BROW N | On Campus
What Would Jesus Do?
CLASS OF 1883 ALUMNUS HAD PROFOUND IMPAC T WITH BOOKS, PREACHING
By Catherine Elvy, Staff Writer
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volunteer for Friends of Ward-Meade.
“Preserving Charles Sheldon’s message
of social equality is especially relevant
in today’s society. His work drew
worldwide attention.”
Minister and author Charles Monroe
Sheldon, Brown 1883, played a major
role in launching the WWJD slogan.
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In July, the foundation publicized
its plans to transform Sheldon’s back-
yard office into a historic landmark
suitable to preserve the civil-rights
enthusiast’s legacy and artifacts, in-
cluding display cases and interpreta-
tive signage.
The studio is now situated in Old
Prairie Town, a street of relocated,
19 th -century buildings. The structures
serve as the centerpiece of the
Ward-Meade Historic Site, which also
features a 2.5-acre botanical garden
and mansion.
As for the unassuming office that
formerly stood behind his home in
Topeka’s College Hill neighborhood,
it served as an alcove for Sheldon as
the gifted writer drafted the series of
captivating accounts that formed the
core of In His Steps.
In 1888, Sheldon accepted a
call to preach at the recently
founded Central Congrega-
tional Church in Topeka.
Later, to attract worship-
pers to his church’s sparsely
attended Sunday night ser-
vices, Sheldon developed the
idea of reading “sermon sto-
ries.” Each installment of the
vivid, serial tales would end with
a cliffhanger. Within weeks, pa-
rishioners packed into evening ser-
vices just to hear the latest twists in
his mesmerizing plots.
Sheldon survived his scholastic
years in Rhode Island and Massachu-
setts by composing and selling articles,
talents he eagerly put to use for his
Midwestern church, according to the
Kansas Historical Society.
Ever the brilliant wordsmith, Shel-
don also drew fame for editing the
local newspaper for one week at the
invitation of its publisher. In March
1900, Sheldon removed accounts of
violent crimes and boxing matches
from the Topeka Daily Capital and
replaced them with inspirational ac-
counts of social reform and pleas for
crises in need of atten tion, according
to historical accounts.
ong before Christian youth of the
1990s sported trendy wristbands
emblazoned with “WWJD,” a Brown
University alumnus played a signifi-
cant role in launching the movement.
In 1896, Charles Monroe Shel-
don, a Brown grad of 1883 and Kan-
sas pastor, published In His Steps:
What Would Jesus Do? The book sold
more than 30 million copies,
sending Sheldon’s message of
social consciousness across the
globe and into 20-plus lan-
guages.
In the novel, Henry Max-
well, the main character and
pastor of the First Church of
Raymond, encounters an un-
employed man who strikingly
questions the practices and prin-
ciples of well-to-do Christians. In
turn, Maxwell challenges his con-
gregation to devote a year to asking
“What Would Jesus Do?” when con-
fronted with decisions.
In the Topeka region, where trib-
utes to Sheldon’s legacy include a
stretch of U.S. Route 24 named in
the minister’s honor, officials are in-
creasing their efforts to recognize the
early social reformer who readily put
his words into action.
Kansas’ Shawnee County Parks
and Recreation Foundation recently
announced a fundraising drive to re-
store and renovate Sheldon’s garden
study into a museum, complete with
his roll-top desk and typewriter.
“The phrase ‘What would Jesus
do?’ touches people,” said Roger
Houck, a Rhode Island transplant and
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