Resumen
Resumen de En sus pasos
Para quién es
For readers curious about American Christian life, the social gospel and how belief shapes daily work, and anyone who enjoys a story built on a single idea.
De qué trata este libro
In His Steps is a novel by Charles M. Sheldon, an American minister in Topeka, Kansas. It appeared in 1896 and grew out of stories he told to his own congregation, a chapter at a time, on Sunday evenings. Sheldon wanted his listeners to ask what their faith demanded of them on Monday morning, in their offices, shops and newspapers. The book carries that question in four short words: what would Jesus do?
The story gives you a prosperous town, a pledge that a group of church members make together, and a series of hard choices that follow. A singer, a newspaper editor, a railroad man, a merchant and a wealthy young woman each have to decide what the pledge means for their own work and money. Sheldon does not pretend the answers are easy or free of cost. You will meet people who gain a great deal and people who lose their place in society. Let us begin with the Sunday morning that sets everything moving, when a stranger walks into a comfortable church.
En este resumen
- 1A stranger interrupts a comfortable SundayFree
- 2Maxwell asks his church to make a pledge
- 3The editor learns what honesty costs
- 4Talent, wealth and work meet the question
- 5Obedience brings loss, doubt and a wider circle
- 6How the book is told and why it lasted
Idea clave 1 de 6
A stranger interrupts a comfortable Sunday
The novel opens in a town called Raymond, in the American Midwest. The church at the center of the story is First Church, a respectable congregation with a good choir and well-dressed members. Its pastor is the Reverend Henry Maxwell, a kind and careful preacher who writes his sermons with great attention. He is liked, and he likes his work.
One Sunday, after the sermon, a poor man who is out of work stands up in the church. He speaks quietly, not angrily. He says that he has heard many Christians talk about following Jesus, and he wonders what that means to people who do not seem to notice those who are hungry and without a job. His words are plain, and they land on a room that had not expected to be questioned.
Maxwell cannot put the man's words aside. He has preached about imitating Christ many times, and now he asks himself whether he has ever truly done it. The question follows him through the week. It leaves him unsettled, because he cannot easily say that his own life, or his church's, would stand up to it.
This opening scene is the engine of the whole book. Sheldon wants you to feel how easy it is to admire an ideal from a pew and how hard it is to hear it from someone who is in need. Maxwell is not a bad man. He is an ordinary good man who is startled to find that goodness may ask more of him than he thought. That unease is where the rest of the story begins.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
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Who’s who
- Henry Maxwell
- The pastor of First Church in Raymond challenges his congregation after being shaken by a stranger’s words.
- Edward Norman
- The editor of the Daily News joins Maxwell’s pledge and questions the business practices of his newspaper.
- Rachel Winslow
- A young singer in Maxwell’s congregation considers how to use her remarkable voice after taking the pledge.
- Virginia Page
- A wealthy young woman among the pledge takers questions how to use her inheritance well and without show.
- Alexander Powers
- A railroad official who takes the pledge examines his company’s practices in light of the congregation’s shared commitment.
- Milton Wright
- A merchant among Maxwell’s pledge takers considers what fair treatment requires toward his workers and customers.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 83,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 5 h 30 min
- Listening time9 h 15 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 11 other languages
Questions about En sus pasos
What is In His Steps about?
It follows a church in the town of Raymond whose members promise to ask what Jesus would do before every action for a year. The novel shows how that promise affects their work, money and public lives.
What does What Would Jesus Do mean in the book?
It is a test of conduct. Each person must stop before acting, ask honestly what Jesus would do in that exact situation, and then act on the answer even if it costs them.
Who wrote In His Steps and when?
Charles M. Sheldon, an American minister, wrote it. It appeared in 1896 and began as stories he read aloud to his congregation in Topeka, Kansas, before it was printed as a book.
Is In His Steps a true story?
No, it is a work of fiction. The town of Raymond and its people are invented, though Sheldon based the story on real questions about faith, work and poverty that he saw in his own time.
Is In His Steps hard to read?
No. The language is plain and the chapters are short and focused. The book is easy to follow.