Indigenous Faith

Charles Spurgeon famously once said,  A Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't!  How powerful and precious are the truths of Scripture.  They minister grace and peace to troubled souls, and yet bring souls going down roads of false teaching trouble to those souls.  One cannot be a true student of the Word of God, rightfully dividing the Word of Truth and not be griev...

Craig and LaDonna enter into a new series they are calling,  Contending for the Faith,   which is found in the third verse of Jude in the New Testament.  The Smiths now turn their attention to the important role of Church leaders to not only teach and present sound doctrine, but at the same time stand against any kind of false teaching that can and does invade churches and God's people even u...

In what may sound familiar, Craig and LaDonna revisit part of last week's episode that is so formative and important to establishing a solid Indigenous Faith .  Understanding the Bible from the Jewish and Gentile perspective is the only way to fully understand biblical truth.  It's a new paradigm of thought that needs intentional developing on our part and Craig and LaDonna trust that he...

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to help Indigenous believers in Christ have the right and proper context of the Scriptures by viewing it from the prism of a Jewish and Gentile world, and not the normal Native and White context that the normal Native life has been filtered through for so many generations.  This thought process is further expanded on today by several import...

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue sharing the importance of getting biblical context right.  All people from all cultures who come to Christ must understand that the Bible presents the world in basically two distinct categories...the Jews and the Gentiles.  That's an important reality for people groups like North America's Indigenous people, who have tended to vie...

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith help listeners understand that it is not only important to "contextualize the gospel" to each unique culture, but to contextualize God's Word by each unique culture.  Contextualization is putting the message in a context that the people group being reached can understand it by presenting it in a way that culture can understand it as c...

In this week's doctrine, Craig and LaDonna Smith introduce another biblical doctrine that helps us in the process of doing proper contextualization of the gospel.  It's what is referred to as the Doctrine of Separation, or, the Doctrine of Holiness.  After a brief historical review of how this doctrine has impacted many of the evangelical churches working among Indigenous people today, t...

In this episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith introduce an important piece of living a biblically healthy Indigenous Faith - and that is the issue of applying good, God honoring Contextualization of the gospel to the unique cultures we all find ourselves being raised in.  Every culture needs to have the gospel contextualized  so all the ways our people live can be biblically evaluated by the follower o...

In this week's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith return to the controversial quote they are responding to as they present how to biblically process the Indigenous cultures we have come from into our faith in Christ.  Today they begin to respond to the non-biblical teaching that seeks to redeem our cultures in all its forms, including those that incorporate the worship of, and through, the sacr...

Can you believe it?  Here we are already into 2022!  All we can say is, Wow!  How quickly it has come!   Each new year always seems to bring with it an element of hope, but this new year seems to be quite different!   Many people are facing a whole lot of fear as we enter 2022.  We seem to fear a resurgence of that nasty pandemic, and all the confusion it brings.  Do I Mask Up? Or do I not? Should...

In this, the final episode of a series titled, Sorting out the Supernatural, Craig and LaDonna Smith wrap up their journey into the supernatural world from a biblical perspective to help listeners  understand what God's Word has to say on this incredibly important topic.  Whether you come out of an animistic background, or from cultures like the Western culture, that denies the existence of t...

In this episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to dig into the doctrine of Demonology as they further unpackaged biblical truth about all things supernatural.  Because of the strong ties many Indigenous cultures have with the unseen world, it's crucial for the follower of Jesus Christ to be fully aware and fully prepared to understand how to battle the supernatural while embracing the supe...

In this third episode on the doctrine of Demonology, the Smiths help us understand what the Bible has to say about both unclean spirits (demons), and the holy and righteous angels that worship God continually and attend us as assigned for our protection, help, and benefit.  The current dwelling place of Satan and his fallen angels (demons) are here on earth with us.  We are not alone!  Their futur...

In this second episode of the series on the theology of Demonology, Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to take listeners to the Scriptures which provides all of mankind an understanding of God's views of Satan, his demonic forces, and how they have taken all cultures away from truth as revealed in the early part of human history when there was one people, one nation, and one language.  Scriptur...

In today's episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith felt the need to move away, for the next few episodes, from their biblical response to the Redeeming of Culture's  statement that defines what these teachers contend to be their new and improved  methodology to reach Native American and First Nations people with the gospel.  Because the Smiths included in their responses in the past few episode...

In this, their last episode addressing the first part of the quote defining the Redeeming of Culture's  philosophy, Craig and LaDonna Smith offer their biblically based response, based exclusively in the Scriptures and from human history as the gospel spread around the world, eventually reaching the shores of Native North America some 500 years ago.  When North American Indigenous people come...

In this third installment of  Setting the Table of Christ and Culture, the Smiths delve into the third part of their four part response to the introductory sentences shared several years ago in a quote that has brought so much confusion to the Native evangelical church in North America.  There's so much to say, from God's Word, in speaking to the claims of this quote, and Craig and LaDon...

In this, the second episode of the Smith's biblical response to a provocative quote that has brought much confusion to the evangelical Indigenous church, Craig and LaDonna  go right back to the authority and words of Scripture to address the issue of the totality of mankind's depravity.  Red, Yellow, Black and White are, as the old Sunday school song says, not only precious in God's...

In this episode, Craig and LaDonna Smith begin the process of addressing from God's Word the provocative quote that encompasses teaching that sounds right out of the playbook of the current culture's war on the Whiteman.  The Smiths make it abundantly clear where they stand on these issues while asserting that all cultures operate from the same playbook of fallen humanity when it comes t...

Wow!  It's hard to believe this episode marks the beginning of the sixth month of the Indigenous Faith broadcasts!  All of the twenty five episodes to this point have been designed by Craig and LaDonna Smith to include foundational teaching intended to help Indigenous followers of Christ begin their spiritual journeys in the Lord.  Now, this episode marks the transition from foundational mate...

Living a biblically healthy life means we understand the importance of working hard to make a living.  In the larger culture today many have little motivation to work because current governmental assistance means you can often times make more by staying home and doing nothing rather than working hard to provide for your family.  While this may be the sentiment among our fellow Americans, Craig Smi...

As Craig Smith concludes his message titled  Even So, Come, Lord Jesus, he explains why he believes in the literal interpretation of the Scriptures regarding the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.  Pastor Smith concludes that Christ's coming is in several parts, starting with the rapture of the Church where the dead in Christ are resurrected and caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air...

As Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to complete a biblical foundation for a strong  Indigenous Faith,  they draw us into one of the most exciting parts of Christian faith - the soon return of Jesus Christ in what the Bible refers to as His Second Coming!  2,000 years ago the world saw the Creator of heaven and earth take on human flesh as He dwelt among the people He created.  Some forty days afte...

The Smiths continue to layout key foundational truths to help build a strong Indigenous Faith for followers of Jesus Christ in this final episode of their two-part series titled, Christ my Healer, Christ my Health.   In today's episode, Craig continues to preach on what happens when we pray for Divine healing only to have the symptoms remain and the pain stay the same.  Where is God when He c...

Craig and LaDonna Smith continue to lay foundational teaching for Indigenous followers of Jesus Christ in this two part series on the doctrine of Divine Healing .  In this message preached at their home church in Cass Lake, Minnesota, Craig takes us further into this key doctrinal distinctive by introducing not only the concept of  Divine Healing,  but  Divine Health as well.  Going once again to...