#388: What Native Culture And Indigenous Theology Can Teach Us About Following Jesus with Terry Wildman

About this episode

David Santistevan interviews Terry Wildman about the insights of Native culture and Indigenous theology in following Jesus.

Part of what I love to do with this podcast is highlight some voices that often get overlooked. Cultures that are often pushed to the margins of influence in the Church but have so much to offer us. Today I’m speaking with Terry Wildman. Terry is the Lead Translator of the First Nations Version of the Bible. Currently there is a New Testament and Psalms and Proverbs available. And the Old Testament is currently being developed. Terry is a man with native ancestry who grew up in Michigan, was saved during the Jesus Movement, and became pastor early on in his life. What’s fascinating about Terry’s story is he wasn’t exposed to the history of indigenous people until later in life. That knowledge led him down a path of decolonizing his faith, becoming a missionary to native peoples,  and learning how to disentangle what is the way of Jesus and what is not. This is a deep conversation. Some hard topics. Difficult history. But a challenge we all need.  Topics Covered: Terry’s journey of discovering his Native ancestry and culture Why what we’ve learned about Indians in American history is wrong Why we need exposure to indigenous Bible interpretation What makes…

People in this episode

Host: David Santistevan

Guest: Terry Wildman

Topics covered

• Native culture
• Indigenous theology
• Decolonizing faith
• Bible translation
• Unity between Native Peoples and the church
• Indigenous Bible interpretation

Keywords

• Native ancestry
• Indigenous names for God
• Bible interpretation
• Christianity
• Native peoples
• Decolonization
• Church history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: First Nations Version

Places: Michigan

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