[Letter from Rev. Calvin Bruce, D.D., of the Nazareth Avenue Church,
Chicago, to Rev. Philip A. Caxton, D.D., New York City.]
"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."