"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.
