Dean's Letter

March 2008

From The Very Reverend David Bird, Ph.D., Dean and Rector

What Would Jesus Do?

Oscar Wilde confessed that he could resist anything except temptation. My sin is a moderate addiction to remaindered and used theological books. Seeing a title, “100 Christian Books that Changed the Century” was too much temptation for me at less than $4.00. 

Though the selection of books is predominantly traditional, I have not been disappointed. The two or three page descriptions of various books have brought some of the volumes back to me. Others have opened my eyes to books I have never read. So far, the most captivating story for me has been that recounted in the first chapter (I am heavily indebted to it for what I have written below). 

In the 1990s one would often see people walking around with their WJJD (What Would Jesus Do?) badges and bracelets. Not many of them, surely, knew that this very question went back to a novel written in 1899 by the pastor of a church in Topeka, Kansas—the Reverend Charles Sheldon.   

When Charles Sheldon was first writing the book he read it, chapter by chapter, to his youth group. The teenagers were so enthusiastic about it that adults also decided they wanted to hear each new installment. As he was buoyed by this positive response, Charles Sheldon decided to put it forward for publication. Three publishers declined the manuscript, so he had it published, one chapter at a time, by his denomination’s newspaper. Sadly, the denominational newsletter was not copyrighted. In no time sixteen publishers in the United States alone would publish the book and Charles Sheldon did not receive any royalties. 

His entry in the Internet encyclopedia, Wikipedia, indicates that it was quite radical for the very early twentieth century. For example, it notes that he believed “in full equality for men and women and vocally supported equal rights for women. He urged women to become involved in politics, believing that there they would make a difference for the better. He also supported that women should have full equality in the workplace and saw nothing wrong with men working in traditionally feminine jobs, such as domestic service.” 

Though his book is no literary masterpiece, it was a best seller both the first and the last decades of the twentieth century. The key idea on which the story is built is expressed by its central character, the Reverend Henry Maxwell, who challenges his church members to “pledge themselves earnestly and honestly for an entire year, not to do anything without first asking the question, ‘What would Jesus do?’” 

Its final paragraph is particularly powerful as Maxwell preaches: “If our definition of being a Christian is simply to enjoy the privileges of worship, be generous at no expense to ourselves, have a good, easy time surrounded by pleasant friends and by comfortable things, live respectably, and at the same time avoid the world’s great stress of sin and trouble—if this is our definition of Christianity, surely we are a long way from following the steps of Him who trod the way with tears of anguish for a lost humanity.”   

— David

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