Fact Collecting by Robin McKenzie

Fact Collecting

Child of the enlightenment 

Going from one extreme to the next 

Throw the baby out with the bathwater 

Purging that which can’t be replicated in the lab

Makes no sense of love or intuition 

One must know, only the facts

Overthink, analyse, scrutinise 

Analysis paralysis 

But true wisdom is knowing what can’t be known 

Embrace the mystery 

Accept the contradictions, shades of grey

It doesn’t have to make logical sense.

You don’t have to be able to understand 

Forget fighting the slippery thin edge of the wedge

What are we so afraid of?

The prompting of the spirit?

Feelings that can’t be calibrated? 

Our forefathers rejoiced in their new understanding 

Why the sun sat

Where lightning came from 

How to kill a germ

Would they be aghast to see the baby disappear with the water?

Our denial of things immaterial?

Is fact collecting always preeminent?

Surpassing the value of spiritual engagement?

Do facts alone lead to sanctification? 

Ah, The fear of the thin edge of the wedge

      

Engineering principles undergird  bridges

But just as important is the soul 

A corrupt heart leads to use of shoddy material

And bridges falling down.

Who is man that he assumes he is capable of knowing everything?

That knowledge is the answer to all predicaments?

As God said to Job “ Why do you confuse the issue?

Why do you talk without knowing what you’re talking about? 

Pull yourself together.  Up on your feet!  Stand tall. 

I have some questions for you and I want some straight answers… 

Tell me since you know so much!” 

Reflections on Prayer

Guest post by Robin McKenzie

It seems to me that a lot of our prayers are Santa Claus prayers: giving God a list of things that we want him to do. Quite a few of these are things that God has already done such as forgiving us. Instead of begging God to do things he’s already promised to do seems we should thank him for what is already done and affirm him for what he is going to do. What do you think? Consider the subtle difference in wording I put in the Lord’s Prayer below. I find it helpful because it reflects a major difference in my attitude when I pray it this way.

A variation on Lord’s Prayer Matthew  6:9-15

God, I declare you are my father in heaven

I will seek to honour your name

Your kingdom is coming 

so help me to do your will on earth as it is in heaven

Thank you that you have given me what I need for the day 

Thank you that you have forgiven me for the ways I have dishonoured you

And help me to forgive those who wronged me

Thank you for protecting me from going astray

And from the evil one

For yours is the kingdom the power and the glory forever and ever 

Amen

How should churches care for the homeless?

My wife Robin and I are involved with Village Mosaix a ministry of our church that cares for the marginalised in our community, including the homeless. Given our lack of experience and expertise, we are eager to learn from others who have worked long and hard in this challenging field. Here is a review by Robin of a book that we both find helpful, encouraging, and challenging.

Not Just a One-Night Stand: Ministry with the Homeless by John Flowers and Karen Vannoy

The authors ask a lot from those of us who want to care for the marginalised in our cities, nothing less than mutual transformation. It is true that the homeless aren’t the only ones that need to be transformed. We all fall short of what God has planned for us. The poor have as much to teach us as we have to give them. Church attendees have their own addictions they struggle with. It may not be the same as people on the streets but include things such as food, control, ego, anxiety, attention, work, and the good life filled with many toys. 

The authors challenge us “to learn why our “help” often doesn’t help.” We need to stop thinking of ministering to the homeless and instead see it as ministry with the homeless. Reflecting this from the very beginning with a participatory style of service. We don’t get bonus points for having our hearts and wallets in the right place if our actions are in the wrong direction.  Dignity and respect are vital. Here are a few problematic attitudes: we feel sorry for you, we have a great deal, you have so little, we are not as broken as you are, and we have come to help you.

The authors challenge us to care for others, not for any thanks that we might receive, but because Jesus has told us to love our neighbours. A real zinger for many churches is that the authors explicitly say a hot meal is not enough. 

There are many good stories and some not so good. They encourage readers to want to go deeper in our mutual transformation together with the poor. 

The four-page epilogue gives some helpful suggestions on where to start. The one challenging me the most was having a close enough relationship with people in our area so they will tell us what they need rather than us assuming we know. This book is written from an American perspective where there are some different resources and attitudes to Australia, such as fewer government services and vastly larger numbers of homeless. However, the ideas and lessons are transferable to the Australian context.