In His Steps by Charles M. Sheldon
IN HIS STEPS
Born in Wellsville, New York, in 1857, Charles M. Sheldon served the Lord as a pastor, a magazine editor, and a prolific author. Although he wrote more than fifty books, his best-known work remains In His Steps, of which millions of copies have been sold.
His privileged education at Phillips Academy and Brown University most likely laid the groundwork for his well-known advocacy of religious involvement in the social milieu of his time. After graduating from Andover Theological Seminary in 1886, Sheldon went on to serve churches in Vermont and Kansas before becoming editor-in-chief of the Christian Herald from 1920 to 1925.
During the 1890s, Sheldon penned In His Steps in serial form, with first publication of the entire story occurring in 1896. Sheldon’s novel introduced the “WWJD” question that would enjoy a revival among young Christians a hundred years later: in the story, a Midwestern pastor shakes up his congregation (and his entire community) by encouraging his parishioners to ask “What Would Jesus Do?” before make any decision, however large or small.
That penetrating question guided Sheldon’s own life. He was an active participant in the equality and Prohibition movements of the early twentieth century. As part of the latter, he served on the “Flying Squad” that promoted anti-alcohol laws in 247 American churches over 243 days in 1914 and 1915.
Charles M. Sheldon died two days shy of his eighty-ninth birthday, and was buried in Topeka, Kansas.