I read Memoirs of An Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson (visit this link to read the intro and chapter 1) in 2 days and couldn’t hardly put it down. (C.J.’s review is online as well.) This book is the biography of D.A. Carson’s father, Tom Carson, who was a pastor in Quebec. This fascinating story had at least 3 effects upon me:
1) I was encouraged in my pastoral labor. This book is filled with the details of how Tom Carson visited and cared for the people to whom God had entrusted him. It also outlines some ways in which Tom sought to care for his family in family worship and encourage them in ministry.
2) I was encouraged in my current calling. While many in modern evangelicalism feel the need to flee to other and better things once the greener pastures call, Tom Carson’s faithfulness for the rather small (numerically) field to which God had called him is a good picture of what God normally does in the lives of pastors. God calls us to faithfulness. He calls us and isn’t luring us away with more money, more people, or more opportunity (those are worldly things). Christ calls us to follow Him, not the world, as we do that, we can achieve faithfulness in our calling no matter the size of the congregation, the pay they offer, or the opportunity it affords.
3) I was encouraged to faithfulness through thick and thin. Tom Carson had his measure of trials. I was amazed, though, that during one especially critical season, he maintained godliness to such a degree that D.A. didn’t learn of his father’s involvement in a specific spat until he was in seminary in a history course. This just floors me. This is amazing faithfulness.
I would encourage this read, not only for pastors, but for anyone longing to drawn closer to God Himself. You will be encouraged in faithfulness. And, with only 160 or so pages, this book moves quickly. Enjoy!