RSS

In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon

I have the Complete and Unabridged copy - (It means that the story is as it was originally written - nothing has been cut. It’s not a condensed version).

Over 15 Million copies sold!

PUBLISHER:

Barbour Publishing, Inc.

CATEGORY:

Christian Classics

ISBN:978-1-60260-854-2

BINDING: Paper

PAGE COUNT:192 pages

AVAILABILITY:

Available- In Stock

PRICE: $2.99

In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon and the type of book ranges from, Christianity, faith, forgiveness, charity, love, tragedy, and fate.

Quote from book, “What would Jesus do if He was out of work like me?” Page: 226

Charles Monroe Sheldon first published in 1897.

Charles Monroe Sheldon was born on (February 26, 1857 in Wellsville, New York – February 24, 1946) was an American minister in the Congregational churches and leader of the Social Gospel movement. His novel, In His Steps,introduced the principle of “What Would Jesus Do?” which articulated an approach to Christian theology that became popular at the turn of the 20th Century and had a revival almost one hundred years later .

Source: Found here.

In His Steps takes place in the railroad town of Raymond, presumably located in the eastern U.S.A. (Chicago, IL and the coast of Maine are mentioned as being accessible by train). The main character is the Rev. Henry Maxwell, pastor of the First Church of Raymond, who challenges his congregation to not do anything for a whole year without first asking: “What Would Jesus Do?” Other characters include Ed Norman, senior editor of the Raymond Daily Newspaper, Rachel Winslow, a talented singer, and Virginia Page, an heiress, to name a few.

The novel begins on a Friday morning when a destitute vagabond appears at the front door of Henry Maxwell while the latter is preparing for that Sunday’s upcoming sermon. Maxwell listens to the vagabond’s helpless plea briefly before curtly brushing him away and closing the door. The same vagabond appears in church at the end of the Sunday sermon, walks up to “the open space in front of the pulpit,” and faces the people. No one stops him. He quietly but frankly confronts the congregation—“I’m not complaining; just stating facts.”—about their compassion, or apathetic lack thereof, for the homeless like him in Raymond. Upon finishing his address to the congregation, he collapses and dies a few days later.

That next Sunday, Henry Maxwell, deeply moved by the events of the past week, presents a challenge to his congregation: “Do not do anything without first asking, ‘What would Jesus do?’” This challenge is the theme of the novel and is the driving force of the plot. From this point on, the rest of the novel consists of certain episodes that focus on individual characters as their lives are transformed by the challenge.

Source:

In my book let me quote which sums up so much for me: PAGE: 75

“WHAT JESUS WOULD PROBABLY DO IN A BUSINESS AS A BUSINESS MAN”

1. He would engage in the business first of all for the purpose of Glorifying God, and not for the primary purpose of making money.

2. All money that might be made he would never regard it as his own, but as a trust funds to be used for the good of all humanity.

3. His relationships with all the people in the company that he dealt with would be the most loving and helpful. He could not help thinking of all of them in the light of souls to be saved. This thought would always be greater than his thought of making money in his business.

4. He would never do a single dishonest or questinable thing or try in any way to get the advantage of any one else in teh same business.

5. The principle of unselfishness and helpfulness in the business would direct all it’s details.

6. Upon this principle he would shape the entire plan of his relationships to his employees, to the people who were his customers and to the general business world with which he was connected.