Meet Bruce
A kitchen tap had dripped for some time and my wife suggested
that I fix it. (Prov 27:15 certainly did not apply!) I had previously tried a
repair without lasting success and was not keen to attempt it again. Eventually
my wife’s words goaded me into action. Water gushed freely into the air after
my attempts to shut off the main household water supply reputured a key pipe.
That gush stopped the kitchen drip, but also meant turning off all water into the
house. My wife was gentle with her words.
It’s hard to find a plumber between Christmas and western
new year in Australia, but along came Bruce. Bruce is my age and we chatted
merrily about life experiences and family as he started the repair. 90 mins
later Bruce had repaired the burst water pipe, ended the kitchen drip and
agreed with my wife on some further repairs that he would do in the next week
or two. I cannot imagine the time that I would need to do that, if indeed it
was within my reach.
Bruce left school aged 15 and his speech showed a lack of
schooling (not to be confused with a lack of education). As I paid the bill he
admitted to not being strong on paperwork (which I had already deduced from the
filing system consisting of documents strewn on his truck floor). I imagine
that he would be quite lost in my world. As the above tale of my attempted repair
shows, I am certainly lost in his world.
A few thoughts arise from this tale of Bruce.
Knowing how and
knowing who. A few days before this incident I talked with a family member
whose skills are similar to mine. We agreed that another family member was very
handy with his hands and superb at problem solving. He knows ‘how’, just like
Bruce. Others are good at knowing ‘who’ – they network and build relationships
such that they can identify and recruit those like Bruce who know ‘how’. Each
to his own.
Education.
Australia’s education system is increasingly titled towards economic goals with
an emphasis on higher-order vocational applications. At a secondary level, it
is dominated by preparation of students for university entrance. It arguably
fails the Bruces of the world for whom an early exit from schooling into
vocational training is apt. Where are the classes that will give Bruce basic
linguistic and numerical literacy coupled with small business management
skills? Such classes would provide a useful scaffolding to support Bruce’s high
practical intelligence, can-do problem solving and handiness with his hands.
Church. Bruce
appeared to have no church links, but I wonder what would happen if he strayed
into a church. Churches in my circles value activities such as sitting in
chairs for 90 minutes, singing songs that are musically complex, reading and discussing
Bible text, praying aloud. Most of this is just not Bruce and it’s no wonder
that he and his kind are rare in churches that are rich in doctors, lawyers, IT
workers, managers and the like. What does a Bruce-friendly church look like?
Ministry. What
Bruce could do in 90 minutes would be impossible for me. It was far more
sensible that I pay Bruce $200 to use his skills to solve my drip than to attempt
it myself. In the language of the Bible, Bruce is one of the parts of the body that
seem less useful and which are generally treated less honourably. (1 Cor
12:22f). Yet, as the same passage says, such parts are indispensable – as Bruce
certainly was. Church generally honours those with on-stage gifts with music
and word, while a myriad of other gifts go largely unrecognised. How can we better
identify, develop, use and appreciate the Bruces in our congregations?
Thanks Bruce for making my day, ending my drip and teaching
me some lessons.
