Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor - review

Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson is a biography of the life of Tom Carson (Don Carson's father). Carson's aim in this book is to "convey enough of his (Tom Carson's) ministry and his own thought that ordinary ministers are encouraged, not the least by the thought that the God of Augustine, Calvin, Spurgeon, and Piper is no less the God of Tom Carson, and of you and me." (p 11)

This book was written in a style like that of historian/author David McCullough, using original material in a way that gives a good picture of what is happening but doesn't bog the reader down by being uninteresting. However, Carson also used parts of Tom's life to insert teaching points for his readers. One example of this was regarding Tom's discouragement and work ethic:

I (Don) must learn to accept myself not because of my putative successes but because of the merits of God's Son. The ministry is so open ended that one never feels that all possible work has been done, or done as well as one might like. There are always more people to visit, more studying to be done, more preparation to do. What Christians must do, what Christian leaders must do, is constantly remember that we serve our God and Maker and Redeemer under a gospel of grace. Dad's diaries show he understood this truth in theory, and sometimes he exulted in it (as when he was reading Machen's What Is Faith?), but quite frankly, his sense of failure sometimes blinded him to the glory of gospel freedom. (pp 92-93)

This is the sort of book that once I began reading I couldn't put it down. And, since it was rather short, was readily consumed. Part of the intrigue for me, I imagine, is that I have read quite a bit of Carson's books and was a student of his in seminary. Carson's goal of encouraging 'ordinary pastors' was successful, if at least one other ordinary pastor was encouraged. Eye-opening on the state of French Canada during the 40's to 80's for sure, but more than that, this was a call to faithfulness. Often times we read biographies of individuals whose 'big splash' is seen by all. The Tom Carsons of the world may not receive such accolades on our earthly bookshelves, but they will certainly be known in glory.