Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries · Delegate Authority · Part 3 of 3
William Carey: The Long Work
Fire destroyed years of translation work. He and his team rebuilt the press and began again.
William Carey, a series in three parts. Part 1: The Shoemaker · Part 2: The Team · Part 3: The Long Work
The moment
By 1812 the Serampore press was producing Scripture in many languages. Then a fire swept through the printing house. Years of translation work, manuscripts, and type were destroyed.
What he did
He started again. The team rebuilt the press and Carey returned to the manuscripts. The work that had been lost was done a second time.
He trained those who would follow. In 1818 the three founded Serampore College to educate Indian students, Christian and otherwise, in their own languages as well as in Western learning.
He stayed at his post. Carey spent well over half his working time as professor of Bengali and Sanskrit at Fort William College, and the rest on translation. With his colleagues he worked on Scripture in dozens of languages. He never returned to England.
He described himself modestly. Late in life he told a nephew that if anyone wrote his biography, the truth would be simple: he could plod. He could persevere in any definite pursuit, and to that he owed everything.
How the story ended
The last years were not peaceful. Younger missionaries and the society in London came to disagree with the Serampore three over money and control, and in 1827 the mission and the society separated. Many of the translations, made quickly and by a small team, were later replaced by better ones. Carey died at Serampore on June 9, 1834.
What leaders can take from this part
Plodding is a strategy. Forty-one years in one place, at one task. Few leaders fail for lack of talent. Many fail for lack of staying.
Loss is part of long work. A fire took years of effort. The response was to rebuild and begin again.
Build what trains the next generation. The college was the team’s answer to the question of who would carry the work when they were gone.
Founders struggle to hand over. The three shared authority well among themselves and poorly with those who came after. The break with the younger missionaries is a warning to every founding team.
Try this week
- Name the one pursuit you intend to stay with for the next ten years.
- Think of a recent loss or setback. Decide what starting again tomorrow would look like.
- Ask the newest members of your team whether they have real authority, or only tasks.
Sources
Consulted
Galli, Mark. “William Carey: Christian History Timeline.” Christian History, no. 36 (1992). https://christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-36/william-carey-christian-history-timeline.html.
Smith, A. Christopher. “Carey, William.” In Biographical Dictionary of Christian Missions, edited by Gerald H. Anderson, 115. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 1998. Reproduced by Boston University School of Theology, History of Missiology. https://www.bu.edu/missiology/missionary-biography/c-d/carey-william-1761-1834.
Wright, Vinita Hampton. “The Rest of the Serampore Trio.” Christian History, no. 36 (1992). https://christianhistoryinstitute.org/magazine/article/rest-of-the-serampore-trio.
Further reading
Carey, William. An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians, to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. Leicester: Ann Ireland, 1792.
George, Timothy. Faithful Witness: The Life and Mission of William Carey. Birmingham, AL: New Hope, 1991.
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