Book Review: Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor

The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson by D. A. Carson.

I’ve listened to quite a few of D. A. Carson’s sermons and lectures (Okay, I’ll be honest. I’ve heard every single one I can download for free.), so I already knew some of his stories about his family and upbringing. I already knew that there were at least a few parallels between my own upbringing and his. My dad, for instance, was a small church pastor and missionary like Carson’s father, Tom Carson, and some of what I’d heard Don Carson say about his father made me think that he might have been a bit like my dad. My own mother used old adult-sized clothing to create cute clothing pieces for my sister and me, while Margaret Carson, Tom Carson’s wife, remade hand-me-down suits for her husband. And like D. A. Carson, I grew up poor, but unaware how much less we had than most people around us until later.

This is the reason I was hoping I’d be able to read and review Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor, Carson’s new book on the life of his father, who was a missionary pastor in Quebec. I can’t pass up a good biography, anyway, and if there are similarities between the people portrayed and the people I know and love, so much the better.  And this was a good biography. I received my review copy in the mail on Thursday and finished it a couple of nights later because I stayed up reading until 2:30AM on Easter morning.

As it turns out, Tom Carson was different than my own father in many ways. Still, the parallels are notable, making the book all the more engrossing for me. Like my dad, Tom Carson was a faithful, ordinary pastor. His congregations were small; he wrote no books. His circumstances were often difficult, but he kept on serving and loving God, serving and loving his family, and serving and loving God’s people. He was disciplined in his use of time, one thing I’ve decided I need to work at more consistently.

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A Gaggle of Geese Goodies

The  Problem with Geese

A man driving his geese to market was met by another who said, “Good morrow, with your hundred geese.” He replied, “I have not a hundred, but if I had half as many more as I now have, and two geese and a half, I should have a hundred.” How many had he?

 

[From the Farmer’s Almanac Newsletter]

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What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment?

The sins forbidden in the first commandment are, atheism, in denying or not having a God;[1] Idolatry, in having or worshiping more gods than one, or any with or instead of the true God;[2] the not having and avouching him for God, and our God;[3] the omission or neglect of anything due to him, required in this commandment;[4] ignorance,[5] forgetfulness,[6] misapprehensions,[7] false opinions,[8] unworthy and wicked thoughts of him;[9] bold and curious searching into his secrets;[10] all profaneness,[11] hatred of God;[12] self-love,[13] self-seeking,[14] and all other inordinate and immoderate setting of our mind, will, or affections upon other things, and taking them off from him in whole or in part;[15] vain credulity,[16] unbelief,[17] heresy,[18] misbelief,[19] distrust,[20] despair,[21] incorrigibleness,[22] and insensibleness under judgments,[23] hardness of heart,[24] pride,[25] presumption,[26] carnal security,[27] tempting of God;[28] using unlawful means,[29] and trusting in unlawful means;[30] carnal delights and joys;[31] corrupt, blind, and indiscreet zeal;[32] lukewarmness,[33] and deadness in the things of God;[34] estranging ourselves, and apostatizing from God;[35] praying, or giving any religious worship, to saints, angels, or any other creatures;[36] all compacts and consulting with the devil,[37] and hearkening to his suggestions;[38] making men the lords of our faith and conscience;[39] slighting and despising God and his commands;[40] resisting and grieving of his Spirit,[41] discontent and impatience at his dispensations, charging him foolishly for the evils he inflicts on us;[42] and ascribing the praise of any good we either are, have, or can do, to fortune,[43] idols,[44] ourselves,[45] or any other creature.[46]

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