First Nations leader Richard Twiss reports on a powerful Urbana conference he was part of in December.

Urbana is the largest missions conference in the world. It is convened every three years in Urbana, IL, on the campus of University of Illinois. It is a ministry of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. This past December, at Urbana 03, 19,000 mostly college aged, people attended.

The message by Ray Aldred, Cree pastor and ministry leader, was one of the most impacting I have ever heard. Likewise, the presence of the Lord that accompanied Mohawk musician, Jonathan Maracle and Broken Walls, as they led an hour of worship, joined by myself and eleven other dancers in full regalia on stage was amazing. (These can be seen and heard at www.urbana.org).

There were 1800 small groups that met every day. Lindsay Olesberg, the Urbana 03 Small Group Manager, sent me the following comments and testimonies of both small group leaders and students, in response to the First Nations presentation at Urbana.

“This was a powerful evening where God gave us an amazing gift through Ray Aldred and Jonathan Maracle. I appreciated the blessing that was given by the Native American community. Thank you for your risk and forgiveness of the church of North America.”

“This is my third Urbana, and there always seems to be one pivotal talk through which God speaks a prophetic word. I believe that Ray Aldred’s preaching was that prophetic word. As an educated white man, I’ve grown up with the lies of power and self–sufficiency. I’ve been taught and trained to view my culture as having everything of value that needs to be shared with all other ‘less fortunate’ people. The Holy Spirit spoke powerfully through Ray and reminded me that I am just as much in need of salvation (conversion) as every other person. Praise God!”

Several white and Asian–American students were struck by the idea of “white man’s gospel.” They said it made sense but that they had never realized that this was happening.

A young man from Minnesota shared that he was from a town that was surrounded by three Native American reservations. He said that racism was prevalent and he had seen misunderstandings, anger, and bitterness prevail between the races in that area. He shared that he was deeply moved by the experience of the Native American worship leader extending a welcome from First Nations people to the rest of the people groups at Urbana.

“I’m a white female staff worker who grew up in Southwestern Colorado, near the Navajo Reservation. I’ve begun to struggle through my own racism, and to understand the magnitude of the genocide committed against Native Americans. It was an inspiration to me as I struggle through racial reconciliation.”

Editor’s Note: The Pneuma Informer (newsletter for Pneuma Foundation, the parent organization for PneumaReview.com) is pleased to share a report from First Nations leader Richard Twiss about a recent ministry trip to Peru.

It’s hard to believe the national Peruvian tour we have been planning and praying over for the past eighteen months is now finished. We could not have imagined the spiritual impact we would make. It was truly remarkable in every respect.

In just nineteen days our Dancing Our Prayer team of eighteen First Nations believers completed a marathon trip to thirteen cities and jungle towns making 70 presentations of Christ and His Kingdom. We give thanks to God for a genuine “loaves and fishes” miracle of increase on this trip. We successfully transported our team around the country via planes, buses, river boats, vans and trains, while providing food and lodging for everyone, renting venues & equipment, printing posters and flyers, all on a miniscule shoe-string budget. The incredible amount of work we accomplished with so little is hard to believe. Please know how deeply grateful I am to each of you who gave financially toward this trip. It was money that was well invested toward reaping a spiritual harvest.

From private meetings with national and local government leaders, to large stadium events, 1370 people made decisions for Christ. More than thirty thousand people were challenged to see the indigenous people of Peru in an entirely different light; not as poor needy Indians who are the mission field, but as co-equal partners in the life work and mission of the church of Jesus Christ in these days of harvest.

For this Peruvian tour, team members came from across North America representing Chiricaulla Apache, Lakota/Sioux, Lipan Apache, Mohawk, Cree, Choctaw, Shoshone, Cherokee, Karuk, and Houma tribes. This diverse team of front-line servants came from various theological backgrounds including, Grace Brethren, Foursquare, Charismatic, and Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada.

The first leg of the tour took place over four days in the capital city of Lima. The team held twenty-three meetings at thirteen locations that were attended by more than 11000 people where several hundred were born-again. Along with the gospel message, a strong challenge on racial reconciliation, was shared throughout the city including two national press conferences, two mayors’ offices, three radio programs, the Peruvian national congress and in five different churches. The second week took place in three jungle regions and the final week in Cusco.

As I reported earlier I had the opportunity to share with the President of the House of Congress of Peru in a specially arranged private meeting, along with his team and several key congressman involved in Indigenous Affairs in Peru. I told him, as I did leaders across the country, that we had come to support the efforts of the Indigenous people of the Peru in their pursuit of dignity, justice and equality in the nation. I said as a spiritual people we recognize the only hope for a better future was a spiritual one. As followers of the Jesus Way we had come all the way to Peru, at God’s leading, to tell them Jesus Christ is the Waymaker for all tribes and nations and only through Christ can God’s destiny for Peru be fulfilled.

Our team was then escorted into the rotunda area where numerous congressman, government leaders and workers gathered, asking for prayer from the team. I said we would dance their prayers for God’s wisdom as they are faced with making many difficult decisions for their people. Mohawk musician, Jonathan Maracle, then sang a drum song as the entire team danced before the Lord.

Richard Twiss, One Church Many Tribes: Following Jesus the Way God Made You (Regal Books, 2000), 216 pages.

What can the church of the 21^st Century learn from the mistakes of the past?

Richard Twiss could be a budding new personality in the Christian world. I recently noticed his name on a column in Charisma magazine, and this new book has endorsements by many well known, respected Christians and I was asked to review it for the Pneuma Review.

The book features a photograph of Richard all decked out in his native clothes on its cover. Twiss is an American Indian, which is nomenclature he does not like since it tends to demean his culture. He also does not like native American and instead asks all of us that come from family origins different than his, call Richard and others of his culture First Nations People, an expression which I have adopted but still find difficult to use.

Twiss’ book repeats comments I had earlier heard from Pastors who ministered to the First Nations People, comments that deal with the lack of success the church has experienced as it reached out to our country’s original inhabitants. The book also criticizes many of the political decisions the elected and appointed officials of the US have made about First Nations People. Richard resents that his ancestors openly offered friendship to those who left Europe for the new world, but were instead exploited and ignored by what today’s Americans call our founding fathers.

Richard Twiss (1954-2013).

All of us familiar with early and not so early missionary effort realize that the early missionary often confused piety with the fashion that existed in the culture from which the missionary came. That confusion led to banning many local expressions of praise and worship being offered by the new believer to God on High. In retrospect, we now teach our potential missionary to become part of the culture to which they are sent and not to reform the culture. Careful reading of Paul’s theology and his missiology leads to the conclusion that Paul knew and practiced what we missed. Better results are obtained when we work within a culture and not when we attempt to replace that with things dear and familiar to our ideas. The question “How then shall we live?” has answers that vary from people group to people group. Twiss’ book reads easily and quickly. I would describe much of his discussion as a lament over what could have been, a polemic over what should have been and as a hope over what might now be experienced in his native culture. Twiss has a burden for his people and he needs our help and understanding to undo some of the errors that were made trying to reach the First Nations People. It can be done. We can be one people.