R.I.P. Richard Twiss

This week, the world lost a treasure.

Richard Twiss, beloved speaker, author and teacher, passed away this week from a massive heart attack. His sudden passing sent shock waves through the Christian community, evoking expressions of condolence and grief across the Internet.

Twiss was perhaps better known in Christian circles than outside of them. As the head of Wiconi International, he was largely recognized as a bridge-builder among cultures, helping believers (and especially American believers) see a larger worldview past the American Christian bubble, and being an agent of reconciliation among the First Nations people.

But perhaps I am being too politically correct about this; the thing I loved best about him was his ability to explain the Native American worldview in such a way that dumb, superior-minded white people like me could understand.

I didn’t know Richard Twiss personally, but I feel the loss all the same. I heard him speak once, and I read his book One Church, Many Tribes, which impacted me greatly and expanded my understanding of the role of the church in our world. Twiss was the one who first verbalized for me that Christianity was never intended to intertwined with western European culture (any more than it was intended to be for Jewish people alone), and that people of other cultures who embrace the gospel should not be asked to renounce their culture of origin. I believe if the missionaries who first brought the gospel to the First Nations people had understood this concept, it might have saved hundreds of years of hardship, alienation, animosity and pain.

Even so, it would be wrong to categorize Twiss simply as an advocate for First Nations people, because the things he taught the rest of us apply not just to white and Native believers, but to people of all cultures who are trying to get along. He had a unique understanding of this dynamic, particularly in the context of a faith that is supposed to embrace all people from all nations, and a Bible that teaches that “there is no Greek or Jew, male or female, barbarian, Scythian, slave or freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.” Twiss was simply able to articulate these principles in a very authentic, accessible way, using his own culture as a backdrop.

I believe one of the hallmarks of a life well lived is how deeply that life is missed. I came in contact with Richard Twiss at the beginning of my own journey of deconstruction, at a time when I was part of a whole different “camp” than I am today. And yet, I am amazed by how many of my (relatively) new friends in different circles have been lighting up Facebook with reactions to his passing. Richard Twiss obviously touched many lives in many circles, and will be greatly missed.

Mr. Twiss, in this life I never did more than shake your hand; but your words changed my life in ways you never realized. I grieve your passing, but I celebrate the great eternal reward that you are now entering into. Thank you for sharing your life and your wisdom with us, my brother.