SPREADING SPARKS OF GOSPEL: MAN EMBRACES INDIAN ANCESTRY TO MINISTER AMONG HIS PEOPLE

For many years Robert Francis couldn't accept his Cherokee Indian heritage because he didn't think God would accept him as a non-white person.

For centuries Indian people have been treated unfairly and unjustly by white Europeans. They've been told that God's chosen people were Jews and then white Europeans and Africans, but never Indians, he said. Making fun of Indians is nearly as American as playing baseball and eating apple pie, Francis said.

Because of those stereotypes, "I couldn't accept myself as an Indian because I didn't see God accepting me as an Indian," he said. "I thought I had to be a white person for God to love me."

He tried hiding his Indian features by keeping his hair cut short and hoped to blend into the dominant culture, which is a common feeling for many Indians. Sometimes it is easier to assimilate, but often "it's just a road to frustration," Francis said.

Now, as a consultant for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Missouri, he embraces his braided hair, drums and shaker as part of his Indian ancestry. He works with the more than 20,000 Indians living in Missouri to start home-fellowship and worship groups.

Francis and his family live in Butler, a community in western Missouri. He was the pastor at Perkins Baptist Church near Advance before heading to Kansas City to attend seminary classes several years ago. His parents and a niece still live in Advance.

Francis returned to Southeast Missouri recently to speak at First Baptist Church during an emphasis on home missions.

Francis doesn't consider himself to be a missionary and seldom uses the word to describe his work among the Indian people living in Missouri. Using words like missionary and Christian among Indians has negative connotations, he said.

His official title is catalytic consultant with the CBF of Missouri. It reminds him of a person who teaches others how to start fires.

And maybe that's what he's doing with the Indian fellowship groups.

Since January 1999, three Indian fellowships have started in Missouri. One meets in Joplin, another in Butler and the third in Callaway County. Another group is likely to begin soon in West Line in Cass County.

So far all the groups are meeting in the western part of the state, but Francis hasn't ruled out starting a fellowship in Southeast Missouri. He's just waiting; it's sort of like spontaneous combustion, he said.

Francis hasn't actively worked to get any of the groups started. Instead he waits to be approached. "When I hear that, I know that it's the creator leading these people," he said.

All the Indian fellowships meet in a home much like the early Jewish believers. On occasion the groups get together for a powwow.

"We love to fellowship," Francis said. "We like to have fun and laugh."

Most of the meetings begin by cooking a meal, often just frybread, juice and coffee. After the meal there is a ceremonial fire or smudge. His eldest son, Peter, is the fire-keeper.

The white smoke generated from burning cedar leaves soaked in spring water is a way "to visualize our prayers going up to heaven," he said.

The service also includes singing, drums, Bible reading and preaching and sharing stories. As many as 12 different tribes of Indian people are part of the fellowship groups. Gathering together for worship is important because it links them spiritually and socially, he said.

"All Indian people have to live in two worlds and find a way to relate to both," Francis said. Some people will assimilate successfully; others have a harder time.

"It's better for some than others, but there are always hurdles that you have to cross."

So when Francis talks about Jesus and the creator, he doesn't bring Jesus to the Indian culture. Instead he looks for Jesus in the culture. When Indians talk about the cedar and its red bark, they remember the blood of Jesus. The smoke from the fire is also a symbol of healing and purity that comes from the Holy Spirit, he added.

Francis said people are often surprised to learn that Missouri is home to more than 20,000 Indian people. But U.S. Census figures show that Missouri had an American Indian population of 20,644 people in 1998.

When people ask him where the Indians are, he tells them they are sometimes next door or just down the street. Sometimes you'll meet them in unlikely places.

Francis has met at least two Indians while working as a substitute teacher in Butler. Students often ask him to sing or "do a rain dance."

One time he took out a cassette tape of stomp music, which is a traditional Cherokee dance, and showed a photo of the dance to the students as he explained the event. He told them about shell shakers, women who wore bracelets on their ankles that were made of terrapin. Nowadays the bracelets are made from Pet milk cans, he told them.

A young girl spoke up and said that was what hers were made from, and the students and Francis were surprised. "Most didn't even know this about her. Some will make fun of her for it and some will respect her for that," Francis said.

Another time he was teaching students some Indian songs when the school's DARE officer told the students what a valuable lesson they were learning from Francis.

It turned out that the blond-headed officer, who was nicknamed the Great White Dope Hunter by his colleagues at the sheriff's office, was of Indian ancestry. Not many people knew he was Indian because " he was just trying to fit in" Francis said. The sheriff's deputy had worn his hair in a braid as a teen-ager. His mother was Indian so he'd grown up in the culture. But years later he cut his blond hair short and had nearly forgotten all the Indian songs until he heard the drums and joined Francis' class.

Now it's likely that the deputy will be coming to a fellowship meeting, Francis said. "The song just brought back memories."

Francis said his work "is not something I'm doing but the creator using me to help in it."

ROBERT FRANCIS

* Former pastor of Perkins Baptist Church. Now heads Indian Fellowships of Missouri, which is a network of Indian believers in the state.

* He and his wife, Janet, were recently commissioned by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Missouri to serve as ministry consultants to Indian people in Missouri. It is the first such program in the state.

* The Francises and their four children live in Butler but serve the 22,000 Indians living throughout Missouri. His parents and a niece live in Advance.

For more information, contact:

Indian Fellowships of Missouri

Robert Francis

RR3 Box 194A

Butler, Mo. 64730

(660) 679-4014