Memoirs of an
Ordinary Pastor: The Life and Reflections of Tom Carson, is a book that
every pastor should read. Pastors who faithfully plod through the grind of
daily ministry and never see more than modest growth in their churches will
find encouragement from the example of a minister who was faithful in a tough
ministry context. Pastors who have led their churches to significant growth
will also gain new respect for those who do not but yet are faithful workers in the kingdom.
The book is written by New Testament scholar D.A. Carson and is about the life and ministry of his father, Tom Carson. Conveying a son's love and respect for his father, the book explains the difficulty of Tom's ministry in Quebec from the late 40's through the early 90's. Quebec was a brutal mission field for Protestants during the early decades of Tom's ministry, as the Roman Catholic presence was oppressive and even dangerous to Protestant efforts to spread the gospel. Despite the challenges of a pitifully small salary, extremely slow gains in evangelism, betrayal by denominational leaders, the pressures of working in a culture different than his own, and many more challenges, Tom pressed on faithfully in service to the Lord to the end of his life. The book begins with an overview of Canadian history to give a historical context to Tom's ministry, then moves into his call and ministry training. From there it surveys his ministry in Drummondville, then it moves to his work in civil service while continuing pastoral ministry. Finally, the book describes Tom's care of his wife in her Alzheimer's years and his life after his wife's death. The book helps one see faithfulness amidst many different types of struggles over many years.
The entire book is an interesting read, but perhaps the most insightful portions of the book explain Tom's struggle between his high ministerial standards and his own performance. Frequently in his journals Tom berates himself for his lack of faithfulness to the Lord in terms of evangelistic zeal, work ethic, devotional life, and more. The journals reflect times of deep spiritual depression and struggle in ministry. But while he condemned himself for his lack of perfection, his family and church saw him as a model Christian and family man, and the impact of his ministry was profound, even if it did not result in a large congregation. If you are a pastor and can relate to strong feelings of inadequacy and have contemplated leaving the ministry, this book will help you see that you are not alone. The solution is not a lesser standard, as author Carson, points out, but a stronger acceptance of God's grace: "I cannot allow that to drive me to despair; rather, it must drive me to a greater grasp of the simple and profound truth that we preach and visit and serve under the gospel of grace, and God accepts us because of his Son" (page 92). If you have a family member or close friend who often battles strong feelings of inadequacy in ministry, this book will help you understand that pastors who love God deeply and long to make a difference for him often feel this way, and that there is no simple means to get over it. That being said, if you are not a pastor yourself, you may gain some insight into the interior life of a godly pastor but you will always be an outsider to the experience yourself.
Aside from understanding what it means to labor faithfully in a tough field that yields little fruit, what can be learned from this book? One thing stands out: God requires faithful labor for him from some servants who will not enjoy satisfying numerical growth. For such laborers, their satisfaction for a job well-done must be delayed until Heaven, while other ministers enjoy some of their reward presently. Can a minister find satisfaction in the Lord alone with little ministry fruit to show, while others labor in more fruitful fields? The answer is yes, and it is for those "ordinary pastors" that D.A. Carson tells his father's story of faithfulness.
Idealistic seminary students should read this book to gain a realistic view of what ministry can be like. Pastors who are discouraged should read this book to be renewed in the commitment to ministry, and those just curious about what a makes a godly pastor tick will find insight in this volume.
One more thing. Back in December of 2008 I posted an entry about D.A. Carson's interview with Mark Driscoll about this book. A link to that post and the video is here. Also, you can read a pdf of the book for free here.


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