Charles M. Sheldon (1857–1946)

This book is written in the late 19th century and is set in the US probably a town close to Chicago and involves a church community. A beggar comes into their midst and the pastor comes under conviction as to his conduct towards this beggar. He asks himself, “What would Jesus do? and he asks his congregation to take a year long pledge to live their lives by this question.

The story was entertaining, well read by the narrator but a better word would be inspirational. I was really shocked to show more realize that this saying “what would Jesus do” or WWJD (worn as jewelry, etc by Christians) was so old. I then proceeded to ask the question, Is this book relevant today, what is the author trying to get across through the use of this story and how does it fit with today's church. Essentially, this is a book about discipleship and there is a strong movement in todays church (at least the one I attend) to make disciples. The story is simple, the struggles were hinted at but nothing was developed in depth. Was this a simpler time, was it easier to be a disciple in the 19th century than it is now? How does this book fit today.

The book stated that if Christians took this to heart they would change the world. I think one of the basic premise was that government and social change could not do what the church could do for social change (help for the poor, cleaning up the tenements and ridding the environment of the saloon).

Is today’s Christian willing to give up money, position and family to do what Jesus would do or are we content to let government and organizations do the work and just give our support without getting personally involved. I hope I am very wrong, but I think that today’s average Christian is not living by this principle. We haven’t taken up our cross, we haven’t sacrificed or suffered and we are willing to let the government take care of the poor and downtrodden. Its easier to pay our taxes (and complain) that invest our time and energy and our money. show less

One hundred years ago Christians read Charles Sheldon's In His Steps with runaway enthusiasm. Sheldon's story traces the account of the fictional Reverend Maxwell who challenges himself and his congregation to constantly ask, "What would Jesus do?" This question puts all of life's circumstances in a new light. Those characters in Sheldon's book who take the challenge of this question seriously live dramatically changed lives. // But a changed life responding to Jesus' example of compassion show more and grace does not always make things easier. People in Sheldon's story learn that acting like Jesus can alienate others who prefer status quo comfort and social respectability. The real challenge of the question, "What would Jesus do?" is not the initial fervor it evokes but the sustained devotion it can produce. show less

The Ragged-Trousered Evangelists

I bought this for its lovely 1900-era binding (the 'vines' cover). As there are many books of that era with little more than a stodgy moralism to them (Gosse's Father and Son?) I had low expectations of it.

I was thus pleased and surprised to find that Sheldon can write well and that this soon turns into a gripping tale of Christian Socialism in American mining country. He was after all the inventor of the phrase, "What would Jesus do?" The plot is simple and show more can be seen marching over the hills towards us from the far distance, accompanied by the drums of the Salvation Army. The rich mine-owner converts to Christianity and dedicates himself and his wealth to the betterment of his fellow man. It's not a complex story and most of the plot points do announce their arrival well in advance. But it has its charms and I did enjoy reading it. show less

I carried a lot of baggage into this book, but perhaps I'll defer that for later on. I ended up liking it fairly well.

The book arose from a series of sermons or "stories" Rev. Charles Sheldon told to his parishioners. He was pastor of a Congregational church in Topeka, Kansas, some 120 or so years ago. The weekly stories became quite popular and his church was bulging by the time he finished up.

The hook in the stories was about a preacher who decided that before he did anything, he should show more ask himself what Jesus would do in a given situation. He then invited those of his congregation, who were willing, to try a test. For one year they would try not do anything without first asking themselves what Jesus would do in a given situation, and then do that thing. One church member who signed up was a newspaper editor, so he set about changing his paper to a "Christian" paper. No more ads for liquor and tobacco, and no more idle society gossip or stories about prize fights. Another member was a beautiful young woman who sang rather stunningly. Rather than go on tour with a musical group and become rich and famous, she decided to sing at a local tent meeting, to draw in fallen souls for salvation, and to give lessons to poor people who wouldn't be able to afford lessons for themselves. A local merchant realized that he should, among other things, treat his staff as partners, not servants. And so it went with others. Some people suffered financially after their decisions, but they all felt more spiritually fulfilled, and also felt a greater sense of community and belonging with their fellow church members.

The movement spread to Chicago, where some local, well-off clergy resigned their fancy positions and set up a settlement house for less-well off people, a place where people could live decently and also become better educated so as to get jobs to support themselves. A young woman with a flair for cooking gave classes to the young women so that they'd be able to get jobs as domestics in local households. And so forth.

The movement also spawned political action. It seems that folks back in olden times believed that the major block to people's living a good life was the temptation put in front of them by the "liquor interests". Just get rid of the saloons, and people would no longer fall into sin and degradation. Something like that. When it came out, the book helped spawn a movement of Christian social action. It wasn't just about closing down the saloons, but also about feeding the hungry and caring for the sick. That stuff one reads about in Matthew 25, unless one is a modern American White Evangelical, in which case Matt. 25 has been purged from the Good Book, or at least re-interpreted out of all recognition.

So, this book really does have a good point. Those of us who aspire to live as Christians probably would be well advised to ask ourselves what Jesus would do in certain situations. Would Jesus take music lessons so as better to praise Him on Sundays and also attract new members by dint of having less dreary services, or would that money be better spent stocking the food pantry? Would Jesus work on defense-department projects so long as they were related to actual defense and not to creating ever more deadly offensive weapons, (although some would argue that the best defense is a good offense), or would one be better advised to take on more mundane work so as to avoid potential conflicts with one's conscience? Would Jesus invest his 401K in stocks in companies that invested in the Southeast Asian fishing industry where most of the workers are defacto slaves, or would he just not have a 401K and hope he died before he got too old to work? Would Jesus engage in social action and thereby try to better the lives of all, or would he be more likely not to draw people outside their comfort zones? And so forth.

But then we get to the baggage. First the more fun baggage. When I read "Topeka, Kansas", the first thing I thought about was Fred Phelps, a preacher who decided that the only thing Jesus would do is "hate fags", and hate them very publicly. That's not even remotely my idea of a Christian approach to living. I also remembered that my current Congregational church used to have a Rev. Sheldon, who was rather a polarizing figure. That was well before my time, but some 50 years after Rev. Sheldon left, some of the scars are still with us.

But then I also realized that my great grandmother was a stalwart member Women's Christian Temperance Union member in Augusta, Kansas, near Wichita. On the side, she managed to have 11 children, only one or two of whom didn't make it past 90, and all of whom seemed to have been successes in their lives. I also remembered that I'd been active in a Congregational church in Manhattan, Kansas for a time, and still think well of my experience there. So I felt somewhat better about Kansas and Congregationalists.

Unfortunately, I also began thinking about the more recent WWJD movement that rose in the 1990s. For some reason, I associate that movement with the election of George W. Bush, which is never a good association. But it's not poor Mr. Bush, it's the white Evangelical folks who took up the WWJD brand who elected them, and who have pretty much given up religion for politics, very toxic politics. They are, if nothing else, decidedly not into social justice. It rather saddens me that a century after Sheldon's book, the people who ask the same question he asked, come up with completely different answers than Sheldon's flock, answers that have done and continue to do real harm to millions of people in our world. [further pungent remarks excised for civility] show less