Getting Saved at the Potlatch

Getting Saved at the Potlatch: Accepting Indians as your Personal Equals

My friend Bill Bob Tom is half native and trained in the church. But recently he went to a potlatch and saw the light. He got saved and accepted Indians!

Lots of Christians accept Jesus, but they seem to stop there. They hear Jesus' story about planting seeds, but instead they plant church buildings, and all the stuff that goes with it, like Bible-college-factory pastors and lots of books on theology and how to do anything meaningful in 40 days.

But when my friend (Tom Bill Bob) went to a real potlatch, he experienced a very godly event, with many examples of love, generosity, of forming lasting bonds of faithfulness and care. The potlatch included singing, dancing, feasting, naming, young teen rite of passage, and more.

I know why he was stunned -- I have seen the reactions at 2 potlatches that I held in Seattle. The church has nothing like it. Of course, some tribes and bands have lost the potlatch and need help in bringing it back. Some churches see the opportunity to "fill the void" buy bringing in "church" but I think the seeds of the Gospel could go much further if they were planted in a potlatch.

In fact anyone doing the big tent ministry should repent and switch to potlatches. Instead of taking the people's money, come prepared to give generously to the people.

I am not sure if I am joking about "getting saved and accepting Indians". There is another story that is published and has a video version called "The Pineapple Story" about an angry missionary who preaches love but but doesn't get much of a hearing, especially since the natives keep stealing his pineapples -- which take 3 years to grow! (http://store.iblp.org/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IBLP&Product_Code=PS)

The story is that the missionary finally (after years) repents of his anger but the natives take this as evidence that the missionary has finally gotten saved! He now treats them like Jesus did, not being angry when they steal his pineapples. So did he get saved when he accepted Jesus? Sure -- but at what point did he get transformed?
Doesn't Romans say to be transformed by the renewing of the way you think?

Culture doesn't save people - being reconciled to Creator through Jesus does. No amount of turning natives into Mid-Western suburnanites is going to get them closer to Jesus -- in fact that kind of assimilation leads us in the other direction.

So I am grateful for my friend Bill Bob Tom and his potlatch experience. There are now so many things that I don't have to explain -- it is something that can only be experienced -- it is better "caught than taught".

Thanks for listening... I guess I better get some coffee now...

ray