Of Heroes, Sung and Unsung
A friend lent me D.A. Carson's tribute to his father, Tom, who was one of the unsung heroes of the evangelical movement in the Province of Quebec. Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor was a worthwhile read. Don Carson is the only famous name I can "drop" into conversation. He and I were in many of the same classes in seminary back in the 60s and 70s. That he was brilliant then should be no surprise to anyone. I didn't know him well—he was somewhat removed from my circle of friends. Don's tribute to his father was moving and revealing. It told me a lot about Don's family, particularly his father. But the book also told me a lot about Don—or at least explained Don a little better. When Don was at seminary he was a cut above all the rest of us. As I said, he was brilliant while the rest of us, for the most part, were average. But one of the things that became clear to me while we were at school together was just how insecure Don was. Perhaps it was the poverty from whi...