Friends

If You hadn't shown me better
I would think myself to be the worst of all men
The most depraved and the most hateful and the best liar
I would feel the least worthy of your grace
(Thank God for it!)
Like the very best faker in a crowd of Christian-white porcelain
A solitary smudge upon a pane of glass

Which is why I thank You God for your people
For taking fakers, thieves, hypocrites and murderers under wing
And fashioning me friends in my own image
In your image but sinful
Deadmen and deadwomen covered in blood
Who show me grace unceasing and love unfailing
And assure me that I am never
Never
Alone

Amen.

At one point I wanted to crawl under the table and take a fork to my jugular because I was so embarrassed.

I just finished listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll that Zachary gave me a link to.

I have never listened to that man and... I was very impressed but also very ashamed.

I found it disturbingly challenging.

I can't decide if I'm a coward or a chauvinist because honestly I feel like sometimes I'm both.

A quick survey of this blog's eleven followers reveals that some of them are men, and I guess I'd encourage those people to watch this if they haven't already.

You can post your character type in the comments!

Na not really. But do watch it and comment.

Girls you should watch it too.

Mark Driscoll on Marriage and Men

Finish this poem for me please (or give me some suggestions)

I wrote this in a time of reflection and when I read it to Dylan he said he liked it so I'm going to post it up now. I've made some drastic changes to the original and the narrative (and potentially the theology) is a little bit choppy, but I hope you enjoy it.

It is quite repetitive. I've posted here the marginally coherent parts. It has grown too big as my poems tend to do.

Laundry

Every day
I meet with my God in the same place
I meet with my God and every day
I resolve to change
I resolve to change my ways

I come home cut to the core
Penitent and grateful
Pensive and reflective
Thoughtful;
And having drunk deep of your cup of grace
I plunge back into the pool of perdition
And soak there
Waiting
Waiting for you to pick me up
And wring me out
And wash me clean again.

I have a t-shirt with Your name on it
That I like to wear in company.
Christ;
You know I'm such a fake
I wear it until the dirt begins to stick
Until it's clear that I'm a hypocrite
And then I send my Christian life to the laundry
And tell You I want ALL THE STAINS removed
That I want YOU
To WASH AND PRESS AND SOFTEN my disguise
And return it by the morning.
Thank You very much.

Because what would people think
If they saw me
Without that shirt?!
If they saw me
As I am
If they saw my sham(e)?
If they saw me
The wolf
Masquerading as the Lamb
Living sinfully
With Your name on my sleeve.

If they saw me
They wouldn't see Your face
They wouldn't see
How You have made me clean
How You have clothed me splendidly.
They wouldn't know
That underneath
Andrew Mackereth is Your foe
Fighting grace
Fighting to put him
In Your place
And to put his name
On other people's t-shirts.

They'd see me in rags
The me I used to be;
The me that desperately
Desperately wants to be
King
...
They wouldn’t know
For they couldn’t quite contemplate
The Stakes
They couldn’t know
The quietly alarming circumstances
Of the war at hand in my head
My crimes against myself and my God

Andrew James Mackereth
Versus
Jesus of Nazareth

They’d never understand You know
That Andrew Mackereth is your foe
And that he’s dead too
That Andrew Mackereth is dead
And that You live.
And that I've reached understanding
With Jesus of Nazareth
And that You've done my laundry for all of time.

Repurpose

I have decided to redirect and/or repurpose this blog for poetry and assorted crafts.

I have a body of incomplete poems and short stories and I need your help.

If I post them up I would love for you to take them and fix them or comment on their content.

Please be honest with me if you find my material offensive and/or heretical.

And I was thinking... in the interest of fairness... you could probably contribute stuff too and I could comment on it and he and she could comment on it too and we'd all grow from this. I think I'm able to add contributors right?

Just let me know if you're keen hey?

Welcome to The Andrew James Mackereth Collaborative Poetry Blog.

I'll take my name out of the title or add yours in if that's what it takes to get you to join me.