In today's episode, Craig Smith takes the stage and begins presenting the first session in his six-session Indigenous Faith teaching series.  Today's session is titled, Contending for the Faith, which is take from the New Testament book of Jude.

Craig sets the table for the rest of this series as he explains why this whole Indigenous Faith focus of Tribal Rescue Ministries came to be.  Responding to a growing movement of syncretistic teaching that has been promoted as good, healthy contextualization of the gospel, Craig helps us understand what is contextualization  and what is syncretism.  He also unpackages the challenges modern evangelicalism has due to the lack of understanding of the supernatural world in the modern American cultural and church scene.  But spiritism is front and center in not only Native American traditional religions, but culture as well.  And, as Craig contends, unless and until the church begins to understand spiritism and animism, it will be hard pressed to apply biblical truth to the challenges facing Indigenous believers in sorting out how to process its culture in light of God's Word.

These are big issues that are front and center to the developing of biblically healthy Indigenous followers of Jesus Christ, but issues than need good biblical answers to.  And that's why Craig and LaDonna Smith have felt compelled to provide biblical answers after over four decades of biblical study and research.  Their prayer is, through these episodes of Indigenous Faith, Indigenous believers will finally find answers on how to live biblically healthy lives in the context of our Indigenous cultures and communities.  They pray these sessions will be helpful to not only Indigenous believers, but to those who serve among them. 

Welcome to this first episode of this first session on Contending for the Faith.

In today's episode, Dr. Vern Charette continues his initial message on the Authority of the Scriptures by unpacking the doctrine of General Revelation, which Scripture teaches is available to every person around the world and at all time because it is represented in all that God has made.  His creation shouts loud and clear that there is a God, a Sovereign Creator of all things.  The only problem with General Revelation is, according to Romans 1:18-32, it is not sufficient to bring salvation to anyone.  It actually leaves all the world without excuse.  The rejection of God by any culture leaves God the only option available to Him.  That is to turn them over to a depraved mind.  Not only depravity, but total depravity!  It helps define the lostness of mankind and leaves man to his own imagination in trying to find remedy for the gut instinct of separation from God that the inner conscience only confirms through man's embracing of idolatry and animistic worship of created things rather than the Creator, who is forever to be praised.  The only remedy for the lostness of all mankind comes by what the Scriptures define as Special Revelation, which is all about the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  What a tremendous introduction to all the rest of the Indigenous Faith series that is to come!  We've just left the starting gate and getting our stride into this vital teaching series that will help shape every Indigenous believer who seeks to honor Christ and live a biblically healthy life in the Indigenous communities and cultures we find ourselves living in.  Thank you, Brother Vern, for your strong start to all that is to come!  We can't wait for next week's session!  How about you?! 

With today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith begin sharing their updated Indigenous Faith teaching materials at their recently held Indigenous Faith International Leader's Conference on August 10-13, 2022 at Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidji, Minnesota!  Many folks who were not able to attend this event reached out to the Smiths indicating that they only wished that they could have.  Resources, work schedules, etc., prohibited their attending and they were saddened that they were not able to gain the insights through this teaching event.   

But thanks to the conference being recorded both in 4k video and audio, listeners to this podcast will not have missed a single session!  That's right, all of the Indigenous Faith 2.0  sessions will be presented in this and upcoming episodes of this podcast!  Craig and LaDonna's strong desire is to make this material available as far and wide as possible because they believe the truths of God's Word must be presented to confront the false and misleading teaching of the Redeeming of Culture  philosophy that is spreading across the Native evangelical world.  

The Smiths were blessed to have join them on the platform Dr. Vern Charette (Ojibwe), who is one of Native North America's leading theologians, evangelists, and pastor.  As "brother Vern" presents a 35,000 foot view of the Scriptures, Craig and LaDonna do a much more "on the ground and into the weeds" presentation of what God's Word has to say about Christ, Indigenous Cultures, and Native American Worship.   Along with this teaching duo, the Smiths brought into the conference Randy (Cree) and Evangeline (Dakota) Jackson to lead the conference in meaningful worship and special music.  This all-Native platform team was well received by those in attendance as God used them all to bring clarity to the important issues of proper contextualization of the gospel vs syncretism. 

We encourage you to invite your friends to join in this important series that will help define the boundary lines of biblically healthy Indigenous faith.  Hang on tight, for we're in for a in depth ride into important principles from God's Holy Word.  Welcome aboard!

In this final episode of the Smith's series titled, The Coming of the Lord, Pastor Smith concludes his message that helps listeners understand what the Bible has to say about last day living in light of the imminent return of Jesus Christ as he raptures his Church away, saving them all from the wrath to come.  Understanding the "pre-millennial, pre-tribulation rapture of the Church," makes sense of Paul's letter to the Thessalonians where he says in chapter 4, verses 16-18,  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words (NIV).  

If, as some believe, we are to experience the Great Tribulation before Christ's second coming, why would Paul say in verse 18, therefore encourage one another with these words?  That's not a very encouraging outlook for the believer, to go through tribulation as never seen before on planet earth!  We were saved from God's wrath, not saved to experience God's wrath in the most unprecedented way.  

No, my friend, we believe we will be saved from that earthly wrath as well as an eternal wrath in hell, apart from God for eternity!  That's the salvation plan of the Lord!  So be encouraged by this final episode in this series as Craig Smith finishes his message on The Coming of the Lord!  Be blessed, dear listener! 

In this second of three episodes on The Coming of the Lord, Pastor Smith continues to explain the different ways the church historically has viewed the Scriptures on end time issues, and what and why he personally believes in the literal understanding of biblical prophecy, a literal rapture of the church,  a literal seven year tribulation period followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on earth and a literal Great White Throne Judgement of all those who reject Christ and His wonderful plan of salvation.

Let's keep our eyes skyward, knowing that at any moment, we will be caught up to meet those who have gone on before us through death in an earth shattering rapture of His people and His church!  Even so, Come, Lord Jesus!

As world affairs continue to bring panic to many, it's hard not to believe we are living in the very last days before the rapture of the church, the seven year Great Tribulation period, and then the millennial reign of Christ on earth before the Great White Throne Judgement and the establishment of a new heaven and new earth.

Craig and LaDonna want to keep the end time issues before you, dear listener, so that you and your family and friends are prepared for these eternity altering events unfold.  That's why the Smiths focus over the next few weeks is centered on a series they've titled, The Coming of the Lord.  We encourage you to reach out to your friends, family, and neighbors to tune into this three part series.  Our time is short, the Coming of the Lord is at hand, and we must not delay in getting our hearts right with God before it is too late.  While an encouraging series for sure, it must be understood to be sobering as well.  So much is at stake for us, based on the decisions we make for Christ in these last days.  Are. you ready for The Coming of the Lord?

In this the final of four episodes from Craig and LaDonna's visit with their dear friends, Randy and Evangeline Jackson, Randy continues to unpackage his convictions about the priorities of the believer as it pertains to old culture and traditions.  Drawing from Paul's letter to the Philippians, in chapter 3 he shares that all the things that amounted to his own identity and significance before coming to Christ was wrapped up in his culture, traditions, tribal identity, and rabid devotion to the religion and spirituality of his own people.  But now, he says, all that has changed.  His new identity and significance is wrapped up in the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ...These are important truths that we have also presented in our recent Indigenous Faith training conference on August 10-13 where the Jacksons helped us in the conference by leading us in meaningful worship and special music.  It was a wonderful conference and many who attended left with greater clarity on biblical truth pertaining to Christ, culture, and Indigenous worship.  We are now beginning the process of editing and producing these video recorded sessions that will later become available and accessible on our tribalrescue.com website.  Of course, we will continue to use this podcast platform to build precept upon precept of biblical truth as well.  We thank you for joining us in these weekly visits in the Word of God, designed to build a biblically healthy Indigenous Faith!

Craig and LaDonna and Randy and Evangeline Jackson continue their fascinating visit in this, the third episode of their interview done to help promote the Indigenous Faith training conference recently held in northern Minnesota.  In today's episode, Craig reminds us all that our pain and suffering has a Divine purpose and is used by God to help others who are facing similar challenges and struggles.  As he said, God not only gives us credibility through our pain and suffering, He gives us 'crudibility' , because of the crud He gives us victory over when we face those kinds of things!  Also, the couples begin to transition to discussions on the issues of culture, contextualization, and syncretism, which were the key themes of last week's conference.   Randy does a marvelous job of taking us to the Word of God to show us, as believers in Christ, where our identity and significance must now be placed.  Not in our past, pre-Christ culture and upbringing, but in Christ and Christ alone!  Truly a heart match message that is shared by Craig and LaDonna, and is key to their teaching on this very podcast!  We trust you'll enjoy the continuation of the visit with Randy and Evangeline Jackson on this week's edition of Indigenous Faith! 

Craig and LaDonna Smith continue the second part of their visit with Randy and Evangeline Jackson who lead their Living Stone Band music ministry.  Evangeline continues to unfold the riveting story of her recent battle with cancer and the powerful drugs that were meant to treat her disease but ended up wreaking havoc in her mind.  It reminds us that even good people can become tormented by the very medications that are designed to help them face daunting illness and injury.  But this story has a happy ending as the Lord sustained her through her battles and she survived a season that took her to the lowest valley of her life.  And now, because of that pain and suffering, the songs they sing and the message they preach has a deeper impact on lives.  As Craig mentions, many of the songs we sing and message we preached before our trauma were messages we had to sing and preach by faith, because life was good, we were healthy, we enjoyed a wonderful ministry and so on.  But for both the Jacksons and the Smiths, God in His sovereignty allowed some pretty intense disasters to visit them, and yet, He proved Himself faithful through it all.  It is from that prism of suffering that Randy and Evangeline will soon be leading the attendees of the Smiths Indigenous Faith training conference in musical worship and special music.  These two couple's stories of surviving through and thriving from their schools of suffering can help others who go through their own deep pain and suffer to know there's hope in full surrender to the Lordship of Christ in their lives.  Maybe that's you, dear friend?  If so, we know God will take the stories of faith and perseverance to encourage you on in your own journey through those difficult days.  Be encouraged, God has a plan for the disasters of life that come the way of the believer! So be uplifted by this edition of Indigenous Faith!

In this first episode of a three part series, Craig and LaDonna introduce their listening audience to some of their really good friends, Randy and Evangeline Jackson, from Las Vegas, NV.  Randy and Evangeline lead a music group called Living Stone Band and will be leading worship at the upcoming Indigenous Faith training conference on August 10-13 on the campus of Oak Hills Christian College in Bemidji, MN.  The relationship between the Smiths and Jacksons goes back almost forty years, and this visit shows the depth of their friendship and shared stories.  Both have been involved in family based music ministries and both have gone through deep suffering and pain in their lives that now add such depth to their ministries in song and Word.  For Craig and LaDonna, it was their near fatal auto accident in 2009.  For Randy and Evangeline, it was her recent battle with not only cancer, but with medications that were intended to treat the disease but instead took her through some of the deepest trials of her life.  It's a story that Evangeline begins to share in this episode and is further explained in Part 2 coming up next week.  Craig and LaDonna are excited to introduce this wonderful couple to their podcast audience, and especially for those who will be attending the Indigenous Faith conference in just a few short days.  As the Jacksons lead us in meaningful worship, we will know the backstory of the depth of their pain and suffering and how they trusted the Lord to see them through it all.  It is from that position of pain and brokenness that the glory of the gospel shines through them both.  What a wonderful depth of faith and trust they will bring as the minister among us!  Thank you Lord for your work in their lives!