes never have false agendas and speak plainly, openly and with integrity in purpose. We all have more work ahead of ourselves to be the best tribe we can be, but there is no question that we are far more than just a team. SAY: Our class is like a TRIBE. We will work tirelessly to make our Tribe the best we can be.

Summarize the story of Moses and the 12 TRIBES of Israel. Say in your own words: Over three thousand years earlier, Moses and his people [twelve tribes of Israel] were wandering in the desert. Tired, complaining, on each other’s nerves and arguing… Similar to the crowded backseat of a long car ride with air conditioner broken, windows locked, no snacks but manna in the morning and the driver (Moses) is lost. He is yelling at God for help – hoping for some quail, directions, rest or an end to the desert wilderness. God gives him the verse we read today, Numbers 11:16 The Lord said to Moses: ‘Bring me seventy of Israel’s elders who are known to you as leaders and officials among the people. Have them come to the tent of meeting that they may stand there with you.’ He gave to Moses the greatest resource we can give each other: a tribe to stand there with him. A team that backs him, supports him, knows him, and loves him no matter what. God unites them, just as He unites us. And our tribe, this Christian Community, will try to be more like Jesus every day: To be his hands and feet in the world and love each other like he loves. 2

In this section we are going to apply the learning about TRIBE and TEAMS to our classroom. You will have a discussion about TRIBE and TEAMS and then move into looking at your classroom as a TRIBE. Today is the first day of Sunday School and a good time to think more about what your TRIBE is going to be about and how your TRIBE wants to work together. You want to keep an open heart and let the youth lead and contribute as much as possible. Youth should be talking more than the teachers.

working together? Now move to talking about this group as a TRIBE as you. Learn and teach about each other. You might want to write down, hang it on the wall, make a class covenant or talk about what your tribe will be about. ASK: Let think about what is valuable to us. What are the things that we can to hold in common? SAY: Let’s write down some of our covenant guideline to give our time together more meaning.

ASK: Who has been a tribe for you? Your family? A camp cabin? A team? A group of friends? SAY: We call ourselves disciples, just like the original followers of Jesus called themselves disciples. ASK: Why do you think Jesus wanted to work in a group (with people that made plenty of mistakes!) instead of working alone? When Moses was frustrated with everyone wandering around the desert and complaining to him, how did God encourage Moses to stop trying to work alone and start

Write the guideline that the youth suggest on POSTIT NOTE paper and hang on the wall. Have a youth be the scribe. We have a whole year together. What might you want to do together as a TRIBE?

What would you like to do as a tribe together this year? (Room in the Inn night, the CROP walk, a Men’s shelter dinner?) What tribe do you look up to? A team? A group? What emulates the kind of community you want to be a part of?

End with Prayer, Hope and Wonders

Give this time in your group some thought before you begin your time together. How might you like to end your time together. How might you close with prayer?

3