I never met Richard Twiss, co-founder of Wiconi International. I never heard him speak. I never read any of his writings. Yet he profoundly affected my understanding of following Christ.

A few years ago I needed to attend a cross-cultural experience as part of my George Fox coursework. Nothing of the conferences I investigated seemed to fit. Then I thought of Art Brokop, a friend of mine working with Diné/Navajo people in Farmington, NM. He suggested that I come up for the weekend, joining him in a sweat lodge to be held as part of a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program at a Farmington area Brethren in Christ (BIC) mission. Art was one of the counselors for the program.

The sweat lodge sounded cross-cultural to me, an suburban Anglo who had very limited interaction with Native people. I had no idea what to expect from such an experience.

There were approximately 12 of us in the sweat, 7 Diné program participants, the leader and 4 Anglos. It was led by Casey Church, the Wiconi International Southwest area representative, an elder in a branch of the Potawatomi tribe. He heads a group called “Soaring Eagle Ministry” (Albuquerque, NM) which is finding ways to contextualize the Gospel message while still retaining a person’s traditional First Nations identity.

Everything done was consistent with both First Nations and Christian beliefs and presented in a non-syncretistic manner. I had not thought about the wide cultural gulf between many Native practices and what we see in common Christian arenas. Casey and Art helped me see that following Christ did not lead to losing a person’s cultural identity.

That’s why I celebrate Richard Twiss’ Wiconi International ministry and mourn his loss. He had the vision to establish an organization that bridged the gap between many different cultures. He helped to show that western cultural practices were not the only “acceptable” way to follow Christ. I’m sure many people disagreed with him and thought he was mixing cultures that should remain separate. His organization and the people associated with it helped me see how Christ was already at work throughout all the nations. It’s like the Muslim “insider” groups and others who have realized that we have true diversity in culture but unity in following Christ.

Art Brokop said it best on his Facebook page after he learned Richard had passed. I think it’s original with Art but if not, thanks to whomever came up with it. His Facebook post simply started “Dancing with Creator.” May we all celebrate in our dance with God.