I have never liked wearing caps or hats. When I was a kid I wore a baseball cap when I was playing baseball, and a helmet for football. That's about it.August 23, 2007
I have never liked wearing caps or hats. When I was a kid I wore a baseball cap when I was playing baseball, and a helmet for football. That's about it.
At my age I'm learning how to wear hats. Because of the amount of time that I spend in the sun, wearing a hat has become something that is no longer optional. Not only does my dermatologist demand it, but also the growing bald spot on my head. In fact, my thinning hair even pleads for a hat on cold and cloudy winter days, not to mention those blistering summer days.
It is interesting to me how we talk about hats. For instance, we often talk about the different "hats" that a person wears. I wear several: husband, father, grandfather, preacher, administrator, part-time horseman, etc. If you think about it, you will discover that you wear an extraordinarily large number of hats yourself.
The image of a hat is also one of the ways in which we sometimes talk about respect for someone else. If someone says, "My hat's off to her" or "I tip my hat to him" we know that it is a sign of admiration. By the way, cowboys in west Texas still tip their hats when encountering a lady, and I think that is a pretty good idea.
The Pope wears a great big hat. I was explaining to someone the other day that in the Methodist church each person gets to be the Pope when reading and interpreting scripture for themselves. This guy had a great sense of humor and commented that he had always wanted to be the Pope and that he would pick up his hat on Sunday.
In our church there are lots of people who wear lots of hats. Without them we could not run the myriad ministries that are so important to you. But none are more important than our teachers: Sunday School teachers, Disciple Bible Study teachers, small group leaders.
This is the time of the year when we recruit talented people for the purpose of wearing a teacher's hat part of the time, and I hope that you will prayerfully consider doing that. I have discovered that most people look really great wearing a teacher's hat, and I promise you that if you join the teaching team at Christ Church you will find the rest of us with our hats off to you!
