Minutes of Meetings with God
and with Myself

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So ... What Would Jesus Do?

There were a ton of books stacked neatly on the table in the church office. Some months before, I had agreed to help go through the books to decide which ones should be kept for the church library. The person I was supposed to help had brought the books from the old bookcase to the table in the office. The intention was to make it easier for me to go through them.

I had what I thought was a good excuse for not pressing on with getting the job done. We needed a bookplate to identify each of the books as belonging to the church before they were put on the church library shelves. But, I had finally made good on my promise to design a bookplate so that excuse was gone. I had just been putting off and putting off and putting off sorting through the various volumes. The stacks of books had waited patiently, they didn't seem to mind their perch on the table. Then the "church cleaning bee" was planned and, "guess who?" was assigned to clean the church office and that meant I couldn't put off going through the books anymore.

Those who know me, know it is extraordinarily difficult for me to part company with almost any book for any reason. That may have been one of the things contributing to my procrastination. When I finally began the sorting, I found some of the books were easy to decide to not include in church library. The easiest ones to exclude were a number of "period" novels, history/fantasy sorts of things. Others that were easy were out-dated histories and commentaries. There were a few other ones that went into the boxes designated for books to be given, or thrown, away.

As I sorted, I came across two copies of the same book, a book that at one time was very popular among Christians (it sold over 30 million copies... only the Bible itself has sold more copies). It is truly a devotional classic. The book I found was "In His Steps" by Charles M. Sheldon. It was written in 1896 and was first read, one chapter at a time, to a group of young people who met on Sunday evenings at the Central Congregational Church in Topeka, Kansas.

"In His Steps" was written as this nation prepared to enter a new millennium. It was a time of hope and dreams (electricity was bringing lights and new industry across the nation... who could imagine the good it could bring). It was a time of frustration and confusion and despair. Society was in an upheaval. There was wide spread addiction (to alcohol and opium), sexually transmitted and other diseases (especially tuberculosis) were rampant. There was corruption in government, and, in some men's minds the worst thing of all was, women wanted to have a say in things (women actually wanted to vote). The church was in the midst of severe conservative versus liberal turmoil.

"In His Steps" was written to help Christians of that day to deal with the maelstrom of change and opportunities and troubles they faced as the new millennium approached. The book offered its help, not in the form of some nicely packaged answer, but as a question. Charles Sheldon challenged Christians to meet every situation and decision they face with the simple (but definitely not simplistic) question: "What would Jesus do?" "In His Steps" is a dramatic, fictional account of individuals, of a congregation and of a community that begins to seriously ask themselves the question: "What would Jesus do?"

Sadly, the book, "In His Steps" is not so popular anymore. And, although the question, "What would Jesus do?" is still asked today and people are buying all kinds of W.W.J.D. (What Would Jesus Do) jewelry, folks have pretty much forgotten the book that so powerfully posed the question and in a real sense started all the W.W.J.D. business (and it is a business... some are making lots and lots of money even with the cheap W.W.J.D. jewelry). It is easy to find the jewelry, but not so easy to find the book. I've been tempted to suggest to Christian Bookstore owners that next to every display of W.W.J.D. jewelry, they also display "In His Steps". Because they do not know the book, most of the people who wear the jewelry have no notion of the depth of the challenge the simple question poses. "What would Jesus do?" It is easy to put on a necklace, a bracelet, or a tack-pin. It is not easy to read "In His Steps" without being changed deep in one's heart and without knowing what that simple question really calls a Christian to do.

Now, just as in 1896, we are facing the arrival of a new millennium. It is a time of hope and dreams, it is a time of frustration and confusion and despair. Society is in an upheaval, there is wide spread addiction (to alcohol and cocaine and heroine), sexually transmitted and other diseases (especially cancer) are rampant, there is corruption in government and, women still want to have a say in things (women actually want to be treated decently... what a concept!). The church is in the midst of severe conservative versus liberal turmoil.

Now, just as in 1896, Christians need help to deal with the maelstrom of change and opportunities and troubles we face as the new millennium approaches. We are not in need of some nicely packaged answer that, in reality is totally inadequate to the life we must live. We might be wise to once again embrace the question and take up the challenge Charles Sheldon brought to Christians... to meet every situation and decision they face with: "What would Jesus do?" I don't mean we should do this superficially, or merely make a token effort, or just put on a necklace, a bracelet, or a tack-pin. I mean we would be wise to read the book and let the book drive us deep into the question, deep into the Bible, deep into ourselves, deep into the presence of the Risen One who is Jesus with us now.

As I stood by the table in the church office with the two copies of "In His Steps" in my hand, I made a decision. The next Sunday, I announced a challenge. If a person would read one of those copies of "In His Steps", I would give that person a W.W.J.D. bracelet (not one of the cheap ones, and not one of the diamond studded, sapphire enhanced gold ones either, but a nice one). I would give them the bracelet because after reading the book they would have a good notion of what the question, "What would Jesus do?", really means, what it really demands, how it can affect us.

A person who took one of the copies to read ask me, "Mike, how will you know I really read it? Will you give me a test?@"My answer was, "I won't have to give you a test. The change in your life will tell me whether or not you really read it." There is no hiding when we walk "In His Steps."