How Would Jesus Pastor?
The unpredictable Charles Sheldon gave it a try.
Chris Armstrong
January 1, 2007
The words rang out one Sunday morning in the fictional First Church in the fictional, comfortable town of Raymond. The speaker was a tramp who had walked, mid-service, up the center aisle. "I get puzzled when I see so many Christians living in luxury and singing 'Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow Thee,' and remember how my wife died in a tenement in New York City, gasping for air.
"It seems to me," he continued, "there's an awful lot of trouble in the world that somehow wouldn't exist if all the people who sing such songs went and lived them out. I suppose I don't understand. But what would Jesus do?"
The following week, First Church's pastor, Henry Maxwell, challenged his congregation to live up to their faith by asking themselves that same question, "What would Jesus do?" and act accordingly regardless of personal cost.
This is the story of one of the most-read religious novels of all time, In His Steps. The writer, Charles Sheldon, was himself a Congregational minister. Published serially beginning in 1896, Sheldon's story captured people's imaginations. Over the next 60 years, In His Steps sold more than 8 million copies.
Though it inspired countless readers, few have confused Sheldon's novel with great literature. Today its ideals seem naïve. But Pastor Sheldon himself, while idealistic, read the Bible daily, prayed frequently, and was a surprisingly practical minister.
Leading a Church "In His Steps"
Everyone knew that Sheldon could tell a story. In fact, he told over 50 such stories, often reading them aloud in his pulpit to packed houses on Sunday nights before they were published.
But the thing that most endeared Sheldon to his contemporaries was his obsession to secure material, social, and spiritual ...
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