The Thinker
The Thinker is an eclectic collection of short articles from Roger Carswell, an itinerant evangelist based in the North of England. Many of the articles were originally published in his prayer letters, and have been compiled in this volume for a wider readership. The style retains the personal touch which those who have heard Roger speak will recognise. He writes anecdotally, and with an equal measure of light humour and emotion. He exhorts, explains and encourages rather like an uncle; I sense Carswell has a personal affection for me as a reader, but there is a slight awkward distance about the articles which I cannot explain any further than to identify it. For those who like to be challenged in their faith in an informal way, The Thinker is a great book. It certainly gave me food for thought, and I found a challenge on almost every page.
The book is split into three sections – our relationship with God; our Christian life; and our relationship with the lost, although there is naturally an evangelistic tone throughout. Each chapter is only three or four pages long, making this an ideal book to work through devotionally, a little each day. I found it extremely easy to dip in and out of: when I had a spare twenty minutes in a coffee shop or between serving customers while working in the college Shop. Some of the chapters are brief studies in a chapter of the Bible, while others simply contain practical wisdom on a given topic, such as how to introduce people to Jesus in conversation. Carswell’s affable charm comes across well in both contexts, and each of the articles has a similar outcome in encouraging the reader and spurring them on in discipleship. I found it very easy to pray over the topic of each chapter, which I credit largely to Carswell’s ease of communication.
Although the tone is positive, Carswell does not steer clear of difficult content. The article which gives the book its title – The Thinker – comments on Rodin’s iconic statue of a man contemplating the fate of those who are in hell. He concludes the article by suggesting that we should share the thought of the statue, and be motivated in evangelism for our thought of those who are perishing. If that summary sounds heavy-handed or emotional, it has not given Carswell his due: he is careful and sensitive when discussing these serious issues, and always does so with the backdrop of his unremitting love of the lost.
The chapters which most affected me were those on prayer. It is clear that Carswell is a keen pray-er. I was challenged about many areas which do no register in my prayers – prayer for the nation; for children; for those who have nobody else praying for them. Discipline in prayer may be difficult, but Carswell’s testimony is an encouragement to think carefully about what I pray about. But matched with a desire to pray differently, I was struck by how assured Carswell is that prayer will be answered. In several places (by the nature of grouping a collection of articles (The Thinker is sometimes repetitive) he challenges us to dare to pray for big things and to expect God to answer our prayers, if they are his will.
The Thinker is a light read, but deceptively challenging. In the foreword, Hugh Palmer suggests reading it slowly, section by section, and I certainly found that approach helpful. At any rate, there is far too much here to take in all at once. I think most Christians would find much in The Thinker that is helpful, and I would recommend it to anyone seeking encouragement in Christian discipleship.
Leave a Reply
Ali grew up in London, but is currently at university in the North East of England. He helped to re-launch Crossring in 2009, and has acted as Managing Editor of the website since then. He occasionally dabbles in photography and web development - he also designed and maintains the Crossring website.
What's On Crossring
Crossring is a community of Christians who meet together online in fellowship around the Christian faith and the Bible.
As part of our active lifestyle of prayer and Bible reading, we are currently reading a small section of the Bible together each day and sharing our responses to it with each other. We also publish a short devotional thought on a key verse or two from each day's passage to prompt prayer or reflection.
Community
Please feel free to browse the website. If you wish to participate in the Forums, however, you will need to login or register with us to help keep the spammers at bay.
On the Forums
Reply To: Communion etiquette
by Phill Sacre 19:57 18/10/11
Communion etiquette
by lordkenley 21:20 17/10/11
Driscoll: "Got Hates You"
by Phill Sacre 21:09 11/10/11
Reply To: Prayers of praise: let's praise together!
by Martin Laker 05:43 03/10/11
Reply To: Blindfolded monkeys and Christian songs
by Phill Sacre 14:33 29/09/11
Crossring on Facebook
Crossring on Twitter
Whole Site RSS