Here we are again, listeners. You’re listening to Episode 129 of Faithful on the Clock, the podcast for Christian professionals where every puppy eats their kibble to get your faith and work aligned. I’m your host, Wanda Thibodeaux, and today, I’m inviting you to explore a phrase that’s pretty popular here in the United States — finding your tribe. Let’s take a look at exactly what that means for your professional networking, career, and ultimate influence.

Ever feel like you’re just a cog in the machine? Like the people around you don’t really get you? That might be a sign you haven’t found your professional tribe yet. But let me just dissect exactly what I mean by the phrase “find your tribe,” just because I know you might be listening from within a lot of different cultural contexts. In the United States, that phrase, you know, there is this historical context of Native American and African American people and other groups. But what we’re really getting at when we say “find your tribe” is this very positive characteristic of tight knit community. It’s about connection to ancestry, but it’s also about really deep belonging, finding people who are like you in a way that’s going to help you understand who you are and give you a sense of deeper purpose and value. So, we don’t mean anything negative at all when we say “find your tribe.” It’s meant as a really good thing. And even in secular professional circles, people crave that. Whether it’s a team, a mastermind group, or a peer community, we all long for a sense of belonging and purpose in our work.

Now, if you apply the idea of tribe to scripture, you know, we have all kinds of different people interacting with each other through the Old and New Testament. But if you look at God’s people, then you can focus on the 12 tribes of Israel, particularly in Genesis 49 and Numbers 1. And those 12 tribes, they’re all descended from the 12 children Israel or Jacob had. And each tribe, they were distinct. Each one had their own stone in Aaron’s breastplate. But they were different in other ways, too, like the specific territory they held. And all of that meant that there were likely some differences in traditions and everyday living. So, they would have understood this modern connotation of tribe that we still have exceptionally well. There absolutely would have been a feeling of fitting into a certain place.

But what I want to teach you today is that finding your tribe is not just about where you fit. It’s also about where you function spiritually, emotionally, and communally. And to understand that, you have to understand the 12 tribes of Israel in terms of their spiritual gifts and blessings. Because if you read scripture, you’ll see that each tribe had its own focus. For example, the tribe of Levi was distinguished by having priestly duties. The tribe of Zebulun, their focus was trade — they were really good at business and navigation. The tribe of Issachar, they were scholars. And every tribe had their own prophecies and potential. But all of those tribes contributed something that made the entire people of Israel work well. There was unity even with diversity, belonging without sameness. Another way to view this is, the tribes each had a unique calling, or work that God equipped them to do for others.

Now, if you’re not sure what your calling is yet, that’s okay. Often, your tribe helps you discover it—your people can reflect back to you the strengths you didn’t know you had. But when you think about finding your tribe, I don’t want you to just focus on who is like you. Because the danger of that approach is that you start thinking in a more isolative or us-versus-them way. You start putting up walls against people who don’t look like you or share your history or who have different points of view. And the point of finding a tribe isn’t to only find people who look, think, and act like you—but to find people whose purpose resonates with yours, even if their backgrounds don’t. That’s where iron sharpens iron. So, instead, look at what you and your tribe contribute to the bigger picture — how your collective purpose fits into a broader mission. You know, it ties to the whole idea in Romans 12 and Corinthians 12 of having multiple parts in the body of the church and all of them being important. It’s about asking yourself, “What and who have I been assigned to within God’s larger covenant and family?” If you look at Acts 2, the people in the early Christian church, they weren’t just congregations. They really were, as I see it, families of mission. And in that sense, finding your tribe is about understanding where your gifts really are welcome. It’s about being where your purpose is sharpened, not just to help other people, but to give glory to God.

Now, once you’ve kind of figured your calling out, then you ask yourself, “Well, OK, who else is called like I am? Who shares my — I guess you can call it my — spiritual DNA? Who’s gonna walk with me for the same purpose? And those people, the ones who are wired like you are for the same kind of calling, they’re gonna build with you. They’re gonna challenge you and stretch you in good ways, and they’re gonna be grounding for you and keep you anchored as everybody works together within that shared goal.

To sum all of this up in the business and work context, we’re wired for meaningful connection, not just collaboration. We thrive on the intimacy that comes from having a common purpose, and all of us wanna be seen, valued, and make a real impact. And I think sometimes when we think about finding our tribe, it becomes about popularity, right? It’s all about just being validated and getting this feeling of safety. But from the Christian perspective, it’s about placement, knowing where God has positioned you to serve and what unique elements you bring to the table.

And I can tell you, when you connect to your tribe, you’ll absolutely know it. I mean, we talk about jargon all the time, but your tribe will — the people, they really will have like their own language. And it’s not necessarily using specific terms or anything like that. It’s more about the way they talk about what they’re doing. There’s like, a passion in it that just resonates with something inside of you. It’s a really visceral understanding, almost like you’re recognizing somebody you used to know and are being connected again after a long time. I remember, back a couple of years ago, I went to a writer’s conference. And that was the feeling I had. It was just a feeling like, almost like being home. Honestly, that’s what it felt like. And it was just so amazingly energizing. You know, I walked away feeling like King Kong. I felt like I could just knock out any writing project I put my mind to. And that’s — when you’re working in your tribe, that’s what the tribe does for you. It gives you a ton of confidence to actually apply yourself and pragmatically accomplish things.

And the problem to me is that so many of us, we’re not working in a tribe. Because what happens is, organizations are focused on profit-driven goals. And so all of the structure is based around that. People get grouped by job function and hierarchy, not the spiritual identity or calling they have. Everything focuses on performance or status and being efficient, and instead of everybody working in a super cooperative, edifying way, everybody competes or is isolated. And it’s no surprise to me that, in that kind of environment, people get burned out. So, as professionals and business leaders, if we really want to accomplish meaningful things and make sure people are taken care of, we have to get back to the Biblical idea of tribe. The question becomes, how do we honor people’s need to be known and contribute meaningfully? How do we go beyond roles to recognize spiritual value? You know, how can we design our operations so people really are understood, not just useful? How can we build our businesses so people are contributing based on their God-given gifts, not just titles? Or even when we think about mentorship and development, are we giving people the opportunity for mutual support, or are we trying to grow through individual ambition? We can’t just be treated like replaceable parts in a machine. As part of Kingdom tribes, we have to treat people like essential members of a body who are known, really nurtured, and everybody knows they’re truly needed.

So, here are two calls to action for you. First, I want you to take a moment to pray about your placement. Ask God to show you where you’re truly meant to function and who He’s put around you to build with. Because so often, especially if we’re out there just working in jobs only to pay our bills, we’re not really in the right place where God means for us to be. We’re not serving. We’re just earning money or acquiring more titles and power. And then secondly, look with intentionality for those sparks of spiritual resonance. Don’t just go through the motions. Really be proactive and pay attention to see where the right relationships are to invest in.

Let’s close out with a prayer.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the way you made us. Thank you that we’re made to connect with purpose and that in your son, Jesus, we can know we’re never alone. Thank you for all the unique gifts you’ve given each of us to help us serve You, and wake us up to the people You put in our path, the people who will walk with us, challenge us, and build with us in love. May we not seek popularity or comfort, but Kingdom purpose, and may we shape our workplaces into spaces where everybody is known, valued, and used for your glory. In Jesus’ name, amen.

All right, everybody. As we all get clearer on our callings and where we’re supposed to be, let’s look ahead to our next show, where I’m gonna be talking about loose leash leadership. We’ll show how to build trust with those you lead so they naturally follow without pulling back. Check that out in two weeks. Take care, everybody, and be blessed.