In His Steps - Part II

With In His Steps – Part I, I introduced you to a book written by Charles M. Sheldon. In the book Pastor Henry Maxwell asks his congregation to live each day and to make each decision according to a question, “What would Jesus do?”

Fifty people of his congregation accept this challenge while the majority of the congregation does not. The action of these folks cause more than some angst within the church and as time goes by the church threatens to split. The novel then follows several of the key people who take this pledge.

Throughout the book we learn of the issues that follow when people seek discipleship in Christ with real integrity.

One of the characters is Edward Norman, editor of the Raymond Daily News. It is one of the city’s leading papers and does quite well financially. Norman decides to convert the paper into a Christian newspaper. In doing so, he removes sensational news articles written for the sake of sensation. He limits crime articles to the facts but includes commentary on how the crimes might be prevented. The reporters have to sign their names at the bottom of the articles thereby taking ownership and accountability for their writing. He stops running the Sunday edition – their largest selling edition. And he discontinues advertising he felt is ‘questionable or suggestive’. All of these changes come at great cost as they lose advertisers and subscribers. Nevertheless he stays with his pledge to do everything connected with the paper after answering the question, “What would Jesus do?” as honestly as possible. In this faith he believes he can run the paper strictly on Christian principles and make it succeed.

Another of the story’s characters is that of the church soloist, a young singer named Rachel. She has a world-class voice and is offered a very nice, lucrative contract to travel with an entertainment group. She would have the opportunity to entertain around the world singing to elite audiences such as royalty, influentials, national and international leaders. Undoubtedly, Rachel would become famous and wealthy doing so. Yet, after asking the question, “What would Jesus do?” she declines that offer and instead uses her musical talents to sing at a new church outreach which is ministering in an area of town we might call the projects or slums. Her stage is a canvas tent; her audience is Raymond’s homeless, addicts, drunks, pimps, and prostitutes. More than one person came to know Christ as Savior through the gift of her voice.

While the book goes on to tell us of other characters who make significant changes in their lives it is interesting to note that Charles Sheldon, pastor and author of this book, lived his own life according this question.

One of his own pastoral projects in Topeka was to work for the betterment of a black settlement called Tennesseetown. He lived there for three weeks so he could grasp first hand the issues the people lived with. He went on to establish the first black kindergarten west of the Mississippi.

Sheldon also served briefly as Topeka’s police commissioner. He called for a Christian police force with the police acting as missionaries. Truth be told, I’m not sure that would work well today for us. Nevertheless, as police commissioner Sheldon appointed Topeka’s first two police women to the task force. Remember, this was over one hundred years ago! On June 7, 1921 Margaret Kavanaugh became Janesville’s first female police officer, but her job was discontinued after a few months, leaving the department an all-male bastion until 1953 when Mrs. Arnold Schmidt became the Janesville Police Department's first female employee as records clerk, freeing a male officer for patrol work. I’m not sure when Milton appointed its first female police officer, but in general I have to believe that Sheldon was ahead of his time in this.

Throughout Sheldon’s life, and throughout the lives of the characters Sheldon introduces us to, and in our own experience we know that answering Christ’s call to take up our cross and follow him is not easy. Cross bearing refers to self-sacrifice. Making the confession that Jesus is the Christ is not enough. He calls us to bear a cross. It is this particular demand that separates the disciples from the admirers. Disciples do more than survey the wonderful cross, or love the old rugged cross as our beloved hymns would have it. The disciple of Jesus must become like him in obedience and live the cross.

Henry Maxwell said, the greatest question in all of human life is summed up when we ask, “What would Jesus do?” if, as we ask it, we also try to answer it from a growth in knowledge of Jesus himself. We must know Jesus before we can imitate him.”

I think perhaps that more than anything else is the difficult part. How would we know what Jesus would do in our given situation? To answer this question we need to study him. We need to look at what our Bible has to say about him. We need to pray to him. We need to ask for guidance and listen to him. And we need to trust him to guide our actions.

So, what would our cost be, if we were to live according to this question? How would our daily decisions about our work, our marriages, our friendships and relationships with one another change? What challenges would be faced or relationships lost because of our change in the way we do life? What would be gained in our lives if we lived according to the simple question, What Would Jesus Do? How would we be transformed in Christ?

I ask you to consider this challenge. Would you for one week, one month, or perhaps one year, ask yourself each day, for each action you do, for each situation in which you find yourself – What would Jesus do?

Almighty God, we ask that you will be at work in our lives drawing us more closely to you in relationship and more closely to one another. Help us to set aside our own agenda and take up our cross for you. This we pray in your precious name. Amen.