In redeeming the culture, we've been asked many times about stumbling our "weaker" brothers. We've just received another note from a good friend recently, so I thought this is a good time to respond to all. In Hopiland, it is hard to know who are the weak ones in Christ for those whom, if there are any weak ones, they have been weak professionally for decades.  There are only a hand full of those who claim to be Christians previously for most of the old ones have died and had neglected to tell the love of Christ to any of their children or to their grandchildren.  We don't know whether this is because they didn't want their loves ones to be persecuted or because they were weak in truly knowing their relationship to Christ.

We've found that by giving freedom in Christ to the new believers to redeem certain parts of their Hopi expressions that, it may "IRRITATE" or make some "UNCOMFORTABLE",  (because they have only learned from the white missionaries who believed in only the King James versions and know white hymns)  but that it does not "stumble" these very old Christians who had attended Church all their lives.  

There is a new movement of the Lord coming amongst the Native Americans and the First Nations people all around the glove.  It is happening by God's sovereign move of His hand.  And our brothers and sisters in Hopi and all over the world seem to have a desire to be able to sing and dance for the Creator with their own expressions.  They are refusing to act "white" this time in their desire to honor Christ. (Some are okay with being white and that's okay too.)  But, these new believers don't want to have their mouths cleaned with a soap bar for speaking in their own native tongues nor do they want to have their own children be taken away to the boarding schools to be educated to be "white."  And this is exactly what we would be doing to them if we once again require them, as followers of Christ, to act and do as the white churches do.

This movement of the Lord which includes "contextualization" and "redeeming parts of the cultures" will continue whether any of us feel uncomfortable or not because  God is jealous for His first nations' people group to come to know Him.  We also ought to be jealous for that!  It is my desire that we do not "stumble" our weaker brothers or sisters who've just come to know Christ, be hindered by asking once again, that they have to act and dance and speak and sing like the white Christians.  People always seem to ask, "How about stumbling the weaker ones who've known the Lord previously the "white man's way," but do they ask, "how about those who desire to be an Indian but are told all their Native American instruments are of the devil, are we not "stumbling" them?  We recognize that we do not have all the answers for these are questions worth asking and it is good to be in "fear and in trembling."  We do know one thing and that is that we need to let the Holy spirit be the Holy Spirit in these new followers' lives, and that we are not be their Holy Spirit.

                                                                                                                            In His wonderful mercy,
                                                                                                                                    millie