"My Dear Caxton:
"It is late Sunday night, but I am
so intensely awake and so overflowing
with what I have seen and heard that I
feel driven to write you now some
account of the situation in Raymond as I
have been studying it, and as it has
apparently come to a climax today. So
this is my only excuse for writing so
extended a letter at this time.
"You remember Henry Maxwell in the
Seminary. I think you said the last time
I visited you in New York that you had
not seen him since we graduated. He was
a refined, scholarly fellow, you
remember, and when he was called to the
First Church of Raymond within a year
after leaving the Seminary, I said to my
wife, 'Raymond has made a good choice.
Maxwell will satisfy them as a
sermonizer.' He has been here eleven
years, and I understand that up to a
year ago he had gone on in the regular
course of the ministry, giving good
satisfaction and drawing good
congregations. His church was counted
the largest and wealthiest church in
Raymond. All the best people attended
it, and most of them belonged. The
quartet choir was famous for its music,
especially for its soprano, Miss
Winslow, of whom I shall have more to
say; and, on the whole, as I understand
the facts, Maxwell was in a comfortable
berth, with a very good salary, pleasant
surroundings, a not very exacting parish
of refined, rich, respectable people --
such a church and parish as nearly all
the young men of the seminary in our
time looked forward to as very
desirable.
"But a year ago today Maxwell came
into his church on Sunday morning, and
at the close of the service made the
astounding proposition that the members
of his church volunteer for a year not
to do anything without first asking the
question, 'What would Jesus do?' and,
after answering it, to do what in their
honest judgment He would do, regardless
of what the result might be to them.
"The effect of this proposition, as
it has been met and obeyed by a number
of members of the church, has been so
remarkable that, as you know, the
attention of the whole country has been
directed to the movement. I call it a
'movement' because from the action taken
today, it seems probable that what has
been tried here will reach out into the
other churches and cause a revolution in
methods, but more especially in a new
definition of Christian discipleship.
"In the first place, Maxwell tells
me he was astonished at the response to
his proposition. Some of the most
prominent members in the church made the
promise to do as Jesus would. Among them
were Edward Norman, editor of the DAILY
NEWS, which has made such a sensation in
the newspaper world; Milton Wright, one
of the leading merchants in Raymond;
Alexander Powers, whose action in the
matter of the railroads against the
interstate commerce laws made such a
stir about a year ago; Miss Page, one of
Raymond's leading society heiresses, who
has lately dedicated her entire fortune,
as I understand, to the Christian daily
paper and the work of reform in the slum
district known as the Rectangle; and
Miss Winslow, whose reputation as a
singer is now national, but who in
obedience to what she has decided to be
Jesus' probable action, has devoted her
talent to volunteer work among the girls
and women who make up a large part of
the city's worst and most abandoned
population.
"In addition to these well-known
people has been a gradually increasing
number of Christians from the First
Church and lately from other churches of
Raymond. A large proportion of these
volunteers who pledged themselves to do
as Jesus would do comes from the
Endeavor societies. The young people say
that they have already embodied in their
society pledge the same principle in the
words, 'I promise Him that I will strive
to do whatever He would have me do.'
This is not exactly what is included in
Maxwell's proposition, which is that the
disciple shall try to do what Jesus
would probably do in the disciple's
place. But the result of an honest
obedience to either pledge, he claims,
will be practically the same, and he is
not surprised that the largest numbers
have joined the new discipleship from
the Endeavor Society.
"I am sure the first question you
will ask is, 'What has been the result
of this attempt? What has it
accomplished or how has it changed in
any way the regular life of the church
or the community?'
"You already know something, from
reports of Raymond that have gone over
the country, what the events have been.
But one needs to come here and learn
something of the changes in individual
lives, and especially the change in the
church life, to realize all that is
meant by this following of Jesus' steps
so literally. To tell all that would be
to write a long story or series of
stories. I am not in a position to do
that, but I can give you some idea
perhaps of what has been done as told me
by friends here and by Maxwell himself.
"The result of the pledge upon the
First Church has been two-fold. It has
brought upon a spirit of Christian
fellowship which Maxwell tells me never
before existed, and which now impresses
him as being very nearly what the
Christian fellowship of the apostolic
churches must have been; and it has
divided the church into two distinct
groups of members. Those who have not
taken the pledge regard the others as
foolishly literal in their attempt to
imitate the example of Jesus. Some of
them have drawn out of the church and no
longer attend, or they have removed
their membership entirely to other
churches. Some are an element of
internal strife, and I heard rumors of
an attempt on their part to force
Maxwell's resignation. I do not know
that this element is very strong in the
church. It has been held in check by a
wonderful continuance of spiritual
power, which dates from the first Sunday
the pledge was taken a year ago, and
also by the fact that so many of the
most prominent members have been
identified with the movement.
"The effect on Maxwell is very
marked. I heard him preach in our State
Association four years ago. He impressed
me at the time as having considerable
power in dramatic delivery, of which he
himself was somewhat conscious. His
sermon was well written and abounded in
what the Seminary students used to call
'fine passages.' The effect of it was
what an average congregation would call
'pleasing.' This morning I heard Maxwell
preach again, for the first time since
then. I shall speak of that farther on.
He is not the same man. He gives me the
impression of one who has passed through
a crisis of revolution. He tells me this
revolution is simply a new definition of
Christian discipleship. He certainly has
changed many of his old habits and many
of his old views. His attitude on the
saloon question is radically opposite to
the one he entertained a year ago. And
in his entire thought of the ministry,
his pulpit and parish work, I find he
has made a complete change. So far as I
can understand, the idea that is moving
him on now is the idea that the
Christianity of our times must represent
a more literal imitation of Jesus, and
especially in the element of suffering.
He quoted to me in the course of our
conversation several times the verses in
Peter: 'For even hereunto were ye
called, because Christ also suffered for
you, leaving you an example, that ye
would follow His steps'; and he seems
filled with the conviction that what our
churches need today more than anything
else is this factor of joyful suffering
for Jesus in some form. I do not know as
I agree with him, altogether; but, my
dear Caxton, it is certainly astonishing
to note the results of this idea as they
have impressed themselves upon this city
and this church.
"You ask how about the results on
the individuals who have made this
pledge and honestly tried to be true to
it. Those results are, as I have said, a
part of individual history and cannot be
told in detail. Some of them I can give
you so that you may see that this form
of discipleship is not merely sentiment
or fine posing for effect.
"For instance, take the case of Mr.
Powers, who was superintendent of the
machine shops of the L. and T. R. R.
here. When he acted upon the evidence
which incriminated the road he lost his
position, and more than that, I learn
from my friends here, his family and
social relations have become so changed
that he and his family no longer appear
in public. They have dropped out of the
social circle where once they were so
prominent. By the way, Caxton, I
understand in this connection that the
Commission, for one reason or another,
postponed action on this case, and it is
now rumored that the L. and T. R. R.
will pass into a receiver's hands very
soon. The president of the road who,
according to the evidence submitted by
Powers, was the principal offender, has
resigned, and complications which have
risen since point to the receivership.
Meanwhile, the superintendent has gone
back to his old work as a telegraph
operator. I met him at the church
yesterday. He impressed me as a man who
had, like Maxwell, gone through a crisis
in character. I could not help thinking
of him as being good material for the
church of the first century when the
disciples had all things in common.
"Or take the case of Mr. Norman,
editor of the DAILY NEWS. He risked his
entire fortune in obedience to what he
believed was Jesus' action, and
revolutionized his entire conduct of the
paper at the risk of a failure. I send
you a copy of yesterday's paper. I want
you to read it carefully. To my mind it
is one of the most interesting and
remarkable papers ever printed in the
United States. It is open to criticism,
but what could any mere man attempt in
this line that would be free from
criticism. Take it all in all, it is so
far above the ordinary conception of a
daily paper that I am amazed at the
result. He tells me that the paper is
beginning to be read more and more by
the Christian people of the city. He was
very confident of its final success.
Read his editorial on the money
questions, also the one on the coming
election in Raymond when the question of
license will again be an issue. Both
articles are of the best from his point
of view. He says he never begins an
editorial or, in fact, any part of his
newspaper work, without first asking,
'What would Jesus do?' The result is
certainly apparent.
"Then there is Milton Wright, the
merchant. He has, I am told, so
revolutionized his business that no man
is more beloved today in Raymond. His
own clerks and employees have an
affection for him that is very touching.
During the winter, while he was lying
dangerously ill at his home, scores of
clerks volunteered to watch and help in
any way possible, and his return to his
store was greeted with marked
demonstrations. All this has been
brought about by the element of personal
love introduced into the business. This
love is not mere words, but the business
itself is carried on under a system of
co-operation that is not a patronizing
recognition of inferiors, but a real
sharing in the whole business. Other men
on the street look upon Milton Wright as
odd. It is a fact, however, that while
he has lost heavily in some directions,
he has increased his business, and is
today respected and honored as one of
the best and most successful merchants
in Raymond.
"And there is Miss Winslow. She has
chosen to give her great talent to the
poor of the city. Her plans include a
Musical Institute where choruses and
classes in vocal music shall be a
feature. She is enthusiastic over her
life work. In connection with her friend
Miss Page she has planned a course in
music which, if carried out, will
certainly do much to lift up the lives
of the people down there. I am not too
old, dear Caxton, to be interested in
the romantic side of much that has also
been tragic here in Raymond, and I must
tell you that it is well understood here
that Miss Winslow expects to be married
this spring to a brother of Miss Page
who was once a society leader and club
man, and who was converted in a tent
where his wife-that-is-to-be took an
active part in the service. I don't know
all the details of this little romance,
but I imagine there is a story wrapped
up in it, and it would make interesting
reading if we only knew it all.
"These are only a few illustrations
of results in individual lives owing to
obedience to the pledge. I meant to have
spoken of President Marsh of Lincoln
College. He is a graduate of my alma
mater and I knew him slightly when I was
in the senior year. He has taken an
active part in the recent municipal
campaign, and his influence in the city
is regarded as a very large factor in
the coming election. He impressed me, as
did all the other disciples in this
movement, as having fought out some hard
questions, and as having taken up some
real burdens that have caused and still
do cause that suffering of which Henry
Maxwell speaks, a suffering that does
not eliminate, but does appear to
intensify, a positive and practical joy.
