I can plod

There are plenty of biographies of William Carey, the leading 18th Century Baptist what is unique about this one is that it is written by a Baptist, a Calvinist, a missionary to India and a man of mature years. John Appleby's I Can Plod: William Carey, The Early Years Of The First Baptist Missionary Society is a beautifully produced GPT imprint. I found it slightly difficult to get into at first for some reason but once I was past the opening chapters it was fine. I can't put this into words but it struck me as very Baptist in style. I guess what I mean is that he has done his research okay but does not presents it in a cold academic manner. This is chiefly a compliment but may be slightly critical, I guess.

The book is in three parts with 9 appendices.

1. Stalk (1-6 closing with his entrance into the pastorate)

2. Ear (7-22 arguing for overseas mission, eventually going and the early years)

3. Full grain (23-35 New start at Serampore through to death)

It's full of good things including a thorough enquiry into the 'sit down young man' story (Chapter 8); due emphasis on Calvinism and the state of things among Reformed Baptists at the time; plenty of coverage of the rope holders and the Serampore end; honest and sympathetic treatment of Dorothy Carey (with a good appendix on A N Groves and his wife); little extras like references to the Jamaican work and other fields; plenty of material on the problems and the way mission developed; the fascinating 1805 agreement; chapters on Carey the Botanist and the Social Reformer; nice appendices on Carey's catholicity, the communion question, etc.

The book sparked off lots of interesting thoughts - on how mission begins and develops; the matter of commitment (Carey ended up giving thousands to mission); the sorts of men God uses; issues of culture and use of time (the sorts of issues this blog is very conscious of - I thought Mr Appleby sounded slightly defensive of Carey's botanical activities); the place of team work; the ease with which there can be misunderstanding, etc.

I was very struck by the very different way Carey and his poor son Felix reacted to great setbacks and I may well do a post on that.

There are one or two very minor typos. An index would be a great help if a second edition appears.