In His Steps

Written by Charles Monroe Sheldon

Narrated by Lloyd James

What Would Jesus Do? Here is the book that originally inspired this popular and highly important question, a bestselling phenomenon that continues to inspire Christians everywhere. It is the soul-stirring novel of men and women torn between their faith and the demands, compulsions, and temptations of life.

Dr. Henry Maxwell, respected pastor of the First Church of Raymond, struggles with the idea that Christian discipleship demands more than mental assent. He suggests an electrifying challenge to his congregation: to preface every action with the question “What would Jesus do in this situation if He were me?” This is the moving, dramatic story of a handful of Americans-a newspaper editor, a college president, a railroad executive, a pastor, a singer, a writer, a wealthy philanthropist-who pledge to walk in the steps of Jesus.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Blackstone Audio
• Release date: Jul 7, 2010
• ISBN: 9781441796790

Reviews for In His Steps

[chris_el-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Classic book from 1887. This is where WWJD came from. Story follows several different people as they try to live by the question: "What would Jesus do?" Fairly well written with believable and sympathetic characters who sometimes suffer and sometimes become more successful in life because of the changes they make following the WWJD mantra.

[krista.rutherford · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The original story about a community that pledged to live by asking the question "What would Jesus do?" Good idea, but the story is pretty boring.

[katieloucks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Helped me come closer to Jesus and God.

[gdill-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I tried reading this timely Christian classic, but couldn't draw myself to finish. It seems this book was written after the American Puritan style of Christian beliefs where right behavior, rules, and morality are key... not Jesus. The premise of the book is about a congregation who promises to ask themselves, "What Would Jesus Do?" before making any decisions in life. They are then to go with what they believe Jesus would have done in each situation in their lives. The only problem is that this doesn't seem to be the same Jesus I have come to know or read about in the Gospels. Jesus isn't about rules, morality, and right behavior. Instead, He is about grace, relationships, servanthood, and love. He didn't expect society to change or conform to a set of rules and standards. The Pharisees did this. Instead, He wanted to usher in a new kingdom, a kingdom of God that entailed each believer to die to self, carry the cross, love God, and serve others. Instead, it seemed each of the congregants in this book wanted society to conform to their standards rather than getting to know their society, developing relationships with them, and telling them about Jesus. The newspaper magnate dropped questionable ads, dropped a story about a boxing match, and stopped the Sunday paper because he felt everyone needed to go to church on Sundays. The beautiful singer refused to get paid for singing in the theatre because she thought it was evil to be paid for something God gifted her with. In the town square where open air preaching was conducted, the people who attended were referred to as heathens, sinners, and "needless traffic"... where saloons were evil and tobacco was a work of the devil. Remember, these are the very people Jesus loved and befriended. Jesus wouldn't be hanging out at churches or revivals. No, He would be hanging out in the "Red Light" districts, bars, saloons, and other places of debauchery. Not to partake in these things, but to rescue the sick and downtrodden (remember Mark 2:17).I read the first 100 pages of this and after not seeing the Jesus of the Gospels, but rather an American Puritan theology with an American revivalism theme, I decided to not finish the book. Perhaps it was a bit premature of me to not finish it. And, perhaps the story later takes a turn for the better, following after the true Jesus of the Bible. But, after 100 pages I just wasn't seeing it. The only positive thing I can say about the story is the tag line "What Would Jesus Do?". We should indeed be asking ourselves this question every moment of our lives. And, for that I applaud Mr. Sheldon for coming up with this wonderful and thought-provoking question.

[thriftymorgana · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This novel had a truly wonderful message that is important for any and every Christian to hear and to think about. The story involves a small church in a railroad town taking the pledge to always ask the question, "What would Jesus do?" before making decisions in both their personal land business lives. One thing that the reader needs to be aware of from the get-go though is that this novel takes place in the late 1800s and the syntax/language as well as some of the cultural norms are extremely foreign to the modern reader. Another issue I had with this story was the hardcore attack of "the saloon" as it refers to any establishment that provides alcohol. Well, we all know what happened when Prohibition actually did occur about 2 decades later, rampant crime of all sorts to keep the continued production of alcohol under wraps. So, with hindsight, this aspect of the book just seemed a little ridiculous to me. Besides that though, the focus on getting one's hands dirty to help those who are less fortunate than you was truly powerful and it was heartbreaking to see the way so many of the upper class citizens saw the poor. I can only hope that our views on the less fortunate of today are FAR different from those held over a century ago. Definitely an eye-opening and enjoyable read.

[revslick_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

the book takes you on a journey of one church's struggle to live out 'What Would Jesus Do?' While there are several tidbits that wounldn't match up today since the book was written in the height of the temperance movement, it still provokes some good wholesome thought on how we live the gospel.

[toddpeperkorn · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I hate this book. The kitsch is appalling, but it is the false theology that drives me bonkers. It works with the premise that one can keep the Law. St. Paul reminds us that by the law is the knowledge of sin. I find this book offensive to the Christian faith.

[jeyra_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Christians in a small town take a challenge to do only what they believe Jesus would do, and the results are life-changing.

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book. One of my all-time favorite Christian fiction books. It reminds me that a Christian's mark on the world should be love.

[ham_shoes · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

When I was a kid, a relative gave me a copy of this with the best of intentions but it actually began my shift to agnosticism. Don't get me wrong; I respect spirituality but I believe it should be founded on deep, profound life experiences. The characters of this story are trite and shallow. The depictions of their white-bread experiences are unconvincing.

[kristelh_15 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is written in the late 19th century and is set in the US probably a town close to Chicago and involves a church community. A beggar comes into their midst and the pastor comes under conviction as to his conduct towards this beggar. He asks himself, “What would Jesus do? and he asks his congregation to take a year long pledge to live their lives by this question. The story was entertaining, well read by the narrator but a better word would be inspirational. I was really shocked to realize that this saying “what would Jesus do” or WWJD (worn as jewelry, etc by Christians) was so old. I then proceeded to ask the question, Is this book relevant today, what is the author trying to get across through the use of this story and how does it fit with today's church. Essentially, this is a book about discipleship and there is a strong movement in todays church (at least the one I attend) to make disciples. The story is simple, the struggles were hinted at but nothing was developed in depth. Was this a simpler time, was it easier to be a disciple in the 19th century than it is now? How does this book fit today. The book stated that if Christians took this to heart they would change the world. I think one of the basic premise was that government and social change could not do what the church could do for social change (help for the poor, cleaning up the tenements and ridding the environment of the saloon). Is today’s Christian willing to give up money, position and family to do what Jesus would do or are we content to let government and organizations do the work and just give our support without getting personally involved. I hope I am very wrong, but I think that today’s average Christian is not living by this principle. We haven’t taken up our cross, we haven’t sacrificed or suffered and we are willing to let the government take care of the poor and downtrodden. Its easier to pay our taxes (and complain) that invest our time and energy and our money.