Cap Maker

The Apostle Paul instructs Pastor Timothy—and, by extension, all pastors—in the nature of their calling when he writes: “Reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with all longsuffering and instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). This charge defines much of the pastoral task. As ministers of the Word and Sacraments, we carry out this work in many settings: from the pulpit and the lectern, through articles and books, and, in this case, through a pastoral blog.

Reproof, rebuke, and exhortation necessarily include both challenging and encouraging words. Yet their shared purpose is always the same: the loving, formative discipline of God’s people. While many pastoral admonitions apply broadly, some will resonate more deeply with individuals at particular seasons of life.

At times, we are reminded of truths we already know. At other times, we may feel conviction or correction. And still at other moments, we are strengthened and encouraged. When each of these is received with humility, God uses them to move us forward in the ongoing work of sanctification.

Charles Spurgeon wrote a couple of books titled John Ploughman’s Talks and John Ploughman’s Pictures. In the preface to the latter volume, he says: “Ploughman is a name I may justly claim. Every minister has put his hand to the plow; and it is his business to break up the fallow ground.” Here is a sample of his opening chapter:

Last time I made a book I trod on some people’s corns and bunions, and they wrote me angry letters, asking, “Did you mean me?” This time, to save them the expense of a halfpenny card, I will begin my book by saying:

Whether I please or whether I tease,
I’ll give you my honest mind;
If the cap should fit, pray wear it a bit,
If not, you can leave it behind.

No offence is meant; but if anything in these pages should come home to a man, let him not send it next door, but get a coop for his own chickens. What is the use of reading or hearing for other people? We do not eat and drink for them: why should we lend them our ears and not our mouths? Please then, good friend, if you find a hoe on these premises, weed your own garden with it…. so, though I am not a hatter, I will again turn cap-maker, and those who have heads may try on my wares; those who have none won’t touch them.