Tribe Meetings

Connection

We spend about 15 minutes at the beginning getting to know each other. Not in a business way, not in a superficial way. We have often already connected, so seeing a man again is like meeting up with a lifelong friends - only many of them. These are men who will go to war for you.

New Guy Intro: Who you are

A typical introduction is void of anything men typically ask about: You may expect to tell everyone your job and title, the number of kids you have, and where you live. Honestly, we don't care about that. We don't want to know what you are, we want to know who you are. To get to that, we might ask you about your beard, your favorite hobby, or what you bought at your last gas station visit. Yeah - we're more like that.

The Declaration

The first organized part of every meeting is the declaration. It sets the tone and the meaning for each tribe meeting. The opening declaration is read aloud by the tribe leader.

The Check In

Man in the Middle / Man in the Mirror

At each meeting, one man is given the rare gift of being fully seen—truly heard. Nothing about this moment is casual. It begins with a single, deliberate question: “What are you dealing with?” He speaks to what is hard right now, the thing pressing on his soul. Sometimes it comes out steady, sometimes it breaks open. Whatever rises, he is given space for all of it. When he’s finished, the men respond—not with comfort or sugar, but with truth. Honest eyes, honest words, honest presence. This m

Return and Report

The Man of Honor shares how being the man in the middle impacted him. He speaks to what it meant to be fully heard, what surprised him, and what he carried with him afterward. This is his chance to reflect on the insight, discomfort, gratitude, or growth that came from being in the center. He isn’t answering a checklist—he’s telling the men how the moment changed him, and what stayed with him as he stepped back into his life.

Circle Back

If time allows, the group “circles back” to men who need more space than the original check-in allowed. This isn’t a second Man in the Middle—it’s a short, focused moment where a man can share what’s heavy: a loss, a frustration, a transition, or anything he didn’t have room to say earlier. Circle Back gives men a few minutes to be heard, supported, and grounded before the night ends, without the full weight of the spotlight.

The Honorary Declaration

Asking a man to read the honorary declaration is like giving the game ball to the player that won the game. This is man that was vulnerable or that was insightful. This may be the man that spoke the hardest truth. We're not there to pour glaze on each other - we're there to save lives and build men. We're there to be a group of men that talk about what men don't talk about, and the man that does that best is selected to read the honorary declaration for that meeting.

Resolution

The meeting can be intense—it opens men up, exposes truth, and sometimes hits deeper than expected. It can pull a man open in ways that hurt and heal at the same time. This moment gives the group space to acknowledge the hard, settle the emotions that rose up, and recognize the strength and connection they built together.