9-1-07
E Period
Following In His Steps
In the book In His Steps, by Charles M. Sheldon, Reverend Henry Maxwell asks a question to his congregation: “What would Jesus do?” He challenges the listeners to consider this question before making any decisions. It’s a tough challenge and turns out to be painful for everyone. But, despite the pain and loss, the effect of the decisions based on the question, “What would Jesus do?” makes a huge, positive impact on the people of the community. The same results would be true if we were to accept the challenge at The King’s Academy. First, we would ask God to know, “What would Jesus do?” Second, we would expect things to be difficult. Third, we would have faith that we would have a positive impact on our community.
The pledge as Pastor Maxwell defines it is this: “I want volunteers from the First Church who will pledge themselves, earnestly and honestly for an entire year not to do anything without first asking the question ‘What would Jesus do?’ And after asking that question, each one will follow Jesus as exactly as he knows how, no matter what the results may be.” When Ed Norman, the owner of the local newspaper, considers “What would Jesus do?” he decides not to mention the prize fight in his paper and to discontinue the Sunday morning edition. When Alexander Powers considers “What would Jesus do?”, he improves the working conditions at the railroad and when he learns that the railroad is conducting illegal business, he reports it to the authorities. If TKA were to consider “What would Jesus do?”, we might sign up to collect litter or gather shopping carts in the parking lot for shoppers. We might also volunteer at various daycare centers after school to help out parents with younger children.
Making decisions by considering “What would Jesus do?” can lead to difficult situations and loss. Pastor Maxwell offends a lot of rich and proper people in his preaching because they don’t like mixing with the needy...