A Gem of a Book You'd Probably Never Pick Up

For Christmas, our Pastor gave us a little book packed full of the wisdom of John Piper and Don Carson, The Pastor as Scholar and the Scholar as Pastor. It's a quick read, but one you'll go back to over and over. As our Pastor rightly observed, there's much in this book for everyone.

On shortcomings of the internet:
"First, it is so democratized that it is more difficult than ever to distinguish between truth and error, between authoritative opinion and fatuous opinion, between speculation and learning. Second it swamps us with brief information and opinion; it entices us into endless worthless discussions even on blogs that may themselves be valuable."
~Carson

Are we aware of these dangers, and are we easily caught up in worthless discussions?

On reading the Word devotionally vs. critically:
"Scripture remains Scripture, it is still the Word of God before which (as Isaiah reminds us) we are to tremble--the very words we are to revere, treasure, meditate on, and hide in our hearts (minds?), whether we are reading the Bible at 5:30 am at the start of a day, or preparing an assignment for an exegesis class at 10:00 pm."
~Carson

Is there a difference in how we treat the Word of God when we're reading it ourselves, and when we're teaching it to our children? Is there passion and reverence?

On the danger of applause:
Carson shares about approaching a friend to join him in a writing project regarding the doctrine of Scripture..."He replied that although he wished our project well, he did not want to write on a subject like that since he thought it would queer any chance he might have of getting a post at Oxford of Cambridge, where he would eventually do a lot more good. My response was that if he took that approach to confessional matters, it would not be long before he distanced himself not only from defending the doctrine, but from the doctrine itself. And that, I regret to tell you, is exactly what happened over the ensuing years. Beware the seduction of academic applause...On the last day, we stand or fall on the approval of one person, one master, the Lord Jesus."

Have I been seduced by blogger applause or other forms of approval? Have I watered down my beliefs to avoid offending others, or have I abandoned those truths altogether?

On what a student remembers:
"I dare never forget that students do not learn everything I try to teach them but primarily what I am excited about."
~Carson

What would our children say we're excited about? Would Scripture and prayer and the Gospel be on their list?

There's much more, and yes, Piper's contribution is every bit as beneficial. You'd do well to invest your time in this one.

With love,
Trisha