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Note: This page was originally presented as a paper to a church group which was investigating joining Healing Hearts Ministry as partners in our inner-city work.
Introduction
A number of years ago, I was involved in helping write and produce a training manual for youth care workers and foster parents who specialized in caring for sexually abused children. Today, I am embarrassed to say that not only was the manual published, but has been used in Saskatchewan to train foster parents here. I say embarrassed because at the time, I was not a Christian. I knew nothing of true emotional, and spiritual healing, which emphasizes the point that I have come to firmly believe since I became a Christian, that apart from Christ, there is no healing. The world does not have the answers because the world is hopelessly ill equipped to deal with the emotional wounds of a broken people. Christ is the answer. The only answer and the only full healing is found in HIM. This sounds redundant to say that to a group - any group - who have dedicated themselves to missions work; however I have become distressed at the number of times the Christ-centered model has been abandoned when dealing with the aboriginal peoples of Canada and particularly here in Saskatchewan. It is almost as if the church, in apologizing for the early work of the "church" among the aboriginals is apologizing for Christ. Another fallacy is to say further that the aboriginal people are innocent insofar as their current state is concerned - that they are where they are is entirely someone else's fault. I believe in my heart that the enemy has used these two lies to keep my people in bondage for far too long. I am excited that Christian groups are once again recognizing the need to reach out to aboriginal peoples in Saskatchewan, but I am very cautious to see if they will expose the lies of the enemy, or will validate them, for only in truth will my people see the Light of the Gospel.
"You will know the Truth and the truth will set you free. "
The First Call
The first call of the Christian is to repentance. This is a call that the aboriginal people know very well indeed - albeit in a sense that has gone astray. I have yet to know a person who, following the "Indian way" is not aware of their need to humble themselves before GOD and go to him for mercy, depending on Him to have pity and forgive their sins. Many of the rituals and ceremonies are based on the premise of a person needing to purify themselves before GOD. The aboriginal person is fully aware of the concept of fallen man to the point that this belief permeates virtually every aspect of their lives.
Therefore it is necessary for the missionary to understand what role the concept of repentance plays in the aboriginal lifestyle and the various ways this concept is woven into the fabric of daily life, as well as the implications that the absence of Christ has in hindering the healing process.
Repentance in the Void of Unforgiveness
A disturbing trend of many churches today is how, in recognizing the repentance in various forms of aboriginal ceremony, are willing to "christianize" those ceremonies by including them in the regular Christian doctrine. This re-enforces the lie that a person can be pure by their own efforts and that the aboriginal Christian has need of further purification, that they are no better off as a Christian than they were before.
The current direction of the worldly model clearly shows that healing is not brought about simply by works of repentance. The recent court cases of the victims of residential schools have much to say on this matter. Many of the victims who have received an award settlement have found themselves re-victimized by the system which seeks to bring restoration. Often it is the settlements themselves that bring even more destruction into the victim's lives due not only to the inability of the victim to forgive a "system" that is offering the compensation but also the fact that the compensation offers to the victim the means to sink deeper into the very addictions into which the victim retreated to cope with the original wound. Part of the problem is that the victims were wounded by individuals and the court process in effect releases those individuals from ownership of their crime. Thus the victim has no impetus to take ownership of their own healing.
Given the long history of aboriginal victimization, the current wave of court settlements is only the tip of the iceberg which of course will continue only as long as the government holds the purse strings open. Something the government is increasingly unwilling to do; the Gordon's Residential School case being illustrative of how short lived that will be. Once that purse is closed, the victims will need to find someone else to take the blame. And let's not forget that there is the next generation of aborigina1 children who were forced into the "foster care shuffle."
As one can see the aboriginal peoples have learned well what our worldly system is teaching - that freedom is a right which carries no responsibility, that the reward is in finding the right person or people on which to fix the blame, and that repentance has no place in restoration. The residential schools and reserve system taught such things as satisfaction comes from learning how to manipulate the "system"; that it is a treaty right to expect the "system" to care and provide for all their needs. All of this of course, leads to the disillusionment and entrapment that most aboriginal peoples find themselves faced with, having no concept of the freedom that is derived from empowerment or the satisfaction that comes from a deep sense of self responsibility. Repentance in the void of unforgiveness breeds resentment whereas forgiveness is the doorway to restoration. The bridge between unforgiveness and forgiveness, is responsibility. Christ offers forgiveness freely given but the individual must first take responsibility and repent.
The missionary needs to model the Christian ideal of responsibility as well as forgiveness in the community in which they serve. This means not only understanding the perspective of the aboriginal peoples but also being committed exclusively to the cause of the gospel.
Past Values Vs Present Day Realities
In the aboriginal community as in the human services sector, there is and has been for a number of years, a thrust to revive the traditional aboriginal value system. This trend has woven itself not only into the public school system, but also into the Catholic and United Church human services outreach to the aborigina1 community. This trend has also found inroads in a number of government departments such as the penal system, and is likely to continue gaining ground as it gains momentum on the politica1 landscape of the western provinces.
The so-called traditionalism that is being pushed forward however is nothing more than a potpourri of traditions which have been culled from the memories of people who represent a cross-culture of the plains peoples prior to the advent of the Europeans. This contemporary traditionalism amalgamates the customs of at least eight distinct nations and hundreds of tribes. To illustrate, in the Royal Museum of Natural History here in Regina, in the First Nations Gallery, there is a life size model of a tee-pee. One of the displays accompanying the diorama shows a schematic diagram of the teepee with each pole, pin and stake given to represent some value or ideal of aboriginal life. While the display is very noble, to say that the meanings given are representative of aboriginal culture on the plains is to say that golf is European - not Scottish. The display itself reflects present realities not past values. Often on the same reserve (such as White Bear Reserve) are the roots of several distinct nations of the past. The White Bear Reserve was originally populated with members of the Saulteaux, Sioux and Cree nations which were not only distinct cultures but at times mortal enemies. These amalgamations were purposely designed by the Indian agencies when the reserves were set up to prevent the peoples from banding together to form an uprising.
The point here is that prior to the arrival of the Europeans, while there were dominant threads of commonalties such as in political development toward matriarchal democracy which was the dominate political movement of the time, those commonalties were born out of several hundred years of violent international warfare or the need to combine forces to combat the changes being thrust upon them after the arrival of the Europeans.
In addition, in that time, the roles of the family in the tribal groups were strongly defined, giving the typical person a number of (albeit narrow) career choices in which to find fulfillment and acceptance. i.e. hunter, gatherer, home keeper, spiritual guide, protector, tool maker etc. When the Canadian government introduced the reservation system, along with the residential school system, these roles were decimated, and they have never been,(nor can they be) revived. Worse than this however, is the fact that very little has been done for the aboriginal peoples to help them redefine healthy adult male and female roles in aboriginal society. Thus the typical modern aboriginal adult has no healthy models on which to base their self-image and no healthy self-fulfilling roles in which to find acceptance. What they are being offered by the world (as well as some sectors of the church), is a thinly veiled lie of which they are beginning to see through.
The missionary to the aboriginal community must help the healing individual base their identity in Jesus Christ ("the Man") and find the acceptance they desire in the self-fulfilling role as the person Christ wants them to be ("I will never leave you nor forsake you.")
The Christ Centered Identity
The typical aboriginal person living in the urban environment of today faces a number of personal dilemmas into which they have grown up and which define who they have become. Individuals are very much confused not only about their identity but also their role within society. Much of this confusion stems from the lies which they have been fed and are continuing to be fed by a society which, while it has renounced the atrocities of the past continues to, in some ways, shirk its responsibilities to right the wrongs of the past.
In my personal journey, I remember being told by numerous people that my healing of my past would progress as I realized my nationality; that is, my national identity. As a Christian I am aware however that my aborigina1 identity is a fallen identity. Man, being created in the image of GOD was created to find identity in Him. That in recognizing his value to GOD who has direction and purpose for him, man's self-fulfillment was to come through a GOD-centered identity. The heavenly identity however, was lost in the Fall of Man, and, furthermore, man lost the identity of universal brotherhood at the Dispersal of the Nations at Babel - lest we ever fall into believing that to be the answer to our fallen identity. Thus, only covered by the blood of Jesus Christ am I fully restored to my heavenly identity as a child of GOD, Him being my father, Christ being my Brother and Christians being my family.
As a restored Child of GOD, being sealed by the Holy Spirit, I grow to realize my value to the Most High GOD, now, not only created in His Image, but Redeemed by His SON, adopted to be His very own, and sent forth as His Ambassador into this dark world. In this Identity is not only worth and value, but exceeding purpose and fulfillment as I live out this role, having been given the ability to eternally impact the world around me.
The role of the church missions is to assist the re-creation of heavenly identity within the hearts of people seeking GOD in the reconciling process of repentance and restoration through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Christ Centered Ministry
In practical terms this means ministering in two primary areas of people's lives - those of self-worth and purpose (or impact). Both are based on the foundational premise of spiritual rebirth through the acceptance of forgiveness through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As the church ministers to the lost in these areas, the individual comes to realize their need for Christ to attain the fullness of God’s healing in their lives. That without Christ, there is no healing because as long as they are apart from Christ, these two areas (identity and purpose) will remain unfulfilled and unrealized. Of course, as the church continues to minister to the saved, there is spiritual growth as individuals grow into the fulfillment of their purpose and realization of self-worth through faith and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. This growth is manifested by the production of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in their lives as they impact the world around them for the Kingdom of GOD.
Felt Needs Vs Real Needs
The challenges facing the aboriginal peoples are not only incredibly complex and far reaching, being founded in over a hundred years of atrocities, but are daunting to say the least for those who are brave enough to take a clear look at the depth of the issues. Far too often, the church as well as the world have either thrown up their hands in frustration, or narrowed their ministry and help to fixing the immediate and obvious, without examining the longer term implications of what they were doing. Often ministries end up meeting the immediate needs of the community without consideration of the fact that, because of their history, certain types of ministry reinforce the mind-set of dependency which was birthed in the reservation and residential school systems. In addition, by removing the urgency of the need, these types of ministries provide the means for the individual to sink deeper into their addictive behavioral patterns, or at the very least, prevent the victim from claiming responsibility for the condition of their lives.
While most aboriginal peoples are aware of a god who requires repentance, they need to know a GOD who not only ascribes them incredible worth in that He has provided a means of salvation, but also has purposed to use the individual in the fulfillment of His plan. Generally speaking however, the person needing GOD is oblivious to their spiritual need as these have been drowned out in a life filled with immediate felt needs. Their lives are based upon the need of the moment, and their focus of life is on the immediate - quite often the moment by moment, day by day - being oblivious or incapable of seeing or anticipating the weekly or monthly, let alone planning season to season or year to year. Typical of this life is the person who is driven solely by feeling - now I'm hungry, now I'm bored, now I'm tired, now I'm cold, etc.
Jesus taught us to meet these needs, yet his example shows us to meet them in the manner they are presented, that is in the need of the moment, and to use those moments as a doorway to provide for the spiritual need. The emphasis of these moments of ministry is to place the responsibility of the need upon the individual so as to lift their eyesight from the moment, or from the worldly, to see the eternal. In the miracles of the feedings, the people did not come to him first to be fed but to hear him teach about GOD. Thus the church should be known first as the place to go to learn about GOD. As well, in healing the sick, rarely did Jesus go to the sick; rather it was the sick who came to Him. In other words, they were responsible enough to realize that they needed healing. As people see healing in other people's lives, they become aware of the fact that they need healing. The ones who have been healed rarely hide the fact, nor can they, in most cases, the healing is so apparent.
Another thing the church needs to realize in ministering to people is that some will reject the teaching, some will accept it for a while and then fall away when something else comes along or when things get too hard for them, some will accept the teaching only for as long as no one challenges them. The lesson of the parable is to allow people to be who they are and not interfere with the work of the Holy Spirit, and not to judge by the appearances of what we see. A person, in order to be restored, must face the prospect of failure. If a person does not face the prospect of failure then they will never learn to walk by faith. If the righteous shall live by faith, then we must allow the people we minister to the freedom to fail because the freedom to fail is the freedom to stand in the graceful hand of GOD.
The missionary must learn to work with the Holy Spirit in meeting people's need but also not to rescue people from the moments in which GOD tests their faith in providing for their needs.
Summary
All of the above has been learned and put into practical application in the five years since Healing Hearts Ministry was founded. My wife and I were saved six years ago when we recognized that if GOD did not heal us we would die. In the days leading up to our Birth in Christ, we had separated and I had gone to see a Christian friend I knew. While he shared the Gospel with me, it was not until I had returned to Vivian and we talked about the condition of our lives that we decided to pray to this GOD my friend had told me about. We were alone together with the door shut when we knelt to pray. It was then that the Holy Spirit entered our lives and started His good work in us, Thus, before we even started going to church, we realized that GOD was personally interested in us, and even more importantly, that He was not afraid to "get His hands dirty" and enter our life to teach us His ways on a personal level. We also realized that He was willing to accept us as we were as well as being willing to 1ook at all the hurt, pain, sin, and shame openly and honestly while holding us accountable and responsible for what our lives had become. He taught us to trust Him to judge those who hurt us, whi1e holding us responsible for entrusting our healing to Him alone.
It was when we went to church however that we found that the church we were attending was not as accepting. They did not seem to be receptive to talk about abuse openly. They did not want to hear the sordid details of our past, but instead encouraged us to hide our past behind the "joy of our salvation." Having hidden our pain in the destructive and addictive behavior of our past, and knowing that GOD Himself not only accepted us but was willing to enter our pain because He Himself had been wounded for our transgressions, we were distressed at the lack of assistance of the church.
Healing Hearts Ministry was founded on the firm belief that Christ was the Answer. That the church can be and should be the place where the darkest, most desperate pains and problems of humanity could find solution. Over the years a number of different ministries have sprung up which have reinforced the principles and promises of GOD on which our church has stood since the beginning. Among these are:
a very unique style of service which fosters openness and trust as people are encouraged to bring their pain, problems and hurt to the altar of GOD
Situation-specific peer groups and counseling sessions such as sexual abuse, 12 step substance abuse groups, men's sharing, conflict management, life skills,
Skill development ministries like community kitchens, budgeting, literacy and parenting classes, discipleship and leadership development
as well as numerous others (kids clubs, evangelization, anger management, ladies ministries and inter church recreational activities to name a few)
Our membership is very much representative of those who the Pharisees accused Jesus of associating with. A majority have or are struggling with various substance addictions or behavioral addictions, not a few have been prostitutes, many know the life of the street and all know abuse, abandonment or other deep pain. And we have known the Man of Jesus Christ as he is among us - as one who serves. (Matt. 20:28).
Questions
1. What native ministries are you or the people from your church involved with in Regina or in the Province?
While our church is not specifically listed as being a native church, our membership is well over fifty percent native which is representative of the area in which we serve. As well, we do not target any specific group within this area (such as street people), but our membership is representative of the surrounding population. Many of our ministries are listed in the proceeding paragraphs. It is important to also note the ministries we are not involved in.
We do not get involved in ministries of a nature that enable an individual to sink deeper into destructive behavioral patterns. We believe that our job is not to rescue people from the consequences of their actions as much as it is to enable them to enjoy the satisfaction that is derived from a deep sense of personal responsibility. Ministries that try to meet immediate needs often overlook the deeper issues that need to be addressed in order for individual lives to move toward healing.
2. Do the First Nations people in Regina or Saskatchewan want help in church planting?
It has been our experience that while many aboriginal peoples need and want support and/or help church planting, many will refuse help offered for two reasons;
a) they are anticipating a form of re-victimization due to the lack of understanding of the history of aboriginal peoples and the effects that history has had or,
b) they are reluctant to receive something for which they will lose control if,
i)it is not successful,
ii)if it is altered to better suit the needs (i.e. does not follow the given design)
or,
iii)is only temporary in nature.
3. If they do, what form would this help take?
In addition to the above in #2 that:
not a form of re-victimization
be allowed to run a natural course, even if that means failure,
that the participants be allowed to take full ownership
that it is a long term commitment to people
the form must be committed to the Christ-Centered model of Identity, Purpose and Empowerment through the workings of the Holy Spirit. It must bring people, through repentance, to a restorative relationship indicative of the Christian walk.
4. What role could we play in being involved in native ministries?
The church that is ready to commit itself to partnering or being involved with native ministries must first evaluate its present roles and philosophies of ministry to see if these are compatible with aboriginal situations given their historical background and the impact of their histories.
Since there are people in the field, and since it often takes an extended period of time to establish a relationship within aboriginal communities, it is often easier to target successful ministers and ministries that are already established and offer support and encouragement.
It is important that any funding facilitate tools of healing that meet real needs rather than ministries that meet felt needs and facilitate addiction based behavior. (i.e. sexual abuse seminars or counseling, not baby sitting or food banks since, if these are needed, and the community is sincere, they will find the means to fill those needs themselves or GOD will provide for it.)
Again, it is important that any help offered be committed for the long term.
5. How could we partner with native churches?
Healing Hearts Ministry is looking for churches to partner with and there are other churches as well.
The best way to facilitate partnering is to first find out the philosophy and style of ministry of the targeted church, send delegates to attend several activities if they are willing to be involved with partnering.
Next, see if the targeted church is willing to send someone back to train people for a particular style of ministry. One must keep in mind that the aboriginal culture is very different than the mainstream and it is important that to maximize effectiveness, the missionary not only respect that but be willing to adapt to the environment.
Conclusion
Healing Hearts Ministry would like to thank the Mennonite Brethren for inviting us to make this presentation. It is our sincere desire that the information presented is both helpful and insightful. We would also like you to know that we would definitely be willing to partner with you on a long term basis if a commonalty of ministry philosophy is found. We look forward to any feedback you might be willing to offer on this presentation and look forward to dialoging with you in the future.
God bless and Keep you,
Healing Hearts Ministry'
'this paper was prepared and presented by Nick Helliwell with the assistance of pastor Walter Selke. Both Walter and Nick, along with their wives are co-founders of Healing Hearts Ministry.