From
Living Theology in the Metropolitan Chicago Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church In America
Volume 1, Number 2
Lent 1996
Worship and Evangelism
Evangelism and Identity: Can Indians Be
Evangelized?
Gordon
J. Straw
(This article
is excerpted and adapted by Let’s Talk with
the permission of the author. It is taken from "Evangelism with the Native
American Community," Multicultural Mission Institute, Lawrence, KS, 1990.)
Evangelism
is a crucial issue, not only for the Native American community, but for the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as a whole. As a Native American pastor,
this issue is of particular concern personally. I know that the ELCA has
affirmed its commitment to full participation of Native Americans and all
people of color in the life of the church, but I wonder if this church really
understands the commitment it has made. In the broader context this issue is
not just a matter of getting more people of color into the ELCA so that we can
all see our numbers grow.
The
real issue is: how are we, as members of the ELCA, to make our mission and
ministry relevant to the people with whom we work and live and whom we
encounter each day? This is not merely an issue for Native Americans or people
of color; it is even more an issue for the White community. For instance,
worship needs to be relevant for worshippers if we are serious about
evangelism. This does not only mean that worship in Native American
congregations needs to reflect worship traditions in the Native American
community. It also means that Lutheran worship in predominantly White
congregations needs to be relevant for those worshippers. Are the liturgies of
the Lutheran Church made relevant for the vast majority of Whites in
congregations, particularly the youth? The question that the ELCA must address,
then, is not how we can increase the number of warm bodies in the pews of our
congregations. We must ask, "How do we do appropriate and faithful
evangelism in the communities in which we live?"
The question
is this: How does the ELCA, on all levels, appropriately and faithfully
evangelize within the Native American community? If evangelism is done in the
Native American community from "cookie cutter" programs developed for
suburban, White, middle-class communities, then our evangelism is not
appropriate. Evangelism in the Native American community is not appropriate if
done using the same methods that have been used for decades in the Lutheran
church. Our evangelism must be appropriate to the communities of Native
Americans with which we work.
If our
evangelism discounts or devalues the cultures and traditions of Native peoples,
then we are not being faithful to our call to evangelize, that is, to offer the
Good News of God in Jesus Christ to others in a way that is relevant to their
cultures and their world views. Our evangelism will not be faithful if we
insist that the Good News from God can be interpreted from only one
perspective, which is time and culture-bound. We are not out to create
"good little Lutherans;" we are called to share the news of God's
work in Christ with others.
Before
the ELCA can even ask the question about evangelism it needs to struggle with
the prior question of identity. The question is, "What does it really mean
to be a Lutheran?" My experience has been that if you asked most Lutherans
that question, they could only answer negatively: "I don't know what a
Lutheran is, but I do know what a Lutheran is not: not a Roman Catholic, not a
Baptist . . . not a Native American." The commitment the ELCA has made to
include all ethnic communities fully in its mission and ministry is a
commitment to move from an identity as a European immigrant church to an
indigenous church.
The
history of the Lutheran church in North America is almost exclusively a history
of maintaining a specific cultural way of life. The Lutheran churches that grew
up all over not only served as the spiritual centers of their communities, but
as the cultural centers as well. This is not something that should be given up,
by any means. What many of us in the communities of color are saying is that we
would like the same opportunities to do this as the so-called
"established" communities have had. The history of the formation of
Lutheran church bodies was much the same. With few exceptions, the formation of
these bodies revolved around cultural and ethnic issues as much as theological
issues, sometimes even more so. The ELCA is one of the few U.S. Lutheran church
bodies, if not the first, to intentionally merge different European ethnic
communities, and at the same time, to make an intentional effort to include
people of color as full participants in the life of the denomination.
The
current struggle for identity in the ELCA has just as much to do with White
members not recognizing and affirming the diversity of different European
ethnic communities as it does with attempting to broaden its ministry into
communities that have traditionally been excluded, that is, people of color.
People of color, then, become the lightning rod for the so-called majority's
unwillingness to deal with their own diversity. I believe that the current
strong reactions against cultural inclusiveness in the ELCA has its roots in
the inability of some to deal with or see the diversity within the White
community, much less any other community. This is doubly true with Native
Americans. They are not just another ethnic community, but the original
inhabitants of North America. Churches, as every other part of U.S. society,
have benefited greatly from the sacrifices of the native peoples of this land.
Wishing this not to be true will not make it go away.
Red
Jacket, a Seneca chief, speaking to a White missionary, said,
Brother, we have been told that you have been preaching to
the White people in this place. These people are our neighbors: We are
acquainted with them. We will wait a little while and see what effect your
preaching has upon them. If we find that it does them good, makes them honest
and less disposed to cheat Indians, we will consider again of what you have
said. (Marilyn Bode: Christians and
Native American Concerns in the Late 20th Century: Participant's Book,
1981:13)
Evangelism
in the Native American community must take into account the history and present
reality of the church’s presence and witness in "Indian Country." The
comments of Red Jacket point to the significance of history in the whole
equation. Until the church is willing to acknowledge its part in this history,
faithful evangelism has little chance in the Native American community, because
Native Americans find credibility more in the actions of others than in words,
statements, or decrees.
The
churches of the Metro Chicago Synod have an opportunity to reach out to one of
the largest urban concentrations of Native Americans in the US. Faithful
evangelism starts by not assuming we know who these people are, but getting to
know them face-to-face. Only then will we work past the stereotypes and
century-old images perpetuated by Hollywood.
Adult
forums or individuals of our congregations could also arrange dialogs with
Indian people on their own turf by contacting the Anawim Center. Director of
the center, Sister Toni Harris can also help people attend worship or prayer
services and listen to a Native American spiritual elder. The center is
sponsored by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago and offers a neutral
place for Native Americans to meet. It is at 4554 N. Broadway, Suite 258,
Chicago, 60640. The phone number is 312-561-6155. When congregations invite
“expert” Indians to their places of worship the visitor does not feel
completely free to express what they wish to say. Meeting at the Anawim Center,
or a location like the Chicago American Indian Center, can make a real
difference.
Another
step in learning to be hospitable to Indians is to hold a Native American
Sunday. Resources for this, including reproducible bulletin inserts, Bible
study materials, and youth activity guides, are available through the ELCA. Congregations may want to use such a Sunday
to gather an offering for the Native American Ministries Endowment of the ELCA
Foundation or for an ELCA Native American ministry. The nearest such ministry
is the Lutheran Church of the Great Spirit in Milwaukee.
I
myself would be happy to serve as a resource and contact person for MCS
congregations. The easiest way to get in contact with me is to dial my pager,
312-941-8757.
Gordon J. Straw
Doctoral Candidate,
Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago
Member, Bethel (N.
Keeler), Chicago