The Tribe

The Tribe is your place to make new friends, talk about what you're learning, and follow Yeshua together. We use the Marco Polo app for video conversation and the Signal app for written interactions. Read the guidelines and then join!

These guidelines are in place to keep our community safe, enjoyable, and on point. The purpose of this group is to give you a place to talk about what you're learning at holylanguage.com and to connect on a personal level. We're not an 'anything goes' group so please read through these instructions carefully before joining or your posts may be deleted and, in extreme cases, you may even be removed from the group. (And we ARE sorry for all the rules, but hopefully you can see how they're in place to keep everyone safe and ensure you have the best experience possible!)

1. Relate on a personal level. If you're new please introduce yourself, tell us where you're from, and maybe share a little of your story. No lurking allowed!

2. Check in. After finishing a lesson why not check in? Your progress inspires the rest of us to keep going! And there's nothing like honest thoughts to spark conversation. Use the "Check In" button at the bottom of every holylanguage.com page.

3. No outside links. Remember, the purpose of the Tribe is to give you a place to talk about what you're learning at holylanguage.com. So please, help our students focus and don't distract them with links to other ministries, etc. The exception to this rule is if you're sharing helpful content in response to a specific question. It's also ok to share Hebrew music and resources, cite your sources, and talk about books you're reading. 

4. Keep it positive. That means no negative judgements. It also means no politics. There's a place and time for those things but it's not here. 

5. Respect gender boundaries. Don't private message the opposite sex if you or they are married unless you have a good reason. If someone makes you feel uncomfortable please tell an admin right away.

6. Be respectful. We don't agree with everything in Judaism and Christianity but we honour the good they've done and express specific disagreements as members of the family.

7. Fight fair. We welcome your honesty and hope you feel free to express disagreements and debate ideas. Just no personal attacks, and try to end on a positive note.

8. Remember that we're diverse. We're from all over the map in more ways than one. What brings us together from radically different backgrounds is our desire to get closer to Yeshua through Hebrew. So don't get scared and leave just because someone has different views. 

9. Use Marco Polo for video and Signal for text. People listen to Marco Polo while they're driving so don't use the text feature unless you're sharing a link in response to a specific question - in which case write a title/one-line description before the link so we know what it's about. Likewise, no uploading videos on Signal. 

10. Pace yourself. That way everyone can keep up with the conversation and nobody gets overwhelmed with notifications. We suggest no more than one Polo a day. It also helps to think ahead and take notes so you can say everything in one message. 

11. Keep it modest on Marco Polo. We don't really want to see your hairy chest or your cleavage. Or even worse, both! 

12. One off-limits topic. Most of us believe in one God revealed as Father, Son/Word, and Spirit, but after several unproductive debates we've decided this group isn't the place for questions about the Godhead, deity of Messiah, etc. Watch Izzy's informal talk for more here.

13. It's ok to not watch/read everything. Don't feel like you need to watch every Polo and read every Signal message. Feel free to randomly pop in with an update/question. Likewise, if the Tribe doesn't meet your needs feel free to just learn on the website. You're still just as much a member! 

14. Resolve conflict Biblically. If you have issues with someone go directly to them as Yeshua instructed in Matthew 18:15. We recommend this approach which is also taught in Lessons 24-27 here. 

15. Tell us how we're doing. If you have a general complaint or an idea for how the group could be better we want to hear about it. Please tell a group host of the same gender as yourself. 

16. "Do unto others..." Look at what you're doing/not doing with the group and ask yourself, "what if everybody did this?" If the answer is positive, you're doing great. If not, please do more/better. At the end of the day you'll get as much out of this community as you put in so let's each do our part to make our Tribe a community we can be proud of!

17. Use your real name and profile picture and don't change them once you're in the group. This is important for security and administration, and so we can get to know the real you.

Thanks for reading! Now that you've read the guidelines, join the Tribe! (And after this, use the 'Check In' button at the bottom of every page to take you straight to the Tribe.)