(086) Hearing God with First Nations Peoples – Lydia Read

All over the Western world, people are revisiting their history and in particular, their participation in colonialism. Many nations in the West were established in lands that were long inhabited by indigenous or First Nations peoples, with European settlement coming at a deadly and devastating cost. Debates rage as to how we should respond to a history that is often brutal and violent. For the Christian church, this means asking what the Spirit is saying about the topic. How do we respond to the cries of the native Indians of North America, the Inuit of Canada, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand and so many others who still suffer from the effects of colonial domination? What does the Gospel of Jesus look like when it comes to reconciling our past with our future?

On this episode of the podcast, we explore the question of what the Spirit is saying about First Nations people with Ps Lydia Read, leader of the New Wine Movement in New Zealand. Lydia is well-positioned to answer this question, having lived it alongside the Maori peoples of New Zealand.

You’ll hear Lydia talk with Tania about:

• The history of the New Wine movement as well as Lydia’s personal story into her family’s adventures with the Holy Spirit. Lydia talks about the emphasis of New Wine on healing, reconciliation, justice and its role standing alongside the local church asking, “how can we help?”

• Lydia’s experience of reconciliation with the first peoples of her land – the Maori. Lydia explains that we start by making deep friendships with First Peoples in a way that reflect the ideals of covenant. That is, we form relationships as brothers and sisters together as the family of God.

• The need to watch our hearts and pursue the face of God in the journey of reconciliation. This calls us to deep humility. It involves learning together and talking about our cross-cultural differences.

You start with watching your heart – the wellspring of life. Reconciliation calls us to deep humility and seeking after the identity God has for us as a nation and the people of God.

• How one of the earliest God conversations in the early church between people of two different cultures provides us with an example for us to follow. The Ethiopian Eunuch’s interaction with Phillip marked the first conversion in the church outside the Jewish race (Acts 8:26-40) and crossed enormous social barriers including race, sexuality and class. Lydia explain how conversations with the Maori about Scripture broadened her understanding of the Gospel.

• What it means to do “church” with people of different cultures – while cross-cultural integration is challenging, we are so much richer for it! Lydia shared how she learnt to play differently as a result of her relationship with Maori!

• The enormous significance of Jesus’ prayer that we may be one (John 17:20-23). 

• How the process of reconciliation leads us into the heart of God as the Holy Spirit challenges how we think, even while our upbringings have shaped our thinking and often led us to avoid those who are different.

When the Spirit falls and you pursue the things on God’s heart, everything falls into the right order. You start to see God’s justice and love for those on the margins.

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