Monday, December 5, 2016

What Has Been Done

A famous minister once told me "if I could figure out what you do I would interview you on TV". I guess he got a sense of it because he did eventually interview me. I wanted to take this time at the end of the year to kind of recap what my work among the tribes has consisted of.I have roughly-based this ministry of the last 11 years around three priorities.

Engage (in the sense of participating with) 

I have been blessed to have been invited to participate in a number of native ceremonies and I have traveled and played music in Native American groups. 

I provide music movement programs twice a month for Dakotabilities, where I serve around 100 service recipients with intellectual disabilities, 20 of which are Native. 

Empower

I codirected three rodeo camps on the Rosebud reservation during the years of 2013 through 2015. I raised the funds for these camps which basically was about $5000 a year. The camps usually average over 50 native youth. 

In partnership with Cherohala press, we published a book series the native American contextual movement series which continues to publish dissertations written by Native American scholars.

In partnership with the Church of God Cleveland Tennessee we established a Kiowa pastor in Muskogee Oklahoma and acquired a building for him to plant a church.

Educate

I was invited to participate in the Rosebud experience originally founded by Richard Twiss and I have co-taught in that immersion class for seminary students three years in a row 2014 through 2016. 

I was honored to teach for a year for Bacone college the oldest American Indian Christian college in America. During that time I was blessed to be able to assist in building the second American Indian ministry bachelor degree in the US. Those courses that I developed will continue to be taught by native instructors. There is at this time a cohort of native students. 

I want to thank the great churches and individuals who have supported me financially to allow me to do this work and I will continue to go forward in these areas of involvement. thanks for reading

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