One Church, Many Tribes gave me a lot to think about. It was written by the late Richard Twiss, a Lakota Sioux who served many years in ministry leadership, first through pastoring a church and later as the founder of Wiconi International . The subtitle is "Following Jesus the Way God Made You." Twiss' thesis, as I understand it, is two-fold, one is that Native cultures have much to offer the world as agents for evangelism, and the second is that there is much in Native culture that has for all practical purposes been rejected as pagan but which in fact can be redeemed and legitimately used within Christian practice.
As a point of reference the reader of this review should know that for a bit over one year I have served as the pastor of a small Protestant church located on a reservation. For 16 months the reservation has been my home and the church I serve, the first church on our reservation, just celebrated its centennial.
Of Twiss' two-part thesis I find myself in large agreement with the first part, although with a two-part caveat, and very cautious about the second part.
Twiss is a man with a deep love for Jesus as his Savior and with a strong foundation in God's word. His use of biblical references is extensive and contextually appropriate. He loves his Lord, he loves his people, and he would love for his people, i.e. indigenous groups throughout the world, to carry the Good News of Jesus to places far and wide. He presents a realistic vision of Native believers as leaders of evangelical awakening.
However, the very real problems with this vision are these: First, Native populations, at least within the United States, have very low percentages of Christians to begin with. And secondly, at times there exists significant bias among Native groups towards members of other Native groups. Both of these issues should, at minimum, be acknowledged as real impediments to the effectiveness of a broader movement towards Native evangelism. This isn't to say that Native believers may not be effective evangelists, but to instead assert, that like all believers, including myself, there is a great deal of work to do within those people groups who are most dear to our hearts.
The second part of Twiss' thesis, the reclamation of traditional Native cultural practices and their incorporation into Christian practice, is one that must be treated with the utmost caution. I would go so far as to say that unless the practice can be clearly shown to be a valid Christian expression that it should not be used within the church.
Case in point? Drumming. Twiss cites numerous examples of traditional drumming as a way giving glory to God in worship. The fact in my particular ministry is that several years before my arrival drumming was explicitly rejected within worship. While a worship leader may assert that the drumming is Christian the fact remains that it carries a different meaning for the majority of the Native population on the reservation, a meaning that is explicitly non-Christian. Add to the mix singing in the Native language, which in some cases is not understood by the Natives present, and occasionally not understood by the Natives leading the singing, and a person may be off of the rails of orthodox Christian belief very rapidly. We occasionally sing in the Native language, singing explicitly Christian songs that have been translated.
There are several other churches on our reservation, all of them small ones. One of the other pastors told me that serving on a reservation is harder work than in any overseas mission field. I haven't been here long enough to know if that is true but I do see both the vision that Twiss longs for, as well as the obstacles. May it be God's pleasure to build up His church in all places and among all peoples of the world. And that is a vision I believe that Twiss and I would both find great joy in. ( )