Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys

Missio Alliance Essential Reading List One of Seedbed's 10 Notable Books The gospel of Jesus has not always been good news for Native Americans. The history of North America is marred by atrocities committed against Native peoples. Indigenous cultures were erased in the name of Christianity. As a result, to this day few Native Americans are followers of Jesus. However, despite the far-reaching effects of colonialism, some Natives have forged culturally authentic ways to follow the way of Jesus. In his final work, Richard Twiss provides a contextualized Indigenous expression of the Christian faith among the Native communities of North America. He surveys the painful, complicated history of Christian missions among Indigenous peoples and chronicles more hopeful visions of culturally contextual Native Christian faith. For Twiss, contextualization is not merely a formula or evangelistic strategy, but rather a relational process of theological and cultural reflection within a local community. Native leaders reframe the gospel narrative in light of post-colonization, reincorporating traditional practices and rituals while critiquing and correcting the assumptions of American Christian mythologies. Twiss gives voice to the stories of Native followers of Jesus, with perspectives on theology and spirituality plus concrete models for intercultural ministry. Future generations of Native followers of Jesus, and those working crossculturally with them, will be indebted to this work.

Richard Twiss (Taoyate Ob Najin, 'He Stands with His People,' 1954-2013), was the founder of Wiconi International. A Sicangu Lakota, he was a cofounder of NAIITS (North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies) and a cofounder of Evangelicals for Justice. He earned a doctorate in missiology from Asbury Theological Seminary and was the author of One Church, Many Tribes. He is survived by his wife, Katherine, and his sons and grandsons.